10. Make Paper Obsolete

A new kind of paper – instantly reusable. It is called electronic paper and looks and feels like real paper when really it is made up of tiny electric charges on steel foil, creating an image according to an applied charge.

9. Bury the Bad Stuff

Scientists are suggesting separation of carbon dioxide from the other gases that enter the atmosphere and injecting it into the ground. Why CO2? Because it is the biggest gas contributing to global warming. But the long-term effects of injecting CO2 into the ground have yet to be determined.

8. Let Plants and Microbes Clean Up After Us

This process – using microbes and plants clean up contamination – is called Bioremediation. Scientists are trying to genetically modify plants to take up the contaminants; in most cases recently, bioremediation is used and is also practiced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to clean up sites.

7. Plant Your Roof

Currently being tested at Penn State is the idea of garden roofs. Stated advantages of growing a garden as a roof include the reduction of carbon dioxide, absorption of storm water, summer heat reduction and thus less usage of air conditioning.

6. Harness Waves and Tides

Tide-powered turbines; wave energy conducted into electric power – New York City’s East River is currently the test site for such ambitions. It has six wave-powered turbines and is expected to produce enough power for more than 1,500 homes.

5. Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion

Although it still cannot be used as a major mechanism for generating power, it is well on its way. OTEC is able to convert the temperature difference (thermal energy) contained in the oceans and turn it into electricity. The ocean masses of our Earth are the biggest absorbers of solar energy and many are working to use this to our advantage.

4. Sunny New Ideas

New initiatives are being taken in order to harness the sun’s energy for use of electricity or heat. Incentives are given by governments in order to aggressively pursue new technologies; the use of mirrors and parabolic dishes are among these new forms of solar technology.

3. The ‘H’ Power

The use of hydrogen fuel cells to generate electricity is considered somewhat “clean” because it does not emit as much as fossil fuels does when generating power.  With the use of hydrogen, some companies are making small electronic devices such as laptops. Some car companies have stated that they want to produce hydrogen-fueled cars, but experts often scrutinize this.

2. Remove the Salt

Desalination is expensive and consumes a lot of energy, which is why with the threat of water shortages becoming more common around the world; scientists are looking foe cheaper, more efficient ways to convert salt water to drinkable water for the masses.

1. Make Oil From Just About Anything

A process called thermo-depolymerization can convert things like turkey guts, tires or any other carbon-based waste to oil. This process is similar to the natural process which takes place over millions of years but is successful with the combination of sufficient heat and pressure. A ton of turkey guts equals 600 pound of petroleum, some proponents of this process claim.

The slogan of this Web site is “Making renewable do-able.” Couple that with the bright, inviting colors, altE has an inviting tone not only for its goal of helping the environment but also for its visitors and customers.

At altE, there is a store, a university and an online community. The main focus across the three platforms is renewable energy and how to spread the word about those who have incorporated themselves into the renewable energy lifestyle.

The main sources of renewable energy are wind, solar, water and heat. On altE’s homepage products are for sale, including solar panels and wind systems, which cater to these sources and like to display the customer feedback on these products as well. But one does not have to be a customer of the altE store to share a story about living the renewable energy life.

The site also offers an online university that educates visitors about how to live the renewable energy lifestyle through installation and education. They offer online videos, how-to manuals (how to install solar panels into your home, for example) and classes in Ohio and Massachusetts. Renewable energy technology is making a huge difference in the lives of many countries, so education is essential. Because of this, altE caters to such needs of individuals seeking to learn about the technology and/or install it.

The altE community is where visitor stories come into play. Those who have been educated on the technology of renewable energy have the opportunity to share their success stories about the application of their education into their personal lives or work. There are forums, blogs, and a customer gallery. The blogs also help with spreading the word about renewable energy and the success many have found within it.

Many in the energy industry should enjoy altE’s Web site. Renewable energy efficiency is on the rise as many countries around the world are beginning to set their sights on making this a primary source of energy. If an individual is not in the technology industry by profession, but is interested in what renewable energy may have to offer for his or her life and lifestyle, then altE’s site would be a great place to begin this education.

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The Emerging Technology Conference occurs annually at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. At this conference, critical technological innovations from across the spectrum are presented, and groundbreaking workshops display the most recent and advanced breakthroughs in industry, allowing attendees to experience these technologies before they have been unveiled elsewhere. In 2009, the conference will span three days, from September 22nd to the 24th. During this time, a series of keynote speakers will lead groundbreaking presentations and lectures over the most critical developments in industries like computing, communications, biotech, energy, and the Web.

