The transfer works by first housing a specialized magnet attuned to the frequency generated by the transmitter within a battery or other power source to fuel the desired device. As the magnet receives signals from the transmitter it will vibrate utilizing the energy collected from the received signal, creating minute fluctuations that can be harnessed by the power source and then converted into usable electricity internally in the device. The result is the potential to have a device ranging anywhere from a simple light bulb to even a complex mobile phone or computer that can operate with no power connection and even recharge power over time for use away from the transmitter by storing excess energy within a battery pack.

Currently this method for wireless energy transfer is being used in some water processing plants throughout the world, allowing for an ultraviolet (UV) sterilization light to be sealed within a purification tank with no external wires or other mechanical connections that could potentially corrode and otherwise damage the purification process. Energy is simply sent from an external source into the sealed tank and the light operates essentially undisturbed up to the point it needs to be replaced with a new bulb. In terms of commercial application in residential homes production is still being finalized for distribution to consumers globally, though many people anticipate that this form of power transmission will be available for consumer use within 2 to 3 years and will be perfectly safe for consumer use.

Designed to operate at up to 2,000 feet or more these structures are designed to effectively capture the steadier, more efficient wind currents present well above ground level and convey energy to land-based processing centers through an attached tether. By operating at high altitudes this helps ensure both greater reliability as well as efficiency in terms of energy production, meaning greater returns both financially and ecologically by taking advantage of high altitude conditions. Research has proven, in fact, that high altitude winds alone have the potential to generate roughly 870 terawatts (TW) of energy each year with our own energy needs accounting for less than 2% of that total amount.

Unfortunately there are some downsides to developing high-altitude structures of these kind, primarily government regulations and safety protocols for aircraft. Since most commercial aircraft operate at altitudes of approximately 35,000 feet this means that many of the most powerful winds on the planet will be effectively unavailable for wind harnessing as stationary power generation devices would interfere with commercial flight operations. Additionally the presence of a number of power-generation turbines at high altitudes may prove to be interfering with some military equipment – an issue that faces many land-based wind farms today in areas such as southern Oregon where some power developments are being delayed or outright blocked due to government military security concerns.

Additional concerns for high altitude energy harvesting lie in the rather new nature of the process and its potential viability and safety, as these power generation facilities will be operating autonomously and left in operation with minimal human access for extended periods of time. Nevertheless modern technological improvements in terms of materials and design have helped to mitigate these fears and the first efficient high altitude turbines are expected to be released by many competing companies around the globe in the coming months.

Further, researchers also state that the likelihood of most conventional biofuels based on foodstuffs such as corn to supplement consumer demand for oil products is unrealistic due to the effects such fuel-conversion purposes would have on the food industry. If over-dependence on food-based biofuels were to develop a food shortage could easily be generated which could easily contribute to greater issues in both developing and developed countries alike.

Instead the researchers at Oxford state that two separate methods for future development need to be looked at for consideration: increasing our current efficiency in fuel consumption to reduce overall demand and developing alternative energy production methods that do not rely on either oil or food biomass for energy. This can be done through both improving the economic efficiency of consumer vehicles (the greatest users of liquid fuel) as well as further development of alternative energy generation methods such as wind, solar and geothermal energy as well as biofuels developed from non-foodstuff biomass.

Already research is being conducted into various forms of alternative biofuel generation in addition to improving other energy generation processes, however the newer estimate of reduced oil reserves is putting significant additional pressures on the alternative energy industry to meet the upcoming consumer demands in an efficient and effective method before fuel deficiency becomes a major issue in all countries.

Unfortunately for many California residents new reports are surfacing of two major US-based oil companies – Tesoro and Valero – funding anti-bill propaganda to try and counter new bills looking to go on ballot soon to further regulate emissions and general oil usage. The bills have served in the past to drastically cut back on smog affecting cities as well as improve general vehicle efficiency requirements for all motor vehicles passing through the state and would serve to limit further market shares of oil companies by decreasing overall user demand. Many of these regulations have subsequently bled over into other states and even other countries in some cases that have adopted similar policies of their own off of California’s successful examples.

Ironically as a positive side effect of many of these attempts to combat California’s many “green” bills over the past few years a number of oil companies have actually contributed to the development of higher fuel efficiency cars in order to show that oil-based vehicles can, indeed, operate with relatively low emissions. The success of these vehicles though has then led to higher regulations requiring them and an overall negative trend for oil developers.

Any concerned citizen that is worried about Tesoro and Valero’s influence in any decision making policies should be sure to contact a local representative at once to ensure that their voice is heard or write to their local government or other support group to express their opinion through the proper channels.

Utilizing a basic heat source during a series of experiments on the nanotubes researchers discovered that when heat is introduced to the center of the nanotube electrons are released from the surrounding structure and are carried along by the internal energy in a singular direction, thus creating a flow of electricity. While currently the level of energy recorded is quite low due to the level and amount of nanotubes involved in the process as well as the unrefined methods of energy generation used for studies if it were properly refined and applied commercially it is expected that it could potentially provide enough energy to power many small electronic devices so long as some sort of heat source is present (such as the sun).

This new breakthrough could potentially open up a whole new sector of renewable energy to explore and, with enough development, supplement or replace many other conventional power sources for small electrical equipment (such as replaceable batteries or small photovoltaic cells). Of course at this stage a large amount of research still needs to be done into the process of nanotube energy generation as well as what methods of capturing and utilizing the energy generated by the carbon nanotubes effectively enough for usage in our own conventional electronics, however this is a natural flow of development in all new fields and improvements can most likely be expected to be seen in the coming months and years.

For Biox and consumers alike this means a major step forward in creating sustainable alternative fuels, as currently Biox is one of the largest providers of biofuels within the country. In fact, according to many company statements, Biox production in its Hamilton plant alone produces a continuous 67 million liters of biodiesel each year and has been labeled “one of the largest continuous flow biodiesel plants in the world”.

Utilizing the additional funding Biox intends to develop further production facilities throughout Canada with a primary focus on Quebec. These facilities will contribute to the overall biodiesel production and, utilizing modern technology, provide a 100% vegetable oil to fuel conversion rate for all products.

While it’s true that biofuels are not as eco-friendly as many other alternative energy sources such as solar or wind power due to their higher levels of carbon emissions through the burning process they are still significantly cleaner than conventional petroleum fuels used today. In fact, it is speculated that the production facilities being developed will be able to provide for up to a 40% reduction in carbon emissions through their fuels initially alone while assisting with the recycling of waste vegetable oil and provide a more “carbon neutral” solution to local and international consumers alike while reducing the overall dependence on foreign oil – a major positive point for all consumers.

This may be about to change, however, as BMW has hit the road in a very big way with their incredible new prototype hybrid sports car that has many in the industry salivating over its stylish contours. The new hybrid model is currently slated to be on the market in 2013, and it is not unfair to say that it is completely unique in the hybrid car world. For a start, it packs a mighty 356-horsepower engine under the hood and goes from 0-60 in a lightening 4.8 seconds, which has even the most speed-obsessed in the motor industry sitting up straight and firmly facing the front. It finally appears that there could be a hybrid car on the market that is both rapid and economical.

The car also boasts an incredible 63 miles to the gallon which, in pure conservation terms, is utterly out of this world. Its combination of diesel and electric mileage is favorable comparable to 100% electric cars, only with one crucial difference: The design of BMW’s new super-hybrid is a far cry ahead from the stereotype microwave-on-wheels that many have come to expect of energy-efficient cars. Instead the car wouldn’t look out of place on a racetrack, let alone on a classy BMW showroom floor.

The main questions facing both BMW and the industry as a whole now are simply will it ever be fully realized, how committed is BMW to potentially mass-producing such a car and how much would it end up costing?

For starters BMW currently anticipates producing up to 10,000 cars in the new hybrid line, although a final price per car has yet to be finalized. We can postulate with some degree of certainty, however, that, based up BMW’s ActiveHybrid7 model it will most likely cost you in excess of $100,000 to park this beauty on your drive.

Perhaps the most exciting and significant factor in the unveiling of such a car is that the rather eccentric and somewhat dull image of the hybrid car is finally being retired. Finally, the hybrid industry has both a design and a quality performer that it can be proud of. At first glance if production is successful it could start opening up a while new niche market in high-end performance hybrid vehicles for users who are energy conscious, want to save money on fuel and also want to tear up the roads. After that, the sky’s the limit.

The research, which was published in the Environmental Research Letters journal, discusses hydrocarbon activity in the region’s recent history and makes some predictions for what might happen over the next five years. The two main researchers involved, Marti Orta-Martinez and Matt Finer, discovered during the course of their studies that in recent times more of the Amazon in the Peruvian region has been leased out to gas and oil organization than at any other period previously recorded. They found that there are currently 52 hydrocarbon concessions active in the area that stretch across over 41% of the forest, a figure that has increased hugely from the 7% mark that was recorded only as recently as 2003.

The two authors of the report have warned that the Peruvian Amazon region is now in the grip of a “second hydrocarbon exploitation boom”, and they believe that concessions leased out to gas and oil companies will, on current projections, increase to cover some 70% of the area. The report’s data has revealed that the area’s recent hydrocarbon history has led to the extraction of almost one billion barrels of crude oil during the course of the last seventy years, and this accounts for the second-biggest land area in the whole Amazon basin outside of Brazil.

The report also found that, despite the fact that oil production in the Amazon region has been in a steady decline since the boom period of the early 1980s though the production of natural gas in the region has leapt since 2004, which coincides with the beginning of production located at Camisea. In keeping with this trend 2009 saw the lowest oil output from the region for three decades, although it also saw natural gas production rise rapidly for the sixth year in a row. Also, more than half of all the areas put forward as reserves for the local indigenous peoples are now taken up by oil concessions.

The authors also argue that the initial hydrocarbon explosion during the early 1970s came with hugely consequences, both environmentally and socially, and they state that this second wave is likely to do the same. In fact, previous government decisions to lease or outright sell the indigenous lands without any preliminary discussions or consent led to deadly clashes between government forces and the indigenous protesters. The report’s authors have called for a rigorous and thorough policy debate and that analysis of social and environmental impacts of developments should be fully explored so that they can be avoided at best, and minimized at worst.

These recent reports are further becoming fuel for many green energy activists and are being used as leverage to help encourage the development of alternative energy sources in more developed countries that would be utilizing the majority of the produced gas from the area. Although current demand for traditional high-carbon fuels such as natural gas and petroleum-based products is still high and therefore the current development projects are expected to continue for the time being the hope is that further developments down the line can be curbed through the reduction of the demand for the fuel source. Still, this is an end-goal and is generally considered a “best case scenario”, though if alternative energy developments can keep up it may be more realizable than previously thought possible.

Initially the volume of the new green fuel utilized by the airline would account for around 2% of their entire fuel consumption. The use of the new fuel will allow the airline to reduce carbon emissions generated as a result of the usage of more conventional airline fuels such as kerosene. This waste-to-energy process, with its advantages, is likely to allow British Airways to get some 10% of its fuel from such a source.

Other advantages include the fact that with a huge company and consumer like British Airways using such waste for its fuel generation processes London’s waste management will be greatly aided. The process also serves in the conversion of methane produced by the decomposition of the municipal waste as well as the fact that the use of such a fuel source will inevitably serve to reduce overall carbon emissions, a problem that has seen air travel come under increased scrutiny and pressure from governments in recent times.

Other existing concerns helping to promote this move is that waste management in big cities such as London has become a big problem, with increasing population pressures leading to the reduction of areas that might be utilized as landfill sites. Additionally the recycling of waste in landfills only uses a small potential portion of waste materials, and its decomposition in landfills poses a definite risk of hazardous methane emissions into the atmosphere. Also, poisonous chemicals present may infiltrate into the underlying water table, posing definite hazards for human water supplies.

Many people, despite the general overwhelming acclaim welcoming British Airways’ new fuel initiative, have expressed disappointment that the company has set what appears to be rather meager ambitions for future expansions of the use of such biofuels. British Airways currently only plans to increase its use of such waste-derived fuels to just 10% by the year 2050, and at a time when governments are under considerable pressure to levy higher taxes on the airlines due to carbon emissions some feel that the targets are disappointingly unambitious. Further use of such waste-derived fuels would significantly reduce the carbon liabilities of companies such as BA, and would undoubtedly be a huge contribution to the current environmental debate and may take some of the heat off of the beleaguered airlines. Still, there is no guarantee as to what the airline may decide to do in the coming decades and we may well see increased biofuel usage should this initial conversion prove overall beneficial to the company.

