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Ford cuts global water use 8.5% per vehicle from 2011 to 2012; total usage down 62% since 2000

Green Car Congress

Ford has reduced the average amount of water used to make each of its vehicles by 8.5% between 2011 and 2012—putting the company more than halfway toward its current goal of using an average of 4 cubic meters per vehicle globally by 2015. billion gallons, or about 62%. billion gallons, or about 62%.

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Novel battery to extract and store energy from the salinity difference between seawater and river water could make significant contribution to renewable energy

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Estimated extractable power (GW) from the difference of salinity in different countries, based on flow of river water emptying into the ocean. The large scale chemical energy stored as the salinity difference between seawater and freshwater is another renewable source which can be harvested. Credit: ACS, La Mantia et al.

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Utah Water Quality Board upholds issuance of permit for oil sands mine in Utah

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The Utah Water Quality Board, in a 9-2 vote this week, agreed with the August 2012 recommendations of an administrative law judge (ALJ) upholding a permit-by-rule issued by the Division of Water Quality (DWQ) for the proposed PR Spring an oil sands mine on state land in eastern Utah. Overlay of the proposed plant site on the terrain.

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Researchers from MIT and Sun Catalytix develop an artificial leaf for solar water splitting to produce hydrogen and oxygen

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Researchers led by MIT professor Daniel Nocera have produced an “artificial leaf”—a solar water-splitting cell producing hydrogen and oxygen that operates in near-neutral pH conditions, both with and without connecting wires. Earlier post.). simulated sunlight. constructing a simple, stand-alone device composed of.

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NREL researchers capture excess photon energy to produce solar fuels; higher efficiency water-splitting for H2

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The advancement could significantly boost the production of hydrogen from sunlight by using the cell to split water at a higher efficiency and lower cost than current photoelectrochemical approaches. Beard and other NREL scientists in 2011 published a paper in Science that. The research is outlined in a paper in Nature Energy.

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TravelCenters of America LLC planning to install 50 on-island DEF dispensers in 2011

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TA expects to install about 50 on-island DEF dispensers at locations across the country in 2011. purified water and 32.5% gallon containers of DEF at all 228 of its locations, available at the fuel desk, travel store or truck maintenance counters and all of the company’s RoadSquad emergency roadside vehicles carry a supply of DEF.

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UC Davis ITS researchers take a detailed look at water consumption and withdrawal requirements for ethanol

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Water consumption intensity of ethanol from corn grain and crop residue and the avoided/displaced water use credits assigned to coproducts: DGS and electricity. In their paper, Mishra and Yeh analyze the lifecycle water requirement consumption and withdrawal requirements of ethanol produced from corn and from crop residue.

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