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How many people can our planet really support?
Overpopulation. It is a word that makes politicians wince, and is often described as the “elephant in the room” in discussions about the future of the planet. You often hear people citing overpopulation as the single biggest threat to the
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Drilling for Earthquakes
To Cathy Wallace, the earthquakes that have been rattling her tidy suburban home in Dallas feel like underground thunderstorms. First comes a distant roar, then a boom and a jolt. Her house shakes and the windows shudder. Framed prints on
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Is Saudi Arabia moving from oil to renewable energy?
Oil minister Ali Al-Nami recently announced at a Berlin conference that Riiyadh is focusing more on renewable energy sources such as solar in preparation of a post-oil global economy. However, the minister estimated that the world will rely on fossil
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The EU’s new heating and cooling strategy
The European Commission announced a Heating and Cooling Strategy aimed at reducing energy waste. Heating and cooling currently account for 50% of the EU’s annual energy consumption. This includes 59% of total gas consumption and 13% of total oil consumption
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For the first time, solar will be the top new source of energy this year
For the first time ever utility-scale solar projects will add more new capacity to the nation’s grid than any other industry this year, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported. Natural gas and wind energy follow somewhat closely, according to the
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North America’s largest coal plant to be reopened as 44MW solar farm
There is little doubt that times are changing for the energy industry, as renewables make their charge, but few projects emphasize the shift as acutely as the Nanticoke Generating Station in Ontario, Canada. Once North America’s most powerful coal plant,
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Decoupling of global emissions and economic growth confirmed
Global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) – the largest source of man-made greenhouse gas emissions – stayed flat for the second year in a row, according to analysis of preliminary data for 2015 released today by the International Energy Agency
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100% solar-powered buses arrive in London as UK eyes zero emissions by 2050
Soon to be trundling along London’s busy streets, the zero-carbon vehicle was designed and developed by China’s BYD company. The bus is 10.2m long, features full air conditioning and offers seats and standing spaces for 81 passengers. The batteries deliver
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February’s record warmth: nasty weather for the time of year
“Normally I don’t comment on individual months,” tweeted Gavin Schmidt of Nasa on Sunday. “Too much weather, not enough climate. But last month was special.” And so it was: February’s global surface temperature was 1.35C warmer than the average temperature
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How powerful are today’s solar panels?
In October, Elon Musk’s SolarCity debuted a new rooftop solar panel that is now the most efficient panel in the world. We wanted to find out just how much power it could generate when installed on an average American home,
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