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Umfrage: Kraftstoffverbrauch ist wichtigstes Kriterium beim Autokauf

By Guest PostDecember 28, 2013Environmentautokauf, co2 emissionen, dena, deutschen energie agentur, deutschland, energieeffiziente verkehrssysteme, kfz steuer, kraftstoffverbrauch, kriterium, meinungsforschungsinstitut tns emnid, pkw label, stefan siegemund, umfrage

Pkw-Label bietet alle Energiedaten auf einen Blick. Bekanntheit soll über Handel gesteigert werden

Wer sich in Deutschland ein Auto kaufen möchte, der will vor allem wissen, wie hoch der Kraftstoffverbrauch und die Kraftstoffkosten sind. Nach einer Umfrage im Auftrag der Deutschen Energie-Agentur (dena) geben rund zwei Drittel der Kaufinteressierten an, dass diese beiden Kriterien ihnen bei der Fahrzeugwahl sehr wichtig sind. Andere Kriterien wie Antriebsart, Größe, Leistung oder Marke kommen dagegen nicht über vierzig Prozent. Die dena empfiehlt deshalb Autokäufern, sich nach dem Pkw-Label zu erkundigen. Die Kennzeichnung ist seit Dezember 2011 Pflicht für Neuwagen und informiert über Kraftstoffverbrauch, Kraftstoffkosten und CO₂-Emissionen eines Fahrzeugs. (more…)

Scientists solve a decades-old mystery in the Earth’s upper atmosphere

By Guest PostDecember 28, 2013Sciencebinbin ni, chorus, craig kletzing, data driven, decades old mystery, earth, electron acceleration, emfisis, extremely energetic particles, geoff reeves, global wave model, inward, jacob bortnik, james van allen, local stochastic acceleration, low frequency, planetary magnetospheres, qianli ma, radial diffusive transport, radiation belts, radio wave, scientists, solve, space scientist, ultra relativistic electrons, university of iowa, upper atmosphere, van allen

New research published in the journal Nature resolves decades of scientific controversy over the origin of the extremely energetic particles known as ultra-relativistic electrons in the Earth’s near-space environment and is likely to influence our understanding of planetary magnetospheres throughout the universe.

Discovering the processes that control the formation and ultimate loss of these electrons in the Van Allen radiation belts — the rings of highly charged particles that encircle the Earth at a range of about 1,000 to 50,000 kilometers above the planet’s surface — is a primary science objective of the recently launched NASA Van Allen Probes mission. Understanding these mechanisms has important practical applications, because the enormous amounts of radiation trapped within the belts can pose a significant hazard to satellites and spacecraft, as well astronauts performing activities outside a craft. (more…)

Big data and how to use it

By Guest PostDecember 28, 2013Economy, Technologybank of america, big data, bintong chen, bruce weber, charles riordan, chitra dorai, consumer analytics, courtney smith goodrich, data analytics, david schweidel, emory university, era, hannah montana, ifsa, industry applications, information systems, jason van hulse, jpmorgan chase, magic, nate silver, pratap manyam, raj venkatesan, Science, sequencing, skyrocketed, Technology, university of delaware

UD Consumer Analytics and Industry Applications conference discusses big data

In the era of big data come big questions about how to use it. These questions and more were the backdrop of the recent Consumer Analytics and Industry Applications conference, put on by the University of Delaware’s Institute for Financial Services Analytics (IFSA).

“We are living in a big data world,” said IFSA director and professor of business administration, Bintong Chen. The institute is a collaboration between UD’s Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics, the College of Engineering and JPMorgan Chase. (more…)

An Inside Look at a MOF in Action

By Guest PostDecember 28, 2013Scienceals, atmosphere, berend smit, berkeley lab, carbon dioxide gas, david prendergast, gas adsorption, gas molecules, global climate change, inside look, jacs, jeff kortright, jeffrey long, jeffrey neaton, metal organic framework, mg mof 74, mof in action, molecules, nano, nexafs, open metal site, roberta poloni, thomas mcdonald, united states, vulcan, walter drisdell

Berkeley Lab Researchers Probe Into Electronic Structure of MOF May Lead to Improved Capturing of Greenhouse Gases

