bp

Another use for sequestered carbon: drilling for oil

Here's a novel twist on curbing greenhouse gases. Some scientists and companies are examining ways of using captured carbon dioxide to extract fossil fuels.

It works like this. Carbon dioxide from smokestacks would be captured and compressed, and then shuttled into pipelines to oil fields. The gas would then be forced into oil wells to extract more fossil fuels.

The scenario solves two major problems in the energy field. First, what do you do with all of the carbon dioxide? The leading idea is to store it underground in depleted mines or saline aquifers. By being forced into oil … Read more

BP, Arizona State look to bacteria, not algae, for a biofuel

Algae's not the only organism that can be used as a feedstock for biofuel.

BP will collaborate with Arizona State University to try to figure out a way of using cyanobacteria, a photosynthetic form of bacteria, as a feedstock for diesel or synthetic petroleum. Ideally, the bacteria could be cultivated in large, contained plots of land baked by the sun--Arizona has a lot of that. The bacteria also consume carbon dioxide to grow. Thus, carbon dioxide could be pumped in from a power plant into the contained bacteria farm. The company could thus make money from selling carbon credits … Read more

Blue Blue and solar

Quick, what do BP, Sharp and Sanyo all have in common?

. . .

Give up? They are all among the largest producers of solar modules. And recently Honda and Applied Materials have entered the solar business as well.

If you are a renewable energy fan, you have to get excited when large semiconductor equipment experts like Applied Materials get in the game.

But the most recent prospective entrant (which I have blogged about) is IBM. Big Blue's program is still under wraps, but it has worked on solar technology in its research arm since the 1970s and has massive expertise in … Read more

Where in the world is the global warming solution?

Where in the world is the global warming solution? Well, as usual, it still rests with us, the consumer.

When we care enough to vote with our ballot AND our wallet, industry and government follow.

Food for thought:

On us -

Cars - I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, and we have oodles of pretty hybrids on the road. But the payback on a hybrid is about 9 to 11 years for the average diver (longer than the automakers say the "rated life" of the car is). Not a pretty picture. But if we all simply … Read more

Truce reached at Berkeley over BP deal

University of California, Berkeley faculty members and the administration have come to an agreement over how to proceed with a $500 million research proposal between oil giant BP and the university, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Earlier this year, BP announced it would fund a $500 million institute in conjunction with Berkeley and the University of Illinois dedicated to coming up with alternatives to gasoline. Among oil companies, BP has been one of the most active in exploring petroleum alternatives.

Some faculty members and activists, however, complained that the deal raises potential conflicts of interest.

Under the compromise, appointed … Read more