Scientists from across Europe are meeting in Venice this week to discuss the latest research and developments in carbon dioxide storage. The CO2GeoNet open forum is also intended to provide guidance to policy-makers, public authorities, industry executives, regulators and non-governmental organisations attending from Europe, Australia, Canada, Iran, Japan and the
robotics
What possible use could there be for a robotic fish? Well, researchers at the University of Essex say they’ve identified quite a beneficial one: analysing and monitoring water pollution. Professors from the university’s School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering are using £2.5 million in funding to
cleantech
Cleantech news as it happens — check back for regular updates: * A robot submarine built by the UK’s National Oceanography Centre has just completed a six-mission campaign to search for signs of melting below an Antarctic glacier; * APX Inc. has launched a greenhouse gas transactions registry for the Voluntary Carbon
The Age of Stupid
Want to view some trailers from “The Age of Stupid” a climate-change cautionary tale set for nationwide release this Friday? Check them out here at Vimeo. Set in the year 2055, “The Age of Stupid” follows a man living alone — played by Pete Postlethwaite — as he watches archived television footage
zero emissions vehicles
A former business analyst hopes to revolutionise urban motoring by developing a zero-emissions electric vehicle. Dubbed the A-Kar, the vehicle is being developed by Al-Karim Versi, now managing director of A-Kar (Europe) Limited. Designed especially for city driving, the three-wheeled A-Kar has a maximum speed of 35 miles per hour
cleantech
Ready to start catching up on cleantech news now that the weekend’s over? Following are some recent developments you might have missed: * Chinese officials are considering offering rebates of up to $7,300 (US) to buyers of alternative-energy vehicles; * The president of the Maldives says he aims to make
Sun Microsystems today announced it’s begun deploying South Africa’s largest high-performance supercomputer yet. Working in partnership with Eclipse Networks and Breakpoint Solutions, Sun is installing the supercomputer at the Centre for High Performance Computing (CHPC) in Cape Town. The system’s hybrid architecture is expected to deliver about
packaging
The UK’s major record labels have signed off on a plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from CD packaging by 10 percent this year, according to consulting firm Arup. Arup’s recommendations were commissioned by Julie’s Bicycle, an organisation that seeks to reduce carbon emissions within the music
greenhouse gases
Australia’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from petroleum use were almost completely offset last year by rising emissions from coal-fired electricity plants, according to a new report from The Climate Group. Across Australia’s eastern states, greenhouse gas emissions last summer dropped by 60,000 tonnes — less than
nanotechnology
Super-thin and long carbon “nanothreads” could one day replace heavy and costly metal wiring in mobile phones, aircraft and other technologies, according to researchers from the University of Cincinnati. Using existing technology for creating long nanotubes of carbon, engineers Vesselin Shanov and Mark Schulz have developed a way to spin
water
Researchers from IBM, Central Glass, the University of Texas, Austin and King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) have developed a new type of membrane that can purify water more effectively and energy-efficiently. Unveiled today, the membrane helps filter out salts, arsenic and other toxins while using less
clean energy
What’s the connection between the Black Sea, renewable energy and the smell of rotten eggs? Turns out that hydrogen sulfide — the gas that gives eggs gone bad their distinctive smell — is present in abundance in the Black Sea … in amounts great enough that it could be tapped as a
