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Aggressive Efficiency and Electrification Needed to Cut California Emissions

*Berkeley Lab joint report offers a variety of scenarios to reduce emissions to 80% below 1990 levels.*

Berkeley, CA — In the next 40 years, California’s population is expected to surge from 37 million to 55 million and the demand for energy is expected to double. Given those daunting numbers, can California really reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050, as required by an executive order? Scientists from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory who co-wrote a new report on California’s energy future are optimistic that the target can be achieved, though not without bold policy and behavioral changes as well as some scientific innovation.

The report, titled “California’s Energy Future—The View to 2050,” draws a series of energy system “portraits” showing how California can meet its ambitious emissions targets using a combination of measures and energy sources that may include electrification, enhanced efficiency, nuclear energy, renewable energy sources, grid modernization, and carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). (more…)

Scientists Discover Fossil of Giant Ancient Sea Predator

Paleontologists have discovered that a group of remarkable ancient sea creatures existed for much longer and grew to much larger sizes than previously thought, thanks to extraordinarily well-preserved fossils discovered in Morocco.

The creatures, known as anomalocaridids, were already thought to be the largest animals of the Cambrian period, known for the “Cambrian Explosion” that saw the sudden appearance of all the major animal groups and the establishment of complex ecosystems about 540 to 500 million years ago. Fossils from this period suggested these marine predators grew to be about two feet long. Until now, scientists also thought these strange invertebrates-which had long spiny head limbs presumably used to snag worms and other prey, and a circlet of plates around the mouth-died out at the end of the Cambrian. (more…)

Europe Sees 40 Percent Growth in Mobile Banking Through Smartphones

*Males Nearly Twice as Likely as Females to Use Mobile Banking*

LONDON, UK, May 27, 2011 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released data from the comScore MobiLens service which showed that 20 million mobile users across the five leading European markets (UK, France, Spain, Germany and Italy), representing 8.5 percent of mobile subscribers in these markets, accessed their bank account via a mobile phone in March 2011. Since August 2010, the first month this activity has been measured in MobiLens, there has been a 15.4 percent rise in mobile bankers which has been largely driven by smartphone users who accounted for 70 percent of the mobile banking market in March 2011. Among Smartphone owners the number of banking users has risen by 40 percent since August 2010. (more…)

Mars: Red Planet’s Rapid Formation Explains Its Small Size Relative to Earth

*Mars developed far more quickly than our blue planet*

Mars developed in as little as two to four million years after the birth of the solar system, far more quickly than Earth, according to results of a new study published in this week’s issue of the journal Nature.

The red planet’s rapid formation helps explain why it is so small, say the study’s co-authors, Nicolas Dauphas at the University of Chicago and Ali Pourmand at the University of Miami. (more…)

Japan Earthquake Appears to Increase Quake Risk Elsewhere in the Country

Japan’s recent magnitude 9.0 earthquake, which triggered a devastating tsunami, relieved stress along part of the quake fault but also has contributed to the build up of stress in other areas, putting some of the country at risk for up to years of sizeable aftershocks and perhaps new main shocks, scientists say.

After studying data from Japan’s extensive seismic network, researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), Kyoto University and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) have identified several areas at risk from the quake, Japan’s largest ever, which already has triggered a large number of aftershocks. (more…)

Just Four Percent of Galaxies Have Neighbors Like the Milky Way

*Our home galaxy belongs to a rare subset among the billions that populate the cosmos*

How unique is the Milky Way?

To find out, a group of researchers led by Stanford University astrophysicist Risa Wechsler compared the Milky Way to similar galaxies and found that just four percent are like the galaxy Earth calls home. (more…)

Lady Gaga for $0.99 Again – “This Time We’re Ready”

*Go Gaga again – And get 20 GB of free Cloud Drive storage*

SEATTLE, May 26, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Amazon.com today announced it will offer a repeat of Monday’s blockbuster Gold Box Deal of the Day: customers can purchase the Lady Gaga “Born This Way” MP3 album today for $0.99. Upon release, the album immediately shot to number one on Amazon’s bestselling MP3 albums list and has remained in the top spot since. (more…)