ENERGY: Coal use in the United States drops, clean energy use rises


Image via the russians are here on Flickr

It seems that the United States is shifting away from coal energy and moving towards sustainable, more rational energy sources.

Utilizing more clean energy into our energy mix while moving away from fossil fuels is a commonsensical energy policy, because fossil fuels are nonrenewable, exhaustible, and unsustainable; contribute to climate change; contribute to rising public health costs; pollute the environment; and are subject to volatility. As a result, an energy policy based largely on fossil fuels is imprudent and a national security nightmare. Furthermore, solar energy is the only energy source that can keep up with human consumption. More via The Huffington Post:

In the first quarter of 2012, coal made up just 36 percent of U.S. electricity generation – down from nearly 45 percent from the same period in 2011. That’s a 9 percent drop in U.S. coal use in just one year.

The report, released this week by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), had even more bad news for big polluters. Electricity generation from coal may drop another 14 percent this year. The EIA also believes coal production will decline 10 percent in 2012.

Meanwhile, wind energy is thriving. In the first quarter of 2012, the U.S. installed 1,695 megawatts of wind, one of the industry’s best quarters ever, up 53 percent from the same time last year, according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). Wind projects are creating jobs and economic opportunity across the country, with 32 new projects installed in 17 states in the first quarter alone.

Hat tip to Jerry Greer

PIC OF THE DAY: A seahorse investigates a diver’s watch


Via Alex_Ogle on Twitter

ARACHNIDS: Tiny social spiders hunt in packs


These tiny spiders, in the video below, have discovered the value of working together. Anelosimus eximius, a species of social spider, forms colonies and utilizes cooperation in order to take down prey much larger than themselves.

Via io9

CRITICALLY ENDANGERED SPECIES: Endangered Egyptian tortoises hatched in captivity


They’re tiny tortoises.

More on the successful hatching at ZooBorns.com and at Marwell Wildlife. You can learn more about the Egyptian tortoise (Testudo kleinmanni) at the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Via Alex_Ogle on Twitter

WEIRD & FASCINATING CREATURES: Species of assassin bug wears the exoskeletons of its prey


This species of assassin bug from Malaysia apparently carries its victims on its back in order to camouflage itself from predators. More via The Ark in Space:

Once its potential lunch has been incapacitated the assassin bug injects it with an enzyme. This liquefies the insides of its prey allowing the assassin bug to suck out their innards. Yet death is not the end for these hapless insects. Their exoskeletons will be put to further use as a form of armor or possibly scent masking camouflage.

Via Gizmodo, Neatorama, The Ark in Space, and Flickr