While the idea of getting electricity from the sun holds bright promise for many, one of the great challenges has been coming up with a low-cost, lightweight solar cell made of plastic that could absorb both visible and infrared rays.  With current polymers only capturing visible light, they convert only 6 percent of the sun's energy into electrical power.  But according to Science News, researchers at the University of Toronto have come up with a new polymer made with semiconducting nanoparticles that can achieve efficiency up to an amazing 30 percent. With the material also holding promise for making [...]

  Home to giant sea tortoises, marine iguanas, and flamingoes, the Galapagos Islands are one the most unique ecosystems on  planet Earth.  Sadly, however, recent trends are making efforts to conserve this natural treasure a difficult challenge.  This according to the Environmental News Network, which reports how wildlife experts are becoming worried about how Equador, which has historically been supportive of conservation, has released more than half of its 226 park staff and has suspended much training.  Only one patrol boat now provides monitoring, and with increasing pressures from fishing interests that want to exploit the islands’ rich marine [...]

  You’ve heard about how soybeans and corn can be used to make fuel for our cars, but how about algae?  Well believe it or not, this oft overlooked sea plant may be an answer to the puzzling question of how to create enough biofuel to run our cars without creating food shortages from using edible crops.  According to C/Net news, a firm called PetroAlgae is developing bioreactors and harvesting methods to grow algae on a large scale.  This process will not only convert the weedy sea plant into biofuel, but can also help reduce carbon emissions as algae [...]

Is the University of Wisconsin discriminating against conservative groups on its campus?  Well that is the assertion of Bill Gilles of the Collegians For A Constructive Tomorrow whose 700 member campus group was recently denied eligibility to receive student funding and has subsequently filed a lawsuit against the university.  Comments Gilles: “Our organization, which is conservative, was recently denied eligibility to receive student funding despite strong student support and boasting the second largest membership on campus.  Other liberal groups which do not have as many members were given immediate recognition.  The university’s bias is so transparent that we expect [...]

As any environmentalist will surely tell you, trees are a precious resource. So you can imagine the horror when some activists in Poland discovered a neatly stacked pile of freshly cut logs in the woods, an action they considered a wanton destruction of nature.  Their dismay, in fact, led them to call the police and frantically report what seemed to be illegal logging activity. Upon their arrival, police found a small trail left by felled timbers that had been removed from the site.  When followed, the trail led directly to the culprits involved – which in this case happened [...]

Could current cap and trade legislation, designed to addresses global warming, actually impact the ability of Americans to afford health insurance?  Well according to David Ridenour of the National Center for Public Policy Research, the answer is yes, and he has this to say: “Our analysis reveals that for every one percentage point increase in unemployment, over 1 million Americans lose their health insurance coverage.  With cap and trade projected to cost an average of 1.15 million jobs annually between 2012 and 2030, this could translate into tens of millions of Americans losing their health insurance coverage. The best [...]

Every few years, it seems like some environmental prognosticator warns that we will soon run out of oil.  But according to an article in the New York Times by Michael Lynch, concerns about so-called “peak oil” are a few quarts short of a full dipstick.  He notes that the estimated size of new oil fields is almost always revised upward as more pockets of oil are found, and new technologies make it possible to extract oil that was previously unreachable.  Since he notes that geologists believe there are now 10 trillion barrels of oil out there, with some 35 [...]

There's often the perception that more globalization and free trade will mean more pollution and more exploited workers.  But according to a fascinating article by Pete Geddes of the Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment, removing trade barriers is actually the quickest way to both boost living standards, and improve environmental quality.  In Mexico City, for instance, the air today is cleaner than that of Los Angeles 30 years ago due to economic progress and a more open political system.  And in the Pacific region of Asia, the number of people living on less than a dollar [...]

Have you ever been annoyed by, or maybe even tripped over, cracked uneven sidewalks caused by tree roots gone wild?  Now instead of destroying the trees responsible for the damage, rubber sidewalks are saving them by slowing the growth of their roots.  According to cleantechnica.com, rubber sidewalks are now being walked on in nearly one hundred cities as an environmentally friendly technology to both preserve trees and reduce stormwater run off.  For those worried about global warming, these rubberwalks also cut down on greenhouse gas emissions since rubber would replace concrete construction with recycled tires and plastic. So next [...]

While much has been made of those who have a financial stake in defeating cap and trade global warming policy, little attention has been focused on those who stand to profit if this energy tax is passed into law.  But Canada’s National Post did take a look at one noteworthy person, Al Gore, and found he stands to profit handsomely from the very policies he is now advocating.  When Gore left office as Vice President he had little to show beyond his salary of $175,000 a year.  But he has since earned a handsome $100 million pursuing the climate [...]

When you think of E coli, you probably think of a deadly bacteria that can cause sickness.  But if some researchers at UCLA have their way, E coli might soon be used to power everything from automobiles to airplanes.  According to the Environmental News Network, scientists at UCLA have created a strain of E coli that contains five carbon atoms per molecule  – as opposed to the typical two or three.  What this means is, because the newly manufactured strains have longer chain molecules, they can create a fuel that is three times more efficient than ethanol, and might [...]

  Is the public receiving a balanced perspective on the issue of global warming?  Well according to a recent study produced by the Business and Media Institute, the answer is a resounding “No” – as their study revealed the major networks granted little coverage to scientists who are skeptical of human induced climate change.  Comments study co-author, Julia Seymour: “The Business & Media Institute looked at six months of network news and found 80 percent of stories only gave one side of the climate debate. Global warming proponents outnumbered those with dissenting opinions nearly 13 to one. On CBS, [...]

What can you do to stop a bunch of soft-bodied, leaf eating bugs that are munching their way through your bushes and shrubs?  While one answer might be to treat them to some chemical pesticides, another might be to call in a winged crusader to save the day – namely a ladybug.  Yes, believe it or not, a firm called Planet Natural now offers consumers the option of purchasing ladybugs to counter pest infestations, and the results have been remarkable.  Typically, one ladybug can patrol a 19-inch square area eating up to 50 pests in a single day.  The [...]

  Enjoying a good meal with fresh bread and pasta is something most of us enjoy, and it could become a bit more healthy now that scientists have recently cloned a gene from wild wheat they say can boost the nutritional value of these foods significantly.  This according to the Planet Ark website, which reports that researchers at the University of California, Davis and the University of Haifa in Israel have cloned a gene, which increases the protein, zinc and iron content of wheat by some fifteen percent in some varieties.  With grain providing about 20 percent of all [...]