Tag: Environment

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Beyond the Debate: The role of government in renewable energy finance

Last year, the world invested more money in renewable energy than ever before, at over $257 billion [1]. There is no question that renewable energy projects need finance to develop and commercialize. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), $37 trillion of investment will be needed in the world’s energy supply system over 2012-2035, of which a growing component will be in renewable energy [2]. … Continue reading Beyond the Debate: The role of government in renewable energy finance

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The Universe in a (Pretty Big) Box: From Cells to Galaxies Using Supercomputers

Presented by Diego Munoz, Michael Long, and Amanda Peters Randles Scientific evidence indicates that the laws of physics are the same in systems throughout the entire Universe – whether those systems be microscopic, or intergalactic. Thus, the same principles apply here on Earth as in distant galaxies. Our understanding of, for example, fluid dynamics or gravity can be applied across boundaries that otherwise make different … Continue reading The Universe in a (Pretty Big) Box: From Cells to Galaxies Using Supercomputers

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A Prehistoric Plumage Palette: Discovering the Colors of Dinosaur Feathers

— Few things are universal throughout our culture, but a fascination with dinosaurs comes close. Whether it comes from a childhood visit to a natural history museum or that first appearance of Brachiosaurus towering overhead in Spielberg’s 1993 film, Jurassic Park, almost everyone shares a sense of awe at the notion that such great and massive creatures once roamed the earth. We also share in the curiosity about what they were really like. Many artists have created their own interpretations of the physical forms of dinosaurs – but like life itself, those interpretations have evolved over time. Continue reading A Prehistoric Plumage Palette: Discovering the Colors of Dinosaur Feathers

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Climate Change: What We Know and Where We Go From Here

Presented by Elizabeth Thomas, Sujit Datta, and Atreyee Bhattacharya During the last three billion years, Earth’s climate has nurtured life. However, records of Earth’s history indicate that climate has changed dramatically with major consequences for its inhabitants. What drives such climate changes? What are the consequences? In tonight’s lecture, we discuss the effects that greenhouse gases can have, as well as a novel engineering approach … Continue reading Climate Change: What We Know and Where We Go From Here

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The Promise of Organic Solar Cells: Flexible, Cheap, and Printable

— The world is excited about solar cells – and with good reason. Imagine the City of the Future, where every exposed surface has solar cells on it, converting the sun’s energy into electricity. This vision could include solar cells on windows, on top of our cars, on the surface of our cell phones, or on our clothes. Instead of using energy from coal or oil, which pollutes the environment, we would be using the ever-present, pollution-free energy available from the sun. Scientists and engineers must work on improving solar cells if we want to make this futuristic city a reality. Continue reading The Promise of Organic Solar Cells: Flexible, Cheap, and Printable

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Managing biodiversity: Indigenous knowledge, elephants, and the repercussions of intervention

When we think of biodiversity management, or maintaining the species diversity in an area, it’s easy to draw parallels to conservation. However, conservation usually focuses on one or few species at a time. This means that it often doesn’t mesh well with biodiversity maintenance, which requires considering the balance of all species in a given habitat. By managing a system based on the needs of … Continue reading Managing biodiversity: Indigenous knowledge, elephants, and the repercussions of intervention

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Alien invasion! Ecological and societal impacts of invasive species

A worker fire ant is steadily traversing the landscape looking for a good meal to take back to the nest. Suddenly, it finds a lizard basking in the sun lying directly in its path. Undaunted, the ant goes back to the nearest foraging trail and recruits colony members to the site of the lizard. Armed with a venomous sting, the ants prepare to launch their … Continue reading Alien invasion! Ecological and societal impacts of invasive species

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The importance of being biodiverse

“An inordinate fondness for beetles” is what the celebrated biologist J.B.S. Haldane apocryphally quipped when asked his opinion of God. purchasing levitra Beetles comprise just under a third of the 1.2 million species described so far [], and a recent paper has estimated that there are about 7-10 million species on the planet. In other words, we have yet to describe about 86% of the … Continue reading The importance of being biodiverse

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Green Energy from Bacteria

— The idea that we could grow fuel from a renewable resource is incredibly exciting. Researchers have been hard at work developing biofuels that will allow us to run our society using easily renewable resources. These efforts have gained a lot of media attention in recent years, and are being touted as a way for the US to decrease its dependence on foreign oil and to mitigate climate change. The longest standing method for creating biofuels is extracting ethanol from corn and sugar cane. More recently, researchers have begun engineering bacteria to produce biofuels, a method that may avoid many of the problems associated with making biofuels from plants, but that also presents new scientific and engineering challenges. Continue reading Green Energy from Bacteria

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Famine follows the plough in Africa?

— A fifty-year famine provoked by drought threatens millions in the sub-Saharan Sahel region of Africa with crop failure, cattle loss, starvation and death. As policy makers work to provide relief for the drought-ravaged nations, scientists in Europe are investigating what caused a seemingly-minor ‘dry spell’ to snowball into a drought so severe that it now threatens political stability in sub-Saharan Africa. Airborne dust, created by commercial farming practices introduced by Portuguese settlers between the 18th and the 19th centuries, may be the culprit. Continue reading Famine follows the plough in Africa?

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