Seattle Steam’s downtown biomass-burning energy plant has become a target for activists who claim the facility is producing “dirty heat”. SEFS‘ Rick Gustafson is quoted. Read more here.
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With receding sea ice allowing energy exploration in the Arctic, the US is set to unveil a five-year leasing plan that seeks to minimize the negative environmental impact of the drilling. SMEA‘s Tom Leschine is quoted. Read more here. Chemical reactions on the surface of metal oxides, such as titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, are important for applications such as solar cells that convert the sun’s energy to electricity. Now University of Washington scientists have found that a previously unappreciated aspect of those reactions could be key in developing more efficient energy systems. Read more about this research here. The Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant in Alabama had to shut down more than once last summer because the Tennessee River’s water was too warm to use it for cooling. A new study projects that, with warmer water and lower flows, more such power disruptions are likely across US and Europe in the next 50 years. Civil and Environmental Engineering‘s Dennis Lettenmaier is a co-author on this study. Read more here! Anyone who has spent time on Forest Service land is familiar with slash piles, big dunes of plant scraps gathered up as a side-effect of logging. Scientists at UW, including SEFS PhD canidate Jenny Knoth, have invented a blanket to wrap around slash piles, that serves as CO2 absorber, fertilizer and kiln. Read more here! We know that different types of fuels emit different levels of greenhouse gases. But what about the emissions that result from gaining access to those fuel sources themselves? In this interview, Steve Davis – a research associate at the Carnegie Institution for Science and a visiting scholar at the Climate Impacts Group – helps us understand the impacts of coal mining, delivery and use, from a CO2 perspective. The Washington Department of Natural Resources, along with researchers from the School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, completed an assessment that suggests that we could use the “extra” biomass on the forest floor for fuel. This study was completed in March, and pubic meetings were held last week to explain the results of the assessment. Read more here. |
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