Solar energy has its backers who believe that clean and low-cost energy should prevail over critics who say it’s not really that cheap, and that its appearance is a visually jarring presence in the rural landscape.
Top Stories
Cynthia Bartel, a doctoral candidate at Iowa State University, is finding a way to lessen the harm and increase the benefits of removing corn stover. Read more
Chicken is a favorite, inexpensive meat across the globe. But the bird’s popularity results in a lot of waste that can pollute soil and water. Read more
New York City, the largest municipal consumer of heating oil in the country, has taken advantage of biodiesel’s benefits by instituting a citywide 2 percent biodiesel requirement for heating oil in October 2012 that increases to 5 percent this October. Read more
The study of photosynthesis has allowed scientists not only to understand the intricacies of how organisms use light to drive their metabolism but also has paved the way for technological advances into sustainable energy sources. Read more
Graphene is a carbon material that is one atom thick. Its thin composition and high conductivity allow for its use in applications ranging from miniaturized electronics to biomedical devices. Read more
Accomack County officials, in an effort to protect farmland, have added a new layer of red tape for renewable energy developers coming to Virginia’s Eastern Shore. Read more
Alaska Airlines landed the first commercial flight powered in part by a new renewable fuel made of wood waste salvaged from private lands in Washington, Oregon and Montana. Read more
The USDA announced this week that it is investing more than $300 million to help hundreds of small businesses across the country save money on their energy costs by adopting renewable sources or implementing more energy-efficient options. Read more
Accomack County is poised to approve its second utility-scale solar farm, but some officials are rallying against the prospect of more panels in their county. Read more
Small-scale methane digesters could give more dairy farmers to renewable energy source that so far has mostly been available only to the large farms. Read more
