Posted October 25, 2012 by edpenn13 in Environment. Tagged: and, asteroid, bioengineering, block, cells, eco friendly, energy, environment, environmental, face, german, germany, green, hamster, ikea, irish, news, power, record, renewable, research, science, scientists, sea, solar, sticks, stones, sun, today, toms, watch, wheel. Leave a Comment

German scientists double the efficiency of solar cells

Researchers in Germany have found a way to combine a conventional solar panel with black silicon. A conventional panel can only harness 50%-70% of UV light. With the addition of black silicon, 100% of the suns energy can be absorbed, including infrared rays. I will not bore you wit the technical side (I was never good at chemistry) but these new solar panels are already in production. Furthermore the equipment used to produce these new panels is in the process of being mass produced. Do you think solar energy is more worth our time than wind energy?

Germany sets new solar record

Seems like Germany have been investigating solar power for quite some time…. Last weekend, 22 gigawatts was fed into the German national grid, per hour. This culminated in providing almost half of the countries energy demands. After Fukushima, Japan as forced to shut down all nuclear power plants, Germany soon followed suit. This meant there was extra money and space to be spent on new energy resources. Like most European countries, Germany are aiming to cut greenhouse emissions by 40% between 1990 and 2020. Amazingly, it looks like they achieve this goal.

So next time someone tells you renewable energy is pointless, drop this knowledge bomb on them. I guess we can’t hate Germany just because of their football team forever…

Asteroid dust clouds can act as a sunshade

A research time from Strathclyde has suggested that blowing up asteroids could help save our planet. Natural dust would be scattered in the atmosphere, thus reflecting sun rays. Like all geo-engineering projects (giant mirrors in space anyone?), this idea comes with a few risks. The dust particles will eventually disperse you to the gravitational pull of our solar system. Also, the collateral damage to earth would be unpredictable. Who knows where the extra debris would fall. The dust cloud would only be able to absorb 1.7% of the sun rays. Whilst this seems a small amount, it would still manage to cool the earth around 2-3 degrees celsius which would make a huge difference.

Whilst this isn’t the best geo-engineering project, it has shown us that we only need to stop a very small amount of solar radiation hitting the earth in order to make a very big difference.

IKEA will use 100% renewable resources by 2020

No, IKEA isn’t a European country involved in the 40% emission cut by 2020, although you wouldn’t be blamed for thinking so. The most inspirational part? IKEA have promised to plant more trees than they use. Since they are also investing in wind and solar energy, IKEA will be creating more energy than it uses. This isn’t just about self-sustainability, this is about helping to power the planet.

The $2 billion dollar investment shouldn’t discourage other companies from taking a similar environmental approach to business. This project is set to save IKEA and its consumers a lot of money.

I leave you with

– A watch that saves children. No, it’s not by Toms.

– Man attempts to cross the Irish Sea….in a giant hamster wheel.

– An alternative, cheap and eco-friendly chair that will make your friends jealous.