Videos
Podcasts
Blogs
Quizzes
GamesPosts Tagged: ‘environment’
There is no big shortage of guys in search of cheap, abundant, free energy. We are, after all, going to eventually run out of fossil fuels — if we haven’t already — and we will require something to keep the global economy humming, lest it shut down. One of my favorites is a man in Florida who figured out a way to make common saltwater burn. Anything that can be made combustible is inherently potentially useful for energy, since at the very least heat can be used to create steam which can be used to turn a turbine, which can generate electricity. And what’s more abundant on the surface of Earth then salt water?
You Asked:
How many people are born every minute? — Alice, Galway City, Ireland
Marshall Brain Answers…
You Asked:
How is waste water treated? — Sasha, San Antonio, Texas
Marshall Brain Answers…
“The Lorax” was first published by Dr. Suess in 1971. This was during the dark ages of environmental protection. Keep in mind that the EPA did not open its doors until December of 1970, and at that point the amount of pollution in the United States was staggering. One of the events that brought the EPA into being was the fire on the Cuyahoga River in Ohio in June of 1969. Yes, an entire river lit on fire, as seen in this video…
This is an older video that I don’t think I have seen before. It is called “The Story of Stuff”, which obviously lies in the HowStuffWorks sweet spot. The video explains how the products we use every day get to us, and where they go after we get done with them. It contains a pretty [...]
Here’s a really good reason why you should think for yourself: if you don’t, civilization as we know it will crumble and the streets will run red with the blood of the innocent. So that second part was fabricated, yes. The first part, about civilization crumbling, appears to be for real.
Oooo, lordy, I love it when the liberals are in power. I’m about to make me a cool $4,500 from the federal government. NPR was all atwitter on the way in to work with news of the Cash for Clunkers bill that’s easily made its way through the House and is poised to pass the Senate sometime in the near future. The bill gives a nearly five grand rebate to people who trade in their cars that get 18 miles or less to the gallon for a car that gets 28 miles or more per gallon.
Let’s put this puppy to bed, shall we? Coming in at the number one spot, eclipsing all others, ladies and gentlemen — I give you switchgrass.
Switchgrass is a warm season grass, nothing more than a prairie weed. But just because it has the word grass in it, don’t think it’s anything like the fescue growing in your back yard. A full season of growth for switchgrass can top out at ten feet high with tough, thick stems.
Turns out, this stuff is a miracle worker when it comes to producing biofuel. A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences states that switchgrass can produce 500 percent more renewable energy than the energy required to be grown and processed.
On today’s list of top biofuels, we have jatropha. I bet dollars to donuts that most of you haven’t heard of this one, and I hadn’t either until I started to dig in and do some research. Here’s the skinny on jatropha curcas:
- It’s a shrub that can grow most anywhere
- It’s highly drought resistant
- Doesn’t compete with food crops
- Its seeds are about 35 percent oil
- Originated in Central America, now grown in Asia
- Oil can be burned in a standard diesel engine
- Generates topsoil and stalls erosion
- One bush can live up to 50 years
It also produces four times as much oil per hectare as soybean and a whopping ten times as much as corn. So what’s the problem? Well, it’s poisonous to both man and cattle and as if now, it needs to be harvested by hand, making it very labor intensive.
Today’s entry into the top 5 biofuels sweepstakes is rapeseed. This mustard green is also known as oilseed and canola. Though it is indeed and leafy green, it’s largely grown for it’s seeds, which are about 40 percent oil. China and Europe produce most it, to the tune of about 47 million tons per year in total.
Rapeseed has been used for making soap, oils and plastics manufacturing, but it really shines as a biofuel. In fact, Europe is the leader in making biodiesel from rapeseed oil. Why? Mainly because they heavily subsidize the stuff in Europe, much like the United States does with corn. The EU wants to have 10 percent of its vehicles running on biodiesel by the year 2020 and rapeseed looks to be a major player.
Recent Postings by Category
BrainStuff
- Thank You and Best Wishes to Marshall Brain
- Contest – Design a $300 house and win $25,000
- How the Philtrum works – the place under your nose where your face comes together
The Coolest Stuff on the Planet
- Sailing, Takes Me Away…To The Seychelles
- Cute Animal Tuesday: Black Vulture
- Traveling on the Orient Express
Keep Asking
- Why can a 5 foot 8 inch man dunk a basketball on a 10 foot rim while some people of taller stature can’t?
- What happens to our sun once it runs out of fuel?
- How do we know the age of the universe?
Stuff Mom Never Told You
- Who invented the Christmas card?
- How the Kinsey Report Fueled Whiskey Sales
- How to Get Your Wedding Announcement into The New York Times
Stuff to Blow Your Mind
- The Seven Deadlies: Pride Cometh Before the Brain
- Warhammer 40K: 25 Years of Orks in Space
- A Visit to the Tellus Science Museum
Stuff You Should Know
- The Southern Death Cult, the Maya and Georgia
- Deformed Baby Spider Brains
- Amazing Medical Conditions: Maple Syrup Urine Disorder
The Stuff of Genius
CarStuff
- Was Chrysler’s “It’s Halftime in America” Super Bowl commercial a little too political?
- Why is NASA studying car safety?
- Tips for in-car Navigation Systems
How-to Stuff
- How to Make the Most of a Gallery Crawl (When You’re on a Shoestring Budget)
- How to Swim with Dolphins (When Deep Water Terrifies You)
- How to Cure a Homemade Cookie Craving Without Turning on the Oven
PopStuff
- PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 43: Drag Queens: You Better Work!
- PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 42: Road Trip!
- PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 41: Celebrity Couples
Stuff They Don't Want You To Know
Stuff to Change the World
- Who will own the Arctic?
- Obesity: The New Global Crisis
- Bill Gates Makes For A Pretty Decent Cartoon
Stuff You Missed in History Class
- Butch Cassidy: Should we read between the lines?
- Are we rooting for D.B. Cooper?
- Party Time: A Look at Unconventional Politics
