ScienceDaily: Earth & Climate News

Saving on oil well costs using everyday nails Posted: 13 Mar 2015 06:34 AM PDT Ordinary nails can reinforce oil wells. There's no quicker or cheaper way. Low oil prices make it even more important to reduce costs linked to the drilling and completion of oil wells. Recent experiments have shown that everyday nails can be used to provide an inexpensive way of stabilizing wells.

Payments for ecosystem services? Here's the guidebook Posted: 12 Mar 2015 11:30 AM PDT A team of investors, development organizations, conservationists, economists, and ecologists have published six natural science principles to ensure success of Payments for Ecosystem Services, mechanisms that have helped preserve carbon stocks stored in Madagascar's rainforests, maintain wildlife populations important for tourism in Tanzania, and protect watersheds in France by working with local farmers.

Facing the challenges of fracking Posted: 12 Mar 2015 11:27 AM PDT Marcellus shale extraction and its potential negative effects on the environment is the subject of a recent research, delving into the long term consequences fracking has on people, animals, and the environment.

Oil palm offers cheap biofuels, bioplastics Posted: 12 Mar 2015 11:25 AM PDT Leftover plant matter from the production of palm oil could provide a generous source for making biofuels and environmentally friendly plastics. Researchers have developed a fungal culture for use in a cheap and efficient method to transform the waste oil palm material into useful products.

Solar Cells: Increased pressure creates a happy union Posted: 12 Mar 2015 11:25 AM PDT By tailoring the interface between the two sections of a solar cell, researchers have produced a high-performance solar cell from the abundant and cheap materials of copper (II) oxide and silicon.