I am all for creative thinking, but this may be the oddest concept I've yet seen to treat one of the symptoms of global warming.

Going far beyond just tracking melting patterns, German researchers want to actually stop, or at least slow down the melting of glaciers in the Swiss Alps, and they plan to do so by setting up a large screen that would trap cold air over the ice. The experimental screen is nearly 50 feet long by 10 feet high, and was set up in the middle of the Rhone glacier in Switzerland’s Valais region. Twenty-seven German university students took part in the screen raising, all excited about the potential because the concept was successful in a lab experiment. The results will be studied next Thursday.

Ooooh kay. This may be one of those science-for-the-environment-gone-off-track moments. I have a very hard time imagining that this idea will go very far in keeping glaciers from melting, but at least they're trying. Filed under “Weird.”

Via Physorg; photo via aiace

A major (and somewhat unexpected) obstacle to the hydrogen revolution is the lack of platinum in our world. Prices once peaked at over $2,000 an ounce for the stuff, and they're still up over $1,400.

A true hydrogen economy would certainly see prices spiking much higher than that, triggering invasive mining and exploration.

But the platinum is necessary as a catalyst both at the anode (splitting O2) and the cathode (splitting H2.) At least...it is for now.

Recognizing that this is a significant obstacle to the development of fuel cells, several organizations are working on replacing platinum. A team of Australian researchers has actually succeeded in replacing the cathode with a conductive polymer similar to Gore-Tex and they said they thought it might be possible to replace the anode as well

The result would be a fuel cell that is considerably cheaper, lighter and easier to manufacture than fuel cells today. While engineers at auto companies have done a good job of reducing the amount of platinum in fuel cells, completely eliminating it would be a huge boon for hydrogen vehicles and power generation.

Via ABC and Earth2Tech

Figuring that many kids are glued to the computer already, it makes sense that rather than dragging them kicking and screaming into nature where they can actually interact with the world around them, we plunk them down in front of a video game that shows how their actions impact their environment. Fair trade for city dwellers and those with parents who don’t like bugs, I suppose.

The Eco Ego game lets users make choices on what the protagonist does during a daily routine, and then shows if and how those actions positively or negatively affect the environment. For instance, when going to market, kids have to choose if the protagonist rides a bike or drives a car, and if they use a plastic bag or reusable tote. The choices melt the ice and kill the plants, or allow things to flourish. Kids can then get an idea about what actions are no-nos or yes-yeses. Not nearly as complicated as Climate Challenge, but along the same what-if lines.

In actuality, it has been shown to the point of common knowledge that kids who spend time in the great outdoors tend to have stronger environmental concerns and live with more eco-awareness, let alone are just plain healthier. But, hey, a free and relatively pretty cool computer game gets the point across in the short term, teaches kids many different ways they can be green, and shows them that by sitting indoors using up fossil fuels will make going outdoors increasingly less pleasant.

This would be a very good tool to have in a classroom – kids can see immediate results of actions, and then think about consequences while teacher takes them all outside to run around and play in the trees.

Via Inhabitots

With all sorts of stories coming out about biggests and firsts, we at EcoGeek figure it’s about time to take the pulse of wind power generation and find out just where the industry stands on giant wind projects.

Largest Operational Wind Farm in the World
Currently, Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center in Texas is the world's largest with a 735 MW capacity. Emphasis on “currently” – there is a whole lot coming down the pipeline that will dwarf the project. But, as far as operational single wind farms, this is the world’s biggest. The problem is, right now, any planned wind project bigger than Horse Hollow can claim to be the "World's Biggest." Hence the constant flow of "World's Biggest Wind Farm" headlines.

Largest Planned Project
That would be the Pickens’s Texas Project (2014) that will generate 4 GW, right? At least you thought so…Actually, the Pickens plan is beat by both and the 4.5 GW Tehachapi Renewal Project (2013) and South Dakota’s Titan Wind Project (date not set), which will generate over 5 GW. Kind of jaw-dropping, but considering the wind conditions in the Dakotas, not too surprising. The 900 MW Columbia River Project (already under construction) may hold the title for a while, but will be quickly beaten out by plants in the gigawatt range.

Largest Planned Offshore Project
The UK gets this one with its London Array project, expected to have a capacity of 1 GW. While sounding almost small compared to some of the planned onshore projects, this is a pretty big deal for offshore wind power generation.

Largest, and First, Planned Offshore Project in US
Bluewater Wind’s project slated for the coast of Delaware will have a 450 MW capacity, but could grow to as much as 600 MW.

