Using less and saving more through ingenuity and efficiency.
Four years after a fire bomb nearly incinerated the entire building, the Texas Governor’s Mansion is rebuilt and running. And you may be surprised to learn that it boasts several new eco-friendly features. “I think it’s not unlike the State of Texas having a diverse portfolio of energy,” Governor Rick Perry said at a tour […]
Algae. It’s smelly, but a new study from the University of Texas at Austin says it could be a significant source of energy. A team of researchers found that, theoretically, it’s possible algae could produce 500 times more energy than it takes to grow it. That’s an important number, because the efficiency of fuel depends […]
Itâs a heavy question: Where is all of our energy going to come from? That puzzle is at the center of a new film and education project, âSwitch.’
Photo by ORLANDO SIERRA/AFP/Getty Images At last week’s “Life By the Drop” panel on solutions for solving the water crisis in Texas, not everyone agreed on what the next steps should be. But there was universal acknowledgment that greater conservation efforts were essential for the state’s future. And Texas’ many water utilities aren’t behind the punch. Many have […]
Watch In Austin, Charged up About Smart Power on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour. If you’re a Texan interested in green building, smart grids and solar panels, there’s probably no better place to see them in action than the Pecan Street Research Institute in Austin’s Mueller neighborhood. That neighborhood, just northeast of downtown Austin, is […]
Texas is sitting on a massive amount of âbrackishâ water. Too salty to drink, but far less salty than ocean water. A lot of it is just sitting there, below our freshwater aquifers. And thereâs enough of it to satisfy the current Texas population for a hundred and fifty years. But how do we get […]
The wheels on the bus go round and round … but water is the only exhaust. That’s what researchers at the Center for Electromechanics (CEM) at the University of Texas at Austin have to say about their new Hydrogen Hybrid Bus. The new bus will be featured as part of UT’s shuttle system and will […]
Though the militaryâs energy initiatives arenât new (the Armyâs plan âNet Zeroâ facilities, like the one at Fort Hood, were signed off on in 2005), progress made over the past several years has been easing over into the private sector. Last week, the Texas Coalition of Water, Energy, and Economic Security (TCWEES) hosted a legislative briefing […]
Hot weather pilgrims planning to descend upon the Texas tubing mecca of New Braunfels this summer may not know yet that the rules of eating and drinking while floating have changed. Under the city’s “Can Ban,” several traditional methods of imbibing on the river have been outlawed in the name of conservation. But take note: alcohol itself […]
Scientists may have found something more than just rings in the heart of Texas’ Juniper and Mesquite trees – more than 8,000 Btu in renewable bioenergy per pound, according to experts at Texas Agrilife Research. That’s roughly equivalent to “medium grade subbituminous coal,” according to Agrilife. The Juniper and Mesquite trees now covering more than sixty […]
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