Smart Planet: Building a power plant under Greenwich Village (video)

The new plant is almost 90% efficient, and will save NYU up to $8 million a year on utility bills.

Blog posts | October 11, 2011 11:00am PDT
Oh joy, now your plant can tweet too (video)

How green is your thumb? If you answered, not very, the Botanicall is sure to improve your gardening skills. The device tweets when your plant needs water.

Blog posts | September 27, 2011 2:03am PDT
EA buys Bejeweled creator PopCap games for $750 million

The acquisition will be made to the tune of $650 million, along with $100 million in stock and earn-outs, for a possible $1.3 billion.

Blog posts | July 12, 2011 2:21pm PDT
Can we engineer insect-free crops?

The promise of bio-engineering and genetically-modified crops is that we'll get better yields, more food or cotton for us, less for our six-legged opponents. Now comes research that insect evolve...

Blog posts | July 7, 2009 11:17am PDT
More on coverage of NOAA global warming warnings

Here's MSNBC's report. It emphasizes the pending water woes of the nation. It points out the need for water to produce energy, citing hydro and nuclear plants. They overlook the immense water...

Blog posts | June 16, 2009 1:11pm PDT
Ethanol, our trash and our economy

This story has everything: suspense, victory, tragedy and a cliff-hanger. We still can't be sure how it's going to turn out. It all turns on Blue Fire, a California company aiming to build...

Blog posts | April 14, 2009 2:45pm PDT
Mattoon may be back on the map

Actually the town in eastern Illinois was never really off the map. But it did take a big hit at the end of 2007, that's when the President from Texas killed the federal support for FutureGen,...

Blog posts | March 11, 2009 10:26pm PDT
Solar gets green, I mean really green, like chlorophyll green

What are the best solar collectors in the world. Dandelions, Douglas-fir, agave, tulips--any number of plants youmight see in nature or a garden. Now some British scientists say they've found a...

Blog posts | March 2, 2009 5:58pm PST
To keeping on nuc-ing...or not

That is the question. And the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will next year decide whether to keep the Indian Point nuclear generating plant online for another twenty-five years. This time the...

Blog posts | February 16, 2009 9:12pm PST
Alcohol binge leaves nasty hang-over

This isn't the usual dry-mouth, aching head, nausea beyond weltschmerz kind of hangover, this one is going to be financial. Lost jobs. Plants shutdown. The kind of thing we expect everywhere at...

Blog posts | January 9, 2009 11:51am PST
Human hair to feed plants?

You all know that agricultural crop production relies on fertilizers, such as composted waste materials. But I bet you wouldn't have thought to add human hair to animal manure to produce better...

Blog posts | December 30, 2008 9:46am PST
Grays Harbor planning a wave of ocean-sited power plants

I blogged about an ambitious plan for seven offshore wave-driven power plants in American waters. The permit requests have been filed with the federal government by Grays Harbor Ocean Energy of...

Blog posts | December 17, 2008 11:24am PST
In greentech as in the real world: you get big, you get enemies

The folks at Ausra are getting a higher and higher profile in the realm of solar energy. And with that comes enemies. Your CEO poses at a big opening with California's high profile governor, and...

Blog posts | December 3, 2008 5:29pm PST
A micro nuclear reactor in your garden?

Imagine a nuclear reactor small enough to be carried by truck and buried in a garden... According to The Guardian, a U.S. company based in New Mexico, Hyperion Power Generation, has designed mini...

Blog posts | November 10, 2008 9:49am PST
More nucs is good nucs? British PM thinks so

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom has gone nuclear. In fact, eight times he intends to go nuclear according to his latest energy message to the British people. With such leadership it...

Blog posts | July 13, 2008 10:52pm PDT
Fired up for new coal plant in Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia has given the green light for a large coal-burning plant to generate electricity. It's planned for the southwest corner of the state and is expected to require lots...

Blog posts | June 26, 2008 5:23pm PDT
Americans growing their own: veggies this time

The high energy prices may be hurting a lot of retail businesses: not gardening. Sales of garden plants, seeds and supplies are way up. Americans are growing their own. These are not World War...

Blog posts | June 12, 2008 7:05am PDT
Images: Supersize solar power

Utility-scale solar power plants--using everything from giant reflective dishes to plastic balloons--are changing the look of solar power.Parabolic troughs, one of which is shown here, have been...

Image galleries | May 26, 2008 6:00am PDT
Insects using plants as phones

A team of Dutch ecologists has found that subterranean and aboveground herbivorous insects use plants to communicate. 'Subterranean insects issue chemical warning signals via the leaves of the...

Blog posts | April 27, 2008 9:30am PDT
From ecowarrior to nuclear champion

Nuclear is better for us than coal, says Greenpeace co-founder Patrick Moore. What's holding it back are environmentalists.

News items | January 31, 2008 4:00am PST