Innovation Toronto

photo credit: YoLoPey
Some scientists think climate change needs a more radical approach. As well as trying to curb greenhouse-gas emissions, they have plans to re-engineer the Earth.
THERE is a branch of science fiction that looks at the Earth’s neighbours, Mars and Venus, and asks how they might be made habitable. The answer is planetary [...]

photo credit: PhillipC
When the builders of the Maple Ridge Wind farm spent $320 million to put nearly 200 wind turbines in upstate New York, the idea was to get paid for producing electricity. But at times, regional electric lines have been so congested that Maple Ridge has been forced to shut down even with [...]

photo credit: jurvetson
A hydrogen refuelling station which could be installed in the home as an alternative to visiting a petrol station has been unveiled.
Users will need a hydrogen-powered car to go with it although the system can also be used for heating and cooking.
Hydrogen has long been touted as an alternative energy source to [...]

photo credit: zen
Researchers in Wyoming report development of a low-cost carbon filter that can remove 90 percent of carbon dioxide gas from the smokestacks of electric power plants that burn coal and other fossil fuels.
Maciej Radosz and colleagues at Wyoming’s Soft Materials Laboratory cite the pressing need for simple, inexpensive new technologies to remove [...]

Biofuels reduce greenhouse-gas emissions in comparison to fossil fuels. Smithsonian researchers highlight a new study that factors in environmental costs of biofuel production. Corn, soy and sugarcane come up short. The authors urge governments to be far more selective about which biofuels they support, as not all are more environmentally friendly than fossil fuels.
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