UK to science publishers: don’t follow recording industry down the tubes

There's been a growing push to get more scientific research out from behind paywalls. The federal government, private funding bodies, and a number of research institutions have all adopted policies that either mandate or encourage placing papers where the public can view them. Now, it appears that the UK is considering following suit. In addition to planning to make its researchers' publications available, the country's science minister has asked Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales to advise it on how to make the underlying data accessible.

The announcements came in a speech by David Willetts, the UK's Minister of State for Universities and Science. Willets was pretty blunt about access to government-funded research, saying, "As taxpayers put their money towards intellectual inquiry, they cannot be barred from then accessing it."

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Massive offshore wind turbines to float in waters over a thousand feet deep

The US and UK last week announced plans to develop enormous floating offshore wind turbines that can be deployed in much deeper waters and further out to sea.

By being freed of the towers that would usually tether offshore wind turbines to the seabed, floating turbines are not restricted to the usual 60-meter (200-foot) depth limit, and instead can be located in waters several hundred meters deep. Not only does this increase the areas of sea and ocean that can be harvested for wind, it grants access to faster and more reliable winds. And because wind turbines can be located further from the coast, they can be positioned beyond the sight of inland communities that may be less than impressed by the insertion of a wind farm into their scenic coastal view.

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Hate fossil fuels? Then buy up the reserves

Those with a desire to see a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels could do worse than to buy up reserves, according to a paper published this month. Researcher Bard Harstad argues that buying and holding extraction rights to fossil fuels is a more effective means of curbing their use than legislating to reduce demand.

At first glance it looks like a novel approach, though perhaps an obvious one when you think of it. For example, coal left in the ground cannot emit greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, so the more you buy and leave there, the more emissions are prevented. But tempting as it is to present the research in these terms, Harstad's argument is actually rather more subtle, and involves influencing fossil fuel markets—and not necessarily by buying in bulk.

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German solar juggernaut rolls on despite tariff cuts

An article in German photovoltaics magazine Photon last month has shed light on the dramatic effect that photovoltaics technology had on reducing the price of electricity over the last four years. But as the German solar juggernaut rolls on, domestic manufacturers are struggling. Some have blamed relentless cuts to feed-in tariffs—branding it as a backlash against the solar industry. What on earth is going?

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Farm-fresh infringement: Can you violate a patent by planting some seeds?

Can a farmer commit patent infringement just by planting soybeans he bought on the open market? This week, the Supreme Court asked the Obama administration to weigh in on the question. The Court is pondering an appeals court decision saying that such planting can, in fact, infringe patents.

In 1994, the agricultural giant Monsanto obtained a patent covering a line of "Roundup Ready" crops that had been genetically modified to resist Monsanto's Roundup herbicide. This genetic modification is hereditary, so future generations of seeds are also "Roundup Ready." Farmers had only to save a portion of their crop for re-planting the next season, and they wouldn't need to purchase new seed from Monsanto every year. The company didn't want to be in the business of making a one-time sale, so when Monsanto sold "Roundup Ready" soybeans to farmers, it required them to sign a licensing agreement promising not to re-plant future generations of seeds.

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Denmark’s 50 percent wind commitment and a path to fully renewable power

Denmark has committed to generating 50 percent of its electricity from wind sources by the year 2020, by which time the country hopes to have reduced CO₂ emissions by 34 percent compared to 1990 levels. This renewed commitment to wind forms the central pillar in an energy bill that commits to obtaining 35 percent of the country's energy from renewable sources by that time. And Denmark actively aims to lower energy consumption, with 2020 usage 12 percent lower than that of 2006.

"Denmark will once again be the global leader in the transition to green energy," said Martin Lidegaard, Denmark's Minister for Climate, Energy and Building. "This will prepare us for a future with increasing prices for oil and coal. Moreover, it will create some of the jobs that we need so desperately, now and in the coming years."

The bill passed with a near-unanimous 171 votes out of the parliament's 179 seats.

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Compared to other groups, conservatives have least confidence in science

In the US, science has become a bit of a political punching bag, with a number of presidential candidates accusing climatologists of fraud, even as state legislators seek to inject phony controversies into science classrooms. It's enough to make one long for the good old days when science was universally respected. But did those days ever actually exist?

A new look at decades of survey data suggests that there was never a time when science was universally respected, but one political group in particular—conservative voters—has seen its confidence in science decline dramatically over the last 30 years.

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Satellite-jamming becoming a big problem in the Middle East and North Africa

The Arab Spring has had yet another consequence—satellite jamming, and the practice is serious enough to threaten the satellite operators' business. Two operators, Arabsat and Nilesat, complained about the jamming in the Satellite 2012 Conference in Washington, D.C. last week, according to an article in Space News. Arabsat is a 21-country consortium that provides broadcasting to over 100 countries in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. Nilesat is an Egypt-based operator that carries 415 channels to the Middle East and North Africa. The satellites also provide broadband, telephone, and VSAT service.

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Supreme Court orders appeals court to reconsider gene patents

In the wake of last week's ruling striking down medical diagnostic patents, the Supreme Court has asked an appeals court to reconsider a year-old ruling allowing patents on human genes.

In the 1990s, a company called Myriad Genetics obtained patents related to two genes, known as BRCA1 and BRCA2, that are linked to breast cancer. They have used those patents to establish a monopoly on BRCA gene testing services.

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EPA’s carbon rules to grandfather existing coal plants, limit new ones

Although the EPA has not yet made an official announcement, it is apparently ready to issue its first regulations regarding carbon dioxide emissions. The process dates back to the Clinton years, when states first asked the EPA to use the Clean Air (CAA) act to regulate greenhouse gasses as pollutants, with carbon dioxide getting extra attention due to its role in ocean acidification. After years of delay, the Supreme Court ruled that the EPA must determine whether CO₂ is a pollutant according to the CAA's definition. The Bush Administration's EPA found that it was, but its findings were never made public or acted upon (they have since been obtained by the press). The Obama EPA reached a similar conclusion, but deferred acting on it, at least until now.

According to various press reports, the EPA has been briefing stakeholders on its planned regulations. They would put the limit on emissions at 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per megawatt-hour of electricity produced, but will only apply to new construction. A modern natural gas plant should be able to meet that limit with little difficulty. Most coal plants in existence, however, produce roughly double that amount, and will not be able to meet it without adopting some form of carbon capture and storage technology.

The regulations will send a clear signal to the market: either find a way to capture carbon cheaply, or don't build new coal capacity. Although they do very little for existing emissions directly, they're likely to have an indirect effect, since many of the oldest and least efficient plants in use burn coal at costs that are significantly higher than that of natural gas. In addition, the renewable energy mandates adopted by many states will displace some existing power sources; these old plants will again be the primary target.

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