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21st Century Green Tech

• 1. Climate Change is Creating More Space Junk

• 2. Solar Car Race Is Underway

• 3. Sweden Now Using More Biofuel Than Oil

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Climate Change is Creating More Space Junk  

2010-06-25 19:39

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There are lots of consequences of a warming world, a lot of them easy to infer and understand (i.e. melting glaciers), but some consequences have come to light that weren't so expected, like a reduction in crop nutritional value and, now, an increase in space junk orbiting the earth.

Scientists at the University of Southampton have studied the orbits of 30 satellites over the past 40 years and discovered that they're taking longer to drop out of orbit and burn up.  The scientists think that increased CO2 in the upper atmosphere is causing it to cool and become less dense, slowing the braking effect and allowing satellites and spent rockets to circle for longer.

The researchers measured a five percent reduction in density every decade at an altitude or 300 kilometers, leading to an increase in orbit time of up to 25 percent.

More space junk does pose a danger for spacecraft launches and will require more debris removal by space agencies, but with the scaling back of our nation's space program and bigger problems down here on the ground, it's not likely to become a major issue.

via New Scientist

 

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Solar Car Race Is Underway  

2010-06-25 19:09

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The Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize competition isn't the only competition of green vehicles going on right now. The American Solar Challenge is also underway, with the teams racing solar powered cars from Oklahoma to Illinois over 7 days of competition. This year is the 20th anniversary of the competition, which began with the first Sunrayce in 1990. Seventeen teams from universities in the US, Canada, Germany, and Taiwan are racing the 1200 mile (1931 km) course which is due to finish in Naperville, Illinois on Saturday.

Though these are still very limited, specialized vehicles, the performance that the teams have been able to get from these vehicles is impressive. Some of the vehicles taking part in the competition have tested at over 100 mph (161 kph), although they are limited to 65 mph (105 kph) during the race.

Solar cars are testbeds for aerodynamic efficiency and lightweight construction, as well as for solar cells, batteries, and electric motors. While a commercial solar car isn't coming anytime soon, the engineering developments from these events do help to promote the improvement of transportaion efficiency.

Link: American Solar Challenge

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Sweden Now Using More Biofuel Than Oil  

2010-06-25 18:01

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There's more news on the sustainable and renewable energy front in Europe. Not only is wind power nearly on par with natural gas in Europe, but in Sweden now, biomass has passed oil as the top source for energy generation. The most recent figures indicate that biomass energy production reached 115 terrawatt hours in 2009, representing 32% of all energy consumption. At the same time, oil-based fuels were used to produce 112 TWh.  Biofuel use is expected to increase, while fossil fuel use should further decline in the coming years.

Biofueled combined heat and power (CHP) plants generate heat for more than half of the multifamily dwelling units in Sweden, as well as producing electricity. Sweden has a goal to have renewable energy reach 50% of all energy consumed in the country by 2020 and to be independent from imported fossil fuel for all transportation by 2030.

Wood is the source for the vast majority of the fuel used. However, the increased use of wood for energy has led to higher prices for other products requiring logs and paper pulp.

via: EERE Program News

Photo courtesy of: Mattias Hedström, wikipedia commons

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