Mar | Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainability

China about to pass U.S. as world’s top generator of greenhouse gases: The San Franciso Chronicle (Robert Collier, “China about to pass U.S. as world’s top generator of greenhouse gases,” 3/5/07) reported that a new report released by Beijing authorities indicated that China is highly likely to overtake the United States this year or in 2008 as the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases. Information from the International Energy Agency also showed that China’s greenhouse gas emissions have recently been growing by a total amount much greater than that of all industrialized nations put together.
Energy Storage: The Emerging Nucleus: John Boyes and Dave Menicucci, research engineers at Sandia National Labs, discuss research that leads to the novel proposition that the careful placement of energy generators and associated electric energy and fuel storage near the load can help not only to improve grid reliability but to address critical needs—including security, sustainability, and cost-effectiveness— without compromising safety.
GNEP and Yucca Mountain: This presentation by Victor Gilinsky, originally presented at the annual meeting of the AAAS in San Francisco on Feb. 17, 2007, examines the rationale and feasibility behind the plan to place spent nuclear fuel in Yucca Mountain under GNEP. It concludes that the project makes little sense and will probably never be implemented.
Hopping Hydrogen: DOE Pulse (“Hopping Hydrogen,” 2/26/07) reported that Researchers at DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the University of Texas at Austin discovered that a single hydrogen atom just can’t keep still after it splits from a water molecule on the surface of the catalyst rutile titanium oxide. By understanding how water’s atoms behave on the catalyst surface, scientists and engineers may be able to develop technologies that use abundant, free sun light to split water to generate hydrogen gas.
A New Battery Takes Off in a Race to Electric Cars: The New York Times (James Pontin, “A New Battery Takes Off in a Race to Electric Cars,” 3/11/07) reports that A123Systems, a start-up in Watertown, Mass., says it has created a powerful, safe, long-lived rechargable lithium battery that can fuel the next generation of electric or hybrid cars.
Response to nuclear attack: The Modesto Bee (Greg Gordon, “Response to nuclear attack? Not much,” 3/2/07) reported that experts and government documents suggest that the United States is ill-prepared to deal with the consequences of a nuclear attack on its territory.
Clean Energy Trends 2007: The latest edition of Clean Energy Trends shows that annual revenues for renewable energy technologies climbed 39% in 2006, to $55 billion. The report predicts that the industry will become a $226 billion market by 2016.
Electricity from the sea: The Los Angeles Times (Adrian G. Uribarri, “Electricity from the sea,” 3/10/07) reported that the idea of getting electricity from the sea has been gaining prominence. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. recently became the first California utility to file for permits to study the promise of sea power.
ERINA Booklet: The latest Booklet (#5) from the Economic Research Institute for Northeast Asia (ERINA) explores the concept of regional cooperation for meeting the targets of the Kyoto Protocol. The paper includes country profiles for China, the ROK, Japan, Mongolia, and Russia.