Earth Wise

Global investment in the energy transition – that is, the transition away from fossil fuels – increased by 17% in 2023, reaching a new high of $1.8 trillion dollars.  That number includes spending on electric vehicles and their associated infrastructure, electrification of the power grid, and various other changes to the energy system. Electrified transport […]

Groundwater is found underground in aquifers and it bubbles up naturally into springs, streams, and rivers.  It’s also often pumped out for use by people.  Researchers from UC Santa Barbara have conducted the largest assessment of groundwater levels across the globe, spanning 170,000 wells and nearly 1,700 aquifers across more than 40 countries. The team […]

The Scottish government recently announced that in 2022, renewable technologies in that country produced the equivalent of 113% of Scotland’s electricity consumption. Fossil fuels still supplied electricity in Scotland, helping to fill in gaps in renewable power, but the government figures showed that the growing amount of Scottish renewable generation can easily generate more power […]

Nuclear fusion is the process that powers the sun.  Two atoms of hydrogen unite to form one helium atom and release energy in the process.  Hydrogen bombs work in this way and since their development in the 1950s, scientists have sought a way to use fusion to generate electricity.  Many scientists believe that the key […]

There are only two northern white rhinos left in the world, and both of them are female.  The last male died in 2018. Northern white rhinos live to about 40 and one of the two remaining is 35 and the other 24.  The clock is ticking for the species. Recently, scientists with the BioRescue consortium […]

In recent years, wildfires have become a major threat to the wine industry because of the effects of smoke on wine grapes.  Smoke taint from the California fires of September 2020 significantly impacted the quality of wine grapes.  In total, smoke taint cost the wine industry in Western states more than $3 billion in losses […]

Hydrogen is considered to be a potential substitute for conventional fossil fuels in applications where electricity cannot easily be used such as in blast furnaces, cement works, industrial heating, long-distance aviation, and shipping.  But most hydrogen is manufactured by separating it from methane, which is energy-intensive and produces carbon dioxide.  So-called green hydrogen is made […]

California sea otters were hunted almost to extinction in the 19th century.  Only a small number survived along California’s central coast.  But over time, the otters recovered and increasingly recolonized their former habitats. Sea otters are playing an important role in safeguarding California’s kelp forests and marshlands against the harmful effects of climate change. Over […]

Groundwater is the vast reserve of water beneath Earth’s surface.  It’s an essential resource for humans, plants, animals, and other living organisms.  According to the United States Geological Survey, about 30% of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater.  In areas lacking sufficient surface water supply from rivers and reservoirs,  groundwater is critical […]

Most of us have never heard of red mud.  Otherwise known as bauxite residue, it is an industrial waste product generated by the most common process by which aluminum is made and the world produces 200 million tons of red mud each year.  The stuff is a significant environmental hazard being extremely alkaline and corrosive. […]