Researchers Are Closer To Low Cost, Bright Solid State Lighting!

Advance brings low-cost, bright LED lighting closer to reality

 WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Researchers at Purdue University have overcome a major obstacle in reducing the cost of "solid state lighting," a technology that could cut electricity consumption by 10 percent if widely adopted.

The technology, called light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, is about four times more efficient than conventional incandescent lights and more environmentally friendly than compact fluorescent bulbs. The LEDs also are expected to be far longer lasting than conventional lighting, lasting perhaps as long as 15 years before burning out.

"The LED technology has the potential of replacing all incandescent and compact fluorescent bulbs, which would have dramatic energy and environmental ramifications," said Timothy D. Sands, the Basil S. Turner Professor of Materials Engineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering.

The LED lights are about as efficient as compact fluorescent lights, which contain harmful mercury.

But LED lights now on the market are prohibitively expensive, in part because they are created on a substrate, or first layer, of sapphire. The Purdue researchers have solved this problem by developing a technique to create LEDs on low-cost, metal-coated silicon wafers, said Mark H. Oliver, a graduate student in materials engineering who is working with Sands.

Findings are detailed in a research paper appearing this month in the journal Applied Physics Letters, published by the American Institute of Physics.

LEDs designed to emit white light are central to solid-state lighting, semiconducting devices made of layers of materials that emit light when electricity is applied. Conventional lighting generates light with hot metal filaments or glowing gasses inside glass tubes.

The LEDs have historically been limited primarily to applications such as indicator lamps in electronics and toys, but recent advances have made them as bright as incandescent bulbs.

The light-emitting ingredient in LEDs is a material called gallium nitride, which is used in the sapphire-based blue and green LEDs, including those in traffic signals. The material also is used in lasers in high-definition DVD players.

The sapphire-based technology, however, is currently too expensive for widespread domestic-lighting use, costing at least 20 times more than conventional incandescent and compact fluorescent light bulbs.

One reason for the high cost is that the sapphire-based LEDs require a separate mirrorlike collector to reflect light that ordinarily would be lost.

In the new silicon-based LED research, the Purdue engineers "metallized" the silicon substrate with a built-in reflective layer of zirconium nitride.

"When the LED emits light, some of it goes down and some goes up, and we want the light that goes down to bounce back up so we don't lose it," said Sands, the Mary Jo and Robert L. Kirk Director of the Birck Nanotechnology Center in Purdue's Discovery Park.

Ordinarily, zirconium nitride is unstable in the presence of silicon, meaning it undergoes a chemical reaction that changes its properties.

The Purdue researchers solved this problem by placing an insulating layer of aluminum nitride between the silicon substrate and the zirconium nitride.

"One of the main achievements in this work was placing a barrier on the silicon substrate to keep the zirconium nitride from reacting," Sands said.

Until the advance, engineers had been unable to produce an efficient LED created directly on a silicon substrate with a metallic reflective layer.

The Purdue team used a technique common in the electronics industry called reactive sputter deposition. Using the method, the researchers bombarded the metals zirconium and aluminum with positively charged ions of argon gas in a vacuum chamber. The argon ions caused metal atoms to be ejected, and a reaction with nitrogen in the chamber resulted in the deposition of aluminum nitride and zirconium nitride onto the silicon surface. The gallium nitride was then deposited by another common technique known as organometallic vapor phase epitaxy, performed in a chamber, called a reactor, at temperatures of about 1,000 degrees Celsius, or 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit.

As the zirconium nitride, aluminum nitride and gallium nitride are deposited on the silicon, they arrange themselves in a crystalline structure matching that of silicon.

"We call this epitaxial growth, or the ordered arrangement of atoms on top of the substrate," Sands said. "The atoms travel to the substrate, and they move around on the silicon until they find the right spot."

This crystalline formation is critical to enabling the LEDs to perform properly.

"It all starts with silicon, which is a single crystal, and you end up with gallium nitride that's oriented with respect to the silicon through these intermediate layers of zirconium nitride and aluminum nitride," Sands said. "If you just deposited gallium nitride on a glass slide, for example, you wouldn't get the ordered crystalline structure and the LED would not operate efficiently."

Using silicon will enable industry to "scale up" the process, or manufacture many devices on large wafers of silicon, which is not possible using sapphire. Producing many devices on a single wafer reduces the cost, Sands said.

Another advantage of silicon is that it dissipates heat better than sapphire, reducing damage caused by heating, which is likely to improve reliability and increase the lifetime of LED lighting, Oliver said.

The widespread adoption of solid-state lighting could have a dramatic impact on energy consumption and carbon emissions associated with electricity generation since about one-third of all electrical power consumed in the United States is from lighting.

"If you replaced existing lighting with solid-state lighting, following some reasonable estimates for the penetration of that technology based on economics and other factors, it could reduce the amount of energy we consume for lighting by about one-third," Sands said. "That represents a 10 percent reduction of electricity consumption and a comparable reduction of related carbon emissions."

Incandescent bulbs are about 10 percent efficient, meaning they convert 10 percent of electricity into light and 90 percent into heat.

"Its actually a better heater than a light emitter," Sands said.

By comparison, efficiencies ranging from 47 percent to 64 percent have been seen in some white LEDs, but the LED lights now on the market cost about $100.

"When the cost of a white LED lamp comes down to about $5, LEDs will be in widespread use for general illumination," Sands said. "LEDs are still improving in efficiency, so they will surpass fluorescents. Everything looks favorable for LEDs, except for that initial cost, a problem that is likely to be solved soon."

He expects affordable LED lights to be on the market within two years.

Two remaining hurdles are to learn how to reduce defects in the devices and prevent the gallium nitride layer from cracking as the silicon wafer cools down after manufacturing.

"The silicon wafer expands and contracts less than the gallium nitride," Sands said. "When you cool it down, the silicon does not contract as fast as the gallium nitride, and the gallium nitride tends to crack."

Sands said he expects both challenges to be met by industry.

"These are engineering issues, not major show stoppers," he said. "The major obstacle was coming up with a substrate based on silicon that also has a reflective surface underneath the epitaxial gallium nitride layer, and we have now solved this problem."

The research, based at the Birck Nanotechnology Center and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy through its solid-state lighting program, is part of a larger project at Purdue aimed at perfecting white LEDs for lighting.

The Applied Physics Letters paper was written by researchers in the School of Materials Engineering and the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Oliver; fellow graduate students Jeremy L. Schroeder, David A. Ewoldt, Isaac H. Wildeson, Robert Colby, Patrick R. Cantwell and Vijay Rawat; Eric A. Stach, an associate professor of materials engineering; and Sands.

Writer: Emil Venere, (765) 494-4709, venere@purdue.edu

Sources: Timothy Sands, (765) 496-6105, tsands@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

Note to Journalists: An electronic copy of the research paper is available from Emil Venere, Purdue News Service, at (765) 494-4709, venere@purdue.edu

MIT's new 'window' on Solar Energy With "Solar Concentrators", An Edge On Solar

Organic solar concentrators collect and focus different colors of sunlight. Solar cells can be attached to the edges of the plates. By collecting light over their full surface and concentrating it at their edges, these devices reduce the required area of solar cells and consequently, the cost of solar power. Stacking multiple concentrators allows the optimization of solar cells at each wavelength, increasing the overall power output. Photo / Donna Coveney

CAMBRDGE, Mass. -- Imagine windows that not only provide a clear view and illuminate rooms, but also use sunlight to efficiently help power the building they are part of. MIT engineers report a new approach to harnessing the sun's energy that could allow just that.

The work, to be reported in the July 11 issue of Science, involves the creation of a novel "solar concentrator." "Light is collected over a large area [like a window] and gathered, or concentrated, at the edges," explains Marc A. Baldo, leader of the work and the Esther and Harold E. Edgerton Career Development Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering.

As a result, rather than covering a roof with expensive solar cells (the semiconductor devices that transform sunlight into electricity), the cells only need to be around the edges of a flat glass panel. In addition, the focused light increases the electrical power obtained from each solar cell "by a factor of over 40," Baldo says.

