Radar plots of urban types based on identified factors. For each city we collect information on 64 urban indicators, from which we identify nine dominant factors: metro, bus rapid transit (BRT), bikeshare, development, population, sustainability, congestion, sprawl, and network density (Oke, et al. 2018). We then cluster the 331 cities on these nine factors, producing 12 unique city types Radar plots indicate normalized factor scores (from 0 to 1) averaged for all cities in each type; adapted from Oke, et al. (2018). The “Congested Boomer” type represents rapidly growing megacities with severe congestion problems and low metro availability, particularly in India; notable members are Bangalore, Mumbai, and Delhi. Graphic: MIT

Why the electric-car revolution may take a lot longer than expected – MIT analysis finds steady declines in battery costs will stall soon

By James Temple 19 November 2019 (Technology Review) – A new report from the MIT Energy Initiative warns that EVs may never reach the same sticker price so long as they rely on lithium-ion batteries, the energy storage technology that powers most of today’s consumer electronics. In fact, it’s likely to take another decade just to eliminate […]

Cars block a street during a protest against a rise in gasoline prices, in the central city of Isfahan, Iran, Saturday, 16 November 2019. Demonstrators angered by a 50 percent increase in government-set gasoline prices blocked traffic in major cities and occasionally clashed with police Saturday after a night of demonstrations punctuated by gunfire. Photo: AP Photo

Protests grip major Iran cities over gas prices – Internet access sees disruptions and outages – “The ongoing disruption is the most severe disconnection tracked in any country in terms of its technical complexity and breadth”

By Jon Gambrell 16 November 2019 DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – Protesters angered by Iran raising government-set gasoline prices by 50 percent blocked traffic in major cities and occasionally clashed with police Saturday after a night of demonstrations punctuated by gunfire, in violence that reportedly killed at least one person. The protests put renewed […]

Photo of an oxygen bar in Delhi, India on 15 November 2019. A 15-minute session costs $7.00. Photo: Reuters

More than half of India coal-fired power plants set to miss pollution deadline – Less than 2 percent currently in compliance

By Sudarshan Varadhan 15 November 2019 NEW DELHI (Reuters) – More than half of India’s coal-fired power plants ordered to retrofit equipment to curb air pollution are set to miss the deadline, private industry estimates and a Reuters analysis show, as millions in the country wake up to toxic air each day. Thermal power companies, […]

Racks of computers used for Bitcoin mining line a hallway inside Genesis Mining’s Enigma facility in Iceland. Photo: Lisa Barnard

Photo gallery: Inside the Icelandic facility where Bitcoin is mined – Cryptocurrency mining now uses more of Iceland’s electricity than its homes

By Laura Mallonee 3 November 2019 (Wired) – Less than two miles from Iceland’s Reykjavik airport sits a nondescript metal building as monolithic and drab as a commercial poultry barn. There’s a deafening racket inside, too, but it doesn’t come from clucking chickens. Instead, tens of thousands of whirring GPUs perform the complex, exhaustive calculations […]

Shell’s “cracker” plant under construction in Pennsylvania. Photo: Keith Srakocic / AP

Will a push for plastics turn Appalachia into next “Cancer Alley”? – “It’s so obvious that they are trying to lock us into fossil fuels”

By Emily Holden 11 October 2019 MONACA, Pennsylvania (The Guardian) – Construction cranes climb into the sky and sprawl across the massive petrochemical facility that will turn a byproduct of fracked gas into plastic on the banks of the Ohio River, just outside Pittsburgh. Even at a distance, from the car park of a cancer […]

The coal-fired Quezon Power Plant in Mauban, Quezon, the Philippines. The 511-megawatt power plant was commissioned in 2000 and is owned and operated by Quezon Power Limited Co. Photo: Acersteel

Coal power plants flourish in the Philippines despite “climate emergency” – “It is unfortunate that another coal plant has been inaugurated in the country”

By Leilani Chavez 28 October 2019 MANILA (Mongabay) – In 1996, when a community in the Philippine municipality of Pagbilao agreed to house a coal power plant a few hours’ drive from Manila, the residents had high hopes. The fishing town saw in the dominating edifice full-time jobs and food on the table, says Warren […]

China monthly coal imports, 2015-2019. Graphic: Reuters

China’s 2019 coal imports set to rise by more than 10 percent, to around 320 million tons

By Muyu Xu and Melanie Burton 22 October 2019 BEIJING/MELBOURNE (Reuters) – China, the world’s top coal buyer, is on track to boost imports of the fuel by more than 10 percent this year, traders and analysts said on Tuesday, countering earlier expectations that shipments would be capped by Beijing at the same level as […]

Air pollution (fine particulate matter PM2.5) in the United States, 2009-2018. in 2016, pollution started to increase significantly in the U.S. Midwest and West. Data: National Bureau of Economic Research. Graphic: The New York Times

America’s air quality worsens since Trump election, ending years of gains – “This increase is a real about-face”

By Nadja Popovich 24 October 2019 (The New York Times) – New data reveals that damaging air pollution has increased nationally since 2016, reversing a decades-long trend toward cleaner air. An analysis of Environmental Protection Agency data published this week by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University found that fine particulate pollution increased 5.5 percent on average across the […]

Clip from BP’s “Energy Illustrated” web series. Graphic: Spencer Dale / BP

BP chief economist to youth conference: “The haves must remember the have nots”

By Spencer Dale 23 October 2019 LONDON (BP) – It’s a great pleasure to be here this morning. One Young World is a big deal in BP. As you just heard, Bob Dudley is a massive fan. And many friends and colleagues have been delegates in the past and raved about it. So I’ve heard […]

Greta Thunberg speaks to climate protesters in front of the Alberta Legislature Building, 18 October 2019. Photo: D. Chidley / Picture Alliance

Greta Thunberg calls for climate action in Canada’s oil heartland – “We’re doing this because our future is at stake”

19 October 2019 (DW) – Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg joined thousands of protesters marching in Alberta, Canada’s energy heartland, on Friday as a smaller counterrally of oil and gas workers converged on the provincial capital, Edmonton. While Thunberg steered clear of making any direct criticism of Alberta’s oil sands or of commenting explicitly on […]

Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial