A decade ago, Ecuador began a major transition to using hydroelectric power.  Like in many other South American countries, the presence of abundant rivers could supply large amounts of energy and drive economic expansion and lead to a new era of prosperity. This ambitious plan has run into the impacts of climate change.  An extraordinary […]

The Earth is a pretty big place, and it is easy to think that humans and their activities occupy very little of it.  But the impact of human activities on our planet continues to grow.  Recent satellite images from NASA’s Earth Observatory show the staggering extent of the human footprint on Earth. Agriculture is a […]

Last year saw some major trends in the global energy sector. Perhaps the most dramatic was the shift to renewable power, which continued to outpace the projections of both financial analysts and industry experts.  2024 saw new highs in renewable installation, largely due to China, which accounted for more than half of all the solar […]

According to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Davis and Stanford University, construction materials used in buildings have the potential to lock away billions of tons of carbon dioxide.  The study, published in Science, shows that storing CO2 in buildings could be a major contributor to efforts to reduce greenhouse gas […]

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as much as 40% of the food supply in the United States is wasted.  In fact, Americans generate more food waste than all but two countries. To address this problem, the federal government announced a goal nearly a decade ago to cut food waste in half by 2030 […]

The changing climate is creating challenges for some of the most productive apple growing regions in America.  A study by Washington State University analyzed over 40 years of climate conditions that impact the growth cycle of apple trees. Many growing areas face increased climate risk, but the top three apple-producing counties are among the most […]

Hydroclimate whiplash is a term that describes rapid swings between intensely wet and dangerously dry weather.  Global weather records show that the occurrence of hydroclimate whiplash has increased by 31% or as much as 66% since the mid-20th century.  California’s experience is a prime example of this phenomenon.  After years of severe drought, dozens of […]

A decade ago, the ability of utilities to store large amounts of electricity in batteries was basically nonexistent.  In the past several years, growth in battery storage systems has exploded.  As of the end of November, the US had about 24 gigawatt-hours of storage capacity in place.  This is 71% more than just a year […]

Advances in genomics have created the possibility of bringing back extinct species from the past by making use of recovered DNA from preserved specimens.  Companies attempting to “de-extinct” iconic species have received hundreds of millions of dollars from venture capitalists. These companies are trying to bring back iconic species that include ivory-billed woodpeckers, Tasmanian tigers, […]

For many years, scientists have warned that the Great Salt Lake in Utah is headed toward a catastrophic decline.  While the size of the Great Salt Lake fluctuates naturally with seasonal and long-term weather patterns, the lake has been experiencing significant and steady declines for decades.  In fact, the Great Salt Lake has lost more […]