Researchers working on "bionic eye" implants

These researchers are working on retinal implants that will eventually help some people with vision loss regain their sight. Check it out.

Lily introduces a selfie-drone

Drones are hot stuff right now. But you have to learn how to fly them. Check out this solution from Lily. It's like a selfie-drone!

A battery that charges in only one minute

Some very clever people at Stanford University are working on a new battery technology that can charge in one minute. They say it is safe, even when you penetrate it with a drill (other batteries would probably catch on fire). It's still a lab project, but it seems to hold some promise.

Wheels with solar panels can power a bicycle

These people in Denmark are working on a solar powered electric bike where the solar panels are actually embedded into the wheels. The wheels charge the battery when parked, which in turn powers the bike when in motion. But don't expect this invention to directly power the wheels without charging the battery first. At least not yet.

Helping the visually impaired navigate public transit

These people are working on a technology that would help visually impaired people find their way around the London transit system using bluetooth beacons and their smart phones.

Quest carbon capture and storage project to reduce carbon footprint

Although the world is working on alternate energy sources to reduce the threat of climate change, most people acknowledge that fossil fuels will be with us for some time. So Shell is working on a project called Quest that will reduce the amount of CO2 emitted in the production of fossil fuels. The project is scheduled to become operational later this year.

Space-based solar power systems could beam electricity from orbit to Earth

Even the biggest proponents of solar power know there are problems with the technology: most notably, the sun does not always shine. Night time and cloudy days don't generate much, if any, electricity. But what if you could position solar panels in orbit (where the sun always shines) and beam electricity to Earth? Some very clever people are working on the idea!

nanoFlowcell might beat Tesla at the electric car game

A European company called nanoFlowcell is developing their Quant electric cars without traditional batteries. Instead, they have two fluid reservoirs – one for a negatively charged electrolyte and one for a positively charged electrolyte. A membrane between the two electrolytes generates a current, powering the electric motors.

This would seem to solve the three big issues with battery electric vehicles – recharge time, range and infrastructure. The electrolyte fluids can be filled-up in about the same amount of time as petrol. The first two Quant prototypes have a range of 800 kms (for the large car) and 1,000 kms (for the small car). And you would think that existing gasoline stations could be easily retrofitted to dispense the fluids since they're already in that business.

It will be interesting to see how this technology develops.

Microsoft HoloLens concept combines reality with virtual reality.

Interested in what the future might bring with respect to combining reality with virtual reality? Check out this concept from Microsoft.

Waste not. Drink lots.

Here's a story that crosses over between the topics of health and energy. This process takes human waste and converts it into pure drinking water, heat and electricity. Watch one of the richest people in the world, Bill Gates, drink water that was converted from sewerage.

Watch a double amputee control prosthetic limbs with his mind

Could your car be smarter than you?

Driving in the near future could become safer thanks to V2X technology.

Radio in a mason jar

For those of you who appreciate clever design (and only like one radio station), this product could be for you.

Hydrostor might solve the Achilles' Heel of renewable energy

OK, back to the subject of storing renewable energy to be used when the wind doesn't blow and the sun doesn't shine. Could Hydrostor have the solution?

How to make an electric car go 1,000 miles on a charge

Could aluminum air batteries provide the solution to range anxiety with electric cars? Phinergy and Alcoa may have the solution.

How to store wind and solar energy

When the sun doesn't shine and the wind doesn't blow, solar panels and wind turbines have an obvious problem. Has Isentropic solved the problem of grid-scale electricity storage? 

How to easily fix your bike's flat tire on-the-go

Getting a flat tire when riding your bike is a real drag. Problem solved.

Elio Motors combines the best aspects of cars and motorcycles

Cars are big, expensive and use a lot of gasoline. Motorcycles are smaller, cheaper and more fuel efficient. But motorcycles aren't as safe and don't provide protection from bad weather. Problem solved.

Two books that caught my attention: Ethical Oil and Groundswell

This post is going to be longer than normal, so please stay with me.

Most of you know that I believe alternate energy has an important future globally. Sources like wind, solar and biofuels will likely make an important contribution to our energy mix once the challenges get sorted out.

Challenges? Well, storage for one thing. When the wind doesn't blow and the sun doesn't shine, these sources can't generate electricity. So someone needs to invent a viable way of storing a huge number of electrons to supply power to the grid while the wind and solar generators are idle.

Then there's the issue of birds. I suspect wind turbines have killed and maimed more birds than the Exxon Valdez. Almost certainly more than oil sands tailings ponds ever will. But that does't make any of this okay. Whatever the method we use to generate energy, we need to protect wildlife.

Will these problems ever be solved? Probably. You know what I think about humanity's capacity to solve problems.

No one knows how long this will take or if alternate energy will ever replace fossil fuels entirely. So Levant's books ask the question: If we're going to use fossil fuels for the foreseeable future, where do you want to get them from?

Although Levant makes some good points, these books are not for the easily offended. They would be considered provocative, blunt and even insulting to many people. Levant takes shots at everyone from Vladimir Putin to Gazprom, the Saudi Royal Family, Iran, Nigeria, Green Peace, the documentary "Gasland" ... you name it. Politics. Religion. Hidden agendas of environmentalists. All kinds of taboo topics are in Levant's crosshairs and he doesn't hold back.

Of special note: According to Levant, the United States has already reduced its greenhouse gas emissions below that required by the Kyoto protocol thanks to natural gas fracking (with no environmental consequences). Much of Europe could do the same if they embraced fracking, plus have the energy independence and political freedom that come with it. Really? I didn't know that.

Levant cites some credible sources and appears to trust the scientists who say fracking is okay, but appears to disbelieve the scientists that say climate change is being caused by humans. Environmentalists seem to believe the opposite science. All of this reminds me of the lyrics from the Dire Straits song, Industrial Disease: "Two men say their Jesus. One of them must be wrong."

Facts are facts. But how they can be interpreted and spun is crucial. With issues such as this, it might be most appropriate to challenge those who make claims to cite their scientific sources. We might be best served if we then take the time to read the primary research ourselves before drawing conclusions.

If CO2 was valuable, would we still emit it into the atmosphere?

Here's a post about sustainable energy that you probably weren't expecting.

A lot has been said about the evils of spewing CO2 into the atmosphere. A lot has also been said about the potential for carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). In case you're unaware, the idea behind CCS is that we can capture the CO2 as fossil fuels are being burned and inject the CO2 back into the ground where it had been safety stored for millions of years.

But what if we could capture CO2 from fossil fuels and, rather than trying to bury it back into the ground, create valuable products? In doing so, CO2 capture wouldn't become a cost burden, but a profitable revenue stream.