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Imagine a blimp, like the one you might have looked up at in awe when you were a kid. Now, imagine that blimp cut into a cylindrical shape, with a wind turbine in the middle. It’s called the Buoyant Airborne Turbine (BAT), and it’s what Altaeros Energies imagines will be the future of wind energy. By […]
From KERA News: Wichita Falls could soon become the first in the country where half of the drinking water comes directly from wastewater. Yes, that includes water from toilets. For some citizens, that’s a little tough to swallow. Mayor Glenn Barham says three years of extreme drought have changed life for 104,000 people living in […]
Photo Courtesy of USFWS/Ann Froschauer This species of Little Brown Bat was once common in the Northeast, but has been devastated by white-nose syndrome. If you’ve ever tried to evict an unwelcome bat from your home, you know it can be tricky. If you haven’t, imagine trying to coax an agile mouse into a laundry […]
Another record was set for wind power generation this week, according to the group that manages much of the state’s power. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) says Wednesday evening, wind power generation on the grid reached10,296 megawatts (MW), or enough to power 5 million Texas homes during times of regular demand. That beat […]
There are over 500 clean-up crew members working in boats and on beaches near where the oil spilled near Texas City on Galveston Bay. But determining where some of the oil might still go is being done by experts who aren’t nearby. They’re over 2,000 miles away. Doug Helton is in Seattle, Washington. He’s in […]
The Ann Richards Bridge in downtown Austin is home to the largest urban bat colony in North America. But it’s just one of many Texas bat colonies. In other parts of the country, bats have been decimated by a disease called “White Nose Syndrome.” The bats in Texas appear untouched by the disease so far, […]
Texans don’t need statistics to tell them what the drought is like – they can feel it in their bones. Residents, manufacturers and farmers all depend on both reservoirs and groundwater in Texas, but up until recently only surface reservoir levels were public in Texas. The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) updates those reservoir levels on their […]
At first glance, zebra mussels appear harmless, perhaps even cute. But the tiny creatures are anything but cute for Texas lakes. Originally from Eurasia, zebra mussels made their first appearance in North America in the Great Lakes in the early nineties. The mussels have since made their way to Texas, and over the years, this invasive […]
The SXSW Interactive conference, also known as the week that launches a thousand apps, begins today. Start-ups will be pitching their app as The One to Out-Social Them All, whether it’s an app that helps you avoid humans, or, in case you’ve encountered too many humans, an app that can help you get tested for […]
Turbulence is a menace to more than just airplane passengers. As wind power grows in Texas and beyond, its impact on wind turbines is becoming a challenge for energy generation. In a recent study released by the University of Texas at San Antonio, mechanical engineering professor Kiran Bhaganagar found that placing  turbines too closely together in a […]
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