Fossil Fuels Archives – The Green Optimistic

Dirty A.I.: A Tool that Looks For New Oil

Arsenij Percov — Tue, 17 Jul 2018 08:35:42 +0000

Much of the globe still relies on fossil fuels to supply its energy needs. However, while energy consumption increases, the amount of fuels available and found already drastically decreases. Therefore, the oil and gas industry have to search for new resources and it becomes more and more challenging. For this reason, Petrogal Brasil (under Galp) […]

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Wind Power Cost vs Fossil Fuels: Who Just Won?

Nicholas Say — Sun, 02 Jul 2017 13:59:23 +0000

For a very long time people have been stuck using fuels that have some serious drawbacks. Coal is dreadful; mining it is dangerous, burning it is toxic and the leftovers are radioactive. The other options aren’t much better. Our best contender for a decent fossil fuel source is natural gas, but moving it around isn’t […]

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Japan’s Emissions Slightly Rise, But Not From Nuclear Shutdown

Courtney Lepping — Mon, 26 Sep 2016 08:42:06 +0000

The earthquake that terrorized Japan in 2011 led to the shutdown of nuclear energy. There was an increase in CO2 emissions by 11.8 percent from 2010 to 2014. Could the reported increase be caused by the shutdown after the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant disaster? Sources claim the rise in emissions wasn’t much of a rise at […]

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Atmospheric CO2 and Methane Levels Continue to Rise

Mila Luleva — Wed, 18 May 2016 05:29:30 +0000

Scientists at the European Space Agency (ESA) claim that levels of carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere have keept rising at a steady rate since 2007, regardless of all efforts. Last week, at the annual Living Planet Symposium, held in Prague, a team of researchers from the European Space Agency, revealed some alarming findings. Despite all […]

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$17 Trillion Could Be Saved by Reducing Fossil Fuel Emissions

Annika Tostengard — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 18:33:32 +0000

New Climate Economy has released a report finding that if cities cut their fossil fuel emissions, together they could save a grand total of $17 trillion by the year 2050. The report even indicates that $17tn is a low estimate, and that the true cost savings could be a lot higher. Cities need to concentrate on […]

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Australia Backs Fossil Fuels, Renewable Energy Hurts

Sarah Higman — Fri, 10 Apr 2015 10:48:35 +0000

A new Australian Energy White Paper, released this week states the governments continued support of “establishing and supporting the Oil, Gas and Energy Resources, and the Mining Equipment, Technology and Services Growth Centres” The White Paper, which is supposed to provide the Australian government with long term goals has been rewritten again – the last […]

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Will We Ever Break Free From Fossil Fuels?

Benji Jerew — Tue, 07 Oct 2014 22:16:59 +0000

In spite of great advances in renewable energy utilization, will we ever break free from our addiction to fossil fuels? For example, in the last couple of years, solar power generation in the United States has actually started to surpass fossil fuel power, at least in terms of new generating capacity. Wind power in Spain […]

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Solar Power vs Natural Gas – H1 2014 Numbers are Surprising

Benji Jerew — Wed, 17 Sep 2014 13:39:59 +0000

As American energy-needs continue to increase, new energy sources are required to fill in the gap, among them solar power, wind power, natural gas, and coal, to name a few. Looking at the last fifty years of renewable energy in the United States, however, renewable energy, such as wind power and solar power, really only […]

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Renewable Energy Limitations Need a Technological Boost

Benji Jerew — Mon, 19 May 2014 16:38:05 +0000

How the world would benefit if we could simply switch over to 100% renewable energy, but perhaps it’s not that easy. Well, we’ve always known that renewable energy wasn’t the easy choice, once you throw in economics, efficiency, and political costs. The problem is that renewable energy, while all around us, is in such diffuse […]

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China’s Power Mix Will Be Dominated by Coal for Decades

Benji Jerew — Fri, 18 Apr 2014 16:24:23 +0000

China’s economic growth is very much at odds with her environmental problems. As the economy grows, so does need for power, two-thirds of which is generated by coal. Looking at the air in China’s great cities, such as Shanghai or Beijing, it’s quite obvious that a dark cloud hangs over the residents. Quite literally, in […]

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Carbon Dioxide Emissions of Various Energy Sources

Benji Jerew — Wed, 16 Apr 2014 16:14:46 +0000

According to climate change scientists, reduction of carbon dioxide emissions is an absolute necessity to address the source of the problem, if it isn’t too late to do anything about it. According to the EPA (US Environmental Protection Agency) about one third of US carbon dioxide emissions are generated in industry and power production. Considering […]

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Air Pollution Leads to How Many Deaths Per Year?

