The new composition for fluorine-containing electrolytes promises to maintain high battery charging performance for future electric vehicles even at sub-zero temperatures. (Image by Shutterstock.) Topics: Battery, Chemistry, Climate Change, Global Warming, Lithium, Materials Science Scientists developed a new and safer electrolyte for lithium-ion batteries that work as well in sub-zero conditions as it does atContinue reading “A Charge For All Seasons…”
Category Archives: Global Warming
Green Transition…
Photo: Getty Images Topics: Battery, Chemistry, Climate Change, Economics, Global Warming Welcome back to The Green Era, a weekly newsletter bringing you the news and trends in the world of sustainability. Click subscribe above to be notified of future editions. The shift to renewable energy has caused consternation over the fate of workers in theContinue reading “Green Transition…”
Innocence…
Topics: African Americans, Civics, Civil Rights, Civilization, Climate Change, Democracy, Diversity in Science, Environment, Existentialism, Fascism, Global Warming, Human Rights Trauma at 55 © April 3, 2023, the Griot Poet Graduation day. No child smiling because we Lost Martin Thursday. April is National Poetry Month. This photo of five-year-old me inspired my haiku about myContinue reading “Innocence…”
Zombie CFCs…
Researchers detected a surprising rise in levels of chlorofluorocarbons between 2010 and 2020 using a monitoring network that includes the Jungfraujoch research station in Switzerland. Credit: Shutterstock Topics: Chemistry, Civilization, Climate Change, Environment, Global Warming From my resume: “I eliminated ozone-depleting materials using Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and Taguchi Methods of Quality EngineeringContinue reading “Zombie CFCs…”
Small Steps, Large Changes…
A vertical shock tube at Los Alamos National Laboratory is used for turbulence studies. Sulfur hexafluoride is injected at the top of the 5.3-meter tube and allowed to mix with air. The waste is ejected into the environment through the blue hose at the tube tower’s lower left; in the fiscal year 2021, such emissions madeContinue reading “Small Steps, Large Changes…”
Caveat Emptor…
Topics: Alternate Energy, Applied Physics, Climate Change, Energy, Global Warming, Lasers, Nuclear Fusion After the heady, breathtaking coverage of pop science journalism, I dove into the grim world inhabited by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists on their take on the first-ever fusion reaction. I can say that I wasn’t surprised. With all this publicity,Continue reading “Caveat Emptor…”
Himalayas…
Topics: Civilization, Climate Change, Environment, Existentialism, Global Warming Everything about Earth and the organization of human civilization is about the control of resources. We’ve come up with arbitrary “rules” about who is worthy of those resources, and how much they can horde, or obtain. Pharaohs, priests, secret societies, and guilds all have “knowledge” they jealouslyContinue reading “Himalayas…”
Solid-State Cooling…
Topics: Global Warming, Green Tech, Materials Science, Solid-State Physics, Thermodynamics Researchers in China have shown that applying strain to a composite material using an electric field induces a large and reversible caloric effect. This novel way of enhancing the caloric effect without a magnetic field could open new avenues of solid-state cooling and lead toContinue reading “Solid-State Cooling…”
Thanks to Joe Manchin…
Topics: Civilization, Environment, Existentialism, Global Warming Four more people died that night. In the morning the sun again rose like the blazing furnace of heat it was, blasting the rooftop and its sad cargo of wrapped bodies. Every rooftop and, looking down at the town, every sidewalk was now a morgue. The town was aContinue reading “Thanks to Joe Manchin…”
Caveat Colonizing…
Topics: Astronautics, Climate Change, Environment, Futurism, Global Warming, Mars, Spaceflight When Elon Musk founded SpaceX in 2002, he envisioned a greenhouse on Mars, not unlike the one later depicted in the 2015 blockbuster The Martian. Soon, his fantasy grew from a small-scale botanical experiment into a vision for a self-sustaining Martian city. In a speech at theContinue reading “Caveat Colonizing…”
Physics and Nano 