Archive for "August 2013"

Santa Clarita enjoys record year for film and TV production

August 14, 2013

Santa Clarita’s film business reached a record level in the last fiscal year, fueled by such television shows  as “Justified” and “Franklin and Bash.” The suburban northern Los Angeles County city generated 1,069 film days in the year ended June 30, an 18% increase compared to last year’s level, which was also a record, the city said. […]

Turning cow dung into electricity

  From waste to watts Dairy farmers are being pitched a new way to turn manure into electricity Dairy farmer Ron Koetsier’s 1,200 cows produce roughly 90 tons of manure daily, and for the last three decades, he has tried unsuccessfully to turn the stinky dung into energy to power his 450-acre farm in Visalia. […]

Cheap fuel not only electric car cost

August 13, 2013

The government said this week that the fuel cost for an electric vehicle is only about one-third of the cost to fuel a gasoline vehicle for the same distance, but that Energy Department formula leaves out some key financial and environmental factors in the overall cost of owning an electric vehicle. The government said Tuesday […]

Jump-starting electric vehicle sales with workplace charging stations

August 9, 2013

Jump-starting electric vehicle sales with workplace charging stations Electric vehicle enthusiasts aim to boost the viability of the EV industry by encouraging employers to add charging stations. As of July 20, there were 7,849 public and private non-residential charging stations in the United States, 1,579 of which were in California, according to the U.S. Department […]

Electric avenue: Korean buses now wirelessly charge as they drive

August 8, 2013

  Wireless charging hasn’t quite yet made an impact in the smartphone market but that hasn’t stopped scientists in South Korea from using a similar technology to develop the world’s first road-powered electric vehicle network. Located in Gumi city, the 15-mile network uses specially adapted roads with electrical cables lying just underneath the surface to magnetically […]

Feds give solar plants priority over mining on public lands

August 6, 2013

Feds give solar plants priority over mining on public lands Work begins on heliostat-construction buildings at BrightSource Energy’s Ivanpah solar power plant in the Mojave Desert.(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times / April 5, 2011) By Julie CartJuly 5, 2013, 1:21 p.m. Utility-scale solar plants have been given priority over mining claims on federal lands, according to a decision […]

Dolphins Have “Names,” Respond When Called

August 2, 2013

Dolphins Have “Names,” Respond When Called Having identities may help dolphins communicate, study suggests. Bottlenose dolphins swim in the Sea of Cortez. Photograph by Ralph Lee Hopkins, National Geographic Stock Christine Dell’Amore National Geographic News Published July 22, 2013 We already knew that bottlenose dolphins can follow “recipes” in preparing mollusks, help other species in distress, and possibly do math. So […]