 The recently announced keynote speakers for 2009 include Victoria Hale, founder of the Institute for OneWorld Health, and Robert S. Langer, institute professor at MIT. He was also named one of the 100 most important people in America in 2001 by CNN, and is the most cited engineer in history. He is the recipient of more than 170 major awards, including the 2006 United States National Medal of Science. Other keynote presenters include Bill Moggridge, CEO of IDEO, Kenneth Morse, managing director of the MIT entrepreneurship center, Wim Sweldens, vice president of Alcatel-Lucent Ventures, and Ben Verwaayen, CEO of Alcatel-Lucent.

In addition to the presentations by the keynote speakers,  a variety of workshops will be offered. This year, one of the highlighted workshops is “Lab to Market,” which is designed for individuals who desire to successfully enter the marketplace in today’s difficult economic climate. This workshop explores the technological innovations that can aid in this procedure, and it is relevant for all workers from entrepreneurs to employees of well established companies. Perhaps one of the most helpful features of this workshop is that it is filled with success strategies that are specifically applicable to the current economy.

Along with the cutting-edge workshops, displays of new technological innovations, and exciting key-note presentations, Technology Review also annually recognizes the top thirty-five innovators under the age of thirty-five, an honor which is both highly revered and sought after in the technological industry. The winners are selected from a pool of over three hundred men and women who are groundbreakers in their individual fields. Past winners include thirty-two year old J.B. Straubel, inventor of the electric sports car, thirty-four year old Aimee Rose, inventor of a portable, ultra sensitive explosive detector, thirty-two year old Farinaz Koushanfar, inventor of a locking microchip to prevent piracy, and thirty-one year old Jack Dorsey, inventor of Twitter.

In addition to viewing the latest and most innovative developments in their fields, attendees of the Emerging Technology conference also have the exclusive opportunity to network with hundreds of senior-level developers. Each year, the conference draws major innovators and leaders in business and technology, including CEOs, CTOs, CIOs, policy leaders, entrepreneurs, venture investors, and more. In years past, senior-level representatives and top decision makers have been sent from companies such as Adobe Systems, Bank of America, Amazon Web Services, IBM, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, ESPN, JPMorgan Investment Management, Samsung, Toyota, and the United States Senate.

The Emerging Technology conference is clearly not an event to be missed if one wishes to gain a competitive edge. Groundbreaking technology is revealed, timely workshops are offered, and networking opportunities abound. These experiences provide not only a broad scope of knowledge about the current possibilities, but also furnish insight to the future, trends on the horizon.

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“Green Energy” Technical Education in Texas is a PowerPoint presentation providing crucial information for educators and students to make them aware of the importance of sustainable and renewable energy and the professional career opportunities it offers. It contains overviews of the Texas Renewable Energy Education Consortium (TREEC), the Texas Wind Energy Institute (TWEI), and the Nuclear Power Institute (NPI). These groups offer courses that make students aware of opportunities to become involved in the renewable energy market, a field of study that technical colleges like Texas State Technical College (TSTC) are integrating into their curriculum.

Michael Bettersworth, TSTC Associate Vice Chancellor of Technology Advancement, author of “Green Energy” Technical Education in Texas, acknowledges the growing importance of renewable and sustainable energy in the Texas energy field, and emphasizes the significance of communicating this importance to students through offering courses and integrating this curriculum into existing courses.

The TREEC, the TWEI, and the NPI are dedicated to investigating, developing and promoting curriculum for college students. They provide courses and curriculum for post-secondary education institutions like Texas Tech University, Texas A&M University, University of North Texas, Austin Community College, Houston Community College and others, in addition to TSTC. By educating students in the importance renewable energy, as well as careers available in these areas, Texas will have a generation of professionals that prioritize green technology, eventually making Texas an innovation leader in the United States.

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MRINetwork is hired by businesses to find and recruit people who have the talent and skills that fit respective mid-level managerial or executive positions. Katharine Robinson, an employee of EcoSearch, a part of MRINetwork, uses the Internet “to hunt people down and find them incredible [green] job opportunities they might not otherwise know about.” This requires that Robinson be aware of how the Internet is functioning most effectively and how she can best use it to help EcoSearch serve their clients.

EcoSearch has taken the MRINetwork business model and focuses on the fields of renewable energy, clean technology and carbon management, searching out candidates that meet expectations and show the potential to thrive. Robinson describes EcoSearch as the “specialist headhunters in the clean technology and renewable energy industry, working on a global basis to source executives, professionals and technical experts with hard to find skills.” Though MRINetwork has been around for more than forty years, EcoSearch began in 2001 when environment-centered companies became large enough to need the same talent as any other industry.

