Science News

Today Honda has released its hydrogen fuel cell car. Called the Honda “FCX Clarity” the car runs on only electricity and hydrogen. It is two times more energy efficient than a gas-electric hybrid car and three times more efficient than a standard gasoline powered car.

The FCX is completely clean and produces no carbon emissions. The car only expels water. Japan’s biggest automaker will lease a “few dozen” vehicles this year and expects to up the number to 200 units within three years.

Although Honda received 50,000 applications for the Clarity it only considered applicants who lived near Hydrogen Fueling stations in Torrance, Santa Monica, and Irvine California.

The FCX Clarity weighs 3,600 pounds, can reach speeds up to 100 miles per hour, and has a range of 270 miles.

The hunt for true “Earth-like” planets is heated, with many participants eagerly searching, hoping to be the first to find one. We are not there yet, but getting very close.

At the American Astronomical Society (AAS) researcher David Bennett announced the finding of an extrasolar planet called MOA-2007-BLG-192Lb. It’s located 3,000 light-years away from Earth and has three times the mass of our planet. The lightest extrasolar planet discovered weighed in at five-Earth masses and was discovered in April.

The host planet’s star is anywhere from 3,000 to 1 million times fainter than our sun so the planet may be colder than Pluto, but based upon the findings in this discovery astrophysicists suggest MOA-2007-BLG-192Lb could have a thick atmosphere that blankets the planet by trapping in heat. They also go on to theorize this planet may also be covered with a deep ocean.

Once the Kepler Mission is under way (NASA mission to hunt for Earth sized planets. Kepler will launch in February 2009) news like this will occur much more often and bring many exciting possibilities with it.

Twenty years from now the United States may be getting 20 percent of its electricity from wind power.

A report released from industry experts and Energy Department Labs stated we can achieve this within the next two decades. Currently 20 percent of the electricity in the United States is generated through nuclear reactors. Combined this would greatly reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.

Wind energy also currently accounts for only 1 percent of the USA’s electricity but there has been a 45 percent leap from the previous year’s production. Today wind power in the states produces about 16,000 megawatts, estimated forecasts would have 75,000 more wind turbines producing 300,000 megawatts of power by 2030.

Not only would this alleviate our complete dependency on oil but it would reduce carbon emissions by 825 million metric tons a year. Executive director of the American Wind Energy Association, Randall Swisher, said “This is the equivalent of taking 140 million cars off the road.”

This report does not account for other technological advancements that may emerge in wind power or through other forms of clean energy production.

Artificial food coloring ingredients (food dye) contain plenty of chemicals. Many are derived from highly toxic sources and can cause many different diseases, disorders, and mutations in humans. Although it seems unlikely that a trivial amount of food coloring in a piece of a candy you eat (like liquorice) would have any harmful effect on you, you would be wrong, because it does.

Artificial colors look great. They make food look vibrant and appealing. The majority of food colors are made with petroleum. They are a derivative of Petrochemicals and Coal tar. These chemicals are in no way made to be ingested by humans or any other animal. In fact, food dye is pulled off of the market regularly because of health concerns. Yellow #2 food dye will likely be the next to go. It’s be shown to cause ADHD, multiple types of cancer, male sterility, and many other issues.

Artificial Colors aren’t just in junk food or sodas. Some salmon farms actually add red food dye to their salmon to make them appear more appetizing. It works. When looking for fish a customer always wants the freshest they can buy. A pink/red salmon is much more appealing to eat than one that’s gray or just darker.

There have been petitions to ban these chemicals and dyes, but most of them still remain on the market. It will really take a lot more research and widespread awareness to ban these chemicals from making their way into our food.