Topic: Engineering

Twice as many mega rainstorms in Midwest in past 50 years

Wisconsin saw the biggest rise (203 percent) in extreme rainstorms – 3 inches of rain or more in a day, new study says. Climate change is behind more Midwest flooding, say scientists.

Cybersecurity: How US utilities passed up chance to protect their networks

Cybersecurity needs are not hypothetical, as the recent DHS warning of a cyberattack on the US natural gas industry shows. Why then was a post-9/11 initiative to secure US utilities dropped?

America's Stuxnet? Weakness found in systems used by Pentagon, power grid.

An amateur enthusiast has found evidence that hackers could exploit a security vulnerability in the systems of a company that serves power plants and military installations. 

World is ignoring most important lesson from Fukushima nuclear disaster

Fukushima's most important lesson is this: Probability theory (that disaster is unlikely) failed us. If you have made assumptions, you are not prepared. Nuclear power plants should have multiple, reliable ways to cool reactors. Any nuclear plant that doesn't heed this lesson is inviting disaster.

Panama Canal expansion to ease international trade, with a grain of salt

The economic impacts of the canal expansion have been widely cited, but environmental repercussions like the contamination of drinking water with salt water may be overlooked.

Better prepared: Mexico's 7.4 quake causes damage, but no deaths

Mexico's worst earthquake in nearly 30 years was met by stricter building codes and a city prepared by evacuation drills and early warning systems.

Solar power: the fix for Africa's frustration with the grid?

As solar power becomes more affordable and efficient, it could spread in Africa, much in the way cell phones took over without widespread infrastructure, writes guest blogger Alex Thurston.

Rethinking Carbon Dioxide (CO2): from a pollutant to a moneymaker

Three startup companies led by prominent scientists are working on new technologies to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. The scientific community is skeptical, but these entrepreneurs believe removing CO2 can eventually be profitable and help cool the planet.

The next 'revolution' for Nicaragua: energy independence

Oil dependent Nicaragua is battling high energy costs and trying to build a sustainable economy by focusing on wind, hydroelectric, and geothermal.

Q&A: Illinois nuclear plant loses power. What got vented into the air?

A nuclear plant in Illinois shut down one reactor Monday after a transformer failed. The problem is growing for aging nuclear plants. But in this case, the public was never in danger, officials say.  

Wind power: Clean energy, dirty business?

In the developing world, where land-intensive wind turbines are being rapidly constructed, wind power has often turned clean energy into dirty business.

Invisibility cloak uses 'metamaterial' to hide three-dimensional objects

Ben Franklin: Founding father, inventor, geo-engineer?

Back in 1784, Ben Franklin noted the effect of volcanoes on climate. Was he the world's first geo-engineer?

Should New York scrap its nuclear power plant?

The power generated by  the Indian Point nuclear plant just north of New York City is cheap and clean, but is it worth the risk?

To save buildings from quakes, architects try self-destruction by design

Architects hope to protect buildings by letting them rumble instead of crumble. A new design feature would sacrifice itself during an earthquake without harming anything else.

Gulf oil spill could result in criminal charges for BP employees

The Wall Street Journal reports that federal prosecutors are targeting several Houston-based engineers and at least one supervisor employed by British oil giant BP connected to the 2010 Gulf oil spill.

The most expensive items on Amazon

We went through each of Amazon's departments looking for the most expensive item. Here's what we found. 

Newt Gingrich: 8 of the GOP idea man's more unusual ideas

Newt Gingrich is a big ideas guy. Ask anybody. Some of the ideas end up working, while others are a little out there.

Why Robert Noyce should have won two Nobel Prizes, but didn't

Robert Noyce, the co-inventor of the microchip, could have won a Nobel Prize on two different occasions, but didn't. For Robert Noyce, it was a case of bad timing and bad advice.

Cyber security: Power grid grows more vulnerable to attack, report finds

'Smart grid' features and Internet-based connections to the US power grid are proliferating, increasing pathways for would-be cyber attackers, says a study from MIT. What to do?

Would EPA air-pollution rules lead to massive blackouts? Feds weigh in.

Energy-industry groups said that new EPA air-pollution rules could threaten the reliability of the American power grid. The Energy Department countered that claim with its own report Thursday.

Japan's anti-nuclear protesters find the going tough, despite Fukushima disaster

Polls show the public turning against nuclear energy after Japan's Fukushima disaster. But low coverage of protests and powerful business and political interests have complicated efforts to promote change.

Russia reconquers Eastern Europe via business

Russia's Kremlin-backed businesses are snapping up assets in former Eastern Europe, though governments are still wary.

Clean energy 'gold rush' in Mojave spurs backlash

Clean energy projects in California are thriving. But environmentalists worry about impact of clean energy companies on Mojave Desert.

Reader recommendation: Water

Monitor readers share their favorite book picks.