April 30, 2009 – The race is on to wean the U.S. from fossil fuels. Economic, environmental and security concerns are fueling scientific pursuit of technologies that will produce clean and renewable energy to meet growing demand. The Obama Administration, vowing to double the na

April 30, 2009 – Ethanol could be the grand prize in the U.S.’s race for environmentally neutral energy independence. It derives from natural products like corn and sugar cane, and is high-octane, clean-burning and renewable. But there’s a hitch. It is expensive to manufacture a

April 30, 2009 – While scientists continue to make steady progress in the search for alternative energy sources, one immutable fact remains: it takes time to develop and broadly implement revolutionary technologies – 20 to 30 years, most likely. Meanwhile, coal continues to supp

April 30, 2009 – In 1839, Welsh physics professor Sir William Grove had a bright idea. He knew that water could be split into hydrogen and oxygen by sending an electric current through it, but he wondered: if the process were reversed, could hydrogen and oxygen produce electrici