Archives
Devastation in Puerto Rico could produce a revolutionary power grid
Read the entire article at Brookings. Disasters often lead to unexpected and swift technology innovation. The calamitous collapse of Puerto Rico’s electricity system might be the next example of that phenomenon. As we know, Hurricane Maria devastated the island. Restoring its existing power grid of big diesel burning plants and long transmission lines […]
World’s First Negative Emissions Plant Turns CO2 into Stone
Read the entire article and view the video at Quartz. We produce 40 trillion kg of carbon dioxide each year, and we’re on track to cross a crucial emissions threshold that will cause global temperature to pass the dangerous 2°C limit set by the Paris climate agreement. Climate scientists are talking about a technology […]
This Tiny Country Feeds the World
Read the entire article at The National Geographic. In a potato field near the Netherlands’ border with Belgium, Dutch farmer Jacob van den Borne is seated in the cabin of an immense harvester before an instrument panel worthy of the Starship Enterprise. From his perch 10 feet above the ground, he’s monitoring two drones—a driverless […]
There’s a Climate Bomb Under Your Feet
Read the entire article at Bloomberg. Soil locks away carbon just as the oceans do. But that lock is getting picked as the atmosphere warms and development accelerates. Long before most people ever heard of climate change, scientists divided a patch of Harvard University-owned forest in central Massachusetts into 18 identical 6-meter by 6-meter squares. […]
Hong Kong’s Multi-Decade Creative Solutions for Water Management
Read the entire article at CitiScope. When it comes to water, Hong Kong is in a paradoxical situation. This city of more than 7 million people has few reliable sources of drinking water. There’s no major river or natural lake to draw from. Groundwater is scarce and difficult to reach. And the city’s hilly terrain […]
Solar Town, Babcock Ranch, Virtually Unscathed by Irma
Read the entire article at Florida Weekly. Located away from the coast on some of the highest ground in Southwest Florida, Babcock Ranch was designed with resiliency in mind. In the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, a survey of storm impacts at Babcock Ranch is strong evidence of the benefits of Florida’s enhanced building codes […]
U.S. Courts Taking Climate Change Seriously
Read the entire article at The Hartford Courant. The third branch of the federal government, the appointed judicial branch, is finally getting serious about climate science. No longer can the elected executive branch and the elected legislative branches cave in to popular pressure to avoid the inconvenient truth that climate change adaptations will be […]
Cities Should View Trees as Public Health Infrastructure
Read the entire article at Fast Company. Think of a tree-lined street in the midst of a busy city. It feels like something of a treasure: hushed, cool, and sheltered from noise and sidewalk glare. These leafy streets cannot afford to be seen as a luxury, argues a new report from The Nature Conservancy. […]
The World’s First Mobile, Solar-Powered Recycling Plant in the Middle of London
Read the entire article at inhabitat. The mobile recycling factory of the future just landed in the 19th century courtyard of the historic Somerset House in Central London. Trashpresso is a giant solar-powered recycling plant that transforms discarded plastic bottles into architectural tiles. The machine is the brainchild of Pentatonic, a furniture and design […]
EasyJet Developing a Fleet of Electric Planes
Read the entire article at dezeen. UK budget airline EasyJet has paired with US firm Wright Electric to develop a battery-powered aircraft fleet that can be used for its short haul flights. As part of a wider strategy to progressively decarbonise and reduce noise from aviation operations, EasyJet hopes to build the all-electric commercial passenger […]
