European car market recovers, Peugeot picks up speed
Paris (AFP) July 17, 2014 -
The number of new cars registered in Europe grew for the 10th consecutive month in June, according to industry data published Thursday, adding to evidence the embattled sector is recovering.
Sales of new cars rose by 4.5 percent last month to 1.2 million units, the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA) said, as the market continues its battle to shake off a recent slump. ...
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Germany most energy efficient nation: study
Washington (AFP) July 17, 2014 -
Germany is the world's most energy efficient nation with strong codes on buildings while China is quickly stepping up its own efforts, an environmental group said Thursday.
The study of 16 major economies by the Washington-based American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy ranked Mexico last and voiced concern about the pace of efforts by the United States and Australia.
The council ...
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Amazon launches unlimited e-book subscription plan
New York (AFP) July 18, 2014 -
US online giant Amazon unveiled a Netflix-style subscription plan Friday for unlimited access to e-books, a move which could shake up the world of publishing.
The $9.99 per month Kindle Unlimited program offers access to some 600,000 titles in the Amazon Kindle format.
Subscribers will be able to access the books on Amazon's Kindle tablets, as well as other devices with a Kindle app, inc ...
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Plus-sized parking spaces for Chinese women drivers
Dalian, China (AFP) July 19, 2014 -
The parking spaces outside a Chinese shopping mall are distinctive: marked out in pink, signposted "Respectfully reserved for women", and around 30 centimetres wider than normal.
The slots at the Dashijiedaduhui - or "World Metropolis" - centre have sparked debate in China, which officially embraces gender equality but where old-fashioned sexism is rife in reality.
The mall, in the cen ...
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In air tragedy, lightning strikes twice for Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur (AFP) July 18, 2014 -
The downing of a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet with 298 people aboard heaped new distress on a nation still stung by the trauma and global stigma of flight MH370's disappearance four months ago.
For the second time this year, Malaysians awoke Friday to black newspaper front pages bearing the grim news of yet another air disaster that left dozens of their countrymen dead or missing, and lin ...
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French minister opposes Australian firm's plan to ship waste
Paris (AFP) July 18, 2014 -
French Ecology Minister Segolene Royal Friday voiced opposition to a proposal by Australian chemical giant Orica to ship highly toxic waste to France for incineration.
"The transport of dangerous waste ... is an environmental aberration," said Royal, adding that she had instructed the top local official of the Isere region, where Orica wants to destroy the waste, to turn down the request. ...
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Self-cooling Solar Cells Boost Power, Last Longer
Washington DC (SPX) Jul 21, 2014 -
Scientists may have overcome one of the major hurdles in developing high-efficiency, long-lasting solar cells-keeping them cool, even in the blistering heat of the noonday Sun.
By adding a specially patterned layer of silica glass to the surface of ordinary solar cells, a team of researchers led by Shanhui Fan, an electrical engineering professor at Stanford University in California has fo ...
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A new stable and cost-cutting type of perovskite solar cell
Lausanne, Switzerland (SPX) Jul 21, 2014 -
Perovskite solar cells show tremendous promise in propelling solar power into the marketplace. The cells use a hole-transportation layer, which promotes the efficient movement of electrical current after exposure to sunlight. However, manufacturing the hole-transportation organic materials is very costly and lack long term stability.
Publishing in Science, a team of scientists in China, le ...
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DVP to Install Northern Virginia's Largest Solar Energy System Yet
Sterling VA (SPX) Jul 21, 2014 -
Dominion Virginia Power will install more than 3,000 solar panels capable of generating more than 800 kilowatts of electricity - enough to power nearly 200 homes - at the Prologis Concorde Distribution Center in Sterling, Va.
The panels will be installed on the rooftops of two adjacent buildings on its campus and will cover nearly 102,000 square feet.
"Our customers in Northern Virgi ...
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Gurudwara Sahib Commissions Sunpreme's PV Solar System
Sunnyvale, CA (SPX) Jul 21, 2014 -
Sunpreme has announced the commissioning of a 82kWh rooftop solar system at the Gurudwara Sahib, Fremont, California. The system is one of the largest rooftop solar installations to use Sunpreme's advanced solar PV technology that will generate 150,000kWh of clean, emission free electricity annually - while providing a centerpiece to their holistic approach to environmental stewardship.
