Wind turbines are friendlier to birds than oil-and-gas drilling
BIRDERS GET nervous when they see landscapes covered in wind turbines. When the wind gets going, their…
Browsing Tag
Fossil fuel
New satellite will track elusive methane pollution from oil and gas industry globally
A privately funded satellite is set to push methane tracking into a new era, once it launches into space on Monday.A collaborative mission between Environmental Defense Fund, Google, the Government of New Zealand and several other partners, MethaneSAT will track methane emissions around the globe in attempts to identify and quantify sources spewing the climate-heating greenhouse gas. For 20 years after its release into the atmosphere, methane gas is 80 times more harmful than carbon dioxide in its ability to increase…
From fashion to burials: How fungi can help fight climate change
Our planet is changing. So is our journalism. This weekly newsletter is part of a CBC News initiative entitled "Our Changing Planet" to show and explain the effects of climate change. Keep up with the latest news on our Climate and Environment page.Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox every Thursday.This week: From fashion to burials: How fungi can help fight climate change 2024 has barely started and is already threatening to set temperature records World's globetrotting animals at risk due to habitat…
Startup AiDash raises $50 million for tech using AI, satellites to spot wildfire risk
A California startup using artificial intelligence (AI) and satellites to spot fire and weather risks on power lines, AiDash, reported on Tuesday it had raised $50 million in new funding, reflecting Silicon Valley efforts to create products that help energy companies adapt to climate change.Power utilities are under pressure to cut risks of forest fires and storm-based outages after massive fires have been sparked by power lines and weather events brought down lines. At the same time, loads on the grid are likely to rise…
Christmas trees have the potential to spread unwanted critters
Our planet is changing. So is our journalism. This weekly newsletter is part of a CBC News initiative entitled "Our Changing Planet" to show and explain the effects of climate change. Keep up with the latest news on our Climate and Environment page.Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox every Thursday.This week: Christmas trees have the potential to spread unwanted critters What has 2 (or 3) wheels and helps reduce oil consumption? Here's why food waste is a major climate change issue Christmas trees…
Ships could capture energy from waves by imitating whales
In an effort to reduce the environmental impact of commercial ships, a group of U.K. researchers has scoured through the research into a unique technology that imitates the action of a whale's tail to help propel ships and reduce fuel consumption.The findings of the review-study from Cranfield University, published in the journal Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews in September, found a system of flapping foils can effectively harness wave energy and generate thrust.About 50,000 merchant ships cross our oceans…
2023 set to be hottest year on record, UN says
The United Nations weather agency said Thursday that 2023 is all but certain to be the hottest year on record, warning of worrying trends that suggest increasing floods, wildfires, glacier melt and heat waves in the future.The World Meteorological Organization also warned that the average temperature for the year is up some 1.4 degrees C from pre-industrial times — a mere one-tenth of a degree under a target limit for the end of the century as laid out by the Paris climate accord in 2015.The WMO secretary general said the…
Biden Administration to Increase Fees for Drilling on Federal Land
The Biden administration is working on modernizing the country’s oil and gas leasing program. Companies that want to drill on public lands will have to pay higher fees and will have to meet stricter requirements on where they can operate, according to a rule proposed by Department of the Interior onThursday.Why Banning TikTok Won’t Protect Our PrivacySince 1960, the price of lease bonds has been $10,000. The new rule proposes an increase of the minimum lease bond to $150,000, and the minimum statewide bond to $500,000.…
Oil and Gas Production Causes 7,500 Premature Deaths Per Year
Just because a fuel source may emit less CO2 when it’s used doesn’t mean that there aren’t adverse impacts along its entire life cycle. Air pollution from the production of fossil fuels is responsible for $77 billion in health damages across the U.S. and causes tens of thousands of adverse health impacts each year, a new study published Monday in Environmental Research: Health has found.Making Paint Cool in the Face of HeatBefore the intense fracking boom of the 2010s, natural gas enjoyed a reputation as a “bridge fuel”:…
Banks With ‘Net-Zero’ Pledges Are Top Funders of Fossil Fuels
This story was originally published by Grist. Sign up for Grist’s weekly newsletter here.A Transformer Is Headed to the MoonFossil fuel projects require money — and that money is coming from the world’s top private banks, including many with net-zero climate pledges. That’s according to a new report from the Rainforest Action Network, which looked at the major financial institutions funding oil and gas infrastructure since the 2015 Paris Agreement.“Banks and financial institutions need to be held accountable for their…