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NEWS ABOUT: electricity

'Super-Spike' Could Drive Oil to $200

Experts say $150 or more isn't out of the question as world demand grows.

(Newser) - A “super-spike” could push oil beyond $150 a barrel by October, the highest it been in more than 135 years, experts say. That would drive the price at the pump past $4.50 a gallon and trim US economic output 3.3% in the 2 years following, reports the... More »

World's Smallest Transistor Sets Path to Better Chips

Newfound material could replace silicon

(Newser) - Scientists in England have created the world’s smallest transistor, the BBC reports. At 1 atom thick and 10 atoms wide, it could be the key to creating microchips beyond the power of silicon. The transistor is made of graphene, a single layer of graphite and an excellent conductor of... More »

Late-Night Charges Keep Hybrids Greener

Power grids can handle recharging if done after hours

(Newser) - Nighttime is the right time to plug in a hybrid, Michael Graham Richard writes in TreeHugger. If recharged after 10pm, the green cars exert less drain on power grids and may not require new power plants—meaning gas-guzzlers could be replaced without any extra pollution. But researchers at Oak Ridge... More »

Engineer's Goof Turned Out Florida Lights

Worker disabled two levels of protective backup systems

(Newser) - One engineer's blunder shut off the power in Florida Tuesday, the Miami Herald reports. Florida Light & Power says a field engineer diagnosing a faulty switch disabled two levels of safety backups—against company policy—as he worked. In a bit of extremely unfortunate timing, a fault then occurred that... More »

Scientist Makes Wonder Material from Rice Husks

Cheap 'aerogel' would slash electricity needs, bomb-proof buildings

(Newser) - Rice husks might be the key to lowering electricity use, bomb-proofing buildings and making products—from airplanes to tennis rackets—lighter. A Malaysian scientist says she’s found a cheap way to create aerogel, the world’s lightest solid, from discarded rice husks. The material combines incredible insulating power and... More »

Google's Juicy Addiction: Cheap Electric

Not-so-green tech giants show insatiable appetite for power

(Newser) - No industrial smokestacks rise from that cute Google logo, but each click of the search button takes an environmental toll, Harper's reports. Google and its competitors are guzzling electricity to power ever-larger server complexes, and a renewable-energy initiative is more about making amends than benevolence. A new taxpayer-subsidized Google center... More »

Fabric Could Power Your iPod

Scientists discover way to derive energy from microfiber fabric

(Newser) - George Jetson, eat your heart out: Scientists have developed a microfiber fabric that generates its own electricity, which could someday provide relief for cellphone users strapped without their chargers or iPod fanatics running low on battery. The fabric, if woven into a shirt, could harness power from simple physical movement... More »

Bionic Vision Pioneers Unveil New Lenses

Electrical circuit and lights spark ideas for future gadgets

(Newser) - Bionic vision may cost less than $6 million after all: Scientists unveiled a new electronic contact lens this week that is already sparking ideas for future technology. Endowed with a circuit and lights, the gadget isn't ready yet, but makers say it is built with safe, organic materials. It even... More »

Gaza City Shuts Off Power Amid Claimed Fuel Shortage

Israelis say move meant to create crisis

(Newser) - Gaza City’s sole power plant has shut down due to what Palestinian officials claim are insufficient fuel supplies, the BBC reports. Israel—which provides 60% of Gaza’s electricity—closed its border last week with the Gaza Strip, preventing the import of virtually all supplies. The move followed a... More »

Cybercrooks Hacking Power Grid

In cities outside the US, hackers shut down grid for blackmail

(Newser) - Foreign extortionists have managed to hack into US power grids and shut them down, PC World reports, citing a CIA analyst speaking at a security conference this week. "In at least one case, the disruption caused a power outage affecting multiple cities. We do not know who executed these... More »

Cisco Goes Green with Energy Gauging

Networking company to measure power use from data centers

(Newser) - Green-minded Cisco Systems is looking to improve energy efficiency by monitoring power consumption, operating temperature, and more from its enterprise data network. With energy costs and global warming worries escalating, Cisco plans to expand beyond communications and use its data network to help companies manage their power use and prevent... More »

Energy Conservation Comes Home

Plug-in monitor tells you when electric demand is at peak

(Newser) - Energy companies are hoping to cut costs and conserve electricity by training customers to trim power use during peak hours, reports the MIT Technology Review. By viewing small monitors in homes, customers can see when demand is highest and turn off energy-hogging air conditioners, dishwashers and space heaters. Generating so-called... More »

Africa: Let There Be Light

World Bank initiative aims to bring electric power to 250 million Africans

(Newser) - Even after decades of development, most African communities have no electrical power and still go dark when the sun goes down. Only 5% of Ugandans, 6% of the Congolese population and 15% of Kenyans have electricity. Now the World Bank has launched an initiative to light the homes of 250... More »

Israel Cuts Fuel to Gaza

Government says reduction won't cause a humanitarian crisis

(Newser) - Israel cut Gaza’s fuel supply today in a bid to force the strip's Hamas government to curb rocket attacks on Israel. An Israeli official told the New York Times the plan was to cut deliveries 5 to 11%, but a Gazan official told the AP shipments were short by... More »

The Lucky Find Homes, but No Water, Power

Returning SoCal residents face weeks of hardships

(Newser) - Thousands of Southern California residents have returned to their homes—those fortunate enough to find them standing—to find no electricity and no drinking water, with town reservoirs drained to fight fires, and air choked with smoke and ash. The threat of changing weather also looms: the hot winds that... More »

GE Turning Green; Unplugs Light Bulb Plants

Biz switching over to energy-efficient fluorescents

(Newser) - Bowing to market pressure to switch to more energy-efficient lighting, General Electric is shutting down 7 of 54 plants and warehouses that serve its incandescent light bulb operation, reports the Wall Street Journal. Some 1,400 workers will lose their jobs, but only a third of them will be US... More »

Frisco to Go Dark—on Purpose

City plans voluntary brownout to show how easy it is to save electricity

(Newser) - In a move initiated by a local environmentalist, San Francisco will launch a voluntary brownout next month to show people how easy it is to save electricity. Lights Out San Francisco is asking everyone to switch off unnecessary lights for an hour on October 20. Activist Nate Tyler got the... More »

Breaking SoCal Heat Wave Leaves 27 Dead

Eight days of triple-digit temperatures hits hard

(Newser) - Southern California's heat wave finally seems to be breaking after killing at least 27 people in crushing temperatures. The deaths include an elderly couple who told neighbors they were turning off their air conditioning to save money. Several victims died while illegally crossing the US-Mexico border in searing heat. More »

Iraq Electric Grid Seized by Militias

Baghdad increasingly in darkness as armed bands horde power

(Newser) - Large swaths of Iraq's power grid have fallen under the control of armed militias, the New York Times reports. The balkanization of power stations worsens an already fragile situation in which insurgents blow up power lines and leave Baghdad without power at the height of a 110-degree summer. More »

Toyota Tests Plug-In Hybrids

(Newser) - Toyota will provide two experimental plug-in electric hybrid cars to the University of California for road testing, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The new vehicles can travel 100 miles on a single gallon of gas after a boost from a rechargeable battery that plugs in to a standard 110-volt current. More »

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