Because the system is simple to manufacture, the team believes that it could be implemented within three years—even added onto existing solar-panel systems to increase their efficiency by 50 percent for minimal additional cost. That, in turn, would substantially reduce the cost of solar electricity.

In addition to Baldo, the researchers involved are Michael Currie, Jon Mapel, and Timothy Heidel, all graduate students in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and Shalom Goffri, a postdoctoral associate in MIT's Research Laboratory of Electronics.

"Professor Baldo's project utilizes innovative design to achieve superior solar conversion without optical tracking," says Dr. Aravinda Kini, program manager in the Office of Basic Energy Sciences in the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science, a sponsor of the work. "This accomplishment demonstrates the critical importance of innovative basic research in bringing about revolutionary advances in solar energy utilization in a cost-effective manner."

Solar concentrators in use today "track the sun to generate high optical intensities, often by using large mobile mirrors that are expensive to deploy and maintain," Baldo and colleagues write in Science. Further, "solar cells at the focal point of the mirrors must be cooled, and the entire assembly wastes space around the perimeter to avoid shadowing neighboring concentrators."

The MIT solar concentrator involves a mixture of two or more dyes that is essentially painted onto a pane of glass or plastic. The dyes work together to absorb light across a range of wavelengths, which is then re-emitted at a different wavelength and transported across the pane to waiting solar cells at the edges.

In the 1970s, similar solar concentrators were developed by impregnating dyes in plastic. But the idea was abandoned because, among other things, not enough of the collected light could reach the edges of the concentrator. Much of it was lost en route.

The MIT engineers, experts in optical techniques developed for lasers and organic light-emitting diodes, realized that perhaps those same advances could be applied to solar concentrators. The result? A mixture of dyes in specific ratios, applied only to the surface of the glass, that allows some level of control over light absorption and emission. "We made it so the light can travel a much longer distance," Mapel says. "We were able to substantially reduce light transport losses, resulting in a tenfold increase in the amount of power converted by the solar cells."

This work was also supported by the National Science Foundation. Baldo is also affiliated with MIT's Research Laboratory of Electronics, Microsystems Technology Laboratories, and Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies.

Mapel, Currie and Goffri are starting a company, Covalent Solar, to develop and commercialize the new technology. Earlier this year Covalent Solar won two prizes in the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition. The company placed first in the Energy category ($20,000) and won the Audience Judging Award ($10,000), voted on by all who attended the awards.

Written by Elizabeth Thomson, MIT News Office

Photos available upon request

Contact: Teresa Herbert
therbert@mit.edu
617-258-5403
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Tags: Solar Energy Research, solar energy, solar concentrator, solar power, MIT, Covalent Solar, MIT News

Canadian Solar And Conergy USA Signs 9MW e-Module Sales Agreement

Canadian Solar Signs 9MW Sales Agreement with Conergy USA

JIANGSU and JIANGXI, China, July 15 Canadian Solar Inc. today announced a 9MW sales agreement for its e-Modules with Conergy USA, a global leader in renewable energy solutions. The contract runs for 12 months until June 2009 and delivery will start this month.

Kim McLawhorn, President of Conergy Americas commented, "We are pleased to offer CSI's e-Modules for our off-grid and grid-connected installations of photovoltaic systems. As a leading global PV supplier, we are confident in the long-term growth of the US solar market and look to continue our strategic partnership with CSI as we help consumers achieve clean and independent energy solutions.''

Dr. Shawn Qu, CEO of CSI, said, "We are very pleased to announce this relationship with Conergy. This contract serves as a testament to the quality of our e-Module technology, and the strong demand we are seeing in the market place continuing into 2009.''

Introduced by CSI, e-Module is a low-cost, medium-power solar panel product built with 100% upgraded metallurgical silicon (UMG).

Additionally, CSI will have an exhibit open to the public at Intersolar North America in San Francisco, July 15-17, 2008 at Booth No. 9100, West Hall Level 3. This will be the U.S.'s premier international exhibition for photovoltaics, solar thermal technology and solar architecture. Coupled with SEMICON West, Intersolar North America will also attract a broad base of attendees in the complimentary markets of semiconductor and nano-electronics manufacturing and development.

Tags: Solar News, Photovoltaic Market, Canadian Solar Inc, renewable energy, Conergy USA, off-grid, grid-connected, e-Module technology, CSI

Do You Recycle Your Computer? Discovery Says Don't

According to this article on Discovery Channel, recycling computers may not be a good idea. The recyclers, looking to make an easy buck are shipping them to other countries where laws are lax and labor is cheaper. So what do you do? follow the link after the jump for complete article.

"OK, you've bought your new laptop. Now, what do with that old clunker of a desktop? The green thing to do would be to recycle it, right? We're pretty conditioned to consider that option since we do it for plastic bottles and aluminum cans. So why not recycle the plastics and metals in old computers? Well, it turns out that our usual assumptions about recycling aren't always right when it comes to electronics.

For starters, many computers and other electronics are shipped to developing countries, including Indonesia, China and India for recycling. Lower wages, higher demand for used products and lower environmental protections mean that turning around old computers and their materials for sale run a profit there. (In the United States and Europe, it's usually a net cost.)"

Computer recycle report on Discovery

Tags: Computer recycling, Discovery Channel, environmental protections

Arizona State University Boost Arizona’s Renewable Energy Industry And Protect The Environment With Solar Power Laboratory.

Tempe, AZ – Arizona State University is strengthening its commitment to boost Arizona’s economic development prospects in the renewable energy industry by establishing the Solar Power Laboratory to advance solar energy research, education and technology.

Prominent scientists and engineers are being hired to lead the endeavor to improve the efficiency of solar electric power systems while making them more economically feasible.

“The Solar Power Laboratory will further build up the university’s already formidable solar energy research and develop collaborations with the energy industry to accelerate expansion of the state’s economy,” said ASU President Michael Crow.

The effort is a major part of ASU’s response to the Arizona Board of Regents’ Solar Energy Initiative, aimed at encouraging research and development to meet future needs for renewable energy sources, Crow said.

In addition to spurring economic opportunity, advances in solar power systems will help Arizona protect its environment by enabling more widespread use of this clean-energy source, Crow said.

The laboratory will be a collaboration partnering the university’s Global Institute of Sustainability and Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering.

Christiana Honsberg, Stuart Bowden and George Maracas have been hired for the venture. Honsberg will be chief scientist, Bowden will be industrial liaison, and Maracas will be chief operating officer.

Honsberg and Bowden are coming to ASU from the University of Delaware, where they worked in the most extensive university solar research program in the United States.

Maracas has made his mark with more than 25 years of accomplishments in engineering research, research management and technology commercialization.

“Our goal is for ASU to have the pre-eminent academic solar energy research, development and training program in the United States, and one of the top such programs in the world” said Jonathan Fink, director of the Global Institute of Sustainability. “The establishment of the Solar Power Laboratory and the hiring of Honsberg, Bowden and Maracas combined with our ongoing research efforts help us meet this objective.”

The lab’s goal in large part will be to support a significant facet of the economic development objectives of Arizona and the Southwest, Fink said, noting that expansion of the solar energy industry has been identified as an economic priority by Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, the state Department of Commerce, the Greater Phoenix Economic Council and Science Foundation Arizona.

“ASU and the state of Arizona have a number of exciting economic development and research opportunities associated with renewable energy,” he said. “These three new faculty members will play key roles in making sure that these efforts are successful.”

Honsberg is considered a pioneer in photovoltaics – the solar cells that convert sunlight into energy. She helped establish the Center for Photovoltaic Engineering at the University of Delaware, which developed the first undergraduate degree in photovoltaic engineering.

Delaware’s photovoltaics center also won the largest solar energy research grant in the country – $50 million from the U.S. Department of Defense.

Bowden has been working at the University of Delaware’s Institute of Energy Conversion. He is credited with helping make major strides in improving the efficiency of silicon and crystalline silicon solar cells and the cell manufacturing process.

Honsberg and Bowden previously were at the University of New South Wales, Australia, working in one of the strongest academic solar energy programs in the world.

