Clean Energy is on the Way Up and Up

Clean Energy is on the Way Up and Up

It often seems like there is nothing but gloom and doom when it comes to the environment. We’ve reached a point of no return on climate change. We’ve been making our oceans sick with global warming. We’ve been driving myriad animals like Malaysia’s iconic tigers to the brink of extinction. But…

Malaysia means Business on Solar Energy

Malaysia means Business on Solar Energy

As government roadmaps go, this one is both ambitious and commendable: Malaysia wants to become a major hub of solar manufacturing by 2030. To make that happen, the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT) will work on improving supply chains and the integration of local photovoltaic (PV) sustems. Simultaneously,…

Electric Cars are on a Roll in Malaysia

Electric Cars are on a Roll in Malaysia

Electric cars are on the roll in Malaysia. They may soon be plying the country’s roads en masse, and just about time too. To make that happen, GreenTech Malaysia, a government agency under the aegis of the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water, is planning to set up a countrywide…

Let’s Regreen our Cities Vertically

Let’s Regreen our Cities Vertically

Urban areas almost always come at the expense of natural environments. Where clusters of houses rise and stand ever thicker on the ground in densely populated urban areas, trees and vegetation invariably disappear with nothing but little parks remaining here and there as beleaguered little vestiges of green. A case…

The Sun shines bright on Solar Energy

The Sun shines bright on Solar Energy

Come 2020, Malaysia will be the world’s second largest producer of solar photovoltaics. So promises Zaini Ujang, the secretary-general of the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water. That ambitious goal will entail almost doubling the current output, which stands at 12%. “Malaysia is currently ranked third in terms of solar…

Green Cars are Coming to KL … on Show

Green Cars are Coming to KL … on Show

Green cars are coming to Malaysia. At the International Greentech & Eco Products Exhibition and Conference, to be held in Kuala Lumpur between October 5 and 8, a large selection of eco-friendly cars will be on display. Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Tesla, Nissan, Renault, Mitsubishi and other automakers from around the world…

Green Technology sector gets a Boost

Green Technology sector gets a Boost

When it comes to green technology, Malaysia’s government means business. That’s the conclusion we can draw from the fact that Putrajaya has doubled the financing limit in its Green Technology Financing Scheme (GTFS) from RM50 million to RM100 million. The financial boost to the scheme is certainly a welcome development. The GTFS seeks…

Building Green is a definite Must

Building Green is a definite Must

Sustainability must start at home. We are all familiar with this truism of environmental protection. Homes and offices are among the largest emitters of carbon dioxide, accounting for around 40% of both energy consumption and carbon emissions; that is why there is an increasing need for sustainable designs that are…

Here comes Transparent Wood

Here comes Transparent Wood

Wood is a versatile material: it’s strong and it’s light and it’s flexible. But it isn’t translucent or particularly durable. Glass is. But glass isn’t strong or flexible. But what it you could get the better of both worlds by making wood transparent like glass? A flight of fancy, you say?…

Tiny Device can purify Water in Minutes

Tiny Device can purify Water in Minutes

Like people across the developed world, most Malaysians take clean water for granted. All they need to do to get it is to turn on a tap somewhere within easy reach. They can also get drinking water bottled with bubbles and myriad flavors. Yet for people living in the poorest…

Wind power can work Wonders. Here’s Proof

Wind power can work Wonders. Here’s Proof

If we are to wean ourselves off fossil fuels, the main drivers of environmental pollution and climate change, we will need to rely increasingly on sources of clean energy. Wind power is such a source, and an infinitely renewable one at that. By harnessing the power of winds, turbines can…

Ultra-thin Solar Cells could power Wearable Electronics

Ultra-thin Solar Cells could power Wearable Electronics

The sun is an inexhaustible source of clean energy, which is fast gaining momentum in Malaysia. The country has become one of the leading global producers of photovoltaic technologies, and its tropical climate with plenty of sunshine all year round makes Malaysia an ideal location for solar energy production. But…

Turning Plastic Waste into Fuel

Turning Plastic Waste into Fuel

One hundred million tons. That’s how much plastic we produce globally each year with most of it ending up as waste adding to the massive amounts of plastic trash already piled up in mountainous landfills or suffocating marine life in vast atolls of toxic flotsam. It gets worse. Some 95%…

Science might Help a warming World

Science might Help a warming World

If you thought this past May was unusually hot even for the tropics, it wasn’t just you. Millions and millions of people around the world would have had the exact same impression. And not without cause, either. According to data released by NASA and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric…

Butterfly Wings can help Revolutionize Optics and Computing

Butterfly Wings can help Revolutionize Optics and Computing

Butterflies wings are pretty. Peer at them more closely, though, and they turn out to be fascinating feats of natural engineering. The wings of butterflies contain tiny patterns of closely intertwined and curved surfaces called gyroids. Not only are these structures surprisingly resilient but they also possess properties that render butterfly…