The open burning of waste poses grave health risks to millions
We’re generating more waste than at any other time in history what with a greatly increased global population, rampant consumerism and the wanton use of…
Articles
Floating solar panels on 1% of reservoirs ‘could double’ Africa’s hydropower capacity
Solar panels floating on the lakes formed by Africa’s hydropower dams could be a major new source of power, according to a new study. If…
Life-saving drinking water disinfectants have a “dark side”
Disinfecting drinking water against spathogen is necessary, but by-products from the process are a ubiquitous — and likely growing — problem across the U.S. Solutions…
Biden’s Keystone XL death sentence requires Canada’s oil sector to innovate
In one of his first acts of office, U.S. President Joe Biden has issued an executive order that effectively kills the Keystone XL pipeline project. The…
We need to radically reimagine the way we travel and commute
Let’s start with a fact: electric vehicles (EVs) are better for the environment than internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. We should focus on promoting electric vehicles…
How waste CO2 is helping to turn renewable energy into liquid fuel
Methanol can be made from CO2 captured from industrial sources, combined with hydrogen split out of water using surplus renewable energy. And the resulting fuel…
What Joe Biden’s US election victory means for climate change
Joe Biden’s US election victory has been hailed as a significant turning point in US policy on everything from racial injustice to the Covid-19 pandemic. But there are few…
Warmer climate and Arctic sea ice in a veritable suicide pact
Their ‘death spiral’ is a vicious melting-warming feedback, leading to more melting of snow and ice and still more warming, an ongoing cycle. Think of…
Are forests the new coal? Global alarm sounds as biomass burning surges
The forest biomass industry is sprawling and spreading globally — rapidly growing in size, scale, revenue, and political influence — even as forest ecologists and…
The plastic myth and the misunderstood triangle
Of all the plastic we’ve ever produced, only 9% has been recycled. So what happened to all that plastic you’ve put in the recycling bin…
Hydrogen: where is low-carbon fuel most useful for decarbonisation?
Is hydrogen the lifeblood of a low-carbon future, or an overhyped distraction from real solutions? One thing is certain – the coal, oil and natural…
Wildfires’ toxic air leaves damage long after the smoke clears
When researchers arrived in this town tucked in the Northern Rockies three years ago, they could still smell the smoke a day after it cleared…
Climate literacy is essential for effective change
We need to make it easier to understand basic climate science and emissions reductions. We know less than we think we know about climate. And we…
China’s new carbon neutrality pledge: what next?
Experts react to President Xi’s statement that China will up its climate ambition by striving for carbon neutrality by 2060. In a virtual address to…
Ring out the old, ring in the new
Now is the time to plant the seeds of innovation. The pandemic has been too global and too prolonged to be considered just one of…
The green and the black
As the profound global impact of Covid-19 continues to unfold, those whose job it is to forecast the future have had to scramble for their…