Earth Wise

Renewable energy sources – in particular solar and wind – are growing by leaps and bounds around the world, in great part because the price for them has been plummeting over the years. This has made renewables the lowest-cost source of electricity in many places.

Planting trees is a key strategy in the fight against climate change. Trees absorb carbon dioxide, regulate temperature, support biodiversity, and improve air and water quality. In urban areas, planting trees may also be one of the simplest ways cities can prepare for a warmer future.

Ocean energy or marine energy refers to renewable energy obtained from the ocean’s motion (waves, tides, and currents) and thermal properties that are used to generate electricity. It is a largely untapped, consistent, and clean resource that has great potential. But a combination of high development costs and the challenges of operating in such a harsh environment has kept ocean energy as largely a research topic rather than a significant contributor to society’s energy needs. But that is gradually changing.The annual report of the Ocean Energy Systems international collaboration agency highlights many of the ongoing projects in ocean energy.China has tidal power demonstration projects, one of which has continued stable operation for over 8 years. China also has a floating wave power platform producing megawatt-level power.The UK has the world’s largest operational tidal stream project, the MayGen in Pentland Firth, in operation since 2018.The Shetland Tidal Array has been operating for more than nine years.There are additional operating systems in Ireland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain, and Italy. Several other countries have systems under development or planned. In North America, Canada has multiple projects under development. The US has test systems in many locations on both coasts but no commercial-scale projects underway.The ultimate potential for ocean energy is enormous. Estimates are that it could power nearly 57% of U.S. electricity needs from just our two coasts.…

The United States has mostly stopped developing offshore wind, a technology vehemently opposed by the Trump administration. Five ongoing projects have managed to keep going as a result of federal court rulings against the administration. Meanwhile, the government is offering billions of dollars to recipients of offshore wind leases if they cancel their plans and drill for oil instead.

Gray whales undertake one of the longest annual migrations of any mammal on Earth. They spend the summers feeding in the nutrient-rich waters of the Arctic before traveling about 12,000 miles round trip to winter in the warm and protected lagoons of Baja Mexico. But as ocean conditions change, some gray whales are taking unexpected detours.

A new study by Oxford University conducted at six English worksite cafeterias found that replacing just one meat dish with a vegetarian option had multiple benefits with regard to the healthiness of what people consume and the carbon emissions associated with the cafeteria.

Texas is a red state. It has voted for the Republican presidential candidate in every election since 1980. And yet, as a result of efforts by several past Republican governors, Texas is a national leader in renewable energy, with wind and solar providing over 30% of the state's electricity in 2023. The state produces more wind power than any other state and ranks second in solar capacity.

Climate change is raising sea levels. Sea level rise has been tracked for quite a while and its risks to people who live in coastal areas have been the focus of a great deal of attention. But sea level rise is not a simple matter in that defining the baseline sea level is difficult to do.

Americans who own their cars tend to keep them for a long time – 8 to 12 years. But those who lease their cars often only drive them for two or three years. Many people lease cars for just this reason. They want to have a new car every few years to avoid growing maintenance costs and just for the pleasure of having a new vehicle. With hundreds of thousands of electric cars coming off leases, the used EV market is accelerating.

Projections are that a strong El Niño is on the way. An El Niño is a natural release valve for ocean heat. It starts with shifts of swirling ocean currents and winds over the Pacific. The result is that huge stores of tropical ocean heat surges from the Western Pacific in the area between Australia and Indonesia northward to Japan. The ocean heat then spills into the atmosphere in pulses that change weather patterns, reroute high-elevation winds, raise global temperatures, bleach coral reefs, and disrupt fisheries and ocean ecosystems.