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IBM Concentrator PhotoVoltaic (CPV) Solar Power Research Breakthrough

IBM has leveraged their computer-chip cooling know-how into a highly effective solar concentrator design. Bench-scale testing of the design (as pictured) shows an order of magnitude increase in solar power output from a unit cell. Other designers have worked out CPVs with similar concentrating lenses, typically paired with a tracking device. The cooling part of IBMs' design is the cool part: something no other designer has access to, presumably. The trick lies in IBM?s ability to cool the tiny solar cell. Concentrating the equivalent of 2000 suns on such a small area generates enough heat to melt stainless steel, something the resear...

Mark Bittman TED Video: Link Between Food and the Environment

Carbon Sequestration and Storage in Soils Could Solve Global Warming

Soils contain more than twice as much carbon as the atmosphere according to estimates (Food and Agriculture Association of the United Nations, FAO). Increasing the amount of carbon naturally stored in soils could provide the short-term bridge to reduce the impacts of increasing carbon emissions until low-carbon and sustainable technologies can be implemented. A group called Soil Carbon, based in Australia, makes the case for soil carbon storage in a presentation available in English, German, Spanish, Italian, Mexican and Portuguese. The Soil Carbon report includes impressive photographs, such as those above, demonstrating the difference between well-managed and poor...