Showing posts with label Scientific American. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Scientific American. Show all posts

Sunday, September 13, 2009

"The Answer to China's Future Energy Demands May Be Blowing in the Wind" by Sarah Wang

Photo and article courtesy Scientific American

"After just four years of rapid development, China has the world's fourth largest wind power capacity: more than 12 gigawatts. However, the power of the breeze has become available so fast that the nation is struggling to make use of it.

For instance, the Jiuquan wind power basein Gansu Province—better known as "Three Gorges on Land"—is expected to supply 10 gigawatts of electricity when it reaches peak capacity in 2020. The wind farm, under construction in the Gansu Corridor—a narrow natural passage cutting through the Gobi Desert, Qilian Mountains and the Alashan Plateau—is just one of seven such giant complexes approved by the Chinese government."

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

"U.S. Airlines Fly into International Carbon Cap" by Paul Voosen


Photo and article courtesy of Scientific American:

"The first U.S. industry to face a cap on its greenhouse gas emissions is not, as may be expected, the coal-burning power utilities. It's not the oil refineries, churning through crude. It's not the automakers, manufacturing again.
It's the airline industry.

Sometime this month, the European Union will release a list of airlines it will regulate under its existing cap-and-trade system for carbon dioxide. Beginning in 2012, all international flights landing in the region must abide by the regulations. And several airlines on that list will have a decidedly New World feel: Delta, United and American."

Read the remainder of the article HERE.