Environmental News Network

Hot compost bugs promise greener car fuel
A laboratory of hot, bubbling jars of bacteria near London holds the key to curbing CO2 pollution from cars, says Hamish Curran, Chief Executive of Britain's TMO Renewables. "We believe what we've found is not far from the silver bullet, and our demonstration plant will be about showing that," Curran told Reuters during a visit to the group's laboratories in Guildford on Wednesday. >> Read the Full Article
Got an addiction? Milk and oil prices rise, but demand remains strong
They're items nearly every American can't live without, and they've been in the news a lot this summer. As prices for gasoline and milk rise, consumers have balked atâ€”but still paid forâ€”gas that hovers at around $3 a gallon and milk that costs anywhere from $3 to $5 a carton. But the question isn't whether these prices are too highâ€”it's whether we're paying enough for our penchant for cheap dairy and fossil fuels. >> Read the Full Article
GOP Presidential Hopeful Takes Anti-Washington Stance on a Wide Range of Issues
GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney took a strong states' rights stance Wednesday on Western issues of water, mining and public lands, saying he's against "heavy-handed" intrusion by the federal government. >> Read the Full Article
Bush Administration Set to Ease Legal Limits on Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining
Continuing a dangerous and irresponsible trend, the federal Office of Surface Mining (OSM) this week will announce plans to try again to make stream annihilation legal by exempting coal mining wastes from a 1983 regulation. >> Read the Full Article
Automakers, UAW, and St. Louis Leaders Support of Raising Vehicle Fuel Economy Standards
ST. LOUIS - Hundreds of autoworkers, business leaders and government officials from St. Louis and surrounding counties rallied this morning at Gateway Mall in downtown St. Louis, urging federal lawmakers to protect jobs and consumer choice by supporting the bi- partisan federal legislation introduced by Representatives Baron Hill (D-IN) and Lee Terry (R-NE) to raise fuel economy in cars and trucks. Local congressional representatives from Missouri and Illinois were thanked for their support of the bill. >> Read the Full Article
Department of Energy Awards $3.8 Million in Funding to 38 U.S. Universities for Nuclear Research Infrastructure
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today strengthened its commitment to advancing nuclear power by awarding $100,000 to 38 universities to enhance nuclear research and development (R&D) under President Bushâ€™s Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP). >> Read the Full Article
Researchers Urge Officials To Study Indirect Impacts of Fossil Fuels
A team of Carnegie Mellon University researchers report that the choices U.S. officials make today could limit how the nation's future energy needs are met and could cost consumers billions in idle power plants and associated infrastructure systems. >> Read the Full Article
New Technology Prmoises Dramatic Chip-Cooling Potential For Future Computers
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Researchers have demonstrated a new technology using tiny "ionic wind engines" that might dramatically improve computer chip cooling, possibly addressing a looming threat to future advances in computers and electronics. The Purdue University researchers, in work funded by Intel Corp., have shown that the technology increased the "heat-transfer coefficient," which describes the cooling rate, by as much as 250 percent. >> Read the Full Article
Radical Engine Redesign Would Reduce Pollution, Oil Consumption
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Researchers have created the first computational model to track engine performance from one combustion cycle to the next for a new type of engine that could dramatically reduce oil consumption and the emission of global-warming pollutants. "We're talking about a major leap in engine technology that could be used in hybrid cars to make vehicles much more environmentally friendly and fuel stingy," said Gregory M. Shaver, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue University. >> Read the Full Article
Nissan's New Models to Feature Fuel Efficiency Gauge
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., announced today that all future new models will be equipped with a fuel efficiency gauge to give drivers more information on how their driving style directly relates to fuel economy. >> Read the Full Article