Big win: Cellulose directly to Diesel!

We've been looking for bugs, or trying to create them, that will convert cellulose directly to ethanol. Well, this fungus apparently goes straight to diesel! A huge win, now we need to figure out if it can fit into an industrial process.

Check the story out here.

South Pacific Plastic Vortex

The South Pacific Plastic Vortex: a pile of floating plastic trash two times the size of Texas. Here's a fascinating article on the plastic vortex that presents some serious concerns.

Gas 2.0

I post a number of interesting things that I come upon in the realm of the transportation revolution we're going through. That's all well and good, but Gas2.org has topic after topic of exciting news. We'll be off foreign oil sooner than many realize and our environment will thank us.

Biodiesel Breakthrough!

Awesome advance in Biodiesel generation and proudly by American ingenuity. Half the cost, way more efficient, way more flexible, and easy to do! Check it out!

Game Changing Solar Technology

As I said to my brother, it seems like we think about technology as if changes occurs slowly. That's simply not true. Like all innovation technology moves in jumps. Some are small, some are large, and some (like the transistor) create a revolution that transforms our entire society in 30 years.

On that note, huge progress has been made on the front of solar technology and it's something to be excited about. I won't paraphrase though, this brief MIT article will do far better. Also, here's the Reuters article on the same thing.

Dr. Quantum: The Dual Slit Experiment

Dr. Quantum is a goofy but interesting and fun presentation of basic quantum concepts. This one is called the "Dual Slit Experiment". I really enjoyed this - give it a watch (needs sound).

The Chevy Volt

My cousin sent me this article and I thought it was exciting enough to be worth mention. The Chevy Volt is an all electric car that GM is really stretching to create. By 2010 they want to be in production of the Volt which achieves the following:

- Charges overnight
- 40 mile range on 1 charge (most people only drive 40 miles in a day - I know I drive far less)
- After 40 miles a gas engine runs at optimal efficiency to charge the electric battery (like a train)
- Achieves 50 mpg when the gas engine is running, infinite miles per gallon when not running.

I love the idea but the technological challenges are enormous (as mentioned in the article), however, that's beside the point. GM is doing what they need and what America needs - they're driving at innovation. They are not driving for slow incremental change but a leap and even if they fail there are bound to be benefits to the techonology realm for trying. So GM gets my two thumbs up for trying to leap beyond their capabilities and culture to innovate for us and for themselves. :)