Stanford scientists have developed featherweight, pliable batteries and supercapacitors in the form of everyday paper.

By coating a sheet of paper with ink made of carbon nanotubes and silver nanowires, the scientists were able to construct a highly conductive storage device that’s both low-cost and high-performance.

(The difference between a battery and a capacitor, you ask? both hold energy to be converted to electricity, but capacitors hold it for a shorter period of time. On the other hand, they can store and discharge energy much more rapidly.)

The batteries are so strong that you can crumple them and the performance does not degrade.Led by assistant professor of materials science and engineering Yi Cui, who previously created nano-size batteries using plastics, the researchers developed a solution that is more durable than conventional batteries.

Source: Smart Planet

A new biodegradable battery made of cellulose promises to offer thin, flexible, lightweight, inexpensive and environmentally-friendly batteries made without metal parts.

The battery is made from green algae known as Cladophora, found along freshwater beaches around the world.

The key to the battery’s success is its large surface area. Made from algae-derived cellulose with 100 times the surface area of the cellulose found in sheets of notebook paper, the battery can manage far more conducting polymer than in previous incarnations.

That means better recharge, hold and discharge capabilities.

Source: Smart Planet

Award-winning environmental filmmaker Barbara Ettinger’s latest documentary is about a topic so obscure that even some COP15 attendees haven’t heard of it: ocean acidification. But it’s also a topic of critical importance that threatens human survival. The film, A Sea Change, follows Ettinger’s husband, Sven Huseby (the co-producer of the film and a retired history teacher) in his quest to discover what’s happening to the world’s oceans. He finds that global warming is just part of the problem.

Source: Smart Planet

The International Union for Conservation of Nature surveyed 47,677 of animal and plant species this year, ultimately listing 17,291 of the count under Red’s List of endangered species.

The Switzerland-based environmental group conducts a yearly examination of plant and animal species and 2009’s list topped last year’s by 2,800. However, the group admitted that the list is incomplete, and there remain millions of other specimens yet to be surveyed.

Among the new animals to be included in the list is Rabb’s fringe-limbed tree frog, discovered merely four years ago. It is but one of the 1,895 amphibians that could soon die out like the Kihansi spray toad of southern Tanzania (pictured above) which is known to be extinct in the wild. In fact, the fringe-limbed tree frog is threatened by the same fungal disease that killed off the Kihansi spray toads. This disease called chytridiomycosis is thought to have spread and reached Panama through international trade and global warming.
Source: Simply Green

What is the true cost of solar power? The answer to this question may determine whether or not you decide to install solar panels on your home or business. In fact, in the current economy, everyone is worried about investments, and whether they make sense long term.

How does the cost of solar power factor in?

In order to accurately determine solar energy cost, you’ll need to consider a range of factors. Get your pencil out… you should write these down:

1. Current utility bills, averaged on a monthly basis
2. Projected future utility bills, over your estimated years of ownership of the property
3. Amount you may save annually in electricity bills
4. State and provincial solar energy tax rebates and other incentives, such as no money down
5. Type of solar panel system you want to install: PV Panels or Solar roof shingles
6. Other potential energy savings, through energy efficient bulbs, shutting off lights, adjusting thermostats
7. Other potential energy retrofitting measures, including windows, insulation, Energy Star appliances, etc.

When you consider the fact that solar power is free, once you install the panels, it may be worth it to consider converting now.

Case in point

Let’s say that your solar panel system will cost you R20,000.  Now, consider that your monthly electricity bills average R600 a month, which is R7,200 a year. That alone would be about a 3-year return on investment, but wait! What about the increase in value of your home? If you can save the entire R7,200 a year, multiply that figure by 20 which is the typical loan period you get R144,000.   That’s right: R144,000 in additional property value!

Now, add in the rising electricity rates that you won’t have to worry about. Oh, and the cost of continued global warming – you are doing your part you know… priceless!

You see, it just takes some focused arithmetic to determine the true cost of solar power. Think beyond your initial investment/outlay, and I’ll bet you will soon see that solar energy is the way to go, without requiring you to break the bank.
Source: Solar Panel | Green Power