hydropower

By Simon Evans Renewable sources of electricity are set for rapid growth over the next five years, which could see them match the output of the world’s coal-fired power stations for the first time ever. This would mean renewables matching coal as the joint-largest contributors to the global electricity mix in 2024, according to Carbon […]

Costa Rica aims to have net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and if it’s energy production in 2019 is a sign of things to come, then it is well on its way to that goal. The small Central American nation produced the most electricity in its history during the month of May and nearly 100 […]

The birthplace of coal power is changing its ways. For the first time since the industrial revolution, the United Kingdom will generate more electricity from clean energy sources like wind, solar and nuclear power rather than from fossil fuel plants, the country’s National Grid said Friday, as the BBC reported. The milestone has been passed […]

What’s the future of coal? The answer may be blowing in the wind. Or running through our waters. Or, maybe it’s at the end of a sunbeam. Wherever the answer is found, the message is clear. Coal is on a downward trend in the U.S. and renewables are on the rise, according to a new […]

By Paula Ezcurra and Octavio Aburto Thousands of hydroelectric dams are under construction around the world, mainly in developing countries. These enormous structures are one of the world’s largest sources of renewable energy, but they also cause environmental problems. Hydropower dams degrade water quality along rivers. Water that flows downstream from the dams is depleted […]

Only a little more than one-third of the world’s 246 longest rivers remain free-flowing, drastically reducing the diverse benefits that healthy rivers provide to people and nature everywhere, according to a new study by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and partners. A team of researchers from WWF, McGill University, and other institutions studied about 7.5 million […]

By the Numbers 5: Priority recommendations that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has implemented since March 2018. Those actions relate to chemical standards, nonpoint water pollution and water pollution assessment. There are, however, 14 priority recommendations that the agency has not acted on. (Government Accountability Office) News Briefs PFAS Groundwater Cleanup Standards The EPA […]

By Robert T. Walker Over the past 25 years that I have been conducting environmental research in the Amazon, I have witnessed the the ongoing destruction of the world’s biggest rainforest. Twenty percent of it has been deforested by now—an area larger than Texas. I therefore grew hopeful when environmental policies began to take effect […]