Archive for May 27th, 2011

Region still has ‘somewhere to go’ in addressing climate change issues

Jamaica Observer: Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Belize-based Caribbean Community Climate Change Center (CCCC), Dr Leonard Nurse says while regional countries are making progress in their effort to resolve climate change issues they are still in the same category as other developing small islands states that have much more to do. "We do have somewhere to go but we are no worse off than other regions. We are fortunate to have the kind of political support and some good internal capacity, we have to build...

Drain on Spain

BBC: The strawberry has always been one of the most prized tastes of summer. But meeting the growing demand for this favourite fruit - in Britain, Germany, France and beyond - is putting great strain on the environment in Spain. Spain is the biggest exporter of strawberries worldwide, with an industry worth more than 400m euros (£345m) a year, which supports around 50,000 jobs. Intensive agricultural methods mean the fruit can be grown all year round. Nine out of 10 strawberries are exported to...

Venice floods no worse under climate change

Australian Broadcasting Corporation: Future reprieve Venice may be less at risk than feared from rising sea levels because damaging storm surges are likely to get less frequent this century as a side-effect of climate change, says an Australian expert. Shifts in storm patterns in the Adriatic Sea could be a local impact of global warming, and this could offset higher sea levels in a city whose St Mark's Square and other historic areas are often flooded. "Higher sea levels will be counteracted by less severe storm surges," says...

Flexible films for photovoltaics

ScienceDaily: Flexible Films for Photovoltaics Displays that can be rolled up and flexible solar cells -- both are potential future markets. Barrier layers that protect thin-film solar cells from oxygen and water vapor and thus increase their useful life are an essential component. What do potato chips and thin-film solar cells have in common? Both need films that protect them from air and water vapor: the chips in order to stay fresh and crisp; the solar cells in order to have a useful life that is as long...

Scientists generates hydrogen as an energy source from ethanol and sunlight

ScienceDaily: Scientists Generates Hydrogen as an Energy Source from Ethanol and Sunlight A team of researchers from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, the University of Aberdeen (Scotland) and the University of Auckland (New Zealand) uses ethanol and sunlight to generate hydrogen as an energy source. Jordi Llorca, director of the Institute of Energy Technology and researcher at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya's Nanoengineering Research Centre, is one of the authors of the study,...