Most of us do not spend our waking hours reading the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States. Certainly no one in the #FakeTrump administration does, as they are too busy lining their own pockets at public expense and practicing the art of self aggrandizement. But if we did, we might
South Africa is facing a crossroads for electric power generation. Should it go with renewables or nuclear power? The decision could affect other contries on the continent.
While using the word fishing is perhaps a bit misleading (though some chimpanzees and orangutans do apparently go fishing with their hands sometimes), new research has found that a population of wild chimpanzees in Bakoun, Guinea regularly go fishing for algae during the dry season using sticks. Sometimes these sticks used are very long, up
Palestine has licensed its first solar power plant in West Bank. According to pv-tech and Saur Energy International, the 5.7MW solar PV project represents the first utility-scale solar electricity project to get a license in Palestine. The Palestine Energy Ministry has granted licensing and permits for its first large-scale solar power plant near the city of
According to the Global Off-Grid Lighting Association (GOGLA), poor households in Asia and Africa saved some $3.4 billion based on the rapid uptake of solar lighting. GOGLA has released its Social Impact Report, which addresses a significant increase in solar lighting products in off-grid locales. The impact of having such lighting solutions available is viewed as “more
Home Energy Africa, which specializes in the development and sales of renewable energy products for businesses, governments, and residential homes in Africa, has obtained a $705,000 grant from the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) for the development of a solar PV power generation project in Ghana. Projected to begin construction in 2017, ESI Africa
Hip hop artist Akon is using his Akon Lighting Africa program to bring distributed, renewable solar power to more than 600,000 people across Africa.
Originally published on EdenKeeper.org A new IRENA report provides a 5-year plan for using Djibouti’s abundant renewable energy sources to solve the nation’s serious concerns regarding rising energy demand, limited energy security, and rampant unemployment. Astonishingly, IRENA claims that by 2020, 100% of Djibouti’s energy demand can be met through renewables. The economic renaissance that
Using a unique business model to sell solar lights in rural African off-grid communities, SolarAid aims to eradicate the dangerous and toxic kerosene lamp from Africa by 2020. Working in Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, and Uganda, the lives of over 10 million people in Africa are being improved through solar technology. Announcing another record-breaking year,
With the population of the critically endangered black rhino only around 5,000, why did the U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service (US FWS) recently issue sport-hunting permits to kill two black rhinos in Namibia? The permits, which cost hundreds of thousands of dollars each, will allow two wealthy American sport hunters to import their black
West Africa may even reach 1,000 deaths from Ebola this weekend. That’s just a guess, but not a bad guess, considering the Olympic record of this hemorrhagic virus. At the beginning of July nearly 500 people had died from the disease; two weeks later, the numbers had increased by 20%,; and the most recent confirmed figure,
A young boy from Africa once said, “You people from America have so much clean water that you flush drinking water down the toilet”. The young boy later explained that he usually misses school because he must walk 3 hours to collect drinking water for his family. So why is it that we Americans use more water
To “make a difference,” a life and death difference in the lives of children is the highest value of human service. Listening to Sister Nyirumbe, I immediately understand a truth — there is no other experience that empowers or allows such fierce fearlessness and emanating joy as the joy one owns who connects to the
We’re trying to get more solar energy stories going here on Planetsave. To catch readers up, I’m doing a short series on the top 50 solar energy stories of 2013 so far. Learning from the Top 33 EV Stories article I recently published, I’m splitting this one into 5 posts. Otherwise, the page would take
One of the most unique large-scale international climate change projects is underway in Africa. A 4,000 mile “wall of trees” is being constructed across the east-west axis of the continent as a defense against rapid, expanding desertification of the Sahara. 11 nations — Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Djibouti
The skull fragments were discovered amongst the scorching sands of the Djurab Desert in Chad, Africa, in 2002. At that time, the anthropologists who discovered ‘Toumai’ (as the fossil hominin was dubbed) were already claiming it as a human ancestor — possibly the oldest ever found at roughly 7 million years old. This date is
In a recent interview, Representative Paul Broun, a Republican from Georgia, said he has eaten lion meat. Several years ago he traveled to Zimbabwe and shot a lion to death. Not wanting to waste anything, he said he ate the meat. He has shot and killed other animals as well, including a warthog, which he
Did you know that World Pangolin Day is celebrated on the third Saturday in February? This year, the special day falls on February 16th — so be sure to mark your calendar if you haven’t already done so! World Pangolin Day is an opportunity for pangolin enthusiasts to join together in raising awareness about these
New research from Penn State and Rutgers University has reshaped the idea of what drove human evolution 2 million years ago, pointing the finger at a series of rapid environmental changes in East Africa rather than one single environmental change. “The landscape early humans were inhabiting transitioned rapidly back and forth between a closed
Socioeconimic, political and geographic factors play a much more substantial role in human conflict across the East of Africa than climate does, according to a new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder. “The effects of climate variability on conflict risk is different in different countries,” said CU-Boulder geography Professor John O’Loughlin. “Typically conflicts
On September 22nd, the third annual World Rhino Day was celebrated, with over a dozen countries participating this year. World Rhino Day brought NGOs, zoos, rhino sanctuaries, and concerned citizens across the globe together to raise awareness and funds for the five species of rhinoceros — all of which are under threat from the
It is not news that climate change is having a devastating impact on African communities, causing droughts, floods, and any number of other sorts of disasters. These climatic interruptions are also having a trickle down impact on social and other aspects of Africa society. Now, a group of researchers with the Climate Change and African
For the last 40 years, Earth Day has been celebrated around the world to call attention to some of our most pressing environmental and social problems, including climate change, biodiversity loss, and dwindling natural resources. This year, the Worldwatch Institute’s Nourishing the Planet (www.NourishingthePlanet.org) highlights 15 agricultural innovations that are already working on the
A new study shows that tropical vegetation contains 21 percent more carbon dioxide than previous similar studies had suggested.The study produced maps of carbon storage of forest, shrub lands, and savannas in the tropics of Africa, Asia and South America. Published in the journal Nature Climate Change, the study was conducted by scientists from Woods
Oceanographers from across the world have identified a series of ocean hotspots that have been generated by strengthening wind systems across the planet that are successfully pushing oceanic current polewards, well beyond their known boundaries. The hotspots – locations where the temperature has increased outside of expected norms – have formed alongside ocean currents that
Africa has never been a quiet continent, often the centre of attention for all the wrong reasons; wars, famine, drought, poverty, AIDS, to name just a few. Now, according to new research, climate change has the ability to cause Africa further harm by altering the water flows in many of the major river basins throughout
NASA has released a series of video and still visualisations that show a decade’s worth of fires across the surface of Earth based on data gathered by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, or MODIS, instruments on board NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites.
