Blogs & Ecology

Image: Energy Information Administration

Just when we thought there were no more new fandangled ways of deriving energy from our shriveling planet, Australia comes up trumps. Scientists there believe untapped geothermal energy locked in three miles below the Earth’s surface is a worthwhile and completely sustainable alternative to using fossil fuels.

It’s estimated that only one percent of Australia’s geothermal energy, which is often referred to as ‘hot rocks’, could produce up to 26,000 years worth of clean electricity.

image from eurleif

It’s always been an environmental hazard to toss out an old computer: there’s arsenic and mercury, and a host of other nasty things in the circuit boards that the technology depends on.  Think of all that waste trickling into a landfill - not a terribly pleasant thought really, especially if you live near one or are concerned about your water quality.

However, we may yet have one of those rare two-birds-one-stone opportunities upon us, as the toxic components of a computer could become a cheap fuel for our automobiles, relieving us of four dollar gasoline.

Opinion piece: by Ben Ray

Image from ^riza^

I’ve said it before, I’ve proved it, and I’ll say it again: the way to break an addiction to fossil fuel is to make it prohibitively expensive. Until that happens, very few people have the impetus to change their lifestyles significantly and politicians therefore, will have very little incentive to sponsor progressive legislation.