Maracas is returning to ASU after leaving 14 years ago to work with Motorola Inc., where he founded the company’s Molecular Technology Lab and Motorola Life Sciences, and held director positions in Motorola’s advanced technologies and nanotechnology research operations. He had 30 patents issued during his time with the company.

Maracas also has been president of two companies providing technical and management consulting services to industry and government in nanotechnology, medical diagnostic devices and biotechnology.

Honsberg will be a professor and Bowden an associate research professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering. Maracas will be a professor in electrical engineering and ASU’s School of Sustainability. He had previously been an electrical engineering faculty member at ASU for about 10 years before leaving for private industry in 1994.

Through their work in the new laboratory, “We hope to unify the various solar energy-related research efforts throughout the university and to develop industry collaborations,” explained Stephen Goodnick, ASU’s associate vice president of Research and Economic Affairs.

Solar power groups such as the university’s Advanced Photovoltaics Center and Photovoltaic Testing Laboratory will be affiliated with the new lab under the Global Institute of Sustainability.

The lab “will bring together other ASU researchers, from materials engineering, physics, chemistry, electrical engineering and architecture” to collaborate on projects, Goodnick said.

“For four decades, ASU has been a leader in research related to virtually all aspects of solar energy”, Fink said, including creation of new materials and devices for generating electricity from sunlight, improved methods of photovoltaics testing, design of advanced power systems, and laying the groundwork for sound energy policies

“To build on these accomplishments and, more importantly, increase the chances for Arizona to attract more international solar companies, we decided ASU needed to bring in new faculty members who have outstanding reputations in the global solar industry,” Fink said.

Maracas brings extensive experience in working with private industry, and the accomplishments of Honsberg and Bowden “are well-known to the solar industry on both sides of the Pacific,” he said.

“In a technical community replete with creative engineers and scientists, Christiana Honsberg stands out as a talent of unique vision,” said Craig Cornelius, a former director of the U.S Department of Energy solar energy program and leader of its Solar America Initiative.

For years, the energy department “has turned to Honsberg to lead its most ambitious investigations of high-efficiency photovoltaics,” Cornelius said. “She will be a great addition to ASU’s growing franchise in solar research.”

Zhengrong Shi, who worked with Honsberg and Bowden at the University of New South Wales, is the founder and CEO of Suntech, the largest solar energy company in China and one of three largest in the world.

Shi ranks Honsberg and Bowden “clearly among world leaders in their respective fields in photovoltaics. Their strong links to [the University of New South Wales] and Suntech will provide great opportunities for research and development collaboration with ASU.”


# # #

SOURCES:
Jonathan Fink, jonathan.fink@asu.edu
Director
Global Institute of Sustainability
(480) 965-4797

Stephen Goodnick, stephen.goodnick@asu.edu
Associate Vice President
Research and Economic Affairs
(480) 965-1225

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Joe Kullman, joe.kullman@asu.edu
Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering
(480) 965-8122 direct line
(480) 773-1364 mobile
www.fulton.asu.edu/fulton/

Karen Leland, karen.leland@asu.edu
Global Institute of Sustainability
(480)965-0013
http://gios.asu.edu

Tags: solar energy, Solar Research, Arizona State University, Solar Power Laboratory, renewable energy, energy research, Global Institute of Sustainability

33% Of Reef Building Corals Face Extinction And Joind he IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

Mushroom corals (Fungiidae) belonging to various species affected by bleaching during elevated seawater temperatures in the Thousand Islands, off Jakarta, Indonesia
Keywords: Coral Assessment
Creator: Bert W. Hoeksema / Naturalis
Copyright: Bert W. Hoeksema / Naturalis
Country: Indonesia

Climate change and human-induced destruction cited as causes

Arlington, VA (July 10, 2008) – A third of reef-building corals around the world are threatened with extinction, according to the first-ever comprehensive global assessment to determine their conservation status. The study findings were published today by Science Express.

Leading coral experts joined forces with the Global Marine Species Assessment (GMSA) – a joint initiative of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Conservation International (CI) – to apply the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria to this important group of marine species.

"The results of this study are very disconcerting," stated Kent Carpenter, lead author of the Science article, GMSA Director, IUCN Species Programme. "When corals die off, so do the other plants and animals that depend on coral reefs for food and shelter, and this can lead to the collapse of entire ecosystems."

Built over millions of years, coral reefs are home to more than 25 percent of marine species, making them the most biologically diverse of marine ecosystems. Corals produce reefs in shallow tropical and sub-tropical seas and have been shown to be highly sensitive to changes in their environment.

Researchers identified the main threats to corals as climate change and localized stresses resulting from destructive fishing, declining water quality from pollution, and the degradation of coastal habitats. Climate change causes rising water temperatures and more intense solar radiation, which lead to coral bleaching and disease often resulting in mass coral mortality.

Shallow water corals have a symbiotic relationship with algae called zooxanthellae, which live in their soft tissues and provide the coral with essential nutrients and energy from photosynthesis and are the reason why corals have such beautiful colors. Coral bleaching is the result of a stress response, such as increased water temperatures, whereby the algae are expelled from the tissues, hence the term "bleaching." Corals that have been bleached are weaker and more prone to attack from disease. Scientists believe that increased coral disease also is linked to higher sea temperatures and an increase in run-off pollution and sediments from the land.

Researchers predict that ocean acidification will be another serious threat facing coral reefs. As oceans absorb increasing amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, water acidity increases and pH decreases, severely impacting corals' ability to build their skeletons that form the foundation of reefs.

The 39 scientists who co-authored this study agree that if rising sea surface temperatures continue to cause increased frequency of bleaching and disease events, many corals may not have enough time to replenish themselves and this could lead to extinctions.

"These results show that as a group, reef-building corals are more at risk of extinction than all terrestrial groups, apart from amphibians, and are the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change," said Roger McManus, CI's vice president for marine programs. "The loss of the corals will have profound implications for millions of people who depend on coral reefs for their livelihoods."

Coral reefs harbor fish and other marine resources important for coastal communities. They also help protect coastal towns and other near-shore habitats from severe erosion and flooding caused by tropical storms.

Staghorn (Acroporid) corals face the highest risk of extinction, with 52 percent of species listed in a threatened category. The Caribbean region has the highest number of highly threatened corals (Endangered and Critically Endangered), including the iconic elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata) which is listed as Critically Endangered. The high biodiversity "Coral Triangle" in the western Pacific's Indo-Malay-Philippine Archipelago has the highest proportions of Vulnerable and Near-Threatened species in the Indo-Pacific, largely resulting from the high concentration of people living in many parts of the region.

Corals from the genera Favia and Porites were found to be the least threatened due to their relatively higher resistance to bleaching and disease. In addition, 141 species lacked sufficient information to be fully assessed and were therefore listed as Data Deficient. However, researchers believe that many of these species would have been listed as threatened if more information were available.

The results emphasize the widespread plight of coral reefs and the urgent need to enact conservation measures. "We either reduce our CO₂ emission now or many corals will be lost forever," says Julia Marton-Lefèvre, IUCN Director General. "Improving water quality, global education and the adequate funding of local conservation practices also are essential to protect the foundation of beautiful and valuable coral reef ecosystems."

Coral experts participated in three workshops to analyze data on 845 reef-building coral species, including population range and size, life history traits, susceptibility to threats, and estimates of regional coral cover loss.

The reef-building corals assessment is one group of a number of strategic global assessments of marine species the GMSA has been conducting since 2006 at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. Other assessments are being conducted on seagrasses and mangroves that are also important habitat-forming species, all marine fishes, and other important keystone invertebrates. By 2012, the GMSA plans to complete its comprehensive first stage assessment of the threat of extinction for over 20,000 marine plants and animals, providing an essential baseline for conservation plans around the world, and tracking the extinction risk of marine species.

The results of the coral species assessment will be placed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in October 2008. Currently, the assessments can be found at http://www.sci.odu.edu/gmsa/about/corals.shtml.