Robinson’s job is finding assignments, monitoring industry intelligence, advertising jobs online and promoting EcoSearch’s Web site. She also leverages social media tools, such as the blog she created for EcoSearch, to increase the size of the company’s network in the “Clean Tech” space. This involves maintaining profiles at Internet hotspots like Facebook and Twitter in order to keep the company current and competitive. Robinson and EcoSearch realize the importance of being a part of the progressive Internet community: “Cloud computing and Web 2.0 are things we like to feel we are ahead of the curve on. I am massively passionate about Web 2.0 and its user-generated content.” By creating a presence for EcoSearch in all corners of the Internet, the company’s current resources are expected to become even more productive.

Robinson is not only well-versed in what is effective on the Internet, but also in how the environmental market and environmental technology systems work. She says that her education prepared her for the areas she has to be familiar with in order to understand her current job. She graduated from Reading University with a degree in physics and mathematics and later held a job that gave her the opportunity to develop IT as well as management skills. On being able to apply these subjects to her current job, she says, “I think my education gave me a very logical mind and a comfort with computers that has been invaluable. I also have enough basic knowledge of physics to understand the principles surrounding energy generation.”

Robinson is eager to see where Web 2.0 is headed in the future. She says, “When I got excited about the World Wide Web back in the mid nineties, I didn’t really understand why it was so exciting. Now I am beginning to realise that this is what I could see: every person having a voice and a potential audience of everyone else…should they be interesting enough.”

It makes sense that MRINetwork would be interested in using the Internet for publicity and as a tool for expanding their clientele and serving current clients, as their Web site states, “This ability to reinvent itself is the chief reason that MRINetwork continues to thrive and grow when many companies that tried to imitate its success have failed.” Robinson’s job, essentially managing Internet relations, is a relatively new position in companies like EcoSearch, but is making an impact in a new age of advertising and communications.

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The power of wind has been used for many years – but the art form of technology is still developing.

Keith Plantier, program director for the Texas Wind Energy Institute, a partnership with TSTC and Texas Tech University, thinks the wind holds endless possibilities.

“I have been a strong advocate of renewable energy since I was in nuclear power program for the US Navy,” Plantier said. “I had wondered what it took to get into the field. I started checking on programs and found TSTC.”

The major wind energy industry of recent times has taken off in many countries, including the United States, to be one of the main renewable energy resources. The United States is ranked 2^nd in the world for Installed windpower capacity. Germany takes 1^st, and Spain is 3^rd.

Plantier, who gained initial experience with technology in the Navy as a nuclear mechanic on submarines, received his Associates degree in Nuclear Energy from Thomas Edison State College during his time in the Navy. Following his discharge from the Navy, Plantier received his Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Texas Tech University.

“The experience alone was worth its weight in gold,” Plantier said of his education as a grad student.

“I think that my education provided me an opportunity to recognize that there is a bigger picture as far as being an engineer,” he said. “I had the advantage of being on the other side of the coin as an operator and now I have an opportunity to leverage that knowledge and incorporate it into my designs.”

Thus, the wind energy industry in its earliest stages as more technology develops is in an exciting time for Plantier and his vision of being a part of a foundation and technology dependence from within.

“I think wind, as part of a diverse portfolio, is the key to the future,” said Plantier. “We have an abundance of resources that are friendlier to the climate than oil, and the more we leverage within our own boundaries, the smaller the check we have to cut to the foreign countries to pay for our dependence on oil.”

“We just have to be smart about it.”

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Math and science are essential in robotics, respectively. Cliff Zintgraff, CEO and founder of
Da Vinci Minds – an educational group focused on engaged learning for students – believes there is more to robotics than numbers and theories.

Zintgraff founded Da Vinci Minds in 2008 with a purpose of “building a capacity for innovation in schools and regions and for emerging companies.”

The small company is based in San Antonio, Texas, and is among the many projects Zintgraff actively works on in the quest for binding technology and education together.

“We cannot separate academics from hands-on stuff,” he said. Da Vinci Minds is especially passionate about teaching and engaging students in fields centered on technology.

Of course, Zintgraff has a qualified background for the part. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science in 1985 from Trinity University and has also earned a Master of Science in Technology Commercialization in 2006 from the University of Texas, Austin. He said that his background in software startups is what helped when he first ventured to start a company such as Da Vinci Minds and the Information and Technology Security Academy, of which he was a co-founder.

“We want to engage middle school and high school students, and we have this challenge to educate more students in math and science,” Zintgraff said. “We urgently need to increase our ability to train students in these.”

