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• News Articles

- Nano Sponge For Oil Spills
2 June 2008 - MIT, USA

- Why don't we have a nanotechnology Apollo Program for clean energy?
30 April 2008 - NanoWerk, USA

- Cheap, Clean Drinking Water Purified Through Nanotechnology
26 February 2008 - Science Daily, USA

- Nanotechnology: answer to air pollution?
25 December 2007 - The Hindu, India

- Drowning in Numbers: from grey scary goo to green friendly goo
5 December 2007 - Financial Times, UK

- What Does Nanotechnology Mean for Energy, Environment?
26 November 2007 - Congressional Quarterly Green Sheets, USA

- How About an X Prize for Green Nanotechnology? Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies Seeks Partners
14 November 2007 - Nanotechnology Now, USA

- Solar Paint and Other Solar Surprises
12 November 2007 - Environment News Service, USA

- Aiding the Environment, a Nanostep at a Time
7 November 2007 - New York Times, USA

Archives

• Conference

Pollution Prevention through Nanotechnology Conference - EPA, USA, September 25-26, 2007
Questions To Be Addressed by Conference Participants:
1. Which nanotechnologies show the greatest promise for preventing pollution?
2. What are the most promising areas of research on pollution prevention applications of nanotechnologies?
3. What recommendations do conference participants have for promoting and encouraging pollution prevention in the development and application of nanotechnology?

• Reports & Articles

Water, nanotechnology's promises, and economic reality - NanoWerk, USA, August 2007
Nanotechnology could increase the effectiveness of existing water treatment solutions and, so claim the proponents, be made available at a much lower cost. It is misleading, though, to suggest that nanotechnologies will magically change this picture anytime soon.

Firstly, most nanotechnology- based applications are still in the lab or have barely made it to the fab. As long as nanotechnology- enabled products are more expensive than their non-nanotech alternatives, we'll face the some problems that we already are having today.

And lastly, no matter how promising a new technology is, if entrenched economic interests have different goals, it is hard to reap the benefits of the new.

Environmentally Beneficial Nanotechnologies: Barriers and Opportunities - Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), UK, May 2007
Under this study, five nanotechnological applications were subject to detailed investigation: fuel additives, photovoltaics (solar cells), the hydrogen economy, electricity storage and insulation. In these areas nanotechnology could contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by up to 2 % in the near term and up to 20 % by 2050 with similar reductions in air pollution being realised.

Report from the Workshop on Nanotechnologies for Environmental Remediation - Nanoforum, April 2007

This report describes the outcomes from the workshop on “Nanotechnologies for Environmental Remediation” which took place at the Joint Research Centre, Ispra, on the 16th and 17th April 2007. The workshop brought together leading scientists from across the EU to present their latest work in environmental remediation and discuss the following issues and more:

- Which are the most effective nanotechnologies for prevention or cleanup of pollution?
- What additional research is needed to exploit the full potential of nanotechnology for remediation?
- Which environmental nanotechnologies are the most promising and should be further explored?
- What are the potential risks of using nanotechnologies in remediation applications?

Green Nanotechnology: It's Easier Than You Think - Project on Emerging Technologies, USA

The ability to eliminate waste and toxins from production processes early on, to create more efficient and flexible solar panels, and to remove contaminants from water is becoming an exciting reality with nanotechnology. This “green nanotechnology” involves designing nanoproducts for the environment and with the environment in mind.

Energy Savings and the Reduction Of Energy Consumption Using Nanotechnology - AzoNano, USA
Nanotechnology has been hailed as promising to fix many of the problems we face in the world and the demands placed upon the environment by modern society. A number of these promises are visionary dreams for the future, in other areas nanotechnology is able to help us right now. One of these areas is reducing the consumption of energy.
- Vehicle Efficiency and Power
- Nanocatalysts
- Lightbulbs
- Screens and Monitors
- Insulation and Window Films
- Energy Generation

• Videos

Nanotechnology and Nature: Can We Reduce Any Risks and Still Reap the Rewards? - Resources for the Future, June 2007

• Archive News Articles

- MU Researchers go Nano, Natural and Green
31 October 2007 - University of Missouri-Columbia, USA

- Thailand makes environmentally friendly bags
9 October 2007 - CCTV, China

- Nanotechnology to reduce large-scale emissions
18 September 2007 - NanoWerk, USA

- EU approves 119 mln euros French nanotechnology aid
13 September 2007 - Reuters, UK

- Tiny solution or a big problem? Scientific panel explores the nano potential for turning green
11 September 2007 - Alphagalileo, UK

- Silicon nanoparticles enhance performance of solar cells
20 August 2007 - University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA

- Nanotech-cleantech: bridging the gap to real sustainability
15 August 2007 - Environmental Chemistry, USA

- Beyond batteries: Storing power in a sheet of paper
13 August 2007 - EurekAlert, USA

- Nanotech takes on water pollution: Cleaning up contaminated water is big business, which explains all the companies coming up with tiny solutions
26 July 2007 - CNN, USA

- Foam targets heavy metal clean-up
26 July 2007 - BBC, UK

- Nanotechnology could clean up the hydrogen car's dirty little secret
19 July 2007 - NanoWerk, USA

- Nanotechnology key to better fuel cells
9 July 2007 - NanoWerk, USA

- Tiny particles that are used to tackle the biggest issues
5 July 2007 - The Guardian, UK

- Nanotechnology application receives highest environmental award given In the U.S.
26 June 2007 - NanoWerk, USA

- Nanotechnology and Sustainability
22 June 2007 - Scitizen, USA

- Truly green nanotechnology - growing nanomaterials in plants
21 June 2007 - NanoWerk, USA

- UD researchers may hold key to cleaning up contaminated soil: Mixing iron nanoparticles with the polluted earth can neutralize PCBs at safer, lower temperatures.
8 June 2007 - Daiton Daily News, USA

- Nano-material filters could cut cost of cleaning water
4 June 2007 - ChannelNewsAsia, Singapore

- Green nanotechnology - turning diesel soot into carbon nanotubes
30 May 2007 - NanoWerk, USA

- Nanotechnology and the environment: beauty rather than beast?
22 May 2007 - Cordis, EU

- Nanotechnology water desalination for Australia
19 May 2007 - NanoWerk, USA

- Quantum dot recipe may lead to cheaper solar panels
12 May 2007 - Nanotechnology Today, USA

- Sensitive, Selective Mercury Sensor Nanoparticle-based colorimetric method detects part-per-billion levels of mercury
7 May 2007 - Chemical & Engineering News, USA

- Nanotechnology solutions for the packaging waste problem
27 April 2007 - NanoWerk, USA

- Nanotechnology: How Green Can It Be?
26 April 2007 - Environment News Service, USA

- Nanotechnology Offers Solutions for Cheap and Effective Supply of Fresh Drinking Water
6 September 2006 - AZoNano, Australia

- Nanotech debate 'must involve poor communities'
24 July 2006 - SciDev.Net

"Zimbabwe's water needs are unlikely to be met with nanotechnology until we can prove it is cost effective and sustainable." Practical Action is interested in how nanotechnology could be made to address what people need, rather than what the market dictates.

See also:

• Potential environmental risks of nanotechnology
• Environmental regulatory issues related to nanotechnology
• University of Madison NSEC Resources on Environmental Applications