Obama’s Vision for High-speed Rail in America

President Barack Obama announced today about his plan to spend $13 billion to build a vast high speed rail network across the nation. It is announced that the stimulus plan will provide $8 billion initially, after that it will require $1 billion each year for the next five years.
“There are those who say high-speed rail [...]

A Virus-built Battery

Scientists from MIT have demonstrated a virus-built battery using genetically engineer viruses to build both the positively and negatively charged ends of a lithium-ion battery. These viruses, which are in the family of bacteriophage, are harmless to humans.
“The new virus-produced batteries have the same energy capacity and power performance as state-of-the-art rechargeable batteries being considered [...]

Hydrogen-producing Algae

Via EurekAlert!, this will come to the alternative energy enthusiasts as a welcome and exciting news. It reports that researchers studying a hydrogen-producing, single-celled green alga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, have unmasked a previously unknown fermentation pathway that may open up possibilities for increasing hydrogen production.
C. reinhartii, a common inhabitant of soils, naturally produces small quantities of [...]

Global Warming

Via Nate Silver, a graph of temperature imbalances over the years showing distinct warming overtime. Nate also presents a precinct analysis of this trend debunking the claim made by George F. Will that many scientists were convinced in the 1970s that global cooling was a significant threat to the planet.

The Energy Scale in 100 Orders of Magnitude

The Energy Innovation Imparative

For an intellectual insight into the background and thinking of Prof. John Holdren, who is just appointed to be Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Co-Chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), check out a journal article published [...]

Energy Prices versus Consumption

Ever wondered about how the historical comparison of oil prices compares with the overall consumption in the U.S.? Here is a thorough onestop collection of data and analysis on this topic. I find the following graph particularly instructive as far as the Grand Energy Challenge is concerned.
The sustained pace at which consumption has been going up since the early [...]