Renewables good, fossil fuels bad... unless, of course, renewables begin to take up more and more land in order to meet our energy needs. Paul Kingsnorth adds fuel to a tricky debate.
… | 1st April 2008 News Renewables Nimby Wind Solar Biofuels Land Use Equity Climate Change Dams Tidal Solar Wind Climate Change Climate Change Natural … yet fully have grasped. The battle is over a wind farm – potentially the world’s biggest – …
Climate change shows its true face in extreme events, writes Kerry Emanuel: the storm surge with a 12 inch head start thanks to rising sea levels, propelled by a wind that's 20 mph faster, dropping an extra inch of rain beyond the 'normal' storm. Hurricane Katrina and Typhoon Haiyan are sending us a clear message: the world must get ready for bigger and badder, fast.
… thanks to rising sea