Nuclear Power: Environmental Threat?

 In an episode of The Simpsons, nuclear power plant owner Mr. Burns tries to justify the existence of Blinky, a three-eyed fish caught in the local river, by saying it is the next step in evolution and not a horrible mutation.

Renewable Potential: Geothermal

A new study shows that the United States has a geothermal power capacity that is ten times greater than the amount of energy produced by our current working coal-fired power plants.

Environmentalism: Ethical Perspectives

 In the field of environmentalism, there are three ethical perspectives.

Education: California Dream Act

The governor of California, Jerry Brown, has signed into law legislation allowing illegal immigrants to receive state aid to attend college. Supporters of the California Dream Act, as it is called, say it will benefit the state economically.

Global Trade: Shipping Routes in the Arctic

 Supertankers, that transport oil, cars and other products, famously produce large quantities of CO2 (it is estimated that worldwide shipping currently accounts for more than 3 percent of all annual global emissions), but receding Arctic ice could change that.

High-Speed Rail: China halts 80% of Construction

China’s 200-mile-per-hour high-speed rail system was the envy of the world until a terrible crash earlier this year killed 40 people and injured another 200 in the southern city of Wenzhou.

Emerging Renewables: Solar Updraft Tower

For centuries, architects have taken advantage of rising heat to help cool some structures. Solar chimneys allow the rising air to go out of the building, taking the heat with it. Today, Australian entrepreneur Roger Davey wants to take advantage of that phenomenon -- with a twist.

Social Unrest: Is Anti-Wall Street the beginning?

In regards to the Wall Street protests and awareness for them, the fact that the media is just beginning coverage and claiming it has any relevance to the vast amount of disparagement we can attribute to the federal government's fraudulent policies should be enough to make you ask the question:

Super Computers: Modeling the Universe

The Bolshoi supercomputer simulation, announced Thursday, is the most accurate and detailed large cosmological simulation run to date, giving physicists and astronomers a powerful new tool for understanding such cosmic mysteries as galaxy formation, dark matter, and dark energy.

Emerging Renewables: Floating Wind Turbines

Swedish eco-designers, Ehrnberg Solutions AB, have just completed their most successful prototype of the floating SeaTwirl vertical wind turbine. The device captures and harvests offshore wind, without having to convert the energy as it is being stored. SeaTwirl is the first of its kind with only two moving parts, and it uses only sea water as a roller bearing, omitting the need for a gearbox or transmission.

Global Warming: Video of the Year

Caution: It is vitally important not to make connections. When you see pictures of rubble like this week’s shots from Joplin, Mo., you should not wonder: Is this somehow related to the tornado outbreak three weeks ago in Tuscaloosa, Ala., or the enormous outbreak a couple of weeks before that (which, together, comprised the most active April for tornadoes in U.S. history). No, that doesn’t mean a thing.

Metropolis: Urban OS

Smart cities with devices chatting to each other may dot the planet in the near future.

Cities could soon be looking after their citizens all by themselves thanks to an operating system designed for the metropolis. The Urban OS works just like a PC operating system but keeps buildings, traffic and services running smoothly. The software takes in data from sensors dotted around the city to keep an eye on what is happening. 

Biomimicry: Self Healing Materials

 The development of self-healing materials has surged forward as scientists have taken inspiration from biological systems. Researchers at the University of Illinois in the US have found a way to pump healing fluids around a material like the circulation of animal's blood. Materials that could repair themselves as they crack would have uses in civil engineering and construction.

Three Gorges Dam: China acknowledges "Urgent Problems"

 The Three Gorges Dam is the world’s largest hydropower project and most notorious dam. The massive project sets records for number of people displaced (more than 1.2 million), number of cities and towns flooded (13 cities, 140 towns, 1,350 villages), and length of reservoir (more than 600 kilometers). The project has been plagued by corruption, spiraling costs, environmental impacts, human rights violations and resettlement difficulties.

Ozone Loss: The Arctic

Ozone loss over the Arctic this year was so severe that for the first time it could be called an "ozone hole" like the Antarctic one, scientists report. About 20km (13 miles) above the ground, 80% of the ozone was lost, they say.

Montana: Gem of Conservation

Boasting the world's first national park, the longest undammed river in the lower 48, three mountain ranges under wilderness protection and a thriving population of grizzly bears, wolves and wild bison, southwest Montana is a gem of American conservation.