By Chris Mooney and Steven Mufson 1 February 2018 (The Washington Post) – The Trump administration is poised to ask Congress for deep budget cuts to the Energy Department’s renewable energy and energy efficiency programs, slashing them by 72 percent overall in fiscal 2019, according to draft budget documents obtained by The Washington Post. Many […]
By Aruna Chandrasekhar 29 December 2017 (The Wire) – In 2017, weather reports were bumped up to the front page because the impact of climate change was becoming more visible than ever. Devastating cyclones, thousands lost to floods and drought in South Asia, thousands more displaced, infernal heat-waves sweeping cities, air pollution stealing hundreds of […]
By George Dvorsky 22 November 2017 (Gizmodo) – To reduce energy consumption, many jurisdictions around the world are transitioning to outdoor LED lighting. But as new research shows, this solid-state solution hasn’t yielded the expected energy savings, and potentially worse, it’s resulted in more light pollution than ever before.Using satellite-based sensors, an international team of […]
Geneva, 31 October 2017 (UN Environment News) – Governments and non-state actors need to deliver an urgent increase in ambition to ensure the Paris Agreement goals can still be met, according to a new UN assessment.The eighth edition of UN Environment’s Emissions Gap report, released ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn, finds […]
By Ed Crooks 26 October 2017 NEW YORK (Financial Times) – Companies from the technology and oil and gas industries have stepped into the debate over the future of the US electricity system, raising objections to the Trump administration’s plans for new rules to support coal-fired and nuclear power plants.Microsoft, Walmart, ExxonMobil, General Electric, and […]
24 October 2017 (United Nations) – Hurricanes Irma, Harvey, and Maria may be over, but the devastating impact they had on the countries in their path continues, likewise the effects of successive earthquakes in Mexico, said senior United Nations officials Tuesday, calling for more action at all levels to manage disaster and climate risk and […]
By Artur Gorokh and Ryan Sherman 23 October 2017 (The Cornell Daily Sun) – It was in southern Utah in 2003 that Aron Ralston amputated his own arm to escape the boulder that had crushed him against the wall of a slot canyon. The only implement on hand was a small multi-tool, and in vain […]
By Laura Poppick 17 October 2017 (Smithsonian) – Canada’s Northwest Territories comprise one of the fastest-warming regions of the Arctic. Here, residents see spring arrive weeks earlier than it used to, while the ground beneath their homes thaws and slumps. Yet while much of the world talks about solar power, wind energy and other sustainable […]
By Jon Schuppe 23 September 2017 (NBC News) – A team of New York electricity-transmission workers and a pair of drone operators arrived in San Juan Friday to help the reeling government of Puerto Rico begin to measure the damage to the U.S. territory’s power grid. The entire island remained without electricity into the weekend, […]
8 September 2017 (United Nations) – Noting the efforts being undertaken around the globe to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed called for picking up the pace to ensure that the 2030 deadline is met.“The SDGs have jumped from the General Assembly Hall to communities across the world [and] […]
