Month: September 2022

CNN
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The federal agency responsible for conducting independent accident investigations has recommended technologies in new vehicles to limit speeding and prevent impaired driving in an attempt to cut down on a growing number of related fatal crashes.

The National Transportation Safety Board’s recommendation of alcohol impairment detection systems are on a pathway toward requirement, after the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act gave the Transportation Department three years to craft a mandate for such a feature in new vehicles. The board’s re-recommendation of incentivizing intelligent speed adaptation systems, however, has yet to gain broader federal backing and could face resistance from US drivers accustomed to speed limits being enforced by law enforcement rather than the vehicle itself.

The NTSB’s recommendations – which cannot be implemented without being adopted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration – specifically include requiring all new vehicles to have “passive vehicle-integrated alcohol impairment detection systems,

CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The city’s Wastewater Treatment Plant is one step closer to a $40 million upgrade, one that should bring to an end the seasonal stench coming from the landfill in Woodlawn.

The project will get $15 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act.

“This grant funding will allow for important infrastructure upgrades that will benefit residents and businesses throughout the community,” states Sen. Bill Powers said in announcing the grant.

The big project: Thermal dryers

The grant will help pay for a new six-story building containing thermal dryers that will be constructed on the current wastewater plant site, according to Mark Riggins, general manager for Clarksville Gas & Water.

Thermal dryers dry out the leftover sludge – a byproduct of the water treatment plant’s purification process – making it easier to properly dispose of in ways besides just dumping it in the landfill, Riggins

Hydrogen, the most common element in the universe, has long been touted as a clean and plentiful alternative energy source. But the easiest way to produce hydrogen fuel requires pure water, which can be hard to get ahold of — and will only become more difficult to source amid worsening droughts around the globe.

Now, in a study published this week in the journal Nature Communicationsscientists have revealed a new way to churn out hydrogen fuel.

What’s new — It turns out that all you need is the humidity that’s naturally hanging in the air, they found, along with their new device that swallows moisture and spits out hydrogen and oxygen. Their method could spur hydrogen fuel production anywhere on the planet.

In a repurposed mushroom barn in Chester County, Sycamore International Inc. recycles electronic equipment, including refurbishing 30,000 old laptops a month for resale. Steven Figgatt, Sycamore’s chief executive, says his West Grove company is all about the circular economy.

In keeping with its sustainable mission, Sycamore earlier this year installed a rooftop solar system to convert its operations to renewable energy. But Figgatt, 36, only declared his company’s freedom from the electric grid in late August, when he commissioned a new innovative battery storage system that assures his business is supplied by solar power even when the sun isn’t shining.

“We’re calling it our Energy Independence Day,” he said.

Figgatt went out on a limb with his choice of energy-storage technology, selecting a novel system called an iron-flow battery, the first of its kind on the East Coast.

Iron-flow batteries are among many promising grid-scale energy storage technologies that