By Andy Boenau, Fast Company It’s been guiding road design for decades—and it never measured what really matters. [Source Image: gremlin/Getty Images] If you want to understand how even modern American cities became hostile to human life, don’t start with the political conspiracies; look at the way city planners and road engineers calculate success. …
Senate Republicans are about to pass a bill that will destroy the climate and spike your energy bills
By Heather Clark, Fast Company Curbing climate change is within reach. It’s not too late to take action. [Source Image: artpartner-images/iStock/Getty Images Plus As record heat waves hit much of the U.S., the Senate is about to pass a bill that will decimate clean energy—and take away our best shot …
Harmful algal blooms: How climate change will affect their frequency along coasts
Phys.Org Algae in the ocean can pose a significant risk to humans, marine life, and the seafood industry. Under favorable conditions for algae growth, certain algae species can multiply rapidly, a phenomenon known as algal blooms. Although algae always release small amounts of toxins, a massive increase in algae numbers …
Global Climate Talks Resumed This Week in Germany, For the First Time in 30 Years Without the United States
By Bob Berwyn, Inside Climate News At a Bonn conference on climate, some participants say there’s a chance to make progress with the world’s biggest economy, America, no longer in the room. Delegates gather at the World Conference Center for a U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change meeting. For the …
This stratospheric airship is 65,000 feet above Earth and investigating which gas companies are leaking methane
By Adele Peters, Fast Company ‘If we work with an oil company, we can say, Hey, well number 62 has been leaking 68 kilos of methane per hour for the last 12 minutes.” [Photo: Sceye] Inside an airplane hangar in Roswell, New Mexico, a massive blimp-like airship—214 feet long—is getting …
Illinois must protect the Great Lakes from invasive carp. A toxic mess stands in the way.
By Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco, Grist Only 40 miles separate voracious Asian carp from the world’s largest freshwater ecosystem. To stop them, Illinois must reckon with its legacy of coal ash pollution. Benjamin Lowy / Getty Images Last week, Illinois officials took possession of a 50-acre stretch of riverbed in Chicago’s shipping …
The Supreme Court just blew up a major environmental law
By Lisa Sorg, Grist A unanimous decision will allow a controversial Utah oil project to go forward, while easing climate review standards for future major energy projects. A crude oil shipping terminal near Wellington, Utah. Jon G. Fuller / VW Pics / Universal Images Group via Getty Images The U.S. Supreme …
The weird way that penguin poop might be cooling Antarctica
By Matt Simon, Grist Scientists find that ammonia wafting from all that guano kicks off an atmospheric chain reaction. Matthew Boyer In December 2022, Matthew Boyer hopped on an Argentine military plane to one of the more remote habitations on Earth: Marambio Station at the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, …
Helping birds and floating solar energy coexist
Phys.Org A Great Egret rests atop an floating solar project. Credit: Rebecca R. Hernandez, UC Davis From a small California winery to a large-scale energy project in China, floating photovoltaics—or “floatovoltaics”—are gaining in popularity. Commonly installed over artificial water bodies, from irrigation ponds and reservoirs to wastewater treatment plants, floating …
Trump administration to stop US research on space pollution, in boon to Elon Musk
By Tom Perkins, The Guardian SpaceX and Starlink owner may benefit from Trump cuts to projects that could have led to regulations and costs. An artist’s impression of an approximate 12,000 objects in orbit around Earth. Photograph: ESA/AFP/Getty Images The Trump administration is poised to kill federal research into pollution from satellites and …