Norwegian hydropower stations could be linked to wind farms and serve as giant “batteries” to even out power supply fluctuations, a Scandinavian research organization says.
A major hurdle for renewable energy suppliers is intermittent power production — sometimes too much
Solar activity has had minimal impact on climate over the past millennium, new research from the United Kingdom indicates. The findings counter the long-held view that periodic fluctuations in the sun’s energy output have led to lengthy periods of warm or cold weather in the past.
The Russian national oil company Gazprom has begun drilling for oil at a highly contested site in the Arctic. The oil field, an offshore site in the Russian Arctic known as Prirazlomnoye, drew international attention in September when a contingent of Greenpeace members boarded the platform in protest and were jailed in Russia for two
All of the additional electricity-generating capacity added by the U.S. last month came from renewable energy sources, according to a report from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
Solar, biomass, wind, geothermal, and hydropower projects provided 394 megawatts — 100 percent —
The Los Angeles City Council has voted unanimously to require “cool roofs” for all new and refurbished homes, becoming the first major U.S. city to do so. “Cool roofs” incorporate light- and heat-reflecting building materials, which can lower the surface temperature of the roof by up to 50 degrees F on a hot day, according to Climate
The volume of electronic waste generated worldwide is expected to climb by 33 percent by 2017 to 65 million tons, according to a study conducted by a partnership of United Nations organizations, industry, governments, and scientists. So many computers, televisions, mobile phones, and other devices are being tossed away annually that within
Small, nearly meltdown-proof nuclear reactors are receiving a big boost from the U.S. Department of Energy. The department will give a company in Corvallis, Oregon, as much as $226 million to develop so-called “small modular reactors,” which can be used with many local power grids that can’t accommodate conventional nuclear reactors.
For Chinese citizens worried about smog, which has been blanketing major cities and smashing air pollution records recently, China’s state media has some advice: Look on the bright side. State broadcaster CCTV and a Communist Party tabloid, Global Times, yesterday published editorials attempting to put a positive spin on China’s air
Over the past 10 months China has added renewable energy sources to its power grid at double the pace of 2012, according to its National Energy Administration (NEA). The renewable energy push, part of a massive effort to cut air pollution in China’s large cities, has added more than 36 gigawatts of clean energy capacity so far this year,
Americans in urban areas are driving less, biking more, owning fewer cars, and using public transportation more frequently, according to new research by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG). The number of people driving to work fell in 99 of 100 major urban areas between 2006 and 2011, and the number of miles driven by car fell in
three-quarters of the cities studied over that time, the PIRG study showed.
The proportion of people biking to work increased in 85 of 100 cities, while the number of miles traveled on public transit increased in 60 of 98 cities. Meanwhile, the number of people working from home grew in all 100 cities, the report said.
From 2004 to 2012, the average number of vehicle-miles driven per person decreased by 7.6 percent nationwide. “There is a shift away from driving,” said Phineas Baxandall, an analyst for the U.S. PIRG Education Fund. “Instead of expanding new highways, our government leaders should focus on investing in public transit and biking for the future.”
Article appearing courtesy Yale Environment 360.
Eighteen prominent international climate scientists and economists have authored a paper that seeks to answer the most vexing environmental question facing the planet: How to reverse soaring carbon dioxide emissions and prevent the world from experiencing destabilizing climate change.
Their answer, presented in the journal PLOS One,
As plastic trash accumulates in ocean ecosystems, it may be damaging worms and other sensitive marine life at the bottom of the food chain, scientists report.
Two British studies found that microplastics — tiny remnants, less than 5 mm in diameter, from the breakdown of plastic trash — made seafloor worms eat less and transferred
China is in the midst of launching seven carbon markets, the largest of which will open next month in Guangdong, the country’s most populous province. The carbon markets are a key element of China’s plan to cut carbon emissions by up to 45 percent per unit of GDP by 2020.