The remote Pacific Island territory of Tokelau has officially become the world’s first solar-powered nation! The population of 1,411 people decided to end their reliance on around 2,000 barrels of diesel each year, and instead install 4032 photovoltaic panels and 1344 batteries to produce 150 percent of the populations’ energy needs. While the vast majority of power will be provided by the solar systems, it will be supplemented by biofuels produced from locally-sourced—and plentiful—coconuts.

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Post tags: 100% renewable energy, coconut biofuel, coconut fuel, coral atolls, Diesel Fuel, energy independence, first solar powered nation, New Zealand, pacific island, powersmart, Solar Power, Tokelau, tokelau renewable energy project, trep

A team of engineers has managed to identify a material that could reduce the amount of pollution produced by diesel fuel-powered vehicles by 45%. The new material comes from a family of minerals called oxides, and could serve as a cheaper and cleaner alternative to the rare and expensive platinum that is currently used in diesel engines.

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Post tags: Diesel Fuel, diesel pollution, nanostellar, oxide mullite, platinum, University of Texas dallas, world health organisation

The Japanese ghost ship that recently appeared off the coast of Canada has recently come under cannon fire from the U.S. Coast Guard. The 164-foot Ryou-un-Maru fishing vessel washed out into the Pacific Ocean after the 2011 tsunami hit Japan’s eastern shores, and the ship is now reported to have floated within 150 miles of the Gulf of Alaska coast. The Coast Guard is taking the dramatic measure in an effort to sink the vessel before it runs aground or endangers any other vessels in the area.

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Post tags: Diesel Fuel, environmental disaster, fukushima daiichi, Ghost ship, Gulf of Alaska, japan tsunami, japanese ghost ship, Ocean Debris, pacific ocean, Ryou-un-Maru, US Coast Guard