The search for clean energy looks as though it will be a never ending endeavor. With oil being the mainstay for our energy resources, it’s going to take a big push from some other form to overtake it. But if developing cleaner energy means hurting the environment in other ways then what’s the point?

The actual use of solar power isn’t what is damaging the environment, it’s the way it’s manufactured. Solar power is starting to get a big push, primarily from a company named Suntech Power. So just what about manufacturing solar panels is so damaging to the environment? The panels are built using a substance called, polysilicon, which is in really high demand right now. Suntech’s supplier of polysilicon is a manufacturer in China, which is harming the surrounding environment by their practices of creating polysilicon.

Polysilicon, when it’s created, produces an immense amount of waste called silicon tetrachloride. Chloride gases and acid radiate from the waste, and when disposed of, can potentially harm the environment it’s dumped in.

Polysilicon plants in China are rising faster than rice fields. The Chinese plants are the largest producers of polysilicon, and nearly double the amount of polysilicon produced around the world. It’s with these plants, that the environmental problem lies. Instead of recycling the silicon tetrachloride, the plants are just dumping their waste in surrounding areas. If you couldn’t already guess the reason for the dumping, instead of the recycling it’s because it’s cheaper to just throw away.

In the future, the idea of clean energy resources are going to be coming full steam. Let’s hope that we don’t make the same mistakes we did with oil, and jump into a resource that could have potential negative impacts in the future.

Mozilla, it’s definitely the Rocky Balboa of the internet browser fight. Although their market share is smaller than IE, and less known it can still throw some “hurtin bombs”. Mozilla has released an updated version of it’s newest creation, “Prism”.

Prism is a browser independent application tool, which looks to provide competition to the Adobe Air and Microsoft Silverlight. With it, web applications could be used without the function of the actual browser. Some future uses, might be in the way of offline usage as well.

Mark Finkle, an extension specialist at Mozilla summarizes Prism in his blog, “We believe that the Web is a powerful platform for innovation, and our goal with Prism is to drive the development of enhancements to that platform that bring the advantages of desktop apps to the Web. To that end, Prism is not a new platform or product but rather a vehicle for Mozilla Labs to experiment with new technologies to extend the capabilities of the Open Web”

As of now, Prism has been updated to be an extension available for the Firefox 3 beta.

While working with Prism, I found it to be quite useful at times, and the use of it to put web apps on my desktop for easy access was nice. Unfortunately there are a few kinks to be worked out, as with any new program, but this looks to be one Mozilla creation to keep your eye on.

At 2:28 AM, on March 11, one of the largest space station missions will be underway. The launching of the space shuttle Endeavour will take off into orbit, carrying a couple of significant upgrades for the International Space Station.

The shuttle will be carrying a seven man crew, a robotic arm attachment, and the first component for Japan’s giant Kibo space lab. The mission will be led by Commander Dominic Gorie. Commander Gorie saw his first space flight in 1998, with the final mission to the Mir Space Station.

On March 15th, is when the space station will get it’s robotic attachment. The CSA (Canada Space Agency) is the proud owner, and builder of the robot arm. “Dextre” is an external robot arm, that will be fitted to a mobile platform outside of the station. It will be able to perform many functions that the astronauts had to do “space walks” for. The walks are considered very dangerous and will help with safety up on the station. Along with the safety benefit, Dextre will open up more free time for the astronauts to focus on research. The arm cost a whopping $274 million, and has a mass of 3,440 lbs.

Front View Of Dextre (Photo Credit: NASA)

Oh, that Google, it seems they’re always up to some crazy antics. Whether it’s trying to implement Street View, and provide web surfers with a little taste of different places, or Google Earth which provides users with ways of exploring the globe in a whole new way.

These ideas while amazing to think about, and even more amazing to use have brought up the question, Just how much should Google be showing? Well according to the Military, they’ve crossed a certain boundary, and they’ve asked them to take down images from Street View. Street View for those who haven’t used it, is a visual record of different cities around the globe. If you venture over to Google Maps there is an option for Street View. With it, an entire visual tour of the streets of certain major cities are available to you.