Largest Planned Onshore Project in Europe
Scotland takes the cake with its Clyde-based wind farm that will have a capacity of 548 MW.

Largest Planned Project…EVER
Well, all we have to do for this category is look up above at previously mentioned “biggests.” Yep – the South Dakota Titan Wind Project is the largest wind farm planned anywhere in the world. However, this won't stand for long if China has anything to say about it with a short-term plan to produce over 100 gigawatts from wind power by 2020.

So there you have it…a line up that is sure to be outdated in, oh, a month or so. But don't worry...we'll keep you updated.

Getting a solar system installed on your house is decidedly complicated. There is no centralized system, only contractors who you may or may not be able to trust. Prices for installation vary wildly, as do prices for the modules themselves.

{digg}http://digg.com/environment/Want_Solar_Head_to_Sam_s_Club{/digg}But in California, where things are getting a bit more consolidated and simplified, one retailer is trying to make solar easy. And it's Wal-Mart. Or, Sam's Club in nine California stores: Corona, Murrieta, Glendora, Ontario, La Habra, Chino, Long Beach, Fountain Valley, and Torrance.

The solar kiosks will hook consumers up with established solar sellers and installers including Borrego Solar and BP Solar. The kiosks also offer $100 off every kilowatt of installed solar power. Honestly, that's not very much, considering a kilowatt of installed solar can cost up to $10,000, but Sam's Club members expect savings...so savings they will have!

Borrego, however, is intent on selling the future savings of the system. According to them, a $35k system will save homeowners $96k over the life of the panels. I'm not arguing with their data (at least in California) but that's a big pill to swallow for a lot of folks. But exposing people to the potential benefits of solar is apparently half the battle.

We imagine that Wal-Mart gets some commission on sales that come through the Sam's Club kiosks, but the image it gives them may be more important in the end. But if these things will make it simpler and more common for Californians to buy personal home solar systems, we certainly aren't going to complain.

Via Wal-Mart and CNet

A while back we reported (with some skepticism) a report coming out of China that said they would be producing over 100 gigawatts of wind by 2020, a 1,500% increase.

Little did I know that the United States was, at the same time, on track to actually beat that! A report from Emerging Energy Research, a cleantech consulting firm, points out that the U.S. is now the world's fastest growing market for wind power. Last year 5 gigawatts of wind power were installed, and 2008 will break the record again with 8 new gigawatts under construction. The U.S. will shortly be the world's largest producer of wind energy, surpassing Germany's 22 gigawatts.

If the rate of growth continues, and ideal wind energy areas are exploited, the report says we could hit 150 gigawatts of wind power by 2020! For those of you wondering how much power that is...the average coal plant produces about 800 megawatts of power. So this is enough to displace about 180 coal plants. That's a sizeable hunk of America's power generation!

Of course, a few obstacles could stand in the way. First, if the investment tax credit isn't renewed, the economics of wind power will change significantly. Second, right now there simply aren't enough manufacturing plants building wind turbines. GE already has already sold about $12 B of turbines that they have not yet produced. And in some areas the permitting process is greatly slowing the rate at which the plants come online.

Via CleanTech Media and Emergy Energy Research

When it comes to eeking another fraction of a percentage point of power out of a solar panel, we're pretty good at not paying attention. I mean, what's the difference between 40.7% and 40.8% anyway?

Generally these efficiency gains aren't all that important to the future of the solar economy. Yes, it's a new world record, but the photovoltaic modules that are most economical are only like 20% efficient. They're better because they're cheaper...and these record-breaking panels are NEVER cheap.

But this one is worth talking about.

Scientists at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado eeked that extra fraction of a percent out using a few very interesting techniques. Highly efficient solar cells have to split light into segments and then capture each hunk of wavelengths separately. This lets the panel be efficient across a wide spectrum.

This new chip uses an entirely different system to split the wavelengths (gallium indium arsenide and gallium indium phosphide...if you're curious.) The result is a much thinner and lighter solar cell that could even possibly be flexible.

The chips is also optimally efficient under concentrated sunlight. Concentrated sunlight is preferable because large areas of light can be concentrated on small areas of photovoltaic material. And since the PV material (especially this ultra-efficient stuff) is extremely expensive, using less per unit of sunlight captured is way better.

In short, this isn't just another tiny bump in efficiency, it's an entirely new solar cell, and one that could be very useful not just for satellites, but also for utility scale solar. Though, to be fair, the path to the commercial market is always pretty arduous for these new solar technologies.

Via CNet and TGDaily