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DOE official cites need for major breakthroughs to cope with climate change
August 27, 2008Meeting the world's growing energy needs while responding to global warming during the 21st Century will be one of the biggest challenges humanity has ever faced, Raymond L. Orbach, Ph.D., the U.S. Department of Energy's Under Secretary for Science, says in the latest podcast in the American Chemical Society's Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions series.
In a two-part podcast entitled "Confronting Climate Change," Orbach notes that meeting this challenge will demand "transformational breakthroughs in basic science," meaning revolutionary discoveries rather than common step-by-step scientific advances. He cites as one example the development of artificial versions of photosynthesis, the natural process that plants use to produce energy from water and sunlight. Artificial photosynthesis - "photosynthesis without the plant," as Orbach put it - could theoretically open the door to fueling cars of the future with water rather than pricey gasoline. Artificial photosynthesis units would split water into hydrogen and oxygen, producing clean-burning hydrogen fuel, the podcast explains.
Other scientists featured in the climate-change podcasts include:
* Harry Gray, Ph.D., of the Caltech Center for Sustainable Energy Research, who discusses the vast potential of solar energy.
* William Morrow, Ph.D., of Carnegie Mellon University, who describes new technology that mixes switchgrass with coal to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
* Jerald L. Schnoor, Ph.D., editor of ACS' Environmental Science & Technology, and a professor at the University of Iowa, who predicts that nuclear energy may play a larger role in meeting future energy needs.
* Michaël Grätzel, Ph.D., of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland, who describes achieving a record light-conversion efficiency of 8.2 percent with solar cells that in certain ways mimic plants.
American Chemical Society
* Harry Gray, Ph.D., of the Caltech Center for Sustainable Energy Research, who discusses the vast potential of solar energy.
* William Morrow, Ph.D., of Carnegie Mellon University, who describes new technology that mixes switchgrass with coal to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
* Jerald L. Schnoor, Ph.D., editor of ACS' Environmental Science & Technology, and a professor at the University of Iowa, who predicts that nuclear energy may play a larger role in meeting future energy needs.
* Michaël Grätzel, Ph.D., of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland, who describes achieving a record light-conversion efficiency of 8.2 percent with solar cells that in certain ways mimic plants.
American Chemical Society
Photosynthesis Current Events and Photosynthesis News RSSNew tool probes function of rice genes
A new tool for investigating the rice genome has been developed by researchers at UC Davis led by Pamela Ronald, professor of plant pathology.
Field of the future -- ecological experiment simulates conditions in 2100
A new experiment to find out how British plant ecosystems may be affected by future changes to climate and biodiversity is underway at Imperial College London.
Carbon sinks: Issues, markets, policy
With reducing carbon emissions on the national agenda, a group of expert panelists will discuss methods, markets, testing and policy issues on how carbon sinks or carbon sequestration may be used to reduce atmospheric CO2.
How corals adapt to day and night
Researchers have uncovered a gene in corals that responds to day/night cycles, which provides some tantalizing clues into how symbiotic corals work together with their plankton partners.
Living sensor can warn of arsenic pollution
Scientists studying arsenic pollution have discovered a living sensor that can spot contamination. They have also discovered new bacteria that can clean up arsenic spills even in previously untreatable cold areas, microbiologists heard today (Monday 8 September 2008) at the Society for General Microbiology's Autumn meeting being held this week at Trinity College, Dublin.
Nature inspires new highly specific drugs and organic products
The best place to seek novel compounds for pharmaceutical drugs, alternative energy sources, and a host of industrial applications, is within natural systems that have evolved over millions of years.
Even seaweeds get sunburned
It is red, it burns and itches: a sunburn on our skin. However, too much sun is not only bad for humans. Many plants react sensitively to an increased dose of ultraviolet radiation, too. Yet they are dependent on sunlight.
Future for clean energy lies in 'big bang' of evolution
Amid mounting agreement that future clean, "carbon-neutral", energy will rely on efficient conversion of the sun's light energy into fuels and electric power, attention is focusing on one of the most ancient groups of organism, the cyanobacteria.
MSU's discovery of plant protein holds promise for biofuel production
Scientists at Michigan State University have identified a new protein necessary for chloroplast development. The discovery could ultimately lead to plant varieties tailored specifically for biofuel production.
Monash team learns from nature to split water
An international team of researchers led by Monash University has used chemicals found in plants to replicate a key process in photosynthesis paving the way to a new approach that uses sunlight to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.
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