A Battery That Charges in Seconds

Quick charge. A new type of battery could allow electric vehicles to charge in the same amount of time it takes to fill a tank of gas

Imagine being able to charge your cell phone in a matter of seconds or your laptop in a few minutes. That might soon be possible, thanks to a new kind of nanostructured battery electrode developed by scientists at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. The researchers found that their electrode can charge and discharge up to 100 times faster than existing devices while holding the same amount of energy.

High-storage batteries that could charge and discharge quickly might make a number of still-marginal technologies much more attractive. For example, if you could recharge an electric car in minutes rather than hours, filling up your battery at a charging station would take no longer than the amount of time it takes to buy a tank of gas. And batteries that gave up their stored energy quickly could mean uninterrupted solar power, pitching in when the sun goes behind a cloud and solar cells stop producing.


Electrical storage devices known as capacitors charge and discharge very quickly, but because they hold their charge on the surface of metal plates, their storage capacity is limited. Batteries, on the other hand, can store much more energy because they hold their charge inside the bulk of a material, usually an oxide or a phosphate compound located inside the cathode. Unfortunately, because these materials are not good conductors of electric charge, it takes a long time to get the charge in or out of a battery.

Scientists have tried to get around this problem in the past by adding electrical conductors to the energy-storage material, but this reduces the material’s volume, so it tends to lower the battery’s capacity. University of Illinois materials scientist Paul Braun and his colleagues came up with a novel solution, published online this month in Nature Nanotechnology. They built a tiny metal lattice with so many nooks and crannies that when it’s filled with a charge-storage material, the electrons in the material never have far to go before reaching the metal and being conducted away.

The Illinois researchers made their electrode by coating a surface with tiny polystyrene spheres just a few hundred nanometers across, packing the spheres together into a regular lattice structure. Then they filled the gaps between the spheres with nickel and dissolved the polystyrene. That left a three-dimensional metal scaffold, which they thinned down so that the metal made up just 6% of the total volume, and they then coated a thin film of the storage material onto the scaffold. The team used this technique to make cathodes for lithium-ion and nickel-metal hydride batteries, with the former used in many consumer electronics devices such as laptops and cell phones whereas the latter are used in many electric vehicles.

Braun and his co-workers found that the lithium-ion battery could charge and discharge between 10 and 100 times more quickly than the fastest devices on the market today. Its storage capacity was actually slightly larger than normal (by about 10% to 20%). And because every step of their manufacturing process is used in industry today, the researchers say there should be no major problems with incorporating their cathodes into commercial batteries. They just need to show how to scale up their technology—so far they’ve tried it only on watch-size batteries. “I have every reason to believe we can scale up,” says Braun, “and we are looking to partner with the right people to do that.”

However, materials scientist Yury Gogotsi of Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, sounds a note of caution. Although he says the latest work shows the importance of a smart electrode design that uses common materials, he questions how long the batteries can withstand continued charging and recharging over such short intervals. He is also less sanguine about scaling up. "Braun's group provides an advantage in rate performance," he says. "The next step will be to find a simpler way of making three-dimensional electrodes."

Source: www.news.sciencemag.org

Why to Go Green

You’ve probably noticed that green is everywhere these days--in the news, politics, fashion, and even technology. You can hardly escape it on the Internet, and now with the Planet Green TV network, you can even enjoy eco-friendly entertainment 24 hours a day. That’s all great as far as we’re concerned, but with a million messages and ideas coming at us from all sides, it can be easy to get caught up in the quotidian stuff—switching to organic foods, turning down the thermostat, recycling, say -- without thinking about the big picture of how your actions stack up. Worse, you could even be suffering from a little green "fatigue" -- that is, tuning out the green messages due to their ubiquity.


While it's easy to get overwhelmed, it's also simple to begin making a positive impact. Since it's helpful to understand the big picture when it comes to setting to smaller goals, we’ve adjusted our focus for this guide—a departure from out typical "how to go green" content, which typically tackles very specific topics such as kitchens, cars, or pets -- to take a broader look at the reasons behind why we should go green.

