Wave Energy Looking for Breakthrough — Using Aerospace Design

Zachary Shahan — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 18:27:49 +0000

The oceans seem like a great potential source for clean energy. The force of the waves, the constancy, the size of the oceans — it all seems like something that could produce energy for humans without much harm. (I still have some concerns, though it seems like one of the best options these days). Some of the major problems with utilizing the force of the oceans, however, have been how to survive storms, the need to be anchored to the see floor, and efficiency.

Researchers from the US Air Force Academy have a new, outside-the-box idea for dealing with these problems — use an aerospace approach.

This is yet to be developed to full-scale and tested in that form, but early computer and model-scale tests are showing higher efficiencies than wind turbines, according to the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Tsunami Survivors Still Struggle

Mark Seall — Mon, 12 May 2008 06:00:27 +0000

3 years after the Indian Ocean Earthquake of December 2004

“The sea is a different colour today - a Tsunami might come”, the old woman said, her eyes tinged with sadness as she sold bottled water from a counter in a long row of dilapidated shacks.

The scars of the 2004 Asian Tsunami can be seen everywhere. Besides the fear that remains in peoples faces, a nearby tree lay un-rooted whilst trucks trundle uncertainly across a rickety wooden bridge. The legs of the original concrete bridge, destroyed by 100 ft waves, stick out of the water like broken teeth.

Your local travel agent might have you believe that it’s all over, that the resorts have been rebuilt and it’s business as usual on Thailand’s Andaman coast. But cycle a few hundred meters outside of the resorts where Westerners enjoy cool Singha beers and the warm hospitality of the Thai people, and it’s a very different story.

Green Options » tsunami

Wave Energy Looking for Breakthrough — Using Aerospace Design

Tsunami Survivors Still Struggle

3 years after the Indian Ocean Earthquake of December 2004