Energy and the Environment-A Coastal Perspective

             Over the past five years, tidal energy has begun to take its place alongside solar and wind energy as one of the emerging green powerhouses.  Although tidal energy technologies are far behind that of wind or solar, and are still experiencing vast changes and upgrades every day, their potential is enormous.  Unlike wind or […]

    Nathan Lewis and Daniel Nocera have been developing artificial leaves that make fuel from sunlight.  According to Nathan S. Lewis from the California Institute of Technology, “Artificial leaves are inspired by leaves, but they won’t look like them.”  Lewis is the principal investigator for this five-year project which has been given a $122 million […]

The “Smart Grid” is a system supported by many corporations like General Electric and government agencies like the Department of Energy as the future of electricity in the United States.  The current method of a one-way transfer of electricity from the utility to the household is over a century old and makes it difficult for […]

An article on the New York Times website called “Interior to Review Proposal to Tap Florida Ocean Currents” detailed a statement released a few days ago by the Interior Department concerning a proposal for permission to build a test ocean current energy installation by Florida Atlantic University. The proposal is currently under environmental review. This […]

10 days ago, NPR posted a story about the fortunes of nuclear programs in the post-Fukushima world.  In short, they’re not good.  Japan’s post-tsunami nuclear crisis has essentially sent the world into a frenzy of anti-nuclear sentiment, and this appears to reflect up the policy ladder.  Germany as well as Japan for obvious reasons moving […]

When Cape Wind was proposed off the coast of Cape Cod, apart from a few vocal critics, there was astonishing public support for the project. The public seemed to understand that projects like this create jobs and support the local economy, all while saving the environment. But soon after the complaints began filtering in. The […]

Unlike most other renewable energy devices, offshore wind is a renewable energy technology with a significant short-term upside. One of the biggest requirements of offshore wind is the presence of a transmission backbone along our nation’s coasts. Until recently, this foundation has been absent because of the classic chicken-and-the-egg problem. Energy developers refused to build […]