The winning projects of a global competition for innovative carbon-free and resilient urban projects were announced in Oslo and sent to us by C40 CITIES. Have a look.
Carbon dioxide emissions stemming from fossil fuel use in the European Union rose by around 1.8% in 2017 as compared to 2016, according to the most recent estimates from Eurostat. Despite fossil fuel derived carbon dioxide emissions as a whole rising in the European Union during 2017, the split across countries was by no means
Europe has voted to ban three of the most common pesticides which are believed to affect bees. It is also searching for ways to increase the use of recyclable plastics to 50% by 2030.
Rachel Carson’s influential book Silent Spring, which documented the effects of the indiscriminate widespread use of pesticides on the environment, was published back in 1962, nearly 60 years ago now. Since that time, the book has often been cited as one of the drivers behind environmental action and regulation of various kinds. Following the release,
A Switzerland-based consumer protection group has filed a new lawsuit against Volkswagen on behalf of 6,000 owners of diesel cars manufactured by the company in relation to the “Dieselgate” emissions scandal. The organization, SKS, isn’t actually just seeking damages from Volkswagen, it should be noted, but also from the Swiss car dealer AMAG, reportedly. Also
Two major drought indices in Europe are deviating from each other in a way that’s consistent with many climate change simulations — further gaining ground in the march towards the attribution of major events like droughts to climate change — according to a new study published in the journal Scientific Reports. Image via NOAA/Earth System
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
Tidal energy doesn’t get a lot of press, but this story is about a huge tidal energy farm — the world’s largest stream tidal energy farm when it is completed. In January, construction of a 400 MW tidal energy project will begin in northeast Scotland. Yes, you read that correctly, 400 MW or enough to
Remember the difference between weather and climate? We know what happens when the weather changes—it’s obvious. Climate is another story. Read on. When it rains, you put on a raincoat or take your umbrella when you go out. It snows: time for high boots, a heavier coat, scarf, and warm gloves. And sunny days, well,
Weather and climate are similar but different. For the most part, they are very distinct phenomena. Below, we talk about the weather first, and then delve into the climate. Weather We measure what’s going on in our atmosphere over a short period of time—usually in a particular place on a particular day—by assessing the weather. Could be
I recently had the chance to interview Sungevity CEO Andrew Birch, which was a great privilege and honor given Sungevity’s longtime and ongoing leadership in the solar industry. Obviously, I think you should read my full CleanTechnica article on that interview. However, right after writing that up I also saw a good interview with Birch on Bloomberg
Originally published on Eat Drink Better. By Jill Ettinger Long-time vegans would say it’s about time. And the wait is almost over for a store that only sells vegan food. That’s right. A vegan supermarket is coming to the U.S. But not until 2016. Called (ahem) “Veganz”, the German-based market opened in 2011 and is
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
This was reported by Elon Musk on Tesla’s last financial call, but it seems to have slipped under the radar. Reuters recently ran a short article on the news, which made me think I should as well. As Tesla moves into the European and Chinese markets more, the company is expecting to see about twice
Though we try to keep a very positive focus here, PlanetSave isn’t just a blog about the wonders of the natural world and the glory of Mankind’s inventions. It also offers knowledge and a caution about our failures as individuals and as a species. We’ve all made mistakes before, big and small. By acknowledging anthropogenic
Originally published on Solar Love. Generally speaking, I don’t think solar-powered cars are very practical. They are fun and do highlight how far we’ve come. They may help to advance certain electric car technologies and designs. However, except for certain niche situations (like a hospital car for rural Zimbabwe), they have serious limitations. For one,
No matter what niche your profession sees you in, and what other roles you fill as a human living on Earth, our only home in this vast universe, the “green” trend is one that is well-worth paying close attention to. Helping to shape our business practices, and leading to a more Earth-friendly approach to the
WWF has released a briefing paper on post-2020 renewable energy targets. The EU has had some of the most aggressive renewable energy and energy efficiency policies and programs for over two decades now. However, its fuel imports have still risen considerably. Already-established renewable energy and energy efficiency leadership will help the EU to curtail that
Global wind energy increased by nearly 20% in 2012, helping to boost maximum worldwide capacity to 282 gigawatts (GW), according to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC). Leading countries helping to increase global wind capacity included the United States and China, who were neck and neck in annual installations. Each country installed around 13 GW
The circulation of water through the Atlantic Ocean during the last Ice Age was faster than previously assumed, and stronger than it currently is today, according to new research led by environmental physicists at Heidelberg University, Germany. The “Atlantic heat pump” sees warm water from the Gulf of Mexico transported north and west where it
Scientists of the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences have compiled for the first time a harmonised catalogue of earthquakes for Europe and the Mediterranean region, going back a thousand years, and consisting of approximately 45,000 earthquakes. Such a database provides governments and aid organisations reliable information for risk assessment of earthquakes and quake generated tsunamis,
Over the course of the year, the global wind energy market has seen massive growth of around 20.6%, according to a report by GlobalData. Whilst the growth of major wind power markets in places such as the US, Spain, France, and India are expected to slow down in coming years, it seems likely that emerging
ExxonMobil either slipped up big time recently by not reporting approximately 30,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from its Scottish Fife Ethylene Plant. As a result, the oil giant has been hit with a record €3.3-million fine (€3,296,600 to be exact). The fine came from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) “An Exxon spokesman told BusinessGreen the under-reported emissions accounted
An EU analysis says achieving its emissions reduction targets will cost less than expected, create billions in benefits.