###

NOTE: A press briefing will be held at 1pm EST Thursday July 10 in Room 123 at the International Coral Reef Symposium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Photos, video and other media materials available at: ftp.conservation.org/guest/CORALS
(Please copy and paste the link into your Internet browser)
User ID: mediaguest Password: paris0405 (all lowercase)

Contacts:
Kent Carpenter, GMSA Director, IUCN Species Programme, kcarpent@odu.edu, +1 757 683 3481 Cell: +1-757 641-0666
Susan Bruce, International Media Relations Director, Conservation International, sbruce@conservation.org, +1 703 341 2471 Cell: +1-571-721-8344
Lynette Lew, Marketing and Communications, IUCN Species Programme, lynette.lew@iucn.org, +41 22 999 0153
Carolin Wahnbaeck, Media Relations Officer, IUCN, carolin.wahnbaeck@iucn.org, +41 22 999 0313

Conservation International (CI) applies innovations in science, economics, policy and community participation to protect the Earth's richest regions of plant and animal diversity and demonstrate that human societies can live harmoniously with nature. Founded in 1987, CI works in more than 40 countries on four continents to help people find economic alternatives without harming their natural environments. For more information about CI, visit www.conservation.org.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) helps the world find pragmatic solutions to our most pressing environment and development challenges by supporting scientific research; managing field projects all over the world; and bringing governments, NGOs, the UN, international conventions and companies together to develop policy, laws and best practice.

IUCN is the world's oldest and largest global environmental network. IUCN is a democratic union with more than 1,000 government and NGO member organizations, and some 10,000 volunteer scientists in more than 150 countries. IUCN's work is supported by 1,100 professional staff in 62 countries and hundreds of partners in public, NGO and private sectors around the world. www.iucn.org.

The IUCN Species Programme supports the activities of the IUCN Species Survival Commission and individual Specialist Groups, as well as implementing global species conservation initiatives. It is an integral part of the IUCN Secretariat and is managed from IUCN's international headquarters in Gland, Switzerland. The Species Programme includes a number of technical units covering Species Trade and Use, Red List, Freshwater Biodiversity Assessment, (all located in Cambridge, UK), and the Global Biodiversity Assessment Initiative (located in Washington DC, USA). www.iucn.org/species

The Global Marine Species Assessment (GMSA) began in late 2005 and is based in the Department of Biological Sciences at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. This project will be the first global review of the conservation status of every marine vertebrate species, and of selected invertebrates and plants. The project involves a range of partners in compiling and analyzing all existing data on approximately 20,000 marine species, and will determine the risk of extinction according to the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. http://www.sci.odu.edu/gmsa/

Tags: International Union for Conservation of Nature, IUCN, Global Marine Species Assessment, GMSA, ecosystem Collapse, zooxanthellae, bleached Corals, Staghorn Corals, Red List of Threatened Species, Mushroom corals, Coral Assessment

The Wilkins Ice Shelf Is Experiencing Further Disintegration.

click on the image to see a larger version

The Wilkins Ice Shelf that we wrote about last March is experiencing further disintegration. The Ice Shelf has reduced further due to disintegration that is threatening the collapse of the ice bridge connecting the shelf to Charcot Island. Since the connection to the island in the image centre helps to stabilize the ice shelf, it is likely the break-up of the bridge will put the remainder of the ice shelf at risk. Once the connection to the island is gone, shelf might come under other possible changes due loss of stability that the shelf had due to the bridge.

An animation, comprised of images acquired by Envisat’s Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) between 30 May and 9 July 2008, available at the ESA site (Link Below) shows the break-up event which began on the east (right) rather than the on west (left) like the previous event that occurred last month. By 8 July, a fracture that could open the ice bridge was visible. According to the image acquired on 7 July 2008, Dr Matthias Braun from the Center for Remote Sensing of Land Surfaces at Bonn University estimates the area lost on the Wilkins Ice Shelf during this break-up event is about 1350 km² with a rough estimate of 500 to 700 km² in addition being lost if the bridge to Charcot Island collapses.
This is how the shelf looked like in 1992.
ESA Article for more information and photos.

Tags: Wilkins Ice Shelf, Charcot Island, Envisat, Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar, Center for Remote Sensing of Land Surfaces

New Dye Technology Converts Ordinary Glass Into A High-tech Solar Concentrator.

Image Credit: Nicolle Rager Fuller, NSF
Revisiting a once-abandoned technique, engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have successfully created a sophisticated, yet affordable, method to turn ordinary glass into a high-tech solar concentrator.

The technology, which uses dye-coated glass to collect and channel photons otherwise lost from a solar panel's surface, could eventually enable an office building to draw energy from its tinted windows as well as its roof.

Electrical engineer Marc Baldo, his graduate students Michael Currie, Jon Mapel and Timothy Heidel, and postdoctoral associate Shalom Goffri, announced their findings in the July 11 issue of Science.

"We think this is a practical technology for reducing the cost of solar power," said Baldo.

The researchers coated glass panels with layers of two or more light-capturing dyes. The dyes absorbed incoming light and then re-emitted the energy into the glass, which served as a conduit to channel the light to solar cells along the panels' edges. The dyes can vary from bright colors to chemicals that are mostly transparent to visible light.

Because the edges of the glass panels are so thin, far less semiconductor material is needed to collect the light energy and convert that energy into electricity.

"Solar cells generate at least ten times more power when attached to the concentrator," added Baldo.

Because the starting materials are affordable, relatively easy to scale up beyond a laboratory setting, and easy to retrofit to existing solar panels, the researchers believe the technology could find its way to the marketplace within three years.

The new technology emerged in part from an NSF Nanoscale Interdisciplinary Research Team effort to transfer the capabilities of photosynthesis to solar technology.

The researchers' approach succeeded where efforts from the 1970s failed because the thin, concentrated layer of dyes on glass is more effective than the alternative--a low concentration of dyes in plastic--at channeling most of the light all the way to the panel edges. However, the current technology still needs further development to create a system that will last the 20- to 30-year lifetime necessary for a commercial product.

For additional information, see the MIT release at: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/solarcells-0710.html

-NSF-

Media Contacts
Joshua A. Chamot, NSF (703) 292-7730 jchamot@nsf.gov
Teresa Herbert, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (617) 258-5403 therbert@MIT.EDU

Program Contacts
Rajinder Khosla, NSF (703) 292-8339 rkhosla@nsf.gov

Principal Investigators
Marc Baldo, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (617) 452-5132 baldo@MIT.EDU

Tags: Solar Energy Research, Solar Energy, MIT

California Is Heating Up And Study Suggests More Heat Waves, Energy Use For Next Century

Projected California warming promises cycle of more heat waves, energy use for next century

BERKELEY, CA. -- As the 21st century progresses, major cities in heavily air-conditioned California can expect more frequent extreme-heat events because of climate change.

This could mean increased electricity demand for the densely populated state, raising the risk of power shortages during heat waves, said Norman Miller, an earth scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and geography professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and Katharine Hayhoe, a climate researcher at Texas Tech University. If the electricity were generated using fossil fuels, this could also mean even more emissions of heat-trapping gases that cause climate change.

Their results were published in the online version of the Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology. Co-authors included Maximilian Auffhammer, of the Agricultural and Resource Economics Department at UC Berkeley, and Jiming Jin, formerly of the Earth Sciences Division at Berkeley Lab and now at Utah State University.

"Electricity demand for industrial and home cooling increases near linearly with temperature," said lead author Miller, a climate scientist and a principal investigator with the Energy Biosciences Institute in Berkeley. "In the future, widespread climate warming across the western U.S. could further strain the electricity grid, making brownouts or even rolling blackouts more frequent."

When projected future changes in extreme heat and observed relationships between high temperature and electricity demand for California are mapped onto current availability, the researchers discovered a potential for electricity deficits as high as 17 percent during peak electricity demand periods.

Climate projections from three atmosphere–ocean general circulation models were used to assess projected increases in temperature extremes and day-to-day variability, said Hayhoe. Increases range from approximately twice the present-day number of extreme heat days for inland California cities such as Sacramento and Fresno, to up to four times the number of extreme heat days for previously temperate coastal cities such as Los Angeles and San Diego before the end of the century.

