>"For many decades, we have been relying on fossil resources to produce liquid fuels such as gasoline, diesel, and many industrial and consumer chemicals for daily use. However, increasing strains on natural resources as well as environmental issues including global warming have triggered a strong interest in developing sustainable ways to obtain fuels and chemicals.
On September 29, a Korean research team led by Distinguished Professor Sang Yup Lee of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) reported, for the first time, the development of a novel strategy for microbial gasoline production through metabolic engineering of E. coli. The research team engineered the fatty acid metabolism to provide the fatty acid derivatives that are shorter than normal intracellular fatty acid metabolites, and introduced a novel synthetic pathway for the biosynthesis of short-chain alkanes. This allowed the development of platform E. coli strain capable of producing gasoline for the first time."
>"Swedish flat-pack furniture giant IKEA will start selling residential solar panels at its stores in Britain, the first step in its plan to bring renewable energy to the mainstream market worldwide. The company started selling solar panels made by China's Hanergy in its store in Southampton on Monday. It will sell them in the rest of Britain in coming months, it said. A standard, all-black 3.36 kilowatt system for a semi-detached home will cost 5,700 British pounds ($9,200) and will include an in-store consultation and design service as well as installation, maintenance and energy monitoring service."
>"In an intriguing development across New York City there is speculation that the authorities may soon look at converting existing payphones into electric car charging stations. On the surface this may look like yet another crazy idea connected with the electric vehicle industry but if you take a step back, consider the options, it may just be feasible."
Quote from ElectricForum.com : "I'd like to pose a dilemma that cities all over the world are dealing with. Private resident EV owners who park in the street because they don't have a driveway. How do they charge their car?"
> "The U.S. Army is spending billions of dollars shifting toward solar energy, recycled water and better-insulated tents. The effort isn't about saving the Earth. Instead, commanders have found they can save lives through energy conservation. It’s especially true in Afghanistan, where protecting fuel convoys is one of the most dangerous jobs, with one casualty for every 24 missions in some years.
With renewable energy, “there is no supply chain vulnerability, there are no commodity costs and there’s a lower chance of disruption,” Richard Kidd, the deputy assistant secretary of the Army in charge of energy security, said in an interview. “A fuel tanker can be shot at and blown up. The sun’s rays will still be there.”
> "Two years ago, engineers at Mission Motors, a California electric vehicle manufacturer, set their prototype loose at the 2.238-mile Laguna Seca Raceway. The bike clocked a lap time of 1:31.3, nearly 13 seconds faster than any other electric bike and almost as fast as a 600cc gas guzzler. In 2014, the company will release the street-legal version of that bike, the Mission R. Despite its massive battery and thanks to a custom chassis and motor, the bike is both compact and powerful enough to chase down its conventionally powered competition."
>"The Western U.S. could reap huge benefits in pollution savings and reduced spending on fossil fuels by installing more wind and solar power plants, according to a comprehensive new analysis released today by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The study found that obtaining 25 percent of electricity in the Western U.S. from renewable energy will reduce carbon dioxide pollution by up to 34 percent and save $7 billion annually in fossil fuel costs.
The NREL report also conclusively puts to rest the fossil fuel industry myth that wind energy’s pollution savings are smaller than expected because fossil-fired power plants run at lower efficiency when wind is generating electricity. Even at the very high level of renewable energy use examined in the report, the impact on the efficiency of fossil-fired power plants was found to be “negligible,” reducing the carbon emissions reduction benefits of wind and solar by only 0.2 percent, so that on net wind and solar produced 99.8 percent of the expected emissions savings."
>"When your office’s overzealous air conditioner is creating a sub-arctic work environment, what measures will you take to keep warm? Will you go right to the thermostat, or do you put on a sweater, make some hot tea or perhaps even plug in a space heater? A Drexel engineer is looking at how these behaviors affect your thermal comfort and the office’s energy usage with the hope of informing future sustainable building design practices with you and your sweater in mind.
Jared Langevin, a doctoral student in the department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, wants to know if you’re too hot or too cold in your office and what you do get comfortable. Langevin’s goal is to make a computer model for architects, engineers and building managers that accurately reflects how people adjust to their thermal environment on a daily basis."
>"While Los Angeles is globally recognized for its love of the car, it is not associated with myriad of rail lines and train cars scattered throughout the city. These 19th century icons have been abandoned or built over, forming “urban scar tissue” on the city grid as urban sprawl began to take over. Positioned between downtown Los Angeles and the Los Angeles River, the Arts District showcases many of these urban scars. As the area became gentrified in the 1970s with the emergence of housing and commercial amenities infilling the industrial warehouses, the rail lines which used to exist in the area become embedded in streetscapes. Many other unused rail lines follow major streets such as Slauson Ave. and Florence Ave. through the entire city, crossing residential and commercial neighborhoods. Such cases of abandoned rail lines, strands of unused land, and obsolete train cars and flatbeds are lifelessly scattered throughout the city. June Street Architecture’s proposal for Building Trust International’s PlayScapes Competition reclaims this industrial infrastructure and converts it into the much needed park space throughout the city."