Archive for May 2024
In Seawater, Researchers See an Untapped Bounty of Critical Metals
Researchers and companies are aiming to draw key minerals, including lithium and magnesium, from ocean water, desalination plant residue, and industrial waste brine. They say their processes will use less land and produce less pollution than mining, but major hurdles remain.
Read MoreA trillion cicadas will emerge in the next few weeks. This hasn’t happened since 1803.
They’re a little early, thanks to climate change.
Read MoreWhy heat-pump water heaters could soon take off
Canary Media’s Electrified Life column shares real-world tales, tips, and insights to demystify what individuals can do to shift their homes and lives to clean electric power. Planning on replacing your water heater in the next few years? You could find yourself in the midst of an appliance revolution: Heat pumps…
Read MoreOn a Borneo mountainside, Indigenous Dayak women hold fire and defend forest
KAMBIAYIN, Indonesia — Eka Karlina repeats a mantra to her Dayak Pitap ancestors as she runs her fingers through the soil, combing the field in Kambiayin village for weeds. “Hopefully this year’s harvest will be good,” Eka told Mongabay Indonesia in the foothills of the Meratus mountain range here in Indonesian South Kalimantan province on […]
Read MoreWill a billionaire bankroll biodiversity? CBD Decision 15/9 as potential ‘goldmine’ (commentary)
Economic metaphors can be ironic, unexpectedly so. The 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the 1992 UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) established a “multilateral mechanism for benefit-sharing from the use of digital sequence information on genetic resources, including a global fund” (Decision 15/9). The Acting Executive Secretary of the Secretariat heralds the mechanism […]
Read MoreEnvironmental defenders paid the price during Panama’s historic mining protests – report
Panama is still trying to understand the extent of the violence that took place during the massive, nationwide protests last year. Groups from all corners of the country, from teacher unions to hospital workers to Indigenous communities, were targeted by law enforcement while speaking out against pollution, deforestation and water shortages allegedly caused by the […]
Read MoreColorful Celtic Sea
Satellites captured an expansive blue and green phytoplankton bloom in the waters off France.
Read MorePlug Power lands $1.7B DOE loan guarantee to boost hydrogen production
Fuel cell and electrolyzer manufacturer and would-be “green” hydrogen supplier Plug Power has won a conditional commitment for up to a $1.66 billion loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy, providing a boost to its plans to build six large-scale hydrogen production sites across the U.S. CEO Andy Marsh said…
Read MoreCanadian Wildfire Smoke Is Triggering Outdoor Air Quality Alerts Across the Midwestern U.S. It Could Pollute the Indoors, Too
Throughout May, more than 140 wildfires have burned across Alberta and British Columbia. On Sunday, the thick, ashy haze billowing from these infernos drifted across the U.S. border, casting a blanket of smoke over Minnesota and Wisconsin, which eventually made its way to Iowa and other parts of the Midwest earlier Tuesday morning. Counties throughout […]
Read MoreAmerica’s grid isn’t ready for a renewable future. A new federal rule could change that.
The regulation requires grid operators to develop plans to build out the transmission needed to deliver on Biden’s climate agenda.
Read More