Green Technology
The term “technology” refers to the
application of knowledge for practical purposes.
The field of “green technology” encompasses a continuously evolving group
of methods and materials, from techniques for generating energy to
non-toxic cleaning products.
The present expectation is that this field will bring innovation and
changes in daily life of similar magnitude to the “information technology”
explosion over the last two decades. In these early stages, it is
impossible to predict what “green technology” may eventually encompass.
The goals that inform developments in this rapidly growing field include:
Sustainability - meeting the needs of
society in ways that can continue indefinitely into the future without
damaging or depleting natural resources. In short, meeting present needs
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own
needs.
“Cradle to cradle” design - ending the
“cradle to grave” cycle of manufactured products, by creating products
that can be fully reclaimed or re-used.
Source reduction - reducing waste and
pollution by changing patterns of production and consumption.
Innovation - developing alternatives
to technologies - whether fossil fuel or chemical intensive agriculture -
that have been demonstrated to damage health and the environment.
Viability - creating a center of
economic activity around technologies and products that benefit the
environment, speeding their implementation and creating new careers that
truly protect the planet.
Energy
Perhaps the most urgent issue for green technology, this includes the
development of alternative fuels, new means of generating energy and
energy efficiency.
Green building
Green building encompasses everything from the choice of building
materials to where a building is located.
Environmentally preferred purchasing
This government innovation involves the search for products whose contents
and methods of production have the smallest possible impact on the
environment, and mandates that these be the preferred products for
government purchasing.
Green chemistry
The invention, design and application of chemical products and processes
to reduce or to eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances.
Green nanotechnology
Nanotechnology involves the manipulation of materials at the scale of the
nanometer, one billionth of a meter. Some scientists believe that mastery
of this subject is forthcoming that will transform the way that everything
in the world is manufactured. “Green nanotechnology” is the application of
green chemistry and green engineering principles to this field.
Examples of Green Technologies
Green Gadgets & Gear
Gadgets and gizmos are fun to use and they make our lives more
convenient, and high tech gadgets have made a positive impact on the
environment in many ways. Things like self charging LED flashlights,
affordable solar chargers and portable solar LED lamps are examples of
green technology that is within reach of everyone. Big changes often
times come in small increments, and green tech gadgets are an efficient
and affordable way to take a positive step toward sustainable living.
Grow and Make searches the earth for the most sustainable and green
products available and then we thoroughly evaluate and test before
recommending to our customers.
Top Ten U.S. Cities with Most Green Technologies
1. Eugene, OR (score 9.0375, pop. 137,893)
First on our list is the university town, Eugene, well known as a
powerhouse of green industry, clustering sustainable businesses like an
environmentally minded Silicon Valley. Nestled in the Willamette River
Valley with views of the Cascade Mountains, residents enjoy numerous
bike trails, clean air and water, parkland and outlying wilderness
areas. Hydroelectric and wind power contribute over 85% of Eugene's
power, reducing greenhouse gas emissions considerably. A little over
16% of Eugene is green space, including athletic fields, city parks,
public gardens, trails and waterfront. The city has over 2,500 acres of
publicly owned wetlands, and its West Eugene Wetlands Program includes
a mitigation bank, a native plant nursery, protected wetlands and
educational features.
"Overall, we have a reputation for protecting the environment and that
reflects a commitment throughout the city organization to look for ways
of becoming more sustainable," says Jim Carlson, assistant city
manager, citing the city's biodiesel and hybrid fleets, its evaluation
of all city activities for environmental impact and the mayor's
sustainable business initiative to green the local economy. And Carlson
notes that "In next year's budget, we're planning to purchase 25% wind
power for all existing general fund buildings such as libraries and
city hall."
2. Austin, TX (score 8.5325, pop. 656,562)
Austin reappears in our top 10 list where once again it stands out for
its commitment to solar power and green building. Offering its
customers one of the highest solar power rebates in the country, Austin
plans to meet 20% of its energy needs with renewable sources by 2020.
