Mearian, L (2014, November 21^st) Flurry of hydrogen fuel cell cars challenge all-electric vehicles

http://www.computerworld.com/article/2850882/flurry-of-hydrogen-fuel-cell-cars-challenge-all-electric-vehicles.html

 

A newer type of automobile has recently been introduced ad will be hitting the market in 2015. This new type of vehicle is a hydrogen fuel cell car. These cars use hydrogen as a source of power and simply release water vapor as exhaust. Another awesome feature about these cars is that they have a very fast recharge time unlike electric cars. Car companies are promising public charging stations, which is also really cool.

 

This relates to environmental science because these cars are super great for the environment and are super promising. This was my first time really looking into this new type of car and I was really impressed. I think when they come out they could really make a huge difference. Hopefully the release dates will not be pushed back any further and the claims will all be true.

Lee, M (2014,December 2^nd) State’s gasoline use is on the rise

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/dec/02/california-burns-more-gasoline/

 

California’s gas consumption is on the rise. California already uses more gasoline than other state. More and more highways are appearing all throughout California as more and more people crowd the busy roads. Starting next year fuel producers will have to buy pollution allowances to make up for the emissions from their products.

 

This article relates to environmental science because pollution from traffic is a huge problem in major cities throughout the United States. In cities like Los Angeles the pollution is literally visible in the air. I wasn’t surprised California uses the most gasoline considered how populated the cities are.

 

Hower, M (2014, November 18^th) Boeing ecoDemonstrator 787 Tests 25 Eco-friendly Innovations

http://www.sustainablebrands.com/news_and_views/brand_innovation/mike_hower/boeing_ecodemonstrator_787_tests_25_eco-friendly_innovati

 

The Boeing ecoDemonstrator 787 has recently been testing out 25 new technologies to improve aviation’s environmental impacts.  Some of these improvements include new outer wings made out of recycled materials, adding different mechanical systems to lessen the weight and Instrument landing systems for new and older aircraft to optimize landings and reduce fuel use. Also, this airline plans on testing different biofuels this upcoming summer.

 

This is super relevant to environmental science because airplanes are literally constantly flying so finding way to make them more environmentally friendly would make a pretty big impact. I thought the idea of using recycled materials was a pretty cool idea because it takes a ton of resources to build a plane. I also thought using biofuel in planes is a great idea.