Electric cars and their future
By Andy Soos, ENN Will electric cars ever become the common way to drive? What is needed is an infrastructure that allows easy recharging of the vehicle (such as gasoline stations are for the internal combustion engine). There are two key barriers to plug-ins: first, the current battery technology is very expensive, adding...
Earth recovered from prehistoric global warming faster than previously thought
Science Daily Earth may be able to recover from rising carbon dioxide emissions faster than previously thought, according to evidence from a prehistoric event analyzed by a Purdue University-led team. When faced with high levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide and rising temperatures 56 million years ago, Earth increased its ...
Novel technique reveals how glaciers sculpted their valleys
Science Daily The beautiful and distinctive U-shaped glacial valleys typical of alpine areas from Alaska to New Zealand have fascinated and frustrated geologists for centuries. While it seems obvious that glaciers scoured the bedrock for millions of years, what the landscape looked like before glaciers appeared, and how the...
Cancer cause or crop aid? Monsanto-developed herbicide faces big test
By Carey Gillam, Reuters Critics say it's a chemical that could cause infertility or cancer, while others see it speeding the growth of super weeds and causing worrying changes to plants and soil. Backers say it is safe and has made a big contribution to food production. It's glyphosate, the key — but controversial — ingredient...
Spring goes up in smoke
By Michael JessenThey go together like two peas in a pod – a sunny spring day and smoke. The sunny spring day is a gift of nature. The smoke is an obstruction from an errant backyard brush fire – errant as in straying from the right course or accepted standards. “What do you mean?” asks the man who set fire to a pile of autumn...
Ontario courts strike down marijuana law
Ontario is one step closer to the legalization of marijuana after the Ontario Superior Court struck down two key parts of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act that prohibit the possession and production of pot. The court declared the rules that govern medical marijuana access and the prohibitions laid out in Sections 4 and...
BC Hydro selects Itron as supplier of smart metering system
British Columbia's electricity system is one more major step closer to modernization Monday with the confirmation of Itron Inc. as BC Hydro's metering system provider to supply approximately two million new electric meters over the next two years as part of its Smart Metering Program. Itron will provide its OpenWay smart...
Waterways: A forum on water governance
By Karen Nickurak Working together is a common theme of an upcoming Water Forum being hosted by the Columbia Basin Watershed Network (CBWN). Water Ways: A CBWN Forum on Water Govenance is being held in Nelson on April 14 and 15, 2011. Click on the link for the agenda. "Our approach to water governance and this forum is one ...
Arctic sea ice ties for smallest ever
ReutersEven at its biggest, Arctic sea ice extent this winter was among the smallest ever seen, apparently tying with 2006 for the least amount of ice covering the region around the North Pole, U.S. researchers reported. Sea ice on the Arctic Ocean usually starts growing in September and hits its maximum area in February or...
New car engine sends shock waves through auto industry
By Nic Halverson, Discovery News Despite shifting into higher gear within the consumer's green conscience, hybrid vehicles are still tethered to the gas pump via a fuel-thirsty 100-year-old invention: the internal combustion engine. However, researchers at Michigan State University have built a prototype gasoline engine that...