Austin's Green Builder program provides information for homeowners,
renters and members of the design and building professions to help
build more energy efficient and environmentally sound dwellings. For
their central business district, Austin has established minimal
requirements for energy efficiency and is considering requiring
reflective roofs. Austin's Smart Growth Initiative is designed to
preserve drinking water quality, ensure proximity to mass transit, and
maintain a pedestrian-friendly urban design. And it's S.M.A.R.T. (Safe,
Mixed Income, Accessible, Reasonably Priced and Transit Oriented)
Housing offers incentives to developers to create more affordable
housing.
3. Portland, OR (score 8.24, pop. 529,121)
Portland also returns from last year's list, not a surprise, perhaps,
for this evergreen city which has directed all of its departments and
agencies according to its Sustainable City Principles since 1994. The
principles, which cover the protection of natural resources, habitat
and ecosystem conservation and minimizing human impacts on the
environment both locally and worldwide, haven't languished on paper
these last 12 years. The first U.S. city to have a plan to reduce the
greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, Portland gains 44% of its energy from
hydroelectric sources and encouraging the installation of solar power
through municipal tax incentives. Light rail, bicycle lanes and buses
help keep residents out of their cars, with 13% relying on public
transportation for their commute to work, 2% bicycling and 11%
carpooling. Portland not only recycles the standard glass, metal and
plastics, but also composts residential yard waste and food scraps from
businesses. To enjoy their green city, residents have over 92,000 acres
of green space (over 11% of the total city area) ranging from
waterfront areas to trails, athletic fields, parks and public gardens.
4. St. Paul, MN (score 7.805, pop. 287,151)
With a quarter of its area given over to green space, St. Paul almost
seamlessly integrates urban life with the natural environment. And this
will improve as the city charter not only ensures the protection of
parkland but requires expanding public access to the Mississippi River
which winds through the city. Working to reduce global warming, St.
Paul has passed its 1997 goals in CO2 emissions-reduction goals and now
plans to reach a 20% reduction of 1988 C02 levels by 2020. To achieve
this, Rick Person, program administrator for St. Paul's Department of
Public Works, says the city will need to complete its central corridor
light-rail system and adopt a 20% renewable energy portfolio. To assist
residents in installing renewable energy, the state provides property
tax exemptions for the value of the system, and St. Paul's Neighborhood
Energy Consortium (NEC) provides assistance and expertise in obtaining
Energy Efficient Mortgages. Helping reduce congestion and smog, NEC's
Hourcar program provides hybrid and energy-efficient cars at
neighborhood level for shared use. Lastly, St. Paul's requirement that
20% of all new housing units be affordable by those with incomes less
than half of the area median ensures that these environmental benefits
will remain available to all.
5. Santa Rosa, CA (score 7.785, pop. 147,595)
Fifty-five miles north of San Francisco, Santa Rosa provides clean air,
water and a healthy environment for residents, with its smoke-free
public spaces and restaurants. Enhancing these elements, Santa Rosa has
implemented California's Build It Green certification program
certifying environmentally sound building construction for municipal,
commercial and residential sectors. The program's goal is for more than
half of all new municipal building starts of over 10,000 square feet to
meet or exceed LEED certification requirements. Well equipped with
bicycle paths and lanes, Santa Rosa has recently finished a walking and
bicycle trail connecting to the Joe Rodota Trail that leads to nearby
Sebastopol. And for a novel way to reconnect with nature, stroll among
the native California Gray Rush plants in the Snoopy Head labyrinth at
the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center.
6. Oakland, CA (score 7.3675, pop. 399,484)
Oakland has taken a progressive stance on renewable energy, adopting a
plan to achieve 50% renewable energy by 2017. Now it's turning its
attention to food, with the Oakland Food Council setting a goal for 30%
of the city's food production to occur within a 100 mile radius.
