Earth Wise

The largest electric power plant in the world is the Three Gorges Dam in China, that has a capacity of 22.5 gigawatts. The largest in the US is also a hydroelectric plant: the Grand Coulee Dam that has a capacity of nearly 7 gigawatts. But solar panels keep getting cheaper and developers keep getting better at installing them. As a result, there are bigger and bigger solar projects that are taking over the lead in giant power plants.

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (the AMOC) is a massive system of ocean currents that is essentially a global conveyor belt. It transports warm water from the surface in the tropics to the North Atlantic, where it cools and becomes denser, sinks down, and travels south. This circulating system is an essential element in regulating the Earth’s climate, particularly for keeping temperatures in Europe mild.

Old cars used to end up in landfills or be left to rust away on vacant land. That has changed dramatically over time. About 27 million vehicles are recycled globally each year and about 12 million of those come from the United States. In fact, vehicles are the most recycled objects in America.

Greenland is one of the fastest-melting iced-over regions on Earth. In fact, scientists say the large-scale melting of Greenland’s massive ice sheet is irreversible, and it’s happening now at an accelerating rate.

Lithium is driving the global energy transition, being used in the batteries that power electric cars and in the huge banks used for renewable energy storage. Demand for lithium continues to grow with the battery supply chain (from mining to recycling) being projected to reach a market value of $400 billion and create 18 million new jobs.

Geothermal energy is one clean energy source that has not been under attack by the Trump administration. Traditional geothermal systems tap into underground reservoirs of hot water. Enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) generate electric power by injecting fluid into hot, impermeable rock underground. The rock is fractured, allowing the fluid to circulate after which it is pumped back up where its heat is used to drive turbines.

The Environmental Protection Agency – whose name is now become rather ironic – has proposed deregulatory actions to delay compliance deadlines for emissions standards. These regulations that were designed to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, and hydrocarbons from vehicles are to be delayed making the vehicles more affordable for Americans.

A company developing solar geoengineering – blocking radiation from the sun to cool the planet – recently revealed its recipe for the particles that would be released into the atmosphere. Stardust Solutions, founded in 2023, has received $75 million from investors and has applied for a patent for its technology. It continues to perform laboratory tests of its materials and methods.

The geographic range of a plant species is the area where it can survive and grow. That range is shaped by climatic factors such as temperature, precipitation, soil moisture, humidity, and wind. When those conditions change, plants must either adapt, shift their range, or risk decline.

For the past year, the Trump administration has repeatedly issued orders for five aging coal plants in four states to remain open past their scheduled closures, citing an unspecified “energy emergency” that supposedly threatens the reliability of the U.S. electricity supply.