China’s investment in its domestic market for renewable energies is also, according to energy executives, bringing manufacturers from further afield to China as well as attracting research teams from around the world. This has sparked concern among many that such interest and investment will lead to China, rather than the US, emerging as the new centre of renewable energy technology, which will relegate nations like the US to a further dependency status as they would subsequently be reliant on importing solar panels, wind turbines and other green energy technologies from abroad, much in the same way as they are currently dependant on the Middle East for oil.

Industry experts in the US have bemoaned the fact that the US government hasn’t been nearly as proactive as the Chinese government in recognizing that green technology industries will be the main areas of 21st century development. They have pointed to what they refer to as China’s ambition to be ‘the Silicon Valley of renewables.’ This is underscored by comparative spending on renewable and clean energy development, with China currently investing around $9 billion per annum with the US lagging significantly behind. Also, to highlight it even further, the world’s largest wind turbine manufacturer has its headquarters in Denmark while almost all of the batteries that power America’s hybrid card are made in Japan.

The Chinese government has raised the bar further by setting ambitious renewable energy targets which are forecast to make up some 15% of its fuel within the next decade, whilst the US currently has no national targets – although some individual states have made some local resolutions. Many experts, however, point to the fact that the lack of a unifying national standard has hindered investment in US renewable energy technologies.

During 2010 it is anticipated that China will make further strides in bolstering and developing its renewable energy industries and to this end they are likely to up their wind-generating capabilities, putting them ahead of any other country according to the Global Wind Energy Council. Ominously for the US, they themselves were the occupants of the number one position last year. The Council also anticipates that, within the next three years, China is likely to become the globe’s major wind-energy producer. As a signal of just how rapid China’s rise has been in recent times the Council pointed to the fact that China has recently overhauled every other country in terms of its ability to make wind turbines from a virtual lack of any production capabilities just five years ago.

It is not just in wind energy that China is looking to become a leading player, however, as they look also to beef up their solar energy capabilities. According to Steven Chan, the strategy chief for the world’s largest maker of solar panels, China’s Suntech Power Holdings, China is most likely to become the world’s leading solar power market. His company is also planning to open its first manufacturing plant in the US next year in Arizona to break into the domestic US market.

One of the main reasons is that China is able to make such advancements so quickly compared to other highly-industrialized nations such as the US is that they tend to make policy decisions within a central, one-party government, so no time is wasted in lengthy arguments and consultations. After a policy is decided it can be rapidly executed through the country’s small number of state-owned utilities. Comparatively, in the US, the many thousands of utility companies are faced with a myriad of environmental and regulatory issues that must be overcome before any new project can even begin. Allied to China’s ability to make decisions and execute them quickly they also have the available free land to work on, as well as the pressing needs of population pressure and pollution emissions that come with rapid development.

It stands to reason also, following on, that if more and more manufacturers are located in China then more and more development and companies will need to locate themselves there also.

One such company that is upping its investment in China is Duke Energy, one of America’s major power companies. It has recently signed agreements with two Chinese energy companies to jointly develop technologies to capture and store carbon emissions, looking at both coal-fired plants and solar energy production. Duke’s chief technology officer, David Mohler, anticipates it will afford his company the ability to rapidly test new technologies that can then be utilized in the US. Costs will also be lowered by doing so first in China rather than domestically. Mr. Mohler was also struck by China’s ability to make rapid progress, adding that “we will be able to bring new technologies to the market at a much faster rate.”

Another example is in Vestas, a Danish-based wind turbine manufacturing company and a leader in its field. The company began investing in China back in 2005 and in the US in 2007. They concluded that, whilst both markets were strong, China has been more dedicated to the market for renewables. This would appear to be supported by the fact surrounding the rapid growth of China’s wind power industry. In fact, in just the last year alone as many as 70 competitors to Vestas emerged in China compared to very few in the US. In terms of renewable energy technology manufacture and development, there is no question that China is in on the ground floor.