Bringing those goods into the city are six farmer's markets, while
seven community gardens help production right at home. With
multi-family housing making up most of Oakland's new building, the
city's Green Building Ordinance passed in 2005 will encourage them to
achieve LEED Silver rating with rebates and permit fast-tracking. To
create a denser downtown and reduce pollution from traffic, Oakland is
encouraging 10,000 new residents to move into the downtown area where
they'll have access to the city's subway, bus and bicycle path systems.
The proof is in the pudding, with 20% of Oakland residents commuting by
bicycle or public transport.
7. Berkeley, CA (score 7.285, pop. 102,743)
Berkeley's distinguished history as a center of politically progressive
thought extends well into the environmental movement, and the city
currently boasts the highest number of members of environmental
organizations of any city in the U.S. Located on the gorgeous San
Francisco Bay, Berkeley shares the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system
with neighboring Oakland and San Francisco, linking all three cities in
a community where organic rules. Berkeley requires that all new
city-owned buildings be built to LEED Silver standards and has created
a sustainable development fee on all new permits to pay for the
creation of green building guidelines for residential, multi-family and
commercial buildings. Nineteen percent of Berkeleyites commute on
public transport and besides BART and the bus system, residents also
may take advantage of the city's car sharing program. The green thumbed
may work the earth at over 20 community gardens, and their children can
get a start at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School's Edible Schoolyard
program where students grow, harvest and prepare organic food.
8. Honolulu, HI (score 7.055, pop. 371,657)
Renowned for its clean air and pure water from Oahu's aquifer, Honolulu
is among America's healthiest cities, with a mild climate that
encourages outdoor activities along the 28 acre Kaka'ako Waterfront
park. Although Honolulu draws 89% of its energy from imported oil, Bill
Brennan, press secretary to the mayor, notes that 7% of its power is
from burning garbage. The city's H Power Plant burns 500,000 tons of
waste annually helping cut down on landfilled trash. To further reduce
waste, this March Honolulu launched a lawn, garden and tree clippings
or "greenwaste" recycling program. "This greenwaste is recycled here on
the island," says Brennan. "It goes to Hawaiian Earth Products, which
turns it into mulch and compost and provides it to the public for free
on the site or packaged and sold in stores." The future looks green as
well: By 2007, all new city buildings of over 5,000 square feet must
meet LEED Silver standards.
Although the March 2006 sewage spill Honolulu suffered occurred too recently to be taken into account in this year's scoring, The Green Guide will report on the impact it has on the city's environmental health.
9. Huntsville, AL (score 7.035, pop. 158,216)
New to the top 10 list this year, Huntsville has devoted almost a third
of its land to green spaces including undeveloped forest and nature
preserves, along with public gardens, parks and waterfront. The
city-funded Operation Green Team has been remarkably successful in
their public education and city clean-ups, enlisting 12,000 volunteers
in their 2005 effort to clean and green the city. Thirteen percent of
the population commutes by bus while a trolley is available for special
events to reduce congestion, helping clean up their air. The hospital
possesses its own light rail system to shuttle staff across its
grounds. Although Hunstville relies on coal and nuclear power for the
majority of its energy mix, homeowners can purchase solar or
wind-generated energy through the Tennessee Valley Authority.
The city is also developing a first-of-its-kind industrial park: 100%
of all water runoff, says Ben Ferrill, city of Huntsville planner, will
be biofiltered with swales, wet ponds and dry ponds. Rooftop runoff is
separated from parking and street runoff to capture pollutants on site
before they reach the subsurface aquifer.
10. Denver, CO (score 7.0325, pop. 554,636)
"Denver has just completed a five-year plan for its Greenprint Denver
sustainable initiative, covering everything from green building to
greenhouse gases," says Beth Conover, director, Mayor's Greenprint
Denver initiative. Focusing on greenhouse gas reduction, water
conservation and quality, waste reduction and increased recycling,
Greenprint Denver also has three solar installations under
consideration, one of which is now approved and will produce one to two
megawatts. A signatory to the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement,
Denver maintains one of the country's largest hybrid municipal fleets.
