European Green Deal

News & Comments, Smart cities December 31, 2020

Energy performance in buildings is key to meeting 2030 emissions target

Ursula von der Leyen and Frans Timmermans have pledged to kick-start a renovation wave across Europe. This is a management challenge with three aspects that…

Climate Change, News & Comments, Smart cities, Sustainability November 13, 2020

Energy-efficient building renovation: a Franco-German challenge

To achieve climate neutrality by 2050, the question of renovating buildings to be more energy-efficient is of crucial importance. More than ever before, it is…

Biofuels, News & Comments, Renewables February 11, 2020

The role of sustainable bioenergy in delivering the European Green Deal

Fueled by the pressure of climate activists and global mass protests, EU decision-makers embraced an unprecedented focus on the climate emergency. This resulted in the…

Articles Climate Change Policy & Strategy

Greta – A star in a galaxy of young climate activists

In 2019 the world was awed when Greta Thunberg emerged as a global activist against climate change. She was named “Time Person of the Year for 2019” and was the youngest to be honored in this way. Sweden honored their…

Articles Policy & Strategy

Lost in transition

Green new deal, just transition fund, circular economy, carbon free, biofuels, eco-friendly, fair trade, organic, recycling, renewable, resilience, sustainability, zero-whatever (from emission to waste). The lexicon of the environmental-consciousness keeps growing. And for a tangible reason. The commercial fate of…

Articles Policy & Strategy

A cold reminder

As February’s bout of extreme cold weather left millions of Texans without power for days, it seemed all the more jarring in a state famed for its abundance of energy resources. Once synonymous with oil, Texas now leads the country’s…

Articles Last Exit

Cagliari Port Silo

At the time of writing, the Cagliari silo is under demolition. Built-in 1973, the grain silo has been an iconic landmark of Sardinia’s primary town waterfront. It was originally made of a 54-mt tower and 21 storage cells, three for…

Articles Biofuels

Green ammonia, what else?

Everyone looks to green hydrogen as the new frontier of fuels. But its storage and long-distance transport are still open challenges. Ammonia is an emerging alternative as an indirect storage medium for hydrogen. So-called “green ammonia” provides a path to…

Articles Nuclear

South African Nuclear energy chief pleads for energy-mix

The power industry in South Africa is faced with huge challenges. Knox Msebenzi, Managing Director of the Nuclear Industry Association of South Africa (NIASA), discusses the impact of challenges on the country’s economy and a way out of the power generation…

Articles Policy & Strategy Sustainability

Obsession with GDP, disregard of nature leading towards ecosystem collapse: report

“Securing nature is investing in our self-preservation.” A new report out Tuesday from the U.K. government framing the natural environment as “our most precious asset” says the world’s destruction of biodiversity has put economies at risk and that a fundamental…

Articles Nature & Environment

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 single-use items like plastic bags and wrappings. Most of us rarely spare a thought to…

Articles Hydro Solar

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 these panels covered just 1% of reservoirs, this alone could double African hydropower capacity and…

Articles Nature & Environment

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 exist, though. In late September 2020, officials in Wrangell, Alaska, warned residents who were elderly,…

The Lost Bayou: Grand Bayou

Grand Bayou, LA. At one time, it was a lively community of close-knit families, until they were forced to leave. ©2020. Garde Voir Ci magazine. Nicholls State University Department of Mass Communication.

World Rainforest Day

Rainforests cover only 2 percent of the planet’s surface area but are responsible for more than 25% of all Western medicine and house more than 50% of the world’s plant and animal species.