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.
Drones used to protect wildlife
So far drones have been used to ferry tuberculosis tests around Papua New Guinea, and track deforestation in Sumatra. Now drones are being used to keep track of wildlife from the jungles of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to the shores of British Columbia (BC). The drones are watching hippos Read More...
Americans calling for solar and wind
Americans by large prefer alternative fuels like wind and solar instead of coal, oil, or nuclear energy—natural gas lands somewhere in between, with pros and cons. The findings were the results of a recently published study conducted over the past 12 years by Harvard researchers. Around 80 Read More...
Madrid is changing all streetlights for energy efficient ones
The city of Madrid has announced the largest energy efficient lighting project in the world. The project will reduce the city’s energy cost 44 percent by replacing old lamps with 225,000 energy efficient bulbs. And according to bulb manufacturer Phillips the project will pay for itself. Read More...
UK’s largest solar array now online
Regardless of its gloomy weather, the UK has now connected their largest solar farm to the kingdom’s power grid. The massive array is located in Oxfordshire and will produce 46 megawatts (MW) of electricity—enough energy to power 14,000 homes per year. Though the massive solar plant is the Read More...
Falling oil prices won’t impact rise of renewables
With the falling oil prices recently many are wondering if this will derail all the progress that has been made toward renewable energy sources—it won’t, and here’s why: Renewables mostly compete with coal-fired power plants for electricity generation. The price of coal has fallen in recent Read More...
Australia sets solar energy record
The efficiency of most solar panels averages between 10 and 15 percent with conversion records hitting around 35 percent. So it’s big news when a team of Australian scientists reports a 40.4 percent conversion efficiency by using commercially available solar cells combined with a mirror and Read More...
Aerodynamic trucks would save billions of gallons of diesel
Energy saving is good business. Take the trucks that carry the majority of freight around the United States. Two million tractor-trailer trucks burn about 36 billion gallons of diesel per year. Researchers have discovered that if 18-wheelers retrofit trailer skirts along the bottom sides of trucks, Read More...
The dawn of efficient, clean and connected micropower
Fossil fuel, coal and nuclear energy driven power plants not only are a major cause of greenhouse gas emissions, they are also quite inefficient. A lot of power—up to 20 percent—is lost in the long distance distribution from these big plants to the end user. This is why microgrids are quickly Read More...
Farmers discover new cash crop: Renewable energy
In the fields of eastern Iowa the same Amish families have tended the land for centuries. Amish like to be independent. That’s why they like—off the grid—renewable energy. Many are joining the new tariff programs that are popping up from Pennsylvania to Washington that allow farmers to trade Read More...
China’s central bank urges support for carbon-cutting industries
Following the deal hashed out earlier this month between China and the US to cut carbon emissions, China’s central bank has called on banks and businesses in the nation to back industries that will reduce CO2 emissions. The most polluted country in the world aims to cap all carbon emissions and Read More...