As globalization makes the world become smaller, it becomes increasingly easy to see how the lives of people (and plants and animals and ecosystems) everywhere are closely synced up with one another. So toys made in China can affect the quality of life in Europe, pesticides used in Argentina can affect the health of people in the U.S., and greenhouse gas emissions from Australia can affect a diminishing rainforest in Brazil.

The truth is that everything single thing we do every day has an impact on the planet -- good or bad. The good news is that as an individual you have the power to control most of your choices and, therefore, the impact you create: from where you live to what you buy, eat, and use to light your home to where and how you vacation, to how you shop or vote, you can have global impact. For example, did you know that 25 percent of Western pharmaceuticals are derived from flora that come from the Amazon rainforest? And that less that one percent of these tropical trees and plants have been tested by scientists? These numbers suggest that we all have a large (and growing) personal stake in the health and vitality of places far and near. In addition to protecting biodiversity (and inspiring medicine), rainforests are also excellent carbon sinks. Bottom line: It benefits everyone on the planet to help keep our wild spaces alive and growing.

But embracing a greener lifestyle isn't just about helping to preserve equatorial rain forests, it can also mean improving your health, padding your bank account, and, ultimately, improving your overall quality of life. All that and you can save furry animals, too? Why wouldn't anyone want to green? Keep reading for all the important, big-picture details.

Source: www.planetgreen.com

4 Green Tips Anyone Can Try

 

Green living is easier, and more rewarding, than you may have thought.

 

Green living must be incorporated into all areas of our lives on a daily basis in order to be the most effective. From what we wear to the vehicles we drive and everything we eat, all that we do must in some way save on resources and contribute to the good of the planet.

Here are a few ways on how to incorporate a sustainable lifestyle into everyday living.

Transportation

Taking public transportation, walking and biking are definite ways to get where we need to go without adding to the carbon footprint to get there. For most families having at least one vehicle is a necessity. And even though earth-friendly automobiles have had to work through some issues, they still are better for the environment than typical vehicles. Honda and Toyota have developed two new designs that are commercially successful and technologically innovative. If there is an absolute need for a larger vehicle, buy a hybrid vehicle like the Lexus SUV that provides size, luxury and uses less gas than a traditional SUV.

Landscaping

It is possible to maintain your property and still remain earth friendly. Use manual, rather than gas-powered lawn equipment for landscaping projects. This saves a huge amount of energy and carbon emissions while also providing a healthy workout at the same time. One natural way to cure dead spots in the grass that are caused by fungus is to use an organic treatment without hazardous chemicals. Horticultural cornmeal can treat these areas, control algae in water and minimize weeds. Regular grocery store cornmeal will not work because of the starch in the corn, but garden centers sell a special meal to use which is an all natural, sustainable way to cure lawn problems without adding chemicals to the soil that can drain into the water supply.

Travel

Take the green living way of life with you on vacation. Reuse towels at the hotel and request that linens are not changed every day during the stay as is customary in common hotels. Remember good habits like turning off the light when leaving the room and not leaving the water running when you brush your teeth. Choose earth-friendly travel destinations that offer attractions that don't strip resources. Opt for transportation other than flying, which produces more carbon emissions than other options. Thousands of hotels, bed and breakfasts and resorts offer eco-friendly lodging at comparable prices. Make an effort to find these lodgings when planning a vacation.

Socializing

Join with people who share a common interest in green living habits. Networking is a great way to meet new people, get fresh ideas and collect helpful resources. There are literally tons of clubs, organizations, schools and social opportunities where people with like mindsets get together on a regular basis. The Internet has loads of green blog sites for people to leave their comments and suggestions about sustainable goods and services they may have used. Green support groups keep their members up to date on the latest developments about the environment and offer each other stimulating conversation. Become a leader in the community who will advocate for the planet and will be willing to teach others to do the same.