This year, California experienced an unusually early heat wave in May and is currently in the midst of its second major heat wave of the summer, one that has already broken high temperature records for several more California cities and increased fire and health risks. One hundred and nineteen new daily high temperature records were set during the May heat wave, including the earliest day in the year in which Death Valley temperatures reached 120oF (on May 19, beating the old record of May 25 set in 1913).

In the future, the authors say, the state should brace for summers dominated by heat wave conditions such as those experienced this year. Extreme heat and heat wave events have already triggered major electricity shortages, most notably in the summer of 2006. Given past events, the results of this study suggest that future increases in peak electricity demand may challenge current and future electricity supply and transmission capacities.

Similar increases in extreme-heat days are likely for other U.S. urban centers across the Southwest, including Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, as well as for large cities in developing nations with rapidly increasing electricity demands.

Risk of electricity shortages can be reduced through energy conservation, said Hayhoe, as well as through reducing emissions of heat-trapping gases in order to limit the amount of future climate change that can be expected.

Miller and Hayhoe also contributed to the Nobel Prize-winning United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Miller is currently leading the BP-funded Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI) project on biofuel productivity potentials, including biofuels' impact under changing climate conditions. The EBI is a collaboration between the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Lawrence Berkeley National Lab dedicated to the development and analysis of the impacts of sustainable biofuels. Miller is also a member of the U.N. Earth Science System Partnership Working Group on Bioenergy.

Contact: Ron Kolb
RRKolb@berkeley.edu
510-643-6255
DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

CONTACT: Katharine Hayhoe, associate professor, Department of Geosciences, Texas Tech University, (806) 742-0015, (806) 392-1900, or katharine.hayhoe@ttu.edu

Norman Miller, climate scientist, Earth Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, (510) 495-2374, or NLMiller@lbl.gov

Tags: Heat Waves, Energy Use, air-conditioned California, UC Berkeley, Berkeley Lab, electricity deficits, Climate Change, biofuel

DOE to Guarantee Billions in Loans for Efficiency, Renewables

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced three solicitations for a total of up to $30.5 billion in federal loan guarantees for projects that employ advanced energy technologies and that avoid, reduce or sequester anthropogenic emissions of air pollutants or greenhouse gases.

NEWS MEDIA CONTACT: Angela Hill, (202) 586-4940
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, June 30, 2008
DOE Announces Solicitations for $30.5 Billion in Loan Guarantees
Second Round of Solicitations includes renewable energy, nuclear, and ‘front-end’ nuclear power facility projects
WASHINGTON, DC –The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced three solicitations for a total of up to $30.5 billion in federal loan guarantees for projects that employ advanced energy technologies that avoid, reduce or sequester air pollutants or greenhouse gas emissions. The three solicitations are in the areas of energy efficiency, renewable energy and advanced transmission and distribution technologies; nuclear power facilities; and advanced nuclear facilities for the ‘front-end’ of the nuclear fuel cycle. This marks the second round of solicitations for DOE’s Loan Guarantee Program, which encourages the commercial use of new or significantly improved energy technologies, and is an important step in paving the way for clean energy projects.
In a Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 loan guarantee implementation plan sent to Congress in April, DOE outlined plans to issue its second round of solicitations concurrently no later than June 2008 for energy efficiency, renewable energy and advanced transmission and distribution projects (up to $10 billion); nuclear power facilities (up to $18.5 billion); and advanced nuclear facilities for the “front-end” of the nuclear fuel cycle (up to $2 billion).
Later this summer, DOE intends to issue a solicitation for loan guarantee applications for advanced fossil energy projects (up to $8 billion). The authority to issue loan guarantees in the amounts specified in these solicitations was provided to DOE in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008 and is consistent with the Department’s FY 2009 Congressional Budget Request. “Loan guarantees from the Department will enable project developers to bridge the financing gap between pilot and demonstration projects to full commercially viable projects that employ new or significantly improved energy technologies,” Jeffrey F. Kupfer, the Acting Deputy Secretary of Energy, said. “Projects supported by loan guarantees will help meet President Bush’s goal of diversifying our nation's energy mix with energy projects that will improve the environment while increasing energy efficiency.”
The Department issued a Request for Information on April 11, 2008 and held subsequent public meetings in Washington, D.C. and Palo Alto, California to receive input on the development of the solicitation for projects in the energy efficiency, renewable energy and advanced transmission and distribution areas.
The loan guarantee process is organized into four phases: application, project evaluation, conditional commitment, and final approval and closing of a Loan Guarantee Agreement. Selection criteria for the clean energy projects under these solicitations will focus on a project’s ability to avoid, reduce or sequester air pollutants or greenhouse gas emissions; the speed with which the technologies can be commercialized; the prospect of repayment of the guaranteed debt; and the potential for long-lasting success of these technologies in the marketplace.
Today’s round of solicitations builds off of the previous solicitation issued by DOE which supported energy efficiency, renewable energy and fossil energy projects. DOE is currently reviewing the applications received to date as a result of the first solicitation.
Loan guarantees issued by DOE will be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, and will facilitate the early commercial use of new or significantly improved technologies that will help fulfill President Bush’s goals of reducing our reliance on imported sources of energy by increasing energy efficiency, diversifying our nation’s energy mix, and improving the environment. For additional information on this solicitation and the Department’s Loan Guarantee Program, visit www.lgprogram.energy.gov.

Tags: Efficiency, Renewables, DOE, energy efficiency

World’s First Integrated Wind Turbine Power Source Installed At Bahrain World Trade Center.

Manama, Bahrain – [March 19, 2007] – The Bahrain World Trade Center (BWTC), which is set to launch as the Kingdom’s leading mixed-use commercial development, celebrated today the successful installation of its three wind turbine blades ahead of initial testing.This is the first time anywhere in the world that a commercial development has integrated large-scale wind turbines within its design to harness the power of the wind to generate an alternative energy supply. Lifting and installation of the turbine propellers began at the end of last week with all three propellers having now been fitted. The turbines will become fully operational following completion of the BWTC.
The three massive wind turbines, measuring 29 meter in diameter, are supported by bridges spanning between the BWTC’s two 240-meter high towers. Through its positioning and the unique aerodynamic design of the towers, the prevailing on-shore Gulf breeze is funnelled into the path of the turbines, helping to create even greater power generation efficiency. Once perational, the wind turbines will deliver approximately 11-15% of the BWTC tower’s energy needs, eliminating around 55,000 cubic kgC of carbon emissions into the environment every year. Incorporating the wind turbines as an alternative source of energy for the buildings will generate 1100 to 1300 MWh per year, which is equivalent to lighting 300 homes for more than a year and will create substantial annual savings.Claire Hughes, Associate Director for DTZ Bahrain said, “This is an incredible moment in the history of the Bahrain World Trade Center. We are extremely proud to be the first in the world to integrate wind turbines into a commercial development to create an alternative source of energy. What we have achieved here in Bahrain demonstrates to the world how we are actively playing our part in addressing the global issue of climate change.” “The BWTC towers have already become an iconic feature of the Manama skyline and are increasingly raising Bahrain’s profile not only in the GCC region but also across the world. The BWTC will attract leading regional and international organisations with a world-class business destination, which will have a positive impact on tourism, commerce and numerous other financial benefits for the Kingdom.”Shaun Killa, Chief Architect of Atkins and designer of the BWTC, said, “From the outset, I had a clear vision of integrating renewable energy into the design of the BWTC. Through the support of the BWTC management and Atkins’ commitment to sustainability, we have enabled this vision to be realised. “The BWTC project sets a technological precedent which we hope raises the awareness of environmental design and its importance in the built environment. We hope it paves the way for designers and clients to incorporate renewables and energy efficient measures into their future developments to reduce carbon emissions. “This project has given us great optimism for the future because we have clearly demonstrated that we can create a commercial development which is underpinned by an environmental agenda.”
In addition to the installation of the world’s first integrated wind turbines, the BWTC development continues to make good progress. All major structural works, such as concreting, foundation and steel works are now complete. External cladding is now 70% complete, whilst internally, more than 20 lifts are operational, representing more than 80% of the total, and all mechanical, electrical systems, service floors, chilled water pipe work, electrics and fire protection systems are 75% finished.
More than 40% of the office floors are now ready to handover to tenants, with that percentage expected to increase rapidly as work is finished in the larger floor areas of the development. A significant number of tenants are already well underway with their fit out design programmes, with some of the major tenants expected to begin their full site works programme in the next few weeks.
BWTC is also able to announce excellent progress with MODA Mall, BWTC’s ultra high-end shopping complex. 95% of the units are now ready for hand over to tenants with the anchor tenant, Villa MODA, the Kuwait based top luxury fashion retailer, already fitting out its units. As planned, the pre-launch of MODA Mall will happen in the next few months.
The BWTC is situated on the Manama waterfront and in the heart of the region’s leading financial and business hub and comprises two 50-storey sail shaped twin office towers, the five-star Sheraton Hotel as well as Moda Mall, Bahrain’s only ultra high-end shopping destination featuring some 160 luxury retail outlets as well as a host of modern concept cafes and exciting casual and fine dining restaurants.
An iconic feature on the Manama skyline, the BWTC towers are the definition of prime office and commercial space, perfect for the most discerning institutions. In every aspect, the buildings reflect the highest standards of quality as well as unparalleled levels of technology, business support services and a host of other amenities such as health centres and sports clubs to enhance the work environment and provide for optimal levels of productivity.
For more information or to become part of the Bahrain World Trade Center, contact DTZ Bahrain on +973 17 540 330 or go to www.bahrainwtc.com