It is also in the midst of completing the nation's largest light rail
system, serving the larger metropolitan region and with an anticipated
half-million riders daily. Conover notes that the city of Denver has
recently created a position for the promotion of green business and has
the "largest CO2 based dry cleaning chain in the country, Revolution
Dry Cleaning, using waste C02 for a zero greenhouse gas effect." As for
green building, Denver currently has 17 LEED-certified buildings and 73
in the process of certification. With clean water and access to skiing,
hiking and wilderness nearby, Denver remains a gem in the Rockies.
The Top 10 Green-Tech Breakthroughs of 2008
Green technology was hot in 2008. Barack Obama won the presidential election promising green jobs to Rust Belt workers. Investors poured $5 billion into the sector just through the first nine months of the year. And even Texas oilmen like T. Boone Pickens started pushing alternative energy as a replacement for fossil fuels like petroleum, coal and natural gas.But there's trouble on the horizon. The economy is hovering somewhere between catatonic and hebephrenic, and funding for the big plans that green tech companies laid in 2008 might be a lot harder to come by in 2009. Recessions haven't always been the best times for environmentally friendly technologies as consumers and corporations cut discretionary spending on ethical premiums.
Still, green technology and its attendant infrastructure are probably the best bet to drag the American economy out of the doldrums. So, with the optimism endemic to the Silicon Valley region, we present you with the Top 10 Green Tech Breakthroughs of 2008, alternatively titled, The Great Green Hope.
10. THE ISLAND OF THE SOLAR
With money flowing like milk and honey in the land of solar technology, all sorts of schemers and dreamers came streaming into the area. One Swiss researcher, Thomas Hinderling, wants to build solar islands several miles across that he claims can produce hundreds of megawatts of relatively inexpensive power. Though most clean tech advocates question the workability of the scheme, earlier this year, Hinderling's company Centre Suisse d'Electronique et de Microtechnique received $5 million from the Ras al Khaimah emirate of the United Arab Emirates to start construction on a prototype facility, shown above, in that country. (Image: Centre Suisse d'Electronique et de Microtechnique)
Carbon capture and sequestration has a seductively simple appeal: We generate carbon dioxide emissions by burning geology — coal and oil — so to fix the problem, we should simply capture it and inject it back into the ground.
It turns out, however, that it's not quite so simple. Aside from finding the right kind of empty spaces in the earth's crust and the risks that the CO2 might leak, the biggest problem with the scheme is finding a material that could selectively snatch the molecule out of the hot mess of gases going up the flues of fossil fuel plants.
That's where two classes of special cage-like molecules come into play, ZIFs and amines. This year, Omar Yaghi, a chemist at UCLA, announced a slough of new CO2-capturing ZIFs and Chris Jones, a chemical engineer at Georgia Tech, reported that he'd made a new amine that seems particularly well-suited to working under real-world condition. Both materials could eventually make capturing CO2 easier -- and therefore, more cost effective.
Perhaps better still, Yaghi's lab's technique also defined a new process for quickly creating new ZIFs with the properties that scientists — and coal-plant operators — want. Some of their crystals are shown in the image above. (Image: Omar Yaghi and Rahul Banerjee/UCLA)
8. GREEN TECH LEGISLATION GETS REAL
On the federal and state levels, several historic actions put the teeth into green tech bills passed over the last few years. A review committee of the EPA effectively froze coal plant construction, a boon to alternative energy (though earlier this month the EPA ignored the committee's ruling and it is unclear how the issue will be settled). In California, the state unveiled and approved its plan to regulate carbon dioxide emissions, which could be a model for a nationwide system. Combined with the green-energy tax credits in the $700-billion bailout bill, the government did more for green tech in 2008 than in whole decades in the past.