This article was written by the staff of www.GreatGreenIdea.com, a site dedicated to teaching about great green ideas and healthy green living. The goal of the site is to help the public on the quest for "Guilt Free Green Living."

How to Save the Wild Tiger

Tigers, like most big cats of the world, are in retreat. In the past, tigers were found all throughout Asia, from the Caspian Sea to Siberia and Indonesia. Now they occupy only six percent of their former range. In the last decade alone, tiger-occupied area has decreased by 41 percent. Despite decades of conservation initiatives, the number of tigers in the wild is at an all-time low. According to a new study from an international team of researchers, efforts should be concentrated on a few key sites in order to save the species from extiction.

The report was produced by a team including the University of Cambridge, Wildlife Conservation Society, and others, and is published in the journal PLoS Biology. Co-author, John Robinson, said, "The tiger is facing its last stand as a species...we are confident that the world community will come together to bring these iconic big cats back from the brink of extinction."


The report encourages conservationists to focus on 42 "source sites" as the top priority for the tiger's recovery. The price tag of doing so would be an estimated $35 million more than what is currently being spent on tiger conservation per year.

Unfortunately, the situation for the tiger is dire. Their global population is less than 3,500, of which a mere 1,000 are breeding females. Certain tiger populations have completely disappeared such as those in Cambodia, China, Vietnam, and North Korea. The remaining populations are pressured by habitat loss, killing or capture for human use, and from overhunting of their own prey. A huge factor in the recent decline of tigers is the demand for tiger body parts to be used as medicine.

The 42 source sites are defined as sites that have breeding populations and have the best chance to seed the tiger's recovery over a larger area in the future. It is akin to establishing no-fishing zones in the oceans in order to increase overall fish numbers. These sites would be safe havens for a predicted 70 percent of the global tiger population. However, they must be coupled with effective law enforcement and scientific monitoring. The result may be a rapid increase in tigers over a short span of time.

India has been singled out as the most important country for tiger conservation, with 18 source sites. Sumatra (largest island of Indonesia) also has eight, and the Russian Far East has six. The cost of this new conservation attempt would be borne mostly by the host countries but with contributions from international donors and NGOs. This fall, Russia will be hosting an international "Tiger Summit" with the hope of jump-starting this new coordinated effort.

A resurgence of the tiger population would be heartening to see. A poll conducted by the channel, Animal Planet, labeled the Tiger as the world's favorite animal, even beating out the dog. If this is the case, then people will recognize their importance and the need to ensure their survival.

Source: www.een.com

Facts and Myths About Saving Energy

A new survey reveals that, when it comes to saving energy, most of us don't know what we think we know.


Quick – what's the most effective for you to save energy?

If you're like many Americans, you'd say turn out the lights or turn up the AC's thermostat. And, like many Americans, you'd miss the mark.

Turns out, when figuring what we can do to go green, most of us overstate. We think about curtailment – unplugging appliances, driving less, turning off lights – when improving the efficiency of our cars, appliances and home would take the biggest chunk out of our energy footprint.

That's not a surprise to scientists who surveyed 505 Americans on their perceptions of energy consumption and savings. After all, curtailment is pretty easy: Flip a switch. Improving efficiency, on the other hand, requires research, effort, out-of-pocket expense: Does anybody want to buy a new washing machine when what's downstairs works just fine?

The researchers started their survey with a simple open-ended question: What's the single most-effective thing you can do to conserve energy? More than 40 percent of the respondents said one of three things: Turn off lights, drive less or change the thermostat. Less than 10 percent identified what experts generally agree are the most effective measures - insulate the house or use more efficient appliances or cars.

"When you think about your life, what's really easy to do is turn off the lights when you leave the room," said Shahzeen Attari, the study's lead author and a researcher at Columbia University's Earth Institute and Center for Research on Environmental Decisions.