Tags: wind power, Integrated Wind Turbine Power Source, Bahrain World Trade Center, BWTC, alternative energy, DTZ Bahrain, MODA Mall, Manama skyline

Ricoh Brings 100% Solar And Wind Powered Bill Board To , New York Times Square.

Rendered Photo Credit: PRNewsFoto/Ricoh Americas Corporation

Even Gloomy (Sorry NY) New York has enough sun and of course wind power to light up a huge bill board measuring 47 feet 126 feet (14.3M x 38.4M) in Times Square. I always thought why don't New Yorkers put those winds that push you all over to use. The few times I was there, I hardly saw the sun! But we have here in California, the first 100% Solar Powered Bill Board, put up by PG&E, whom I pay my fees for my large carbon foot print. But we are doing our bit here in California, Like using CFLs, everywhere possible.
Ricoh Company, Ltd. of Tokyo, will erect a sign in New York City’s Times Square that will be located at 3 Times Square at the corner of 7th Avenue and 42nd Street. This simple but thoughtful act will reduce the amount of CO2 usage by 18 tons per year. Thank you Ricoh, and If you ever need sunshine, Come To California!

Environmental preservation has been a top priority for Ricoh for over 30 years. In 1976 Ricoh established an Environmental Protection Group that works to keep Ricoh’s environmental goals and strategies as a key consideration when planning, developing, designing and promoting new products and services. Out of this group, Ricoh developed an Environmental Action Plan that envisioned society in 2050 and its impact on the environment and business operations, concluding that companies need to develop specific action plans by focusing on the environment in the long-term. Through this program, Ricoh will be able to help businesses maintain operational efficiencies and at the same time reduce their carbon footprints.

Following is the press release;

West Caldwell, NJ, July 02, 2008 — Ricoh Americas Corporation announced today that its parent company, Ricoh Company, Ltd. of Tokyo, will erect a sign in New York City’s Times Square that will be 100 percent powered by solar and wind power. The electronic billboard, the first ever to be totally powered by natural resources in Times Square, will be located at 3 Times Square at the corner of 7th Avenue and 42nd Street.

The sign, which is 47 feet high by 126 feet long, will be illuminated by floodlights and powered by 45 solar panels and 4 turbines for wind generation. By using all natural energy sources, Ricoh will reduce the amount of CO2 usage by 18 tons per year. If there is not enough solar or wind power, the Times Square sign will not be illuminated. Ricoh also currently has a similar eco-powered sign in Osaka, Japan, that uses 100 percent solar and wind power.

“Ricoh is pleased to have such a large presence in Times Square, but we are even more excited that we will be able to do so without the need for an electrical power source other than those provided by natural resources,” said Kirk Yoshida, Deputy President of Ricoh Company Ltd., and Chairman & CEO of Ricoh Americas Corporation. “By having the eco-friendly sign in Times Square, Ricoh will not only be able to promote our brand, but also show to the world that we are a leader in environmental conservation and at the forefront of sustainable environmental management for years.”

Environmental preservation has been a top priority for Ricoh for over 30 years. In 1976 Ricoh established an Environmental Protection Group that works to keep Ricoh’s environmental goals and strategies as a key consideration when planning, developing, designing and promoting new products and services. Out of this group, Ricoh developed an Environmental Action Plan that envisioned society in 2050 and its impact on the environment and business operations, concluding that companies need to develop specific action plans by focusing on the environment in the long-term. Through this program, Ricoh will be able to help businesses maintain operational efficiencies and at the same time reduce their carbon footprints.

Tags: solar power, wind power, Solar powered billboard, ricoh corporation, Times Square, PG&E, Sunny California, Come To California

Happy 4th Of July America!

Happy 4th Of July America!

Tags: 4th of July, America People We See, Independence day

DOJ Joint Genome Institute Announces New Projects On Bioenergy And Environmental Applications

US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute announces new genome sequencing projectsPine tree, boat-boring bivalve 'bugs,' duck weed, oil-producing microalgae, stinkbird gut, 40 others top 2009 targets

WALNUT CREEK, CA—In the continuing effort to tap the vast, unexplored reaches of the earth's microbial and plant domains for bioenergy and environmental applications, the DOE Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) has announced its latest portfolio of DNA sequencing projects that it will undertake in the coming year. The 44 projects, culled from nearly 150 proposals received through the Community Sequencing Program (CSP), represent over 60 billion nucleotides of data to be generated through this biodiversity sampling campaign—roughly the equivalent of 20 human genomes.

"The scientific and technological advances enabled by the information that we generate from these selections promise to take us faster and further down the path toward clean, renewable transportation fuels while affording us a more comprehensive understanding of the global carbon cycle," said Eddy Rubin, DOE JGI Director. "The range of projects spans important terrestrial contributors to biomass production in the Loblolly pine—the cornerstone of the U.S. forest products industry—to phytoplankton, barely visible to the naked eye, but no less important to the massive generation of fixed carbon in our marine ecosystems."

With new sequencing strategies coming on line at DOE JGI's Production Genomics Facility in Walnut Creek, Calif., Rubin said that the once daunting genome size of the Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda)—over 21 billion bases—is now becoming tractable. Loblolly pine is the most commonly planted tree species in America – accounting for about 75 percent of all seedlings planted each year.

"Its ability to efficiently convert CO2 into biomass and its widespread use as a plantation tree have also made Loblolly a cost-effective feedstock for cellulosic biofuel production and a promising tool in efforts to curb greenhouse gas levels through carbon sequestration," said Rubin. Because of the pine's enormous genome, the project will begin with a targeted effort to understand the structure of the pine genome. Led by Daniel Peterson of Mississippi State University, the project is intended to zero in on genes that can be used for molecular breeding programs to improve Loblolly as a biomass feedstock, carbon sequestration tool, and source of renewable, high-quality raw materials for lumber and pulp fiber.

The CSP selections range from these tall pines to not-so-sizable aquatic plants in duckweed—the smallest, fastest growing, and simplest of flowering plants. Greater Duckweed, Spirodela polyrhiza, is still relatively small at less than 10 millimeters. Nevertheless, its utility is manifold: as a biotech protein factory, toxicity testing organism, wastewater remediator, high-protein animal feed, carbon cycling player, as well as basic research and evolutionary model system.