7. THE CATALYST THAT COULD ENABLE SOLAR
In July, MIT chemist Daniel Nocera announced that he'd created a catalyst that could drop the cost of extracting the hydrogen and oxygen from water.
Combined with cheap photovoltaic solar panels (like Nanosolar's), the system could lead to inexpensive, simple systems that use water to store the energy from sunlight. In the process, the scientists may have cleared the major roadblock on the long road to fossil fuel independence: Reducing the on-again, off-again nature of many renewable power sources.
"You've made your house into a fuel station," Daniel Nocera, a chemistry professor at MIT told Wired.com. "I've gotten rid of all the goddamn grids."
The catalyst enables the electrolysis system to function efficiently at room temperature and at ordinary pressure. Like a reverse fuel cell, it splits water into oxygen and hydrogen. By recombining the molecules with a standard fuel cell, the O2 and H2 could then be used to generate energy on demand.
Netbook computer
A Netbook is a new type of laptop computer, defined by size, price, horsepower, and operating system. They are small, cheap, under-powered, and run either an old or unfamiliar operating system.
Netbooks run either Windows XP Home edition or Linux (not only is Linux unfamiliar to many, but the versions of Linux on Netbooks are not the mainstream popular distributions). They do not run XP Professional, Vista, or OS X. Microsoft arbitrarily restricts Netbooks from running the Professional Edition of Windows XP. Likewise, Apple arbitrarily restricts OS X to Apple hardware and it has never played in the low-end realm that Netbooks occupy.* Vista requires too much horsepower to run well on a Netbook. HP has been the only company to offer Vista on a Netbook. The price, however, was so high that it's debatable whether such a machine qualifies as a Netbook.
IVF" redirects here. For the Inter-Varsity Fellowship, see Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship. For the Indeo Video File Format (.ivf - file extension), see Indeo.
In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process by which egg cells are fertilised by sperm outside of the womb, in vitro. IVF is a major treatment in infertility when other methods of assisted reproductive technology have failed. The process involves hormonally controlling the ovulatory process, removing ova (eggs) from the woman's ovaries and letting sperm fertilise them in a fluid medium. The fertilised egg (zygote) is then transferred to the patient's uterus with the intent to establish a successful pregnancy. The first test tube baby, Louise Brown, was born in 1978.
The term in vitro, from the Latin root meaning within the glass, is used, because early biological experiments involving cultivation of tissues outside the living organism from which they came, were carried out in glass containers such as beakers, test tubes, or petri dishes. Today, the term in vitro is used to refer to any biological procedure that is performed outside the organism it would normally be occurring in, to distinguish it from an in vivo procedure, where the tissue remains inside the living organism within which it is normally found. A colloquial term for babies conceived as the result of IVF, test tube babies, refers to the tube-shaped containers of glass or plastic resin, called test tubes, that are commonly used in chemistry labs and biology labs. However, in vitro fertilisation is usually performed in the shallower containers called Petri dishes. (Petri-dishes may also be made of plastic resins.) However, the IVF method of Autologous Endometrial Coculture is actually performed on organic material, but is yet called in vitro. This is used when parents are having infertility problems or they want to have multiple births.
Whittier, California is home to Nadya Suleman. Prior to giving birth to eight babies earlier this week, she was living with her parents in a neat cul-de-sac neighborhood with her other six children, ages 7,6,5,3 and twin 2 year olds. She sat down for her first interview on February 5 with Ann Curry
Nadya Suleman sought fertility treatment and was implanted with numerous embryos last year and according to the mother, they all happened to take. Throughout the pregnancy, doctors thought there were seven babies. The surprise eighth baby shocked the massive delivery team that was assembled at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Bellflower, California.
