Science
From mathematics and AI to medicine and psychology, The Optimist Daily features the latest news on discoveries, technological advances, and breakthroughs in the world of science. Our Science section is here to engage and enlighten you.
Huge win for renewables in Maryland as lawmakers override governor's veto
Lawmakers in the Maryland Senate voted 32-13 Thursday to expand the state's renewable energy target restoring the Clean Energy Jobs Act and overriding Republican Gov. Larry Hogan's veto of the measure in May of last year. The bill is now in effect. The bill increases requirements to use energy Read More...
Scientists develop a "better way" to produce renewable hydrogen
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have developed a “better way” to make hydrogen using renewable energy according to a paper published this month in Nature Energy. Hydrogen has many potential applications and is already used Read More...
The largest coal-fired power plant in the West may close later this year
And to underline the message for the future of fossil fuels: The owners of Arizona’s Navajo Generating Station, the largest coal-fired plant in the west of the U.S. have announced that they consider closing the plant, because low natural gas prices and the rising costs of generating electricity Read More...
New report: Electric cars and cheap solar will halt fossil fuel growth by 2020
Solar power and clean cars are consistently underestimated by big energy, according to a new report by Imperial College and Carbon Tracker Initiative. The report projects that polluting fuels could lose ten percent of market share to solar power and clean cars within a decade. A ten percent loss of Read More...
LED lighting retrofits in Hawaiian homes: Faster paybacks than solar power
Visitors know the Hawaiian islands for many things: ample sunshine, beautiful beaches, and friendly people. Residents know these things as well, but also are all too aware of high electricity prices, an aging electrical grid dependent on foreign oil, choke traffic, and other problems associated Read More...
We’re underestimating how quickly electric vehicles will disrupt oil market
Just about every analyst agrees that the electric vehicle market is poised for rapid growth. But how rapid? It’s not an idle question. The rate of EV growth will have huge implications for oil markets, auto markets, and electric utilities. Yet it is maddeningly difficult to predict the Read More...
Scientists want to create a limitless clean energy with nuclear fusion by 2030
Nuclear fusion is a process that replicates the natural powers of the sun to create vast amounts of clean energy without producing carbon emissions. The process works by fusing two hydrogen atoms together under extreme pressures to produce an almost limitless supply of helium, a fuel source. The Read More...
German electricity transmission CEO: ‘80 percent renewables is no problem’
Germany’s pursuit of a low carbon economy, the Energiewende, is in full swing, but questions have emerged over its feasibility. EurActiv’s partner Der Tagesspiegel spoke with Boris Schucht, who is head of one of Germany’s largest electricity providers. Boris Schucht has been CEO Read More...
Self-driving car prototypes need less human help, data show
Self-driving car prototypes appear to be getting better at negotiating California streets and highways without a human backup driver intervening, according to data made public Wednesday by California transportation regulators. The data reflect safety-related incidents reported by 11 companies that Read More...
Blue Bird, Lion Bus have big plans for electric school buses
The US Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded Blue Bird with $4.4 million to develop an electric school bus with vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology. With a total of almost $9 million to work with through matching funds from other groups, Blue Bird will build a demonstration fleet of eight buses in Read More...