solutions

How to Speed up the Clean Energy Transition

How to Speed up the Clean Energy Transition

By Tara Lohan The first official tallies are in: Coronavirus-related shutdowns helped slash daily global emissions of carbon dioxide by 14 percent in April. But the drop won’t last, and experts estimate that annual emissions of the greenhouse gas are likely to fall only about 7 percent this year. After that, unless we make substantial […]

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    The Pros and Cons of Planting Trees to Address Global Warming

    The Pros and Cons of Planting Trees to Address Global Warming

    It seems like such a simple, straightforward, empowering idea: plant trees — a lot of trees — all over the world, and watch the planet’s temperature fall. Who doesn’t love a tree or two, even far more — the right tree in the right place? Along with the refreshing shade they provide on hot days, […]

    An Emerging Threat to Conservation: Fear of Nature

    An Emerging Threat to Conservation: Fear of Nature

    By John R. Platt What do we lose when natural spaces and species disappear? Increasingly, research has shown that as species and ecosystems vanish, it also chips away at our ability to preserve what remains — because we no longer understand what we’re losing. You probably see it all the time. The neighbor who puts […]

    Old Batteries Can Be Sources of New Energy​

    Old Batteries Can Be Sources of New Energy​

    By Kieran Cooke Driving an electric-powered vehicle (EV) rather than one reliant on fossil fuels is a key way to tackle climate change and improve air quality — but it does leave the old batteries behind as a nasty residue. New technologies give rise to their own sets of problems. The all-important battery in an […]

    6 Ways Traveling Professionals Can Cut Their Carbon Footprint

    6 Ways Traveling Professionals Can Cut Their Carbon Footprint

    By Petros Kusmu, George Patrick Richard Benson We can all take steps to reduce the environmental impact of our work-related travels. Individual actions — like the six described here — can cumulatively help prompt more collective changes, but it helps to prioritize by impact. As the saying goes: be the change you want to see […]

    New Device Can Generate Renewable Energy ‘Out of Thin Air’

    New Device Can Generate Renewable Energy ‘Out of Thin Air’

    Imagine painting your home with a special paint that also powers your lights using renewable energy drawn from the air. That might sound too good to be true, but researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst think it could be one of many future uses for a new technology they have developed — a device […]

    Can the U.S. Slash Food Waste in Half in the Next Ten Years?

    Can the U.S. Slash Food Waste in Half in the Next Ten Years?

    By Tim Lydon Can the United States make progress on its food-waste problems? Cities like San Francisco — and a growing list of actions by the federal government — show that it’s possible. San Francisco passed the nation’s first mandatory composting law a little over 10 years ago, requiring residents and businesses to separate food […]