PHOTO:
The Suleman octuplets are six male and two female children conceived via in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and simultaneously born to 33-year-old Nadya Suleman on January 26, 2009, in Bellflower, California. They are only the second full set of octuplets to be born alive in the United States and, one week after their birth, surpassed the previous worldwide survivial rate for a complete set of octuplets set by the Chukwu octuplets in 1998. The circumstances of their high order multiple birth has led to controversy in the field of assisted reproductive technology as well as an investigation by the Medical Board of California of the fertility specialist involved.[1
The babies' names, gender and birth weight in birth order are:
- Noah Angel Solomon - male; 2 lbs 8 oz
- Maliyah Angel Solomon - female; 2 lbs 2 oz
- Isaiah Angel Solomon - male; 3 lbs 1 oz
- Nariyah Angel Solomon - female; 2 lbs 3 oz
- Makai Angel Solomon - male; 1 lbs 12 oz
- Josiah Angel Solomon - male; 2 lbs 9 oz
- Jeremiah Angel Solomon - male; 1 lb 13 oz
- Jonah Angel Solomon - male; 2 lbs 7 oz
Department of Science and Technology (Philippines)
The Philippines' Department of Science and Technology (Filipino: Kagawaran ng Agham at Teknolohiya), abbreviated as the DOST, is the executive department of the Philippine Government responsible for the coordination of science and technology-related projects in the Philippines and to formulate policies and projects in the fields of science and technology in support of national development.
History
The DOST was formed as the National Science Development Board in 1958, during the administration of Carlos P. Garcia. It was originally mandated to survey the state of science and technology development in the Philippines at the time. By 1982, during the administration of Ferdinand Marcos, it became the National Science and Technology Authority, or NSTA.
In 1987, when Corazon Aquino rose to power and in a shake-up of the executive departments, the NSTA was elevated to cabinet-level status to become the present-day DOST to meet the demands of the burgeoning fields of science and technology and increased calls from various sectors of Philippine society for state intervention in the fields of science and technology for the sake of national development.
DOST has five sectoral planning councils responsible for: formulating policies, plans, programs, projects and strategies for S&T development; for programming and allocating funds; for monitoring of research and development projects; and for generating external funds.
Philippine Council for Aquatic and Marine Research and Development (PCAMRD)
The PCAMRD is the sectoral council of the Department Of Science and Technology (DOST) tasked in the formulation of strategies, policies, plans, programs and projects for science and technology development; Programming and allocation of the government's internal and external funds for Research and Development; Monitoring and Evaluation of Research Development projects; and Generation of external funds.
Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD)
PCARRD is one of the five sectoral councils of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). It serves as the main arm of DOST in planning, evaluating, monitoring, and coordinating the national research and development (R&D) programs in agriculture, forestry, environment, and natural resources sectors.
Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD)
PCHRD is one of the five sectoral councils of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). The lead council that creates and sustains an enabling environment for health research in the country.
Philippine Council for Industry and Energy Research and Development (PCIERD)
The PCIERD is one of the sectoral planning councils of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). It is mandated to serve as the central agency in the planning, monitoring and promotion of scientific and technological research for applications in the industry, energy, utilities and infrastructure sectors.
Philippine Council for Advanced and Science Technology Research and Development (PCASTRD)
PCASTRD is one of the five sectoral councils of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) tasked to develop, integrate and coordinate the national research systems for advanced science and technology (S&T) and related fields.
Seven Research and Development institutes of DOST
DOST has the following seven research and development institutes concerned with basic and applied researches on various fields.
