For decades there has been this tantalizing idea being pitched of pulling CO2 out of the air and using the carbon molecules for something more useful, like making plastics. Although this is a fairly simple process, it is also remarkably inefficient. Recently Caltech researchers have managed to boost the efficiency somewhat with a new two-stage […]
If legend is to be believed, three disparate social forces in early 20th-century America – the temperance movement, the rise of car culture, and the Scots-Irish culture of the South – collided with unexpected results. The temperance movement managed to get Prohibition written into the Constitution, which rankled the rebellious spirit of the descendants of […]
The prototype DACCU device for producing syngas from air. (Credit: Sayan Kar, University of Cambridge) There is more carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere these days than ever before in human history, and while it would be marvelous to use these carbon atoms for something more useful, capturing CO2 directly from the air isn’t that […]
In the past, building construction methods generally didn’t worry much about air quality. There were enough gaps around windows, doors, siding, and flooring that a house could naturally “breathe” and do a decent enough job of making sure the occupants didn’t suffocate. Modern buildings, on the other hand, are extremely concerned with efficiency and go […]
With all the recent attention on Mars and the search for evidence of ancient life there, it’s easy to forget that not only has the Red Planet been under the figurative microscope since the early days of the Space Race, but we went to tremendous effort to send a pair of miniaturized biochemical laboratories there […]