Benji Jerew — Thu, 10 Apr 2014 00:52:43 +0000

Since the Industrial Revolution, associated with learning how to use fossil fuels to perform work, air pollution has increased and, with it, sentenced millions of people to death. Fossil fuels, essentially the concentrated hydrocarbon-rich remains of plant and animal life from hundreds of thousands of years ago, can be extracted, refined, and used to generate […]

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Air Pollution Cost $1.3 Billion in New York

Benji Jerew — Mon, 07 Apr 2014 14:38:16 +0000

Every addiction has its side effects, some of them deadly. In the case of our worldwide fossil-fuel addiction, the side effects are numerous, including carbon dioxide emissions and air pollution. Air pollution, in turn, leads to other problems, such as smog. Now, smog may seem, at least to those who haven’t experienced it, a cosmetic […]

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Carbon Dioxide Hits 400 PPM for the Second Time in Human History

Benji Jerew — Wed, 19 Mar 2014 15:34:58 +0000

Last year, carbon dioxide crossed what may be an arbitrary threshold, 400 ppm (parts per million), in the middle of May, and stayed there for a few days. Seasonal fluctuations in carbon dioxide concentration are typical, as the growth of plants in Spring, in the Northern Hemisphere, pulls carbon dioxide out of the air. As […]

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Wind and Solar Power Overtaking Fossil Fuels in US

Leigh Hutchens — Wed, 11 Dec 2013 17:58:30 +0000

Purchase agreements for wind farms and solar projects in the United States continue to grow at the cost for wind energy and solar power decreases. 25% of all contracts for wind power are in Texas and they are regularly below $30/MWh, with some are as low at $25/MWh. Advances in equipment is lifting capacity factors […]

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Güssing, Austria Uses Biomass to Become 100% Grid-Independent

Adele Hall — Thu, 17 Oct 2013 05:54:14 +0000

The small town of Güssing, Austria has become powered entirely by renewable energy. However, Güssing has had very humble beginnings. Situated in eastern Austria, the region was one of the poorest districts in the country. Relying heavily on agriculture, the town had no transportation infrastructure, unemployment was high, and people were commuting to Vienna for […]

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Significant Altering of Renewable Energy Standards to Endanger Transition From Fossil Fuels, Study

Mila Luleva — Wed, 16 Oct 2013 13:52:52 +0000

According to a study conducted by a team of scientists from University of Illinois, the renewable energy policy in the U.S. referred to as Renewable Fuel Standards (RFS), should only be adjusted in respect to the changing views on biofuels, and its flaws should not be used as an excuse to postpone the transition from […]

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Addressing Climate Change – The Great Hypocrisy

Benji Jerew — Tue, 01 Oct 2013 19:45:14 +0000

Now that we’ve had a chance to consider IPCC AR5, that is, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Fifth Assessment Report, there’s one clear conclusion, we must stop use of fossil fuels. Of course, the question arises, “Who’s going to pay for all this?” In spite of political posturing, regarding how world governments […]

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Benefits of Reduced Air Pollution Outweigh the Cost of Green Energy

Adele Hall — Tue, 24 Sep 2013 13:01:53 +0000

Pollution is a problem that can be fixed largely by the implementation of green energy and the reduction of fossil fuel emissions. However, is it worth the expense? A new study led by Jason West at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, compares the expense of green energy and the expense of a […]

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Rising CO2 Emissions Reaching the Point of No Return

Leigh Hutchens — Sat, 27 Jul 2013 01:17:27 +0000

Ever since the Industrial Revolution, the Earth has seen its share of problems. Although it had its roots in 1700s England, the Industrial Revolution quickly spread to the rest of the world. The use of machinery and factories led to mass production, which caused numerous environmental hazards. Only centuries later would the full effects of […]

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The Earth Gets A Reprieve From Global Warming, For Now

