| "Green" propellant could give rockets--and environment--a boost A team from NASA, the military and academia has developed and tested a simple rocket fuel of fine-grained aluminum and water ice that the researchers say could provide a cleaner alternative to propellants now in use. [More] rss.sciam.com |
Gorillas versus charcoal update: Biomass project reaches halfway point What do comic books, a reggae band and alternative fuels have in common? They are all part of a project to help save critically endangered mountain gorillas ( Gorilla beringei beringei ) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). [More] rss.sciam.com |
Home Sweet Earthship: Building a Self-Sufficient Bio-House from Old Tires and Recycled Cans Dear EarthTalk I've heard of extremely environmentally friendly homes and communities called "Earthships" popping up across the U.S. What are they exactly? --Kelsey Kuehn, Kirtland, Ohio [More] rss.sciam.com |
Slash and Sprawl: U.S. Eastern Forests Resume Decline Trees once covered almost the entire eastern seaboard of the U.S. Vast forests supported a rich ecosystem, including flocks of the extinct passenger pigeon big enough to blot out the sun. But by the 1920s at least half of this forest was gone--a victim of tree-clearing for farming, forestry or fossil-fuel extraction. [More] rss.sciam.com |
Burn, baby, burn: Student-engineered stoves put to the test by Tanzanian women Editor's Note: Students from Dartmouth's Thayer School of Engineering are working in Tanzania to help improve sanitation and energy technologies in local villages. The student-led group , known as Humanitarian Engineering Leadership Projects (HELP), will file dispatches from the field during their trip. This is their ninth blog post for Scientific American. [More] Tanzania - Dartmouth College - Thayer School of Engineering - Energy - Scientific American rss.sciam.com |