Researchers note that for many of us, concerns about energy simply are not strong enough, compared to other daily worries, to warrant learning about energy conservation. But raise fuel prices or impose a tax on carbon that reflects its role in climate change and other environmental harm, and the public would have ample incentive to get educated in a hurry. After all, it was the spike in gas prices in 2008 that brought the auto industry to its knees and triggered some of the nation's sharpest declines in vehicle-miles traveled since record-keeping began in the 1940s.

"With a carbon tax we would see changes," Attari noted. "People are pretty elastic when it comes to the consumption of energy."

What you can do? Let's face it: nobody's going to go out and replace a working hot-water heater or washing machine. And few of us have a few grand lying around to replace our drafty old windows. But there are some easy steps you can take that can effectively cut energy consumption.

Buy your beverages in aluminum cans, not glass bottles:

Making a glass bottle requires 1.4 times the energy of an aluminum can when virgin materials are used. Toss recycled materials into the equation and the difference jumps to 20 times as much. In part that's because glass is so heavy.

Change your washer's settings:

Most people assume line-drying clothes – a time-consuming process to be sure – saves more energy than using colder water and optimizing loads. In fact the reverse is true.

Cool the room, not the house:

Many of us think, incorrectly, that central air uses marginally more energy than a room air conditioner. The reality is it uses 3.5 times as much.

Douglas Fischer is editor of DailyClimate.org, a nonprofit news service covering climate change. This post is republished with permission.






Source: http://www.thedailygreen.com

4 Easy Ways to Save Energy with Your Computer

By Carol Thompson


The age of the Internet definitely has its environmental ups and downs. Computers, though they help us avoid paper by allowing us to read newspapers and pay bills online, use up a lot of energy.

The Pew Research Center found that in 2009 74% of adults regularly used the Internet, as do even more teenagers. And Internet users weren't just on personal computers -- they were hooked up at home, at work, at school. That makes for a lot of computers, and a lot of energy use.

For instance, a Dell 19-inch flat panel monitor uses over 34 watts per hour -- and that's not including the energy consumption of the actual computer, just the screen. (That means every year the carbon emissions from the monitor alone will cost $10 and are almost the same as driving 850 miles, according to a handy Dell calculator.) With a typical Dell computer using 112 watts, you're looking at a lot of energy used by one machine. Now picture a computer lab or office with 30 individual computers and monitors running at once (you can do the math yourself).

Unfortunately for the planet, it's hard to get by today without using computers. But by following our simple tips you can scale your computer's energy consumption way back, saving on energy and cost.

Customize your power settings

Most new computers have energy-saving sleep modes that turn off the computer monitor and leave the rest of the system running. Set your computer to sleep mode if you'll be away from it for more than five minutes, or customize your power settings to automatically put your computer in sleep mode after five minutes of inactivity.

Shut it down at night

Every time you're away from your computer for more than two hours, turn it off. Computers still use a little bit of energy when they're plugged in, so unplug them from the power source to make sure they aren't contributing to the phantom load. By shutting down and unplugging your computer when it's not in use, you'll save energy, and $90 a year! Don't worry -- frequently turning off your computer will not shorten its life.

Don't use a screensaver

Having a unicorn prance across your monitor every three seconds might make you the coolest guy in the office, but it is not saving any energy. Put your monitor in sleep mode instead of using a screen saver when you're away for a short period of time.

If you're buying new, go for a laptop

Laptops are smaller and designed to be more energy efficient as a means to extend battery life, so they use less energy than desktop computers. National Geographic found that laptops use up to 50% less energy than desktop computers. To be sure you're purchasing a truly sustainable computer, make sure it is either Energy Star rated or has received a gold rating from the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool.

Computer use isn't likely to stop growing, but by following these steps you can help slow the negative environmental impact of the trend.


Source: http://www.thedailygreen.com