| Advanced Science and Technology Institute (ASTI) | |
 |
ASTI is one of the research and development institutes of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) tasked in conducting scientific research and development in the advanced fields of Information and Communications Technology and Microelectronics. |
| Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) | |
 |
The Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI), the principal research arm of the government in food and nutrition, is one of the research and development institutes of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). The Institute continues to provide relevant technologies and scientific information on food and nutrition. |
| Forests Product Research and Development Institute (FPRDI) | |
 |
The Forest Products Research and Development Institute (FPRDI) is the research and development arm on forest products utilization of the Philippines' Department of Science and Technology (DOST), the body that coordinates and manages the national science and technology system. |
| Industrial Technology Development Institute (ITDI) | |
 |
The Industrial Technology Development Institute or ITDI is one of the research and development institutes (RDIs) under the Department of Science and Technology. It is the flagship agency of the Department, generating a large pool of technologies while providing technical services to industry. |
| Metal Industry Research and Development Center (MIRDC) | |
 |
The Metals Industry Research and Development Center (MIRDC), an agency of the Department of Science and Technology, is the sole government entity directly supporting the metals and engineering industry with services designed to enhance its competitive advantage. |
| Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) | |
 |
PNRI is mandated to undertake research and development activities in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, to institute regulations on the said uses and to carry out the enforcement of said regulations to protect the health and safety of radiation workers and the general public. |
| Philippine Textile Research Institute (PTRI) | |
 |
The
Philippine Textile Research Institute as a line agency of the
Department of Science and Technology (DOST) supports the local textile
and allied industries achieve gobal competitiveness through utilization
of indigenous resources, and development of technical competence in
textile production and quality assurance. |
Seven Service Institutes of DOST
DOST has the following seven research and development institutes concerned with basic and applied researches on various fields.
| Advanced Science and Technology Institute (ASTI) | |
|
ASTI is one of the research and development institutes of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) tasked in conducting scientific research and development in the advanced fields of Information and Communications Technology and Microelectronics. |
| Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) | |
|
The Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI), the principal research arm of the government in food and nutrition, is one of the research and development institutes of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). The Institute continues to provide relevant technologies and scientific information on food and nutrition. |
| Forests Product Research and Development Institute (FPRDI) | |
|
The Forest Products Research and Development Institute (FPRDI) is the research and development arm on forest products utilization of the Philippines' Department of Science and Technology (DOST), the body that coordinates and manages the national science and technology system. |
| Industrial Technology Development Institute (ITDI) | |
|
The Industrial Technology Development Institute or ITDI is one of the research and development institutes (RDIs) under the Department of Science and Technology. It is the flagship agency of the Department, generating a large pool of technologies while providing technical services to industry. |
| Metal Industry Research and Development Center (MIRDC) | |
|
The Metals Industry Research and Development Center (MIRDC), an agency of the Department of Science and Technology, is the sole government entity directly supporting the metals and engineering industry with services designed to enhance its competitive advantage. |
| Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) | |
|
PNRI is mandated to undertake research and development activities in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, to institute regulations on the said uses and to carry out the enforcement of said regulations to protect the health and safety of radiation workers and the general public. |
| Philippine Textile Research Institute (PTRI) | |
|
The Philippine Textile Research Institute as a line agency of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) supports the local textile and allied industries achieve gobal competitiveness through utilization of indigenous resources, and development of technical competence in textile production and quality assurance. |
Two bodies pursue mandated functions of assistance, recognition, advisory and establishment of international linkages. These are:
National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST)
To recognize outstanding achievements in science and technology as well as provide meaningful incentives to those engaged in scientific and technological researches
National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP)
NRCP is mandated in promotion and support of fundamental or basic research for the continuing improvement of the research capability of individual or group scientists; foster linkages with local and international scientific organizations for enhanced cooperation in the development and sharing of scientific information; provide advice on problems and issues of national interest; and promotion of scientific and technological culture to all sectors of society.
Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology
The Top 10 Green-Tech Breakthroughs of 2008
December 29, 2008 | 2:29:56 PMCategories: Chemistry, Clean Tech, Climate, Energy, Engineering, Environment, Geology, Science, Survival, Sustainability
Green technology was hot in 2008. Barack Obama won the presidential election promising green jobs to Rust Belt workers. Investors poured $5 billion into the sector just through the first nine months of the year. And even Texas oilmen like T. Boone Pickens started pushing alternative energy as a replacement for fossil fuels like petroleum, coal and natural gas.
