Reading Roundup: Renewable Energy

Additional resources for the October issue’s Graphic Science on the hidden costs of renewable energy

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Why Cellular Towers in Developing Nations Are Making the Move to Solar Power

Renewable energy is beginning to replace diesel in cell-phone networks

Apple To Run Its Data Centers On 100% Renewable Energy


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The company has often been charged with not having a strong enough concern for the environment, but it seems to be switching gears when it comes to its energy policy.

Secrets of Fracking Fluids Pave Way for Cleaner Recipe

Disclosure of the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing could empower green chemistry

Fracking Could Help Geothermal Become A Power Player

Why isn't there more use of geothermal energy for power plants?

New Technologies Aim to Save Energy--and Lives--with Better Air-Conditioning

Innovations could cut the growing amount of energy used for air-conditioning and refrigeration

The Power Is in the Data

Reports reveal the status of global clean-energy transition

Bacteria and Fungi Together: A Biofuel Dream Team?

A group of researchers enlist fungi and E. coli to make the first biofuel of its kind

How to Survive as a Biofuel-Maker: Sell Algae to Bakers

Algal biofuels remain a distant prospect, but oil from algae might prove to be a more sustainable food

Waste CO2 Could Be Source of Extra Power

Dutch scientists have a use for all the carbon dioxide that pours from the chimneys of fossil fuel-burning power stations: Harvest it for even more electricity

Is Solar Suburbia the Way to Power Modern Cities?

Suburban sprawl might prove a solution if homes boast photovoltaics and electric cars

Jen Christiansen is acting chief of design and senior graphics editor at Scientific American, where she art directs and produces illustrated explanatory diagrams and data visualizations. She is also author of the book Building Science Graphics: An Illustrated Guide to Communicating Science through Diagrams and Visualizations (CRC Press). In 1996 she began her publishing career in New York City at Scientific American. Subsequently she moved to Washington, D.C., to join the staff of National Geographic (first as an assistant art director–researcher hybrid and then as a designer), spent four years as a freelance science communicator and returned to Scientific American in 2007. Christiansen presents and writes on topics ranging from reconciling her love for art and science to her quest to learn more about the pulsar chart on the cover of Joy Division’s album Unknown Pleasures. She holds a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a B.A. in geology and studio art from Smith College. Follow Christiansen on Bluesky @jenchristiansen.com

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Scientific American Magazine Vol 309 Issue 4This article was published with the title “Reading Roundup: Renewable Energy” in Scientific American Magazine Vol. 309 No. 4 ()
doi:10.1038/scientificamerican102013-56KufNspNlnjW7LWneN891

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