"These plants produce biomass faster than any other flowering plant, and their carbohydrate content is readily converted to fermentable sugars by using commercially available enzymes developed for corn-based ethanol production," said Rubin. "Moreover, duckweed relates to all three of DOE JGI's mission areas: bioenergy, bioremediation, and global carbon cycling." Propagated on agricultural and municipal wastewater, Spirodela species efficiently extract excess nitrogen and phosphate pollutants. Duckweed growth on ponds effectively reduces algal growth (by shading), coliform bacteria counts, suspended solids, evaporation, biological oxygen demand, and mosquito larvae while maintaining pH, concentrating heavy metals, sequestering or degrading halogenated organic and phenolic compounds, and encouraging the growth of aquatic animals such as frogs and fowl. This project, submitted by Todd Michael of the Waksman Institute of Microbiology at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, unites the efforts of six institutions. The DOE JGI has selected several metagenomes to sequence—complex microbial communities that are isolated directly from the environment or reside inside of a larger organism. These leverage DOE JGI's pioneering expertise honed from previous studies of acid mine drainage and the termite hindgut—where samples yielded scores of different microbes, producing hundreds of enzymes with potentially useful industrial applications.

One such metagenome lurks inside of Bankia setacea, the giant Pacific shipworm. Shipworms, wood-boring marine bivalves, have been nicknamed "termites of the sea." These animals are capable of feeding solely on wood, utilizing a highly efficient system of symbiotic lignocellulose degradation that is biologically, functionally, and evolutionarily distinct from those found in termites, ruminants, and all other cellulose-consuming animals. Like termites, the ability of shipworms to consume wood depends on symbiotic bacteria that provide enzymes, including cellulases and other hydrolases critical for digestion of wood by the host and potentially valuable for commercial bioconversion of lignocellulose to ethanol. Analysis of the shipworm symbiont community metagenome will provide important insights into the composition and function of this unique lignocellulose degrading bacterial community and will allow valuable comparisons to the recently sequenced termite symbiont metagenome. Unlike termites, shipworms accomplish the complete degradation of lignocellulose with a simple intracellular consortium of just a few related types of microbes. The project was proposed by Daniel Distel of the Ocean Genome Legacy Foundation.

Another marine organism, Botryococcus braunii, is a colony-forming green microalga, less than 10 micrometers in size, that synthesizes long-chain liquid hydrocarbon compounds and sequesters them in the extracellular matrix of the colony to afford buoyancy. A type of B. braunii produces a family of compounds termed botryococcenes, which hold promise as an alternative energy source. Botryococcenes have already been converted to fuel suitable for internal combustion engines. Geochemical analysis has shown that botryococcenes, presumably from ancient B. braunii communities, also comprise a portion of the hydrocarbon masses in several modern-day petroleum and coal deposits.

While algae have been recognized for their role in carbon sequestration and for biofuels production, little information, either genetic or metabolic, has been reported for this particular organism. This project, led by Andrew Koppisch and colleagues from Los Alamos National Laboratory and five other institutions, will target the identification of specific metabolic pathways responsible for hydrocarbon synthesis to alleviate bottlenecks in biofuels production.

Other CSP 2009 projects include the following:

• One metagenome project entails a sampling of the foregut of Opisthocomus hoazin—a leaf-eating Amazonian pheasant-like stinkbird, or hoatzin. A prehistoric relic, its unique fermentative organ harbors an impressive array of novel microbes, like that of cows and other ruminants. Instead of a rumen, stinkbirds possess a crop, an enlargement of the esophagus where the fermentation takes place—and the source of the stink. The characterization of its contents will likely lead to the identification of novel microbial enzymes that degrade plant cell walls.

• Nanoflagellates, a group of marine microbes, prey on other microbes, such as bacteria and phytoplankton, for survival. These predatory protists play a critical role in marine carbon cycling. An International team of investigators led by Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute's Alexandra Worden will investigate the genetic mechanism behind the processes of predation, digestion, and biomass incorporation by protists that determine the fate of phytoplankton and bacteria to bridge the gap in our knowledge about this important player in the marine food web.

• The most abundant source of carbon is plant biomass, composed primarily of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Many microorganisms are capable of utilizing cellulose and hemicellulose as carbon and energy sources, but a much smaller group of filamentous fungi has evolved with the ability to depolymerize lignin, the most recalcitrant component of plant cell walls. Collectively known as white rot fungi, they possess the unique ability to efficiently depolymerize lignin in order to gain access to cell wall carbohydrates for carbon and energy sources. Ceriporiopsis subvermispora rapidly depolymerizes lignin with relatively little cellulose degradation. The annotated gene set of C. subvermispora and comparative analyses with the lignin degraders P. chrysosporium and Pleurotus ostreatus (both sequenced by DOE JGI) will advance the understanding of these complex oxidative mechanisms involved in lignocellulose conversions. This project was proposed by Dan Cullen from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

• The CSP selections draw from all three branches of life: eukaryotes (such as plants and fungi), bacteria, and archaea. Desulfurococcus fermentans, isolated from the Uzon Caldera on the Kamchatka Peninsula, is the only known archaeon that breaks down cellulose and, unlike most known microorganisms that carry out fermentation, it produces hydrogen in the presence of hydrogen while fermenting cellulose and starch without experiencing an inhibition of growth. A comparative genomics investigation of Desulfurococcus species will resolve the finer details that distinguish proton reduction (producing hydrogen) from sulfur reduction in fermentative archaea and help to define the evolutionary and metabolic relationships of the Desulfurococcus species with their archaeal relatives. The project's principal investigator is Biswarup Mukhopadhyay of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute.

• Among the holy grails of biofuel production is the perfect concoction of enzymes capable of rendering complex biomass into fuel by a process known as simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF). Hansenula polymorpha strain NCYC 495 leu1.1 is a yeast capable of fermenting xylose (five-carbon sugar), glucose (six-carbon sugar), and cellobiose (a unit of two condensed glucose molecules) to ethanol at high temperatures (45��° C), thus holding promise for the SSF process. Commercially feasible SSF technology has not yet been developed because of the absence of a robust organism capable of fermentation at high temperatures. Sequencing of H. polymorpha will enable the identification of the limiting steps in the fermentation pathway from xylose to ethanol. The project was proposed by Andriy A. Sibirny of the Ukraine's National Academy of Sciences and Rzeszów University in Poland.

• Another key barrier to economical cellulosic biofuel production is the cost of enzymes for the degradation of cellulosic biomass. Currently, the cellulases used in pilot cellulosic ethanol plants are produced by fungi, in many cases Trichoderma reesei strain Qm6a (whose genome sequence analysis was published in Nature Biotechnology by DOE JGI and collaborators). The widespread use of T. reesei in cellulase production underscores the importance of this organism and the need for understanding the mechanisms behind enzyme secretion. This proposal, by Scott Baker from DOE JGI partner Pacific Northwest National Laboratory with contributors from Technical University of Vienna and biofuels industry players Verenium and Novozymes, will bridge the current gap in industrial fungal enzyme production research by sequencing five T. reesei strains with varying levels of cellulase production and derived from strain Qm6a with the purpose of characterizing the cellular machinery behind enzyme secretion.

• The use of microbes to directly generate electricity from the biodegradation of waste organic matter in microbial fuel cells is a technology that shows great promise. Caroline S. Harwood of the University of Washington has proposed the sequencing of the electricity-generating photosynthetic bacterium Rhodopseudomonas palustris strain DX-1 to help highlight the mechanistic basis for this unusual biological property. This project will add to the growing literature describing the complexity of this genus by complementing the six other strains of R. palustris that have been sequenced to date by DOE JGI.

• A census of subsurface microbial communities at the Hanford Site adjacent the Columbia River has been proposed by Allan Konopka and a multidisciplinary research group at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. As part of initial site characterization efforts, a deep borehole will be drilled and core samples will be subjected to detailed microbiologic and geochemical analyses to address microbial ecology hypotheses and determine the composition and activity of subsurface microbial communities in microenvironments and across transition zones. Microenvironments are small domains within larger ones that exert a disproportionate influence on subsurface contaminant migration.

