What the U.S. can learn from European coal miners’ second act
By Joshua Zaffos/High Country News Europe and the U.S. have taken different paths in response to climate concerns and coal declines. People linger at an…
Articles
Silk Road revisited
A city within the city. It is the new Midwest Commodity Exchange Center (MCEC), the core of the metal products trade park in Xi’an. Positioned…
Monreale mine: a view from the past
From the top of the hill you can see the Monreale Castle on the right: a reminder of a glorious past. Next, the green stretching…
The solar voyager
While Solar Impulse 2, the aircraft powered by solar energy is reaching the end of its journey around the World, another “eco” international industrial enterprise…
The pros and cons of biomass
When most people talk about renewable energy they are referring to wind and solar power, which tend to dominate the news and their deployment is…
Isogo: a minimalist shrine to clean coal
Modern cities are ever more hungry for power, but increasingly prefer to keep their power plants out of sight and out of mind. Whilst the…
Bee Active! Fight Against Climate Change
Buzz! Buzz! What’s the buzz about bees? In order for plants to reproduce, they must be pollinated, and honeybees are one of the most important…
Speeding on the innovation highway
Electric cars were – and still are – being hailed as a new dawn. Next up are driverless cars. Going towards self-charging driverless cars will not be an easy ride
5 years after Fukushima: Nuclear power prospects dim
According to a report in the Financial Times, the Fukushima nuclear disaster has cost Japan $118 billion to date and Tokyo Electric Power’s shareholders have picked up only 20% of the tab. The government and consumers paid the rest.
Five Takeaways from National Renewable Energy Policy Forum 2016
“Policy still matters” was the theme of this year National Renewable Energy Policy Forum. An event, held in Washington last March, which served to remind…
The unprecedented coral bleaching disaster at the Great Barrier Reef, explained
The scientists who study the Great Barrier Reef are shocked and horrified by what they’re seeing right now. Record hot temperatures in the Pacific Ocean…
The harsh lesson of Monte Narba
A silver mine, hibernated for decades in its splendid isolation, is now a symbol of the wealth of industrial and architectural heritage inherited from mining golden era. But Monte Narba is equally emblematic of the inability to enhance or, at least, to protect historic valuable sites.
Clean energy from human urine
It used to be good only for water closets. Not true anymore. From human urine now we can extract potable water and energy too. Energy…