Tipping points are always a hotbed issue in climate science, but in a new study it has been found that a region with tropical tree cover will jump quickly between a forested state to a savannah or treeless state.
Captured on the 8th of September by the European Space Agency’s Envisat Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) are the Canary Islands, at the bottom of this image, off the west coast of Africa.
Researchers from Boston University have estimated the effects near-term increases in global average temperatures will have on summertime temperatures across the globe, based on current warming trends and a desire to minimise overall warming to 2°C.
This beautiful image shows southern Namibia and northern South Africa on Africa’s lower-west coast thanks to the European Space Agency’s Envisat satellite.
Throughout the world many areas are facing severe droughts. It is a growing problem that most likely will get worse over the next century. One of the worst hit areas at the present moment is in the Horn of Africa. Drinkable water is becoming harder to come by, as they face a severe drought with little to no hope in sight.
A beautiful image taken in White River, Mpumalanga, South Africa, that I found while trundling through Flickr.
This week’s Round Up takes a look at a couple of great initiatives in Nepal and Zimbabwe – plus, India welcomes some very special new arrivals! Meanwhile, South Africa’s (alleged) rhino horn syndicate kingpin Groenewald remains under the public’s microscope.
This week, Namibia checks out a suspicious incident, Swaziland receives a heartbreaking update, and a woman in Vietnam becomes ill after ingesting rhino horn.
Today’s photo is another astronaut photograph on June 2, 2011, by the crew of the International Space Station, showing the entire Okavango “delta” in Botswana.
The World Meteorological Organisation, the weather agency of the United Nations, has announced that the current La Niña episode looks to be coming to an end.
Above average rainfall has been falling in many parts of the sub-Saharan African region since 2010, including countries like Angola, Namibia, Tanzania, Cameroon, Congo, and Madagascar.
Delonix regia is an awesome tree that look like it’s burning. In Spanish it’s called “Flamboyán” — that seems to really fit it. Flamboyan is a breathtaking tree worth looking at for hours! There’s nothing what will explain the beauty of that tree to you — just look at it!
Can you imagine wanting a drink of water or wanting to wash your dishes or clothes, but not having the water to do it? One in six people worldwide lack access to clean water, what if that one was you?
Imagine a huge, blue body of water, white sandy beaches, waves crashing onshore and kids playing in the sand. You might be tempted to think of an ocean scene, but I’m talking about a typical July day on any of the Great Lakes. Sans the salty smell and the abundant sea life, the Great Lakes support
With scientists unsure as to the endgame of the current climate change affecting our planet, one big question is always on peoples’ lips; how severe can climate change get? According to the results of a study published in the latest edition of the journal Science, the answer is not good. An international team of scientists
This looks like a sweet game. I’m pretty sure if this came out when I was a kid (or if I had the time to play computer games now), I would be into this. It looks fun, informative, addictive, and seems to have been created by some top-notch computer game developers… Here’s more info on
It won’t come as a big surprise, but La Niña – or “the girl” in Spanish – is to blame for recent extreme weather events that have taken place in Africa and Australia. Scientists at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI), part of Columbia University’s Earth Institute, expect “moderate-to-strong” La Niña conditions
Chimps, the more I learn about them, the more I want to learn. A recent story on BBC covers how some wild chimps have been documented intentionally setting off snare traps so as to not be caught by them. While people all over Africa lay such snare traps to catch bushmeat, it hasn’t taken some
New research published in a recent issue of the journal PLoS ONE has found that a proposal by the Tanzanian government to build a highway through the Serengeti National Park would devastate one of the world’s last large-scale herd migrations as well as the region’s ecosystem. The researchers studied the effects of the proposal by
The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Valerie Amos, has wrapped up a visit to Kenya and Somalia, again voicing concern that attention needs to be focused on the recurring droughts that have deprived millions of citizens in the two African nations of their livelihoods. “In the past three days, I
Rhinos are facing extremely tough times as highly technical and interconnected poachers have increased their slaughter rates and have been taking down nearly one a day lately in South Africa. In 2010, 333 rhinos were illegally killed in South Africa. This is a record and is almost triple the number that were poached in 2009,
