The GOES-T satellite lifted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station today (March 1) at 4:38 p.m. EST (2138 GMT), riding a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket into the final frontier. GOES-T deployed as planned from the Atlas V's upper stage about 3.5 hours after liftoff, ULA representatives confirmed this evening via Twitter.
The issue of environmental sustainability is a political hot potato. Too often, governments have opted to avoid tackling complex problems that could require investments or force for-profit companies to operate differently. As a result, we face multiple issues related to population growth, resource use, global warming, and, ultimately, the quality of everyday life.
Supported by the U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory is striving to bring more low- and zero-net-carbon sustainable aviation fuel to the market.
The equivalent of 30,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools—that’s how much jet fuel the United States consumes in a typical year.
With Extensive Data, Broad Analyses, and Detailed Models, NREL Scientists and Collaborators Stake the Boundaries of Producing Chemicals and Fuels From Carbon Dioxide, Biomass, and Renewable Electricity
But broken may be the wrong word. Recycling is mysterious. It requires far more than responsible citizens putting plastics in green bins. Many more products—from aluminum soup cans to golf clubs, lithium-ion batteries to steel aerospace components—not only get trashed after they have served their purposes but also demand high amounts of energy to make in the first place. As of 2021, the U.S. manufacturing sector accounted for 25% of U.S. energy consumption.
February 23 (Renewables Now) - European aerospace and defence group Airbus (EPA:AIR) will partner with a joint venture of General Electric Co (NYSE:GE) and Safran Aircraft Engines to develop a hydrogen-fuelled aircraft engine that should be put into operation in zero-emission aircraft by 2035.
Biomass can be used to produce renewable electricity, thermal energy, or transportation fuels (biofuels). Biomass is defined as living or recently dead organisms and any byproducts of those organisms, plant or animal. The term is generally understood to exclude coal, oil, and other fossilized remnants of organisms, as well as soils. In this strict sense, biomass encompasses all living things. In the context of biomass energy, however, the term refers to those crops, residues, and other biological materials that can be used as a substitute for fossil fuels in the production of energy and other products. Living biomass takes in carbon as it grows and releases this carbon when used for energy, resulting in a carbon-neutral cycle that does not increase the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases.
The "Poker Chip Model" activity, developed by Great Lakes Bioenergy, uses household items to help students understand where the majority of earth's carbon is located and how it moves from place to place.
Biomass has been in use since people first began burning wood to cook food and keep warm. Wood is still the largest biomass energy resource today. Other sources include food crops, grassy and woody plants, residues from agriculture or forestry, oil-rich algae, and the organic component of municipal and industrial wastes. Even the fumes from landfills (which contain methane, the main component in natural gas) can be used as a biomass energy source.
Students will work cooperatively to research biomass using an international energy research foundation’s educational website. They will use evidence from the web search to assess biomass energy potential in Pennsylvania as part of a classroom “Alternative Energy Commission.” After preparing and sharing a fact sheet for biomass energy, students will witness a demonstration illustrating the presence of carbon dioxide and design an experiment to investigate carbon neutrality. The suggested time frame for this lesson is three to four (3-4) 50 minute class periods.