Leigh Hutchens — Tue, 21 May 2013 03:05:48 +0000

Climatologists are breathing a collective sigh of relief. New data suggests that over the coming decade, the Earth will warm more slowly than previously thought. However, scientists stress that this is not a long-term reprieve – and temperatures are currently rising faster than they have been for the past 11, 000 years. The Earth warmed […]

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NASA Says Nuclear Power Saved Millions of Lives

Mila Luleva — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 18:57:39 +0000

Nuclear power has been found to have saved millions of lives by being an alternative source of energy to fossil fuels, according to a recent study by scientists at the NASA Goddard Institute. Quantifying health damage caused by burning of fossil fuels has always been a challenge to researchers. Nuclear power is often considered as […]

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Electric Vehicles’ Impact on Environment Depending on Location: Study

Benji Jerew — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 19:52:53 +0000

Electric vehicles are touted as “zero-emissions” vehicles in all of their advertising. In the case of the vehicle itself, this is absolutely true, since there is no fuel being burned in the vehicle, and therefore no emissions of any kind. Once you get outside the vehicle, though, and consider the charging station and what part […]

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Fossil Fuel Rehab Postponed – Coal Burning Predictions

Benji Jerew — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 19:40:43 +0000

Fossil fuels, including everything from natural gas and coal to oil and jet fuel, are pumping more and more carbon dioxide [CO2] into the atmosphere than ever before. The demand for energy, especially since the industrial age began some two hundred years ago, means that more fuel needs to be burned into order to meet […]

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Renewable Energy Targets Call for Extra Fossil Fuel Plants

Mila Luleva — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 20:11:59 +0000

It seems that almost every state or country has set a target to cut down greenhouse emissions and boost renewable energy generation 2020. This is the case in the state of California, whose aim is to produce one third of their electricity from wind and solar sources by then. However, this target has initiated quite […]

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HighDro Power Produces Energy from High Buildings' Falling Waste

Mike Sandru — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 21:37:51 +0000

The device's working principle is very simple. "HighDro Power works by using the water discharged from appliances such as showers, toilets and sinks in high-rise apartments. The water goes down the pipe and hits four turbine blades that drive one generator."

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146 Megawatt Wind Farm Installed in Atchison County, Missouri

Cristi — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 04:33:03 +0000

The Atchison County wind farm is able to power 33,000 homes and it's not interfering with corn and soybeans crops. Between the turbines, crops are still grown and harvested, thus contributing to the well-being of the community.

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Quantum Dots Could Double the Efficiency of Solar Cells

Mike Sandru — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 12:47:39 +0000

A team of scientists from the University of Texas at Austin have discovered a way to double the efficiency of solar cells. The process consists in capturing more of the available energy in sunlight (including energy at the high end of the scale), using nanoscale crystals called quantum dots.

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Indian Government Proposed a Coal Tax for Using in Renewable Energy Projects

Mike Sandru — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:52:17 +0000

This tax would produce an annual revenue of around $600 million. According to the National Clean Energy Fund, Mukherjee, the coal is the "mainstay of India's energy sector", being 75% of the country's power generation.

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New York City Increases EV Sales to 70,000 New Cars by 2015

Cristi — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 20:57:00 +0000

We all know that one of the industries that pollute the most is the automotive industry. With several millions of vehicles on the roads, that consume every day millions of tons of fossil fuels, the air in the megacities becomes more and more unbreathable.

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Protoscar Makes Waves Before Geneva Motor Show With Lampo II Electric Vehicle

Cristi — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 18:23:36 +0000

Switzerland can finally brag with their most expensive sports car: Protoscar has just finished the development and manufacturing of a 1 million Euro electric sports car prototype called Lampo.

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GM Cancels the 53mpg Hybrid Chevrolet and Proceeds to PHEVs

Cristi — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 19:53:04 +0000

Even though electric vehicles seem to be the future, some car manufacturers do not rush into changing to green, alternative energy sources. There is some incertitude when it comes to changing so fast from fossil fuels and some automakers just take their time to see what is best for the market.

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Bob Rohner – co-producer of Joseph Papp engine on GreenOptimistic.com

Ovidiu Sandru — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 08:29:51 +0000

I got a comment yesterday from one of the “guys” who helped Josef Papp succeeding with his inert gas engine. It’s Bob Rohner, who also has a website: rohnermachine.com. He said: “To set the record straight, I built all the engines seen in any videos, not Sabori. Your article is a fine introduction to the […]

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