Rivers flowing into the sea offer vast potential as carbon-free energy source

A new genre of electric power-generating stations could supply electricity for more than a half billion people by tapping just one-tenth of the global potential of a little-known energy source that exists where rivers flow into the ocean, a new analysis has concluded. A report on the process, which requires no fuel, is sustainable and releases no carbon dioxide - the main greenhouse gas, appears in ACS’ journal Environmental Science & Technology.Menachem Elimelech and Ngai Yin Yip of Yale University explain that the little-known process, called pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO), exploits the so-called salinity gradient or difference in saltiness between freshwater and seawater.In PRO, freshwater flows naturally by osmosis through a special membrane to dilute seawater on the other side. The pressure from the flow spins a turbine generator and produces electricity. 

How Can we Separate Man Made Greenhouse Gases from Those Naturally Occurring?

A research team has developed a new monitoring system to analyze and compare emissions from man-made fossil fuels and trace gases in the atmosphere, a technique that likely could be used to monitor the effectiveness of measures regulating greenhouse gases. The University of Colorado Boulder-led team looked at atmospheric gas measurements taken every two weeks from aircraft over a six-year period over the northeast United States to collect samples of CO₂ and other environmentally important gases.Their method allowed them to separate CO₂ derived from fossil fuels from CO₂ being emitted by biological sources like plant respiration, said CU-Boulder Senior Research Associate Scott Lehman, who led the study with CU-Boulder Research Associate John Miller.The separation was made possible by the fact that CO₂ released from the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas has no carbon-14, since the half-life of that carbon radio isotope is about 5,700 years - far less than the age of fossil fuels, which are millions of years old.

Big Solar

Solar power tends to be big because it covers  a large amount of area with its panels.  The world’s largest solar thermal power plant  is nearly double the size of the original largest in Denmark — is now online in Saudi Arabia, reinforcing the notion that this  Saudi Arabia has a lot of oil and a lot of sunlight.   As long as the sun shines this sort of power is virtually limitless.    Plentiful sun shines down on Saudi Arabia, and the panels that allow this project to run are massive. Each one covers 107 square feet  and weighs 375 pounds . The panels have a transparent coating to enhance their performance, and they also require a special mounting system to keep them bolted to the roofs when Saudi Arabia’s notoriously vicious sandstorms hit Riyadh.  These panels have a 95% absorption rate and weigh 170kg. They are 10 square meters wide by 5 square meters long and are especially designed to withstand the desert’s fierce sandstorms.

Allowing More Salmon to Spawn Creates a Win-Win for Humans and Ecosystems

Salmon spend most of their lives in the ocean, but return to their birthplaces in freshwater streams to spawn the next generation. These annual migrations up and down the inland rivers are well known and play a significant role in the ecosystem, particularly in the Pacific Northwest. However, there is a concern that humans are harvesting too many salmon, not allowing enough to return upstream to reproduce. This leaves little for the species which depend on the salmon runs such as grizzly bears. A new research study suggests that more Pacific salmon should be allowed to spawn in coastal streams, which would create a win-win for humans and the natural environment. The study was conducted by researchers from University of California (UC) Santa Cruz and Canada. Lead author, Taal Levi, notes that salmon fisheries are generally well managed. Those in charge determine how many salmon to allocate to spawning and how many to harvest. The concern is that the proportion of spawning to harvest is skewed and needs to be rebalanced for sustainability.

New National Park provides hope for world’s rarest wild cat

With fewer than 50 individuals remaining in the wild, the Amur leopard is thought to be the world's rarest wild cat, and the creation of a new protected area in Russia is an important step towards the conservation of this highly threatened species. Situated in Primorsky Province in Russia’s Far East, the 262,000 hectare Land of the Leopard National Park covers 60% of all remaining Amur leopard habitat and encompasses all known breeding grounds for this species. The establishment of Land of the Leopard National Park is certainly a positive step forwards, but care must be taken to ensure that preservation measures across the entire area are put into place to protect the health of the leopard habitat. Several military facilities are located within the Leopardoviy refuge, and poor forest management can aggravate the problem of forest fires in the area. Last month, almost 1,500 hectares of leopard habitat was destroyed as a result of a fire.

Climate Change Effects on Long Term Plant Growth in Arizona

Climate change around the world is not predicted to be uniform. Most places will get warmer, some will get more rain and others will get less. For areas of Arizona, warmer temperatures are expected to provide a boost in plant growth caused by a longer growing season and more carbon dioxide in the air. However, a new study from Northern Arizona University suggests the contrary. Warming temperatures will cause an initial boost in plant growth, but will quickly diminish over the years. This may lead to significant deterioration in future plant growth. Ecologists who took part in the study, subjected four grassland ecosystems to simulated climate change during the 10 year study. The first year witnessed a boost in plant growth, followed by nine years of progressively diminished plant growth until growth actually disappeared. A key finding was the role that the nitrogen cycle played. The warmer climates caused the nitrogen to cycle more quickly. Much of the nitrogen, rather than being available for plants, was washed away by rainfall, or converted to nitrogen gas and released into the atmosphere.

London to ban old black cabs!

London's taxi regulators are to withdraw 2,600 ageing black cabs in an attempt to reduce air pollution in the capital. No black cab over 15-years-old will be licensed by the Taxi and Private Hire Office — taking off the road 2,600 taxis this year. Now Mercedes-Benz has launched an initiative to help London cabbies keep the city moving and at the same time delivering cleaner air. Following discussions between Transport for London and Mercedes-Benz the new scheme will see cab drivers offered a £1,500 discount off the purchase price of a new low-emission Vito Euro 5 taxi in exchange for the driver agreeing to carry Mercedes-Benz advertising for 18 months.