A unique inside look at the electronic structure of a highly touted metal-organic framework (MOF) as it is adsorbing carbon dioxide gas should help in the design of new and improved MOFs for carbon capture and storage. Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have recorded the first in situ electronic structure observations of the adsorption of carbon dioxide inside Mg-MOF-74, an open metal site MOF that has emerged as one of the most promising strategies for capturing and storing greenhouse gases. (more…)

Slippery bark protects trees from pine beetle attack, according to CU-Boulder study

By Guest PostDecember 27, 2013Naturebeetle infestation, boulder, boulder county parks, california, ecology, evolutionary biology, functional ecology, high elevation, humboldt state university, indian peaks, jeffrey kane, jeffry mitton, john marr fund, limber pines, mountain pine beetles, oecologia, open space, pine beetle attack, protect, scott ferrenberg, slippery bark, trees, university of colorado, wilderness alliance

Trees with smoother bark are better at repelling attacks by mountain pine beetles, which have difficulty gripping the slippery surface, according to a new study by the University of Colorado Boulder.

The findings, published online in the journal Functional Ecology, may help land managers make decisions about which trees to cull and which to keep in order to best protect forested properties against pine beetle infestation. (more…)

Hard rock life

By Guest PostDecember 27, 2013Scienceamerican geophysical union, bigelow laboratories, biofuel, biotechnology research, breakthrough, caribbean ocean, dco, earth, geomicrobiologist, hard rock life, hardened rock, hydrothermal vent, julie huber, matthew schrenk, merja itavaara, michigan state university, microbial denizen, phenomena, ramunas stepanauskas, South Africa, underground in california, vtt finland

Scientists are digging deep into the Earth’s surface collecting census data on the microbial denizens of the hardened rocks. What they’re finding is that, even miles deep and halfway across the globe, many of these communities are somehow quite similar.

The results, which were presented at the American Geophysical Union conference Dec. 8, suggest that these communities may be connected, said Matthew Schrenk, Michigan State University geomicrobiologist. (more…)

„Einweg ist praktizierte Rohstoffverschwendung“

By Guest PostDecember 27, 2013Environmentbenjamin bongardt, klima, klimaschaedlichkeit, kohlendioxid, oekobilanz, pet kunststoff, recycling, ressourcenpolitik beim nabu, rohstoffverschwendung, umweltschutz

Interview mit Dr. Benjamin Bongardt, Leiter Ressourcenpolitik beim NABU

27. Dezember 2013 – Warum sind PET-Einwegflaschen und Dosen schlecht für die Umwelt? Die Hersteller von Einwegflaschen sagen doch, dass „null Müll“ anfällt, also Flaschen komplett recycelt und Dosen eingeschmolzen werden?

Die Umwelt profitiert nur dann, wenn wir die richtige Getränkeverpackungslösung auswählen und diese immer effizienter machen. Es ist durch das Dosenpfand zwar wirtschaftlich attraktiv, Einwegplastik und Dosen zu recyceln, mit aktivem Klima- und Umweltschutz hat das jedoch nicht viel zu tun. Jede Mehrwegflasche dagegen ersetzt bis zu 50 Einwegflaschen – und wird am Ende noch zusätzlich recycelt. Einweg steht daher für eine praktizierte Rohstoffverschwendung. (more…)

Study Raises Questions about Longstanding Forensic Identification Technique

By Guest PostDecember 27, 2013Scienceann ross, ashley maxwell, cranial vault outline, forensic experts, forensic identification technique, north Carolina, positive id, postmortem xrays, questions, skull, state university

Forensic experts have long used the shape of a person’s skull to make positive identifications of human remains. But those findings may now be called into question, since a new study from North Carolina State University shows that there is not enough variation in skull shapes to make a positive ID.

“In a lot of cases, murder victims or the victims of disasters are from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and don’t have extensive dental records we can use to make a match,” says Dr. Ann Ross, a forensic expert and professor of anthropology at NC State who is senior author of a paper on the new study. “But those people may have been in car accidents or other incidents that led them to have their skulls X-rayed in emergency rooms or elsewhere. And those skull X-rays have often been used to make IDs. I’ve done it myself. (more…)

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