But there's trouble on the horizon. The economy is hovering somewhere between catatonic and hebephrenic, and funding for the big plans that green tech companies laid in 2008 might be a lot harder to come by in 2009. Recessions haven't always been the best times for environmentally friendly technologies as consumers and corporations cut discretionary spending on ethical premiums.
Still, green technology and its attendant infrastructure are probably the best bet to drag the American economy out of the doldrums. So, with the optimism endemic to the Silicon Valley region, we present you with the Top 10 Green Tech Breakthroughs of 2008, alternatively titled, The Great Green Hope.
10. THE ISLAND OF THE SOLAR
With money flowing like milk and honey in the land of solar technology, all sorts of schemers and dreamers came streaming into the area. One Swiss researcher, Thomas Hinderling, wants to build solar islands several miles across that he claims can produce hundreds of megawatts of relatively inexpensive power. Though most clean tech advocates question the workability of the scheme, earlier this year, Hinderling's company Centre Suisse d'Electronique et de Microtechnique received $5 million from the Ras al Khaimah emirate of the United Arab Emirates to start construction on a prototype facility, shown above, in that country. (Image: Centre Suisse d'Electronique et de Microtechnique)
9. NEW MATERIALS CAGE CARBON
Carbon capture and sequestration has a seductively simple appeal: We generate carbon dioxide emissions by burning geology — coal and oil — so to fix the problem, we should simply capture it and inject it back into the ground.
It turns out, however, that it's not quite so simple. Aside from finding the right kind of empty spaces in the earth's crust and the risks that the CO2 might leak, the biggest problem with the scheme is finding a material that could selectively snatch the molecule out of the hot mess of gases going up the flues of fossil fuel plants.
That's where two classes of special cage-like molecules come into play, ZIFs and amines. This year, Omar Yaghi, a chemist at UCLA, announced a slough of new CO2-capturing ZIFs and Chris Jones, a chemical engineer at Georgia Tech, reported that he'd made a new amine that seems particularly well-suited to working under real-world condition. Both materials could eventually make capturing CO2 easier -- and therefore, more cost effective.
Perhaps better still, Yaghi's lab's technique also defined a new process for quickly creating new ZIFs with the properties that scientists — and coal-plant operators — want. Some of their crystals are shown in the image above. (Image: Omar Yaghi and Rahul Banerjee/UCLA)
8. GREEN TECH LEGISLATION GETS REAL
On the federal and state levels, several historic actions put the teeth into green tech bills passed over the last few years. A review committee of the EPA effectively froze coal plant construction, a boon to alternative energy (though earlier this month the EPA ignored the committee's ruling and it is unclear how the issue will be settled). In California, the state unveiled and approved its plan to regulate carbon dioxide emissions, which could be a model for a nationwide system. Combined with the green-energy tax credits in the $700-billion bailout bill, the government did more for green tech in 2008 than in whole decades in the past.
7. THE CATALYST THAT COULD ENABLE SOLAR
In July, MIT chemist Daniel Nocera announced that he'd created a
catalyst that could drop the cost of extracting the hydrogen and oxygen
from water.
Combined with cheap photovoltaic solar panels (like Nanosolar's), the system could lead to inexpensive, simple systems that use water to store the energy from sunlight. In the process, the scientists may have cleared the major roadblock on the long road to fossil fuel independence: Reducing the on-again, off-again nature of many renewable power sources.
"You've made your house into a fuel station," Daniel Nocera, a chemistry professor at MIT told Wired.com. "I've gotten rid of all the goddamn grids."
The catalyst enables the electrolysis system to function efficiently at room temperature and at ordinary pressure. Like a reverse fuel cell, it splits water into oxygen and hydrogen. By recombining the molecules with a standard fuel cell, the O2 and H2 could then be used to generate energy on demand.
