Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf Get Top Safety Nod
By Nino Marchetti, Matter Network One factor everyone wonders about when buying a new car is how safe it is in case of an accident. For green cars such as the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf, this is especially a question to consider given their short history in the market. Now, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)...
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...
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...
Oregon proposes per mile EV tax
By Phil Covington Despite the fact that electric vehicles and plug-in electric vehicles make up a miniscule fraction of cars on the road today, government entities are already planning for the financial implications of a time when they reach critical mass. At some point in the future, states will realize dwindling tax revenues...
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...
A battery that charges in seconds
By Edwin Cartlidge, Science AAAS Imagine being able to charge your cell phone in a matter of seconds or your laptop in a few minutes. That might soon be possible, thanks to a new kind of nano-structured battery electrode developed by scientists at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. The researchers found that their...
West Kootenay families gear up to celebrate 2011 as The Year of Science
In celebration of 2011's official designation as the Year of Science in BC, the Kootenay Association for Science and Technology (KAST) is partnering with Science World and Selkirk College to present the Community Science Celebration. This year the celebration is moving to Selkirk College in Nelson on April 2 (beginning at ...
Local scientists can bridge science gap with dynamic science presentations
Science World BC is hosting a workshop in Nelson for adults looking to encourage kids to become more enthusiastic about science. All adult scientists, engineers and technologists are welcome to attend this dynamic workshop Wednesday, March 30 at Selkirk College’s 10th Street Campus (5-8:30 p.m.) that will help them in igniting...
An Empire of Strawmen takes the crown as West Kootenay’s top web-designers
They came, they saw, they ingested excess amounts of caffeine and ultimately (despite a few baggy red eyes) they conquered. While others may have been enjoying the new snow in the mountains, hanging out with family or simply relaxing over the weekend, three local web-development teams spent all night Friday and most of Saturday,...
Icelandic geothermal energy to be harnessed and sold
By Andy Soos, ENNIceland’s largest energy company is considering construction of the world’s longest underwater electric cable so the nation can sell its vast geothermal and volcanic energy to the European market. By the end of the year, state-owned energy company, Landsvirkjun, will complete a study of building a sub-sea...