Su ...
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Lighthouse Solar is getting off the Solarcoaster
Boulder CO (SPX) Jul 21, 2014 -
Lighthouse Solar has announced that it is getting out of the installation business in Colorado. Market conditions created by Xcel Energy and the PUC have made operating in Colorado too difficult and unpredictable to do business.
In contrast, Lighthouse Solar has two additional installation offices that are thriving in Austin, Texas and New Paltz, New York.
Lighthouse Solar has been i ...
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No-wait data centers
Boston MA (SPX) Jul 21, 2014 -
Big websites usually maintain their own "data centers," banks of tens or even hundreds of thousands of servers, all passing data back and forth to field users' requests. Like any big, decentralized network, data centers are prone to congestion: Packets of data arriving at the same router at the same time are put in a queue, and if the queues get too long, packets can be delayed.
At the ann ...
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Biofuels benefit energy security, Secretary Moniz says
Washington (UPI) Jul 18, 2013 -
The U.S. federal government said it awarded $12.6 million in research grants to help improve feedstocks for the development of biofuels.
"Biofuels and bio-based products offer the potential of homegrown American resources that can reduce our dependence on imported oil and also cut carbon emissions," Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said in a statement.
Joint funding from the Departm ...
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Economic development not the only influence on personal car use
Santa Monica CA (SPX) Jul 21, 2014 -
Although countries with high levels of economic development generally have more personal automobile travel than less-affluent nations, income is not the only factor that determines a nation's demand for cars, according to a new study.
Examining factors that may influence personal automobile use in developing nations, researchers found that government policies such as taxes that keep fuel c ...
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Directly visualizing hydrogen bonds
Washington DC (SPX) Jul 21, 2014 -
Using a newly developed, ultrafast femtosecond infrared light source, chemists at the University of Chicago have been able to directly visualize the coordinated vibrations between hydrogen-bonded molecules - the first time this sort of chemical interaction, which is found in nature everywhere at the molecular level, has been directly visualized. They describe their experimental techniques and o ...
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Getting a grip on robotic grasp
Boston MA (SPX) Jul 21, 2014 -
Twisting a screwdriver, removing a bottle cap, and peeling a banana are just a few simple tasks that are tricky to pull off single-handedly. Now a new wrist-mounted robot can provide a helping hand - or rather, fingers.
Researchers at MIT have developed a robot that enhances the grasping motion of the human hand. The device, worn around one's wrist, works essentially like two extra fingers ...
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Human or robot? Hit Swedish TV series explores shrinking divide
Stockholm (AFP) July 18, 2014 -
He has no special interest in science fiction, but the creator of a Swedish sci-fi drama that pits robots against humans has struck a nerve among viewers.
"Real Humans", by screenwriter-actor Lars Lundstroem, stars humanoids called "hubots", a word mixing humans and robots. They are merchandise, bought and sold, run on electricity, but can think, make choices, have sex with humans, even figh ...
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China's Xi hails 'new horizons' in ties with Argentina
Buenos Aires (AFP) July 19, 2014 -
Relations between Argentina and China are poised to reach unprecedented "new horizons," Chinese President Xi Jinping told lawmakers in Buenos Aires during a summit visit Saturday.
Xi is on a Latin American charm offensive to secure bilateral trade deals - particularly coveted raw materials - from governments throughout the region.
China is Argentina's third-largest trading partner behi ...
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U.S. ranks 13th among 16 economies in energy efficiency
Washington (UPI) Jul 18, 2013 -
The United States ranked 13th, ten spots behind the entire European Union, in terms of energy efficiency, a Washington policy center reported.
The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy ranked the United States 13th out of 16 major economies it reviewed on energy efficiency indices. The European Union as a whole ranked No. 3, with Germany taking the top spot.
"The Unite ...
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It's go time for LUX-Zeplin dark matter experiment
New Haven CT (SPX) Jul 21, 2014 -
From the physics labs at Yale University to the bottom of a played-out gold mine in South Dakota, a new generation of dark matter experiments is ready to commence.
The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science and the National Science Foundation recently gave the go-ahead to LUX-Zeplin (LZ), a key experiment in the hunt for dark matter, the invisible substance that may make up much of ...
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