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Special Issue in Science this week - Energy

13 Aug 2010 12:08 #1 by ScienceChic
Special Issue in Science this week - Energy was created by ScienceChic
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/f ... 9/5993/779
Introduction to special issue
Getting Better To Get Bigger
David Malakoff, Jake Yeston, Jesse Smith
Science 13 August 2010:
Vol. 329. no. 5993, p. 779
DOI: 10.1126/science.329.5993.779

The end of the age of fossil fuels may be in sight, but what comes after is still a bit of a blur. There are numerous alternatives to coal, oil, and natural gas from electricity generated by solar farms to biofuels brewed from plants. Scaling up these alternative sources of energy, however, has proved a challenge. This special issue explores the progress that researchers are making in developing better alternatives, and the technical, political, and economic pitfalls associated with scaling them up.

Several of the articles are available free this week (according to my Facebook messages anyway) so you can read for yourself what the experts are saying. I'm only posting links to the Podcasts, but the rest are in the link above.

EDITORIAL
Beyond Petroleum?
Donald Kennedy (13 August 2010)
Science 329 (5993), 727. [DOI: 10.1126/science.1194561]
| Summary » | Full Text » | PDF »

POLICY FORUM
Nuclear Waste
Nuclear Waste: Knowledge Waste?
Eugene A. Rosa, Seth P. Tuler, Baruch Fischhoff, Thomas Webler, Sharon M. Friedman, Richard E. Sclove, Kristin Shrader-Frechette, Mary R. English, Roger E. Kasperson, Robert L. Goble, Thomas M. Leschine, William Freudenburg, Caron Chess, Charles Perrow, Kai Erikson, and James F. Short (13 August 2010)
Science 329 (5993), 762. [DOI: 10.1126/science.1193205]
| Summary » | Full Text » | PDF » | Podcast Interview » http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/f ... 93/762/DC1

PERSPECTIVES
Engineering
Concentrating on Solar Electricity and Fuels
Martin Roeb and Hans Müller-Steinhagen (13 August 2010)
Science 329 (5993), 773. [DOI: 10.1126/science.1191137]
| Summary » | Full Text » | PDF »

NEWS
News
Do We Have the Energy for the Next Transition?
Richard A. Kerr (13 August 2010)
Science 329 (5993), 780. [DOI: 10.1126/science.329.5993.780]
| Summary » | Full Text » | PDF » | Podcast Interview » http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/f ... 93/780/DC1

NEWS
News
Sending African Sunlight to Europe, Special Delivery
Daniel Clery (13 August 2010)
Science 329 (5993), 782. [DOI: 10.1126/science.329.5993.782]
| Summary » | Full Text » | PDF »

NEWS
News
Is There a Road Ahead for Cellulosic Ethanol?
Robert F. Service (13 August 2010)
Science 329 (5993), 784. [DOI: 10.1126/science.329.5993.784]
| Summary » | Full Text » | PDF »

NEWS
News
Energy's Tricky Tradeoffs
Adrian Cho (13 August 2010)
Science 329 (5993), 786. [DOI: 10.1126/science.329.5993.786]
| Summary » | PDF »

NEWS
News
Out of Site
Eli Kintisch (13 August 2010)
Science 329 (5993), 788. [DOI: 10.1126/science.329.5993.788]
| Summary » | Full Text » | PDF »

NEWS
Other Siting Problems
Eli Kintisch (13 August 2010)
Science 329 (5993), 789. [DOI: 10.1126/science.329.5993.789]
| Summary » | Full Text » | PDF »

PERSPECTIVE
Feedstocks for Lignocellulosic Biofuels
Chris Somerville, Heather Youngs, Caroline Taylor, Sarah C. Davis, and Stephen P. Long (13 August 2010)
Science 329 (5993), 790. [DOI: 10.1126/science.1189268]
| Abstract » | Full Text » | PDF » | Supporting Online Material » | Podcast Interview » http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/f ... 93/790/DC2

PERSPECTIVE
Challenges in Scaling Up Biofuels Infrastructure
Tom L. Richard (13 August 2010)
Science 329 (5993), 793. [DOI: 10.1126/science.1189139]
| Abstract » | Full Text » | PDF »

PERSPECTIVE
An Outlook on Microalgal Biofuels
René H. Wijffels and Maria J. Barbosa (13 August 2010)
Science 329 (5993), 796. [DOI: 10.1126/science.1189003]
| Abstract » | Full Text » | PDF »

REVIEW
Generating the Option of a Two-Stage Nuclear Renaissance
Robin W. Grimes and William J. Nuttall (13 August 2010)
Science 329 (5993), 799. [DOI: 10.1126/science.1188928]
| Abstract » | Full Text » | PDF »

PODCASTS
Science Podcast
(13 August 2010)
Science 329 (5993), 862-b. [DOI: 10.1126/science.329.5993.862-b]
| Summary » | Full Text » | Transcript »
"Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe.” -King T'Challa, Black Panther

The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it. ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. ~Winston Churchill

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13 Aug 2010 15:54 #2 by FredHayek
Replied by FredHayek on topic Special Issue in Science this week - Energy
It will require massive investment in these alternatives, plus hopefully huge leaps in technology.
Wouldn't it be awesome if a house have 100% of energy needs provided by a 1/2 roof sized solar panel that only cost $1000. It would solve many of the huge electrical grid issues in the developing world and starting to increase in the first world.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.

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13 Aug 2010 18:08 #3 by daisypusher
Replied by daisypusher on topic Special Issue in Science this week - Energy
If it seems too good to be true it usually is. Not very much info on those links..... We get a review and one paper.

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14 Aug 2010 09:40 #4 by Rockdoc
Replied by Rockdoc on topic Special Issue in Science this week - Energy
The future is likely foretold in science fiction. It spawns the questions that direct research in the future. Having said that there are a few of things I think. First, improvements need to be made in wireless transmission of electricity. Second, electrical generation needs to come from space positioned solar panels capable of producing power 24/7. Inexpensive rooftop electrical generation is impractical for city use, just not enough power for the population density.

Biofuel is not a viable alternative. Feeding the world population takes precedence. Why should we waste viable farmland to produce hydrocarbons, the very thing we are trying to move away from? It makes no sense. Unless technological breakthroughs to power personal and public transportation and transport of goods happen, we remain stuck with using hydrocarbons. As such, biofuels provide an expensive measure to bridge the gap to the future.

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14 Aug 2010 16:35 #5 by PrintSmith
Replied by PrintSmith on topic Special Issue in Science this week - Energy

Rockdoc Franz wrote: Biofuel is not a viable alternative. Feeding the world population takes precedence. Why should we waste viable farmland to produce hydrocarbons, the very thing we are trying to move away from? It makes no sense. Unless technological breakthroughs to power personal and public transportation and transport of goods happen, we remain stuck with using hydrocarbons. As such, biofuels provide an expensive measure to bridge the gap to the future.

Kinda depends on the source of the biomass for the biofuel, doesn't it Doc? How many pounds of food are tossed out of our grocery stores on a daily basis? How much farmland would some of the experiments with algae grown using the emissions from coal fired power plants really consume? Could we ever replace totally the amount of fossil fuel with biofuel? Not in my opinion, but we really won't be getting non-stop international flights out of a bank of batteries either, regardless of how efficient battery technology becomes simply because of the physics involved, or power our interstate trucking fleet using batteries alone either. We won't even start about the problems using them for trains. Electricity, perhaps, but not from batteries.

We're smart enough to figure out how to make synthetic diamonds and other gemstones, I'm certain we are smart enough to figure out how to make synthetic fuel if/when it becomes necessary.

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