AI – and a Start-Up Mindset – Can Fast-Track Clean Energy Projects
As we move into the second half of this crucial year for climate action, two facts stand out: One, 82% of global energy consumption still comes from fossil fuels, despite the growth of renewables in the power sector. Two, there is no plan to turn this around any time soon. The recent Summit for a New Global […]
A UK Bay’s Trawling Ban Revived Nature and Gave Fishermen a Voice
In England’s Lyme Bay, fishermen, conservationists and the government are negotiating new ways to protect fishing and nature Few people have a better view of what happens under the sea’s surface than a scallop diver. Having foraged for the shellfish off England’s south coast since the 1990s, John Worswick has witnessed the destruction of seabed […]
U.S. Small Towns Take on Energy-Guzzling Bitcoin Miners
Environmentalists warn carbon emissions from power-intensive bitcoin mining could harm efforts to limit global warming. By Avi Asher-Schapiro In mid-April 2021, nearly 150 local environmentalists marched to the gates of Greenidge Generation, a bitcoin mining facility in upstate New York, in a last-ditch effort to block its expansion. Their objection: that the creation of the […]
Could Putting a Value on Nature Transform U.S. Policymaking?
Famous for its golden beaches, clear waters and unusual flora and fauna, Hawaii is full of natural riches. For the past year, researchers have been asking whether putting an economic value on nature could help protect the islands’ unique environment. Ecological economist Kirsten L.L. Oleson and her research assistants have been combing through and standardizing […]
Can Sewers Provide the Low-Carbon Heat We Need?
In the search for cheap, green heat, cities from Toronto to Seattle are harnessing a wasted asset: human poop. Michael Shank is director of engagement for the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance. As the saying goes, waste is a terrible thing to waste. They don’t say that, but they should. Because one of our member cities, Toronto, […]