The military is “up-in-arms” about Street View, because of some images of their military bases being shown on Street View. Gen. Gene Renuart, who is responsible for our homeland defense states the dangers of Street View’s Military Base showings, “It actually shows where all the guards are. It shows how the barriers go up and down. It shows how to get in and out of buildings…I think that poses a real security risk for our military installations”

Google has been responsive to the Military’s request for taking down the pictures. Legally, the Military has no authority in making Google take down the pictures, as all of the images have been gathered from public roads. But, Larry Yu a Google spokesmen talks about their compliance with the US Military, “We have been contacted by the military…In those instances where they (the U.S military) have expressed concerns about the imagery, we have accommodated their requests”

The line between safety and freedom is continually shrinking in the US. As the internet keeps growing and provides more means of unrestricted information, the line seems to be invisible at times. It will be interesting to see if this will be a lone instance of web censoring or if it might spark more requests of information to be withheld from the public.

You say the name Richard Garriott, and anyone who’s delved into the world of MMORPGs (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) knows instantly of who I speak of. Richard Garriott is a world renowned game developer, and was responsible for the first large market MMORPG, “Ultima”. Now he’s looking to turn from game development and get into the space travel business. Slated to take to the stars in October, Garriott looks to be the sixth private citizen to take off to the cosmos.

Looking at Garriott’s history, it’s not surprising to see why Garriott wants to become a “private astronaut”. His father Owen Garriott is a former astronaut who worked for NASA, and has made two trips into space. Garriott has tried to take to space before, in 2001 he was scheduled to make the flight. But due to financial constraints couldn’t pony up the $20 million ticket. Now he has all of his ducks in a row, and has paid for his now $30 million ticket. He wasn’t alone in his purchase, as ExtremoZyme is sponsoring his trip. ExtremoZyme is a company based around development of enzymes for industrial applications. The company not surprisingly was co-founded by Owen Garriott.

So what could possibly be driving the man that’s called “Lord British”, to pay such a hefty fee for a 10-14 day space cruise. Beyond his own dream of making it to space, he wants to show the importance of space exploration. Garriot speaks on the importance of space travel, “I grew up listening to criticisms of space exploration….My mission is to show that this is a useful, profitable activity”

Garriot will not just be sitting along for the ride when he goes up in October. He is now in training for the grueling task of space flight, and is being considered a “private astronaut”. He will also be doing some research for ExtremoZyme the company sponsoring him. He will be testing the effects of zero gravity on the crystallization process of protein molecules.

Garriott isn’t the only celeb, or rich person to be preparing for space travel. Richard Branson, who owns Virgin Records is starting up a company called Virgin Galactic. This company plans to take clients up into suborbital space for a much lesser fee of $200,000. The program looks to launch sometime in 2009. Some of the more famous people signed up for the space travel are Stephen Hawking, and Sigourney Weaver. Just the idea of the woman playing Ripley in the “Alien” series actually making it to space brings a smile to my face.

If you are a die hard political enthusiast, then you know that the only thing constant in politics is change. Senators and Representatives are constantly changing their views, and changing their tactics. In this current election, you can see the presidential nominees shifting even more to the internet.

The poster boy for the political internet revolution is Ron Paul. While he isn’t the television media favorite, or the favorite among voters, he’s an absolute sensation on the internet. So if the internet revolution isn’t necessarily leading to more votes, then what’s the point of it all. The first and foremost advantage is in terms of campaign funding. Going by OpenSecrets.org, the big number, or lack of a number to stand out is the amount of debt Ron Paul owes. If you visited the site, you’d see that he owes no debt, because around 99% of his contributions come from individuals. So just where is all this contribution money being donated at? Well RonPaul.com of course.

On the other side of the political spectrum, you can see Obama getting involved in the political internet arena. You can visit the my.barackobama.com to visit the social network campaign, built for Obama supporters to come together for their candidate.

The internet has no doubt changed the way we receive information. Politics are no exception, as Youtube, Politico are becoming viable resources for political information. Information is travelling so fast, that it’s beginning to be one step ahead of news you gather from the television.

I’ve listed a few examples of how candidates and voters have turned to the internet for their campaign and news. It’s safe to say that it’s only going to become a larger medium for political, news, debate, and campaign funding in the future.