The Press Release Could Be Found Here.
Contact: David Gilbert
degilbert@lbl.gov
925-296-5643
DOE/Joint Genome Institute

Tags: Energy Research, Joint Genome Institute, DOE JGI, Loblolly pine, Pinus taeda, Greater Duckweed, Spirodela polyrhiza, Bankia setacea, Shipworms, Botryococcus braunii, microalga, stinkbird, hoatzin

National Action Plan on Climate Change Launched By India

India on Monday unveiled its climate change action plan which does not set target reduction of greenhouse gas emissions but seeks to promote sustainable development through use of clean technologies.
The National Action Plan on Climate Change categorically states that India's per capita greenhouse gas emissions will "at no point exceed that of developed countries."
 According to UN data, per-capita emissions of carbon dioxide, in India, were 1.2 tonnes in 2004, compared with 20.6 tonnes for the United States for the same year. India is not yet required to cut emissions as it is a developing nation, under the Kyoto Protocol. But it is facing mounting pressure from environmental groups and industrialized nations.
Under the plan India will focus mainly on following areas;

• Solar Energy
• Enhanced Energy Efficiency
• Sustainable Habitat
• Conserving Water
• Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem
• A “Green India”
• Sustainable Agriculture
• Strategic Knowledge Platform for Climate Change

The document underlines that "India will engage actively in multilateral negotiations in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) in a positive, constructive and forward-looking manner.". The Prime Minister Singh also clarified that the National Action Plan would evolve and aims to further improve the various elements of the Plan. He concluded by recalling Mahatma Gandhi’s advice: “The earth has enough resources to meet the needs of people, but will never have enough to serve their greed”.

Stronger Short-term Goals Better At Reducing Carbon Emissions Than Long Term Policies.,

HANOVER, MD, July 1, 2008 – Long-term climate change policy in the U.S. and abroad is likely to change very slowly, warns a researcher who calls for stronger short-term goals to reduce carbon emissions, according to a study published in Decision Analysis, a journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS^®).
“Incorporating Path Dependence into Decision Analytical Methods: An Application to Global Climate Change Policy” is by Mort Webster. Dr. Webster is currently Assistant Professor for Engineering Systems at MIT. From 2006 until earlier this year, he was a visiting assistant professor in the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change and in the university’s Department of Earth, Atmosphere and Planetary Sciences.. The study appears in the current issue of Decision Analysis.
Prof. Webster writes that climate policy decisions are normally made as sequential decisions over time under uncertainty – given the magnitude of uncertainty in both economic and scientific processes, the decades-to-centuries time scale of the phenomenon, and the ability to reduce uncertainty and revise decisions along the way.
Although staging climate change policy decisions over time would seem to make sense, he points out that the tendency of U.S. and international policy to change extremely slowly requires front-loading the painful decisions.
Applying decision analysis in the context of idealized government decision makers over a century raises the question of how to deal with the fact that political systems tend to exhibit “path dependency,” a force that makes large policy shifts difficult and rare, and limits most decisions to small incremental changes.
In his paper, he argues that consideration of path dependence in the context of climate policy justifies greater near-term emissions reductions in what amounts to a hedging strategy.
Prof. Webster challenges the Bush Administration, which has cited uncertainty about future climate change among the reasons that it calls for the postponement of stricter mandated emissions reductions until the next decade.
This raises a central question for near-term climate policy, both in the United States and abroad, he writes: whether or not regulations of greenhouse gas emissions can be delayed, and whether some level of mitigating effort is required at once. Countering those who say the dust should settle before committing to big decisions, he points out that when a decision will be irreversible – as is likely the case in climate policy – delaying the decision is probably not the best option, according to research in decision analysis.
Decision making in public policy, he writes, is complicated by the reluctance of leaders to reverse course after they have made important policy choices.
“A large-scale international policy issue such as climate change is especially vulnerable to path dependencies. If significant global emissions reductions are required in the long-run, this will be an extremely difficult problem to coordinate across nations,” he writes.
Climate policy optimization models typically assume that some fraction of baseline emissions can be reduced in each period, ranging from none to nearly 100%, he notes. But, he points out, the range of reductions considered in any period is independent of any choices made in previous periods.
“The question posed in this study is: Does accounting for path dependency in political systems change the first-period (today) optimal choice from a sequential decision model of climate policy?,” he writes. “ If it does, then this would argue for a more aggressive hedging strategy with greater emissions reductions for near-term climate policy. This action would allow for greater flexibility if significant reductions are required later in the century.”

About INFORMS

The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS^®) is an international scientific society with 10,000 members, including Nobel Prize laureates, dedicated to applying scientific methods to help improve decision-making, management, and operations. Members of INFORMS work in business, government, and academia. They are represented in fields as diverse as airlines, health care, law enforcement, the military, financial engineering, and telecommunications. The INFORMS website is www.informs.org. More information about operations research is at www.scienceofbetter.org.

Tags: global warming, Climate Change,

Going green -- savings and comfort are the best incentives

Would shrinking your carbon footprint, recycling more, and going green be easier if you could monitor your household's environmental impact? That's the question a team of Canadian industry consultants set out to answer. They report their findings in a forthcoming issue of the International Journal of Environmental Technology and Management from Inderscience Publishers. The researchers recruited twenty willing households into a study group to assess how well environmentally sustainable behavior might be motivated by providing the householders with a clear and detailed picture of their impact on the environment and offering them tangible reasons for improvement and tailored solutions to problems.
They recorded and compared heating fuel, electricity, water, vehicle fuel costs and waste generation for each household and on the basis of this data recommended cost-effective measures to reduce consumption.
The team found that, on average, just over 25% of the recommended measures were implemented, which resulted in an estimated greenhouse gas reduction of about two tonnes for each household. This quantity of carbon emissions is about the same as one person making a return flight from Toronto to Vancouver and has an estimated environmental offsetting cost of around $30.
There were wide variations between households, however, demonstrating the potential to reduce environmental impact through lifestyle, conservation, and energy-conscious retrofits to older properties.
Despite initiatives such as Canada's "One Tonne Challenge" many individuals are increasingly concerned with environmental issues yet paradoxically feel that their personal efforts will either have little or no effect on global climate change and so are not adopting green principles.
"Participants commented that they became much more aware of their energy consumption and environmental impact by taking part in the year-long study and were, as a result, motivated to make changes to their behavior and physical surroundings," the researchers say.
The researchers recommended a raft of environmental measures for the participants. These included replacing incandescent with compact fluorescent bulbs, activating energy saving settings on computers, installing ceiling fans, and reducing air-conditioning use. They also suggested several popular heating energy reduction measures including improving the air tightness of the home, insulating foundations, walls and hot water tanks.
Vehicle emissions were reduced by lower vehicle use and using ethanol blended gasoline, while water was saved by replacing toilets with low-water models, installing kitchen faucet aerators, reducing sprinkler use and installing rain barrels. All households were already recycling and 90% composting before the study began.
The team found that of the thirty or so environmental measures that they recommended, only thirteen were implemented by one in five or more of the households.
The follow-up survey of participants indicated that their priorities regarding home upgrades were in improving comfort and lowering operating costs rather than reducing environmental impact. "The major obstacles to reducing environmental impact were seen as financial cost and lack of time and knowledge to evaluate and implement environmental measures," the team reported. However, for those measures where a payback was possible in less than ten years, households were more likely to implement the measures.
An additional socioeconomic factor that has been overlooked in other studies emerged from the present research. There were several common factors among the households with the highest environmental impact per occupant. These were higher floor area per occupant, than average, multiple vehicle ownership, greater mileage, and occupants being 40-something adults with no children living at home. "These lifestyle factors appeared to have more impact than the environmental features we think of most often like the quality of the building envelope or energy efficiency of appliances and fixtures," the researchers say.
The project demonstrated that most homeowners are willing to take steps to reduce their environmental impact if they are provided with practical recommendations that will improve home comforts and reduce costs. But, there was enormous variance in adopting such measures and lowering household carbon footprint even within the same community, which the researchers suggest implies that new regulations, grants, and taxes to make good environmental practices and products a better investment than less environmentally sound alternatives could be the most effective way to change behavior on a large scale.

Contact: Jane Thompson
jtarch@cyberus.ca
613-747-8104
Inderscience Publishers