There have been a number of controversies in the U.S. over the location and construction of wind farms. But in Scotland, opinions regarding the benefits versus the downsides of wind power seem to be spinning faster than turbine blades on a blustery day. We have a cultural blind-spot when it comes to this habitat [peatlands] [...] read more »
The entire Maldives, a nation of low-lying islands, pledges to become a sustainable reserve. -> read more »
A group of prominent officials from several nations are creating an independent body dedicated to making environmental protection a top priority in global policymaking involving the high seas. The organization, the Global Ocean Commission, is to be led by the former Costa Rican president José María Figueres; Trevor Manuel, South Africa’s planning minister; and David Miliband, [...] read more »
Australia, one of world’s most carbon-intensive countries, recently began implementing a comprehensive national policy to address climate change and transition to a clean-energy economy. Yesterday, WRI had the pleasure of hosting Mark Dreyfus, Australian Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, who outlined his country’s plans to a group of business, congressional, and NGO [...] read more »
China’s pledge to reduce pollution after air-quality in Beijing hit hazardous levels on 20 days last month has cut financing costs for the world’s biggest maker of solar wafers to a four-month low. The yield for February 2015 notes of GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd. has fallen 109 basis points from a six-month high on Dec. [...] read more »
Sea urchins are providing scientists with a way to turn carbon dioxide into harmless chalk. -> read more »
The world is on track to become a very different place in the next two decades. Per capita income levels are rising, the global middle class is expanding, and the population is set to hit 8.3 billion people by 2030. At the same time, urbanization is happening at an accelerated pace—the volume of urban construction [...] read more »
Global Warming has been one of the most pertinently discussed controversies of recent decades. There are extremists on both ends of the spectrum who separately believe either that the impact of the phenomenon will be extreme, or that it is a nonexistent pseudoscience altogether. Though the amount of contention on the topic is baffling, there [...] read more »
Depletion of Antarctic ozone is a more important factor than increasing greenhouse gases in shifting the Southern Hemisphere jet stream in a southward direction, according to researchers at Penn State. Previous research suggests that this southward shift in the jet stream has contributed to changes in ocean circulation patterns and precipitation patterns in the Southern [...] read more »
I grew up under the shadow of potential thermonuclear war that could have wiped out all humanity and turned planet earth into a radioactive wasteland. When the Berlin Wall came down it seemed as though maybe humanity had become clever enough not to do anything so foolish. [Of course now that we're left with only [...] read more »
