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A River Bursts into Flames from Nearby Fracking
“So much methane gas is now bubbling up through the Condamine River in Queensland, Australia that it exploded with fire and held a large flame. Gas seeping into the river began shortly after coal seam gas operations started nearby and is growing in volume and the stretch of river affected is expanding in length.
Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham travelled to Chinchilla in South Western Queensland to investigate the impact of the coal seam gas industry on the environment as part of the Greens’ campaign to ban fracking and unconventional gas in Australia.”
Dig a Hole, Create a Refrigerator
Solutions to big problems – in this case energy use- can often have simple solutions. In this case a design company called Weltevree has designed a usable refrigerator that can be placed in the ground. We love it when design solves problems. Check this out. Now that the kids are grown, replace the swing set with an in-ground back yard cooler.
Bhutan is Carbon Negative
“Bhutan is often overlooked by the international community. The small nation lies deep within the Himalayas between China and India, two of the most populated countries in the world.
But the country of about 750,000 people has set some impressive environmental benchmarks… Bhutan is not merely carbon neutral, it’s also a carbon sink—making it one of the few countries in the world to have negative carbon emissions.”
Trash Is For Tossers
“Lauren Singer runs Trash Is for Tossers, a no-waste lifestyle blog that is brimming with smart, simple and sleek-looking tips, tricks and DIY projects for adopting a more sustainable life.
‘I would like people to take away that we can all, regardless of our background, our beliefs, where we live or our socioeconomic status, take simple steps to reduce our environmental impact. It is simple to say no to a plastic straw or carry a reusable bag,’ Singer told The Huffington Post.”
This Solar Powered Airport has Eliminated Electricity Bills
“Cochin International Airport, the world’s first 100 percent solar airport, is generating so much power from its massive solar array that the airport no longer pays for electricity.
Cochin started its solar journey three years ago when it installed solar panels on the roof of its arrivals terminal. It eventually blossomed into a 12 megawatt solar project after the airport commissioned German multinational engineering and electronics company Bosch to build the impressive $9.5 million plant that features 46,000 panels laid out across 45 acres of unused land near the airport’s international cargo terminal.”
21 Kids Take On Big Oil
“Hundreds of students, activists, professors and citizens concerned about climate turned out in Eugene, Oregon to support 21 young plaintiffs, ages 8-19, in what Bill McKibben and Naomi Klein call the ‘most important lawsuit on the planet right now.'”
Record annual increase of carbon dioxide
“The annual growth rate of atmospheric carbon dioxide measured at NOAA’s Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii jumped by 3.05 parts per million during 2015, the largest year-to-year increase in 56 years of research.
In another first, 2015 was the fourth consecutive year that CO2 grew more than 2 ppm, said Pieter Tans, lead scientist of NOAA’s Global Greenhouse Gas Reference Network.
‘Carbon dioxide levels are increasing faster than they have in hundreds of thousands of years,’ Tans said. ‘It’s explosive compared to natural processes.'”
Off-Grid Solar Report
“It’s been a big week for reports that will be useful to those working to enable a broad range of off-grid energy solutions for the 1.2 billion people currently lacking access to modern energy.
First, today marks the release of the much-anticipated Off-Grid Solar Market Trends Report 2016, published by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) and the World Bank Group’s Lighting Global program, in cooperation with the Global Off-Grid Lighting Association (GOGLA). The report addresses trends in markets for off-grid solar products and services, noting that annual investments into the sector have risen 15-fold from 2012 to $276 million in 2015 alone. To put this rapid investment spike in context: the total investment in the sector to date is $511 million.”
World’s Carbon Budget is Still Too Small
“Climate scientists have bad news for governments, energy companies, motorists, passengers and citizens everywhere in the world: to contain global warming to the limits agreed by 195 nations in Paris last December, they will have to cut fossil fuel combustion at an even faster rate than anybody had predicted.”
