Latest Articles

How to make a 100 percent energy-independent island

The Danish island of Samsoe is 100 percent energy self-sufficient, and even generates enough energy to export some back to the mainland. How’d they manage that? Well, it doesn’t hurt that there are only 4,000 people living on Samsoe, but the place is also bristling with turbines and sports a solar plant and three biomass […]

Poop-fueled batteries could clean water while generating energy

If there's one thing humans can apparently generate an endless supply of, it's shit. So why not use that to produce things we need but don't have enough of, like clean water and energy? Environmental engineer Bruce Logan is developing fuel cells that may be able to do that, cleaning wastewater while generating and storing energy.

Number of electrified vehicles to increase 4,500 percent in six years

By 2017, there will be 5.2 million plug in hybrid and all-electric vehicles on the road worldwide, says Pike Research. Add in 8.7 million hybrid vehicles, and the total population of electrified autos in the world is set to increase 46-fold from the measly 114,000 that currently ply our roads. Despite this explosive growth, that […]

Taste of things to come: Texas drought to shut down power plants

Hey, you know what's wild about Texas turning into a gigantic desert thanks to climate change? I mean besides the fact that this makes it basically Kuwait-on-the-Rio-Grande? Many of the state's power plants, which rely on fresh water to produce electricity, could be shut down by the lack of water.

Russia to build $100 billion rail tunnel connecting Alaska and Siberia

Ever since Tsar Nicholas II, Russians have dreamed of connecting Siberia to North America via a rail tunnel. Now, apparently, the Kremlin has green-lighted the connection, which would be the world's longest, and twice as long as the England-to-France "Chunnel."

The trucks of the future will have skirts, tails, and fins

This month, the White House announced the first-ever fuel efficiency standards for heavy trucks — heavy pick-ups, work vans and trucks (think the Frito-Lay delivery guy), and tractor-trailers. The people who make these behemoths have never had to think about fuel economy before, but now they do. And there's lots of room for improvement.

Fox News accidentally acknowledges the facts on global warming

Earthquake, hurricane, Fox acknowledging the existence of climate change: This is definitely the End Times.

Fox & Friends -- you know, the same show where people were just freaking about SpongeBob SquarePants indoctrinating children to be global warming zealots -- have acknowledged that when Jon Huntsman says that climate change exists, the facts are on his side.

Sandstorms of coal ash blanket Moapa River reservation

The Moapa River Indian Reservation is right next to the Reid Gardner Power Station and its coal ash storage ponds. Winds blow the coal ash -- a waste product that contains arsenic, lead, and mercury -- over the reservation. Residents stay indoors, because it's a like a sandstorm and they can taste the ash in their months. Even so, they have health issues like asthma and thyroid dysfunction, conditions that have been linked to coal ash.

Critical List: Hurricane Irene headed for East Coast; EPA totally creates jobs

East Coasters may not know what do in an earthquake, but a hurricane's coming, too. That, we know about.

The Obama administration is looking into "leasing" nuclear fuel from other countries, which would let American plants use the uranium, then return it for disposal once the fuel is spent. It’s like a bottle-return program, but with much higher stakes.

Chinese consumers want cars, not those namby pamby EVs. 

Dust bowls, water shortages, and toxins drive people from their homes

Droves of climate refugees across the world are on the move in search of greener and cleaner pastures.