News: Keeping chickens in battery cages and selling their eggs is now illegal in Europe. “On the first day of 2012, keeping hens in such cages became illegal, in all 27 countries of the European Union,” the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reports. “Hens can still be kept in cages, but they must have more
The wide open sky is both an image and a phrase often used to represent freedom, happiness, and a whole host of other positive things. Unfortunately for most of us, we spend the majority of our time under a ceiling instead of under the sky. (Of course, during inclement weather, I’d call that more
Previous studies of plant and animal migrations have offered indications that something — perhaps rising temperatures — was driving species northward and/or to higher altitudes. But these studies were isolated and doubts remained as to the true trigger of these movements and migrations. But now comes evidence from the largest-scale analysis to date that such northward, migratory expansions and accelerating movements up-slope are largely attributable to warming and climate change. The ecological impacts of these shifts are unknown at present.
In the midst of the ongoing nuclear crisis in Japan, it has been interesting to see how the world’s leading countries and politicians are responding. If I had even an ounce of hope that Republicans could come around on energy policy in the face of this catastrophe, I think I completely lost it this week.
Some of the top climate change and environmental stories of the last day or so: Climate Science Graph of the Day: Greenland Ice Sheet Mass Changes Good info and graphs on the page above, but thought I’d share the 3 videos from the post here for you to check out just in case you don’t feel
Other than all the big news we wrote about last week (click on our Global Warming or Science categories above), here are a number of climate science stories I thought were worth sharing: Climate Science Human Impact of Climate Change While many might think that environmentalists only want to protect the environment for its own
If you ask environmentally-minded people or typical liberals/progressives about what sort of energy we should be using and what energy technologies our governments should be promoting, you are sure to see a lot of support for renewable energy like solar and wind, as well as the components that make those options more viable, like large
As I’ve covered on here twice recently, while it may be colder in parts of the U.S. and Europe, it is drastically warmer in the Arctic. In fact, the warming in the Arctic is likely causing the cooling in these regions. As I discussed before, think of it like this: if you open your refrigerator
I had a piece just last week on this topic, a more science-based piece explaining why it might make sense that the Northeast US and Europe are so much colder than the rest of the world right now. I decided to continue on with that a little bit, but having more fun… First of all,
Well, before we get into the details, look very quickly at two key words in the title — ‘Europe’ and ‘Global” (hint, hint). As I just reported earlier today, November was the hottest November on record. However, as I know (I live here), it’s been pretty cold in Europe lately. To a lot of people,
After streaming through and contaminating smaller rivers and streams, toxic sludge from a Hungarian factory has now reached the Danube River. The Danube is Europe’s second-largest river and experts from the European Union (EU) fear that if the toxic red sludge contaminates the Danube it could affect half a dozen nations. The toxic sludge is
The latest Earth Policy Institute news release by Lester R. Brown discusses the issue of appliance efficiency, with information on this issue from countries around the world. Lester R. Brown There are enormous opportunities to use energy more efficiently. Investing in energy efficiency is often far cheaper than expanding the energy supply to meet growing
Greenpeace recently found genetically engineered maize from Monsanto, MON810, illegally growing in Italy. Now, activists from Italy, Austria, Germany and Hungary are quarantining this GE maize. “Greenpeace has taken action today to prevent any further contamination from these hazardous and illegal GE crops,” said Federica Ferrario, Greenpeace Italy Agriculture campaigner. “For days these crops will
A top member of the European Commission has said that European countries should freeze new deep water drilling until the causes behind the Gulf of Mexico oil spill are investigated. EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said in prepared remarks he was to deliver to the European Parliament in Strasbourg that there should be a complete
Europe’s total electricity consumption in 2009 saw almost 20 percent come from renewable energy sources. The Renewable Energy Snapshots report published Monday by the European Commission’s Join Research Centre showed that about 19.9% of Europe’s total electricity consumption came from renewable sources, which equals some 608 TWh out of a total of 3042 TWh required
Climate change is at risk of damaging the unpredictable mountainous regions according to a new study. [social_buttons]Each year we are learning more and more about our climate and the affect that we are having on it. A new study from the University of Exeter and Austrian researchers has analysed the effects of two extreme weather
The sun is coming out. And Europe isn’t waiting any longer. Some of the biggest businesses in Europe are ready to invest in the largest solar energy project in the world. They are looking to create a “solar energy belt” in the Middle East and North Africa. How will the energy get to
Greenpeace planted a tracking device in an old TV, dropped it off at a recycling center, and tracked where it went. The results were disturbing, but sadly predicable. [social_buttons] The television ended up being shipped from the UK to Nigeria before being dismantled, a complete violation of European Union laws which require that potentially hazardous
Sixty Greenpeace activists in Spain covered the controversial Hotel Algarrobico with 190,000 square-feet of green fabric in an attempt to “rub out” the partially-built structure. [social_buttons] Greenpeace has won multiple court victories against the developer of the hotel, leaving it unofficially condemned since 2006. It was originally targeted because of its protected location along the
A growing group of environmental activists are taking advantage of emergency power shut-off switches found on the exteriors of businesses throughout France; toting broomsticks, they wander the streets at night to find businesses with neon lights still blazing in the window despite being closed, and simply reach or climb up to switch the power off.[social_buttons]
The movie The Day After Tomorrow saw the planet globally affected by the cessation of the ocean conveyor belt, or, more precisely known as the thermohaline circulation (THC). The northern hemisphere suffered massive drops in temperature, rises in sea level and a variety of other climate conditions. Putting aside the fantastical nature of the speed
Venture capital investments in clean technology reached an impressive $5.18 billion last year in North America and Europe. North American-based companies received three times the investments of the European-based companies. Not surprisingly, energy generation was responsible for $2.75 billion in investments, with solar energy shining. “In 2007, solar emerged as a significant investment theme, and
