It was a good week for new technology as a team of researchers at Columbia University announced a way to get renewable energy from evaporating water—they have come up with two devices, one a piston-based engine that generates electricity while floating, and the other, a rotary engine that powers a tiny car.

Schematic illustration of electrically biased suspended graphene and light emission from the center of the suspended graphene.

Also, another team with members from the U.S. and Korea demonstrated for the first time an on-chip visible light source using graphene—the world’s thinnest light bulb. And a team of chemists at UCLA announced that they had devised technology that could transform solar energy storage—it is a way to extend energy storage in solar cells from microseconds to weeks. Read more

Nearly all power plants in the United States use water to regulate temperature. These water-cooled plants account for more than 40 percent of the nation’s freshwater withdrawals each year.

Nearly all power plants in the United States use water to regulate temperature. These water-cooled plants account for more than 40 percent of the nation’s freshwater withdrawals each year.

The towering plumes of steam emanating from power plant calderas that have come to symbolize the massive and, at times, menacing nature of the energy industry might soon have their natural dissipation into thin air preempted by a figurative one. A team of researchers from Drexel University, in concert with experts from academia and industry, are creating a new technology that replaces the voluminous amounts of steam-producing water used to cool the plants with trillions of tiny wax beads—and could be the end of those fluffy, yet ominous, white clouds. Read more

Today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is taking action to protect our precious water resources.

Many of us have fond memories of playing at our neighborhood pond or taking a swim in the local river. We remember the unspoiled wetlands and streams where our parents took us hunting and fishing as kids. We value our deep-rooted ties to the lakes and rivers that shape where we grew up and where we live. Our waters define who we are as people and as a nation. Read more

Substances commonly used for drilling or extracting Marcellus shale gas foamed from the drinking water taps of three Pennsylvania homes near a reported well-pad leak, according to new analysis from a team of scientists.

The researchers used a new analytical technique on samples from the homes and found a chemical compound, 2-BE, and an unidentified complex mixture of organic contaminants, both commonly seen in flowback water from Marcellus shale activity. The scientists published their findings this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Read more

On Wednesday, Gov. Jerry Brown announced there will be mandatory water cutbacks in the drought-stricken state for the first time in history.

“Today we are standing on dry grass where there should be five feet of snow,” he said in a statement. “This historic drought demands unprecedented action. Therefore, I’m issuing an executive order mandating substantial water reductions across our state. As Californians, we must pull together and save water in every way possible.”

While previous efforts at rationing water have been initiated at the city and district levels, this is the first time that rationing has been enforced statewide.

The orders come the same day Brown joined officials at a snowpack measure in the Sierra Nevada mountains that revealed levels are are at an all-time recorded low, at just 6 percent of the long-term average for this time of year. The previous low was 25 percent, set in 1977 and again in 2014. Read more