Published on July 18th, 2008
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The University of Michigan team taking part in this summer’s North American Solar Challenge is hoping to maximize its car’s performance with the help of solar radiation data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Team Continuum is one of 24 teams taking part in the 2,400-mile race, which started July 13 in Dallas, Texas, and ends July 22 in Calgary, Alberta. As the Michigan team approached Sioux Falls, South Dakota, this week, it planned to optimize its race strategy with information from NOAA’s Surface Radiation Network (SURFRAD).
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Published on June 6th, 2008
Could the state of Michigan see a revived economy and a new place in a renewable fuel future? The possibility of that happening got a boost when Hemlock Semiconductor Corp. began operating the world’s largest polysilicon production plant near Hemlock in western Saginaw County, Michigan.
According to recent post in Triple Pundit, the new Hemlock facility will churn out 9,000 metric tons of polysilicon — a key element in solar photovoltaic cells — each year. With another 10,000 tons already being produced annually at an older plant, Hemlock would be on pace to become a force to be reckoned with in the solar power industry.
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Published on May 15th, 2008
A Great Lakes compact that would prevent the region’s water from being siphoned off into the thirsty Southwest and other dry parts of the country is a little closer to taking effect, now that lawmakers in Michigan have OK’d the deal.
The Great Lakes Water Resources Compact aims to protect the water rights of the eight states bordering the lakes: Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Michigan’s approval of the agreement brings the number of states signed on so far to five: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and New York.
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Published on May 13th, 2008
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Rising prices for everything from copper and platinum to flour, gas and cooking oil are creating new markets for trend-minded thieves across the U.S.
With gasoline prices in the U.S. breaking new records weekly, for example, law enforcement officials are seeing more cases of cooking grease thefts from fast-food establishments and other restaurants. Why used grease? Because cooking oil can be converted into biodiesel fuel that can be sold at a cool profit.
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used grease
Published on April 19th, 2008
Ypsilanti, Michigan is in the outlying suburbs of Detroit and is, itself, a city with a long automotive heritage going back to the Tucker Torpedo and Kaiser Motors and extending to a present day Ford assembly plant and the last Hudson dealership in the country and an Automotive Heritage Museum. But now, a local couple have embarked on a different direction towards automobiles, encouraging drivers to embrace a new mindset with a website called DriveSlowly, which they are unveiling for Earth Day. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on April 16th, 2008
Hey, way to go, Madison Vorva and Rhiannon Tomtishen! These are two young Girl Scouts who are showing what it takes to be real young leaders and good citizens.
According to the Ann Arbor News, these two 12-year-olds gave up on selling Girl Scout cookies after learning that the cookies are made with palm oil, which comes from Indonesian plantations that threaten the orangutan’s natural habitat. What started out as a research project on orangutans aimed at earning their Bronze Award has since turned into a two-girl campaign against palm oil production.
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