Elaborating on robotics utilizing more than just math and science in robotics, Zintgraff is adamant with his statement: “Robotics uniquely addresses a wide range of priority concerns in our educational system: mechanics, electronics, software, discipline integration, teamwork and critical thinking skills.”

Zintgraff went on to explain the dynamics of teaching young students such as middle school and high school participants and how to actively and creatively engage them with learning from and with technology.

“This is an amazing tool to engage students in math and science. It keeps them interested and willing to be educated,” Zintgraff said. “Robots have a special capability to engage and educate students because it utilizes critical thinking skills.”

Zintgraff also said that students, at some point, are required to make a robot work. This engaged learning approach came from Dean Kamen, the founder of FIRST, or For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, in 1989, which is geared towards high school students and provides high schools around the United States with tools for engineering. Zintgraff said that Kamen’s work with robotics and education gives a great insight to the field.

Ultimately, technology and education will be fused together and schools will have to stay up with the demand for such a fusion; Zintgraff’s company is what can help with this inevitable transition.

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Food Insecurity in Africa can be solved with Biotechnology, some Believe

via NABDA – A report made by Bamidele Solomon of National BioTechnology Development Agency affirmed that the NABDA supports the use of biotechnology to yield crops in developing countries and/or countires with food insecurities like Nigeria in en effort to rise above food poverty. He emphasized the use of strategy and training to make biotechnology effective and efficient.

Read full article here.

Food security and Developing Countries

via Journal on Science and World Affairs.

Magdelena Kropiwnicka’s essay on the agricultural uses of BioTechnology in developing countries reveals both praises and criticisms for the emerging technology on a global, legal, “exacerberate social, economic, and environmental” scale. Examination of the history and Intellectual Property rights are also commenced in the essay, giving readers a very broad insight to BioTechnology’s many avenues and possibilities for success, or downfall.

Read full article and link to full Essay here.

India sees promise in BioTechnology

via RNCOS.

The technology that is deemed “bioagriculture” in India is fast-growing in the world’s second-largest producer of food. Products such as cotton have proven to be a success, both monetarily and production-wise, while other “transgenic plants” products such as corn, cabbage, rice, brassica and others are currently under trials and testing. A report, Booming Biotech Market in India, gives an insight to the industry of biotechnology and the advantages it can offer to India.

Read full article here.

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]]> http://technologybriefs.wordpress.com/2008/10/21/developing-countries-and-biotechnology-a-good-match/feed/ 0 mcmadrilena biotechnology2 Add to Facebook Add to Digg Add to Del.icio.us Add to Stumbleupon Add to Reddit Add to Blinklist Add to Ma.gnolia Add to Technorati Add to Furl Add to Newsvine http://technologybriefs.wordpress.com/2008/10/10/ethanol-arises-as-a-top-interest-for-many/ http://technologybriefs.wordpress.com/2008/10/10/ethanol-arises-as-a-top-interest-for-many/#comments Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:10:43 +0000 mcmadrilena http://technologybriefs.wordpress.com/?p=100 ]]>

US Chamber of Commerce cautions ethanol imports, tariffs

Dow Jones Newswire: The tariffs placed on ethanol imports to the United States need to be reconsidered a the goal of international free-trade of biofuels surfaces, according to a report issued by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. This topic of free-trade streams towards the Chamber’s distant agenda, but is still a concern. Another concern with ethanol stated in the report is the tax credit that comes with the use of ethanol to blend with gasoline; the Chamber said that the tax credits are “disjointed and inconsistent.”

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New Biofuel: cellulosic ethanol, plant to open in Colorado

DenverPost.com: In an effort to further propel cellulosic ethanol into commercial production, an $80 million plant is to be built in Grand Junction, Colorado. The companies backing this plant, Suncor Energy and Lignol Energry, are from Canada and have joined together to create this new, commercial-scale plant. A government grant of $30 million also helps with the funding of the plant.

Read full article here.

Ethanol plant in Ohio opens, results still in process

via Blog article by laurakathleen of WordPress.com: The facts about ethanol as a biofuel are revealed and how the ethanol plants, economies of ethanol and production of ethanol are beneficial. Common mis-givings of ethanol are adressed, giving the reader insight to this biofuel and the thoughts of many who are affected by it.

Read full article here.

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Via Biomass Magazine:

Approximately 120 agricultural researchers, economists, and industry professionals attended the Northern Plains Biomass Economy conference in Fargo, N.D., on Sept. 29 to discuss the incentives that are in place for developing a cellulosic ethanol industry in the United States and how biomass-producing states can take advantage of those incentives.

Read the full article here.

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