Energy
Transitioning to a world powered by renewable energy is key to tackling climate change. Here you can find the latest good news related to our clean energy transition, covering wind, solar, green hydrogen, hydropower, and more.
Upcycling plastic from old vehicles into graphene for new ones
Did you know that the amount of plastic used in vehicles has increased by 75 percent in the past six years? This has led to the average SUV containing up to 350 kilograms (771 pounds) of plastic that could sit in a landfill for centuries. Thankfully, researchers from Rice University were inspired Read More...
Lower traffic accidents linked to urban emissions laws
From the 1970s to the mid-1990s, the US and France were more or less the same in traffic fatality rates. In fact, they had both declined by 31 percent from 1979 to 1994. Today, though, people getting around in the US are three times more likely to die than in France. What happened? Bloomberg Read More...
Boston e-scooter company soon to unveil safer model
While shared electric scooters have boomed over the last few years, there remain many concerns about their safety. Scooter-related injuries have become so common that some law firms offer legal action against scooter manufacturers on their websites. Some cities like Miami and New York have kicked Read More...
The environmentally friendly, flying ships of the future
These days, electric cars, bikes, scooters, trams, and trains are common modes of transport. However, one mode of transport which hasn’t got the electric memo is ferries, which are still almost exclusively powered by fossil fuels. The problematic factor here is battery capacity, which cannot last Read More...
“Digital twin” of Ithaca, NY helps to plot climate ambitions
In 2019, Ithaca, New York was the first US city to resolve to eliminate or offset all carbon emissions by 2030. The college town allocated $100 million to fund the effort, but they still needed a plan of how to decarbonize all its buildings. Two architectural professors from Cornell University Read More...
EU votes to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars starting 2035
The European Union’s goal is to slash 55 percent of its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and reduce carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles by 100 percent by 2035. As part of this ambition, the European Parliament has voted to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars starting in 2035. This vote Read More...
The future of wind turbine towers may be made of wood
While wind turbines only cost 11 grams of carbon per kilowatt-hour (compared to the combustion of natural gas at 450 grams), there is always room for improvement. Opponents of wind energy have criticized the carbon footprint of the steel required to build wind towers and turbines. Unknowingly, they Read More...
This solar-coated high-rise is self-sustaining
A high-rise office building in Melbourne, Australia, boasts a solar facade made up of 1,182 solar panels which, together with additional rooftop solar, sustain the building with renewable power. Helping others by helping itself “The building is designed to be self-sustainable,” says Pete Read More...
US pushes through solar panel imports while helping boost production
A tariff investigation by the Commerce Department has stalled the expansion of the United States solar industry. This was a look into whether or not Chinese solar manufacturers were improperly funneling parts through other Asian countries. Determined to meet its clean energy and climate goals, Read More...
University of Illinois students build solar charging station for food truck and other EVs
Students at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) have demonstrated once again the ingenuity and motivation of today’s youth to meet the challenges of climate change. The team built a solar-powered charging station so that an on-campus food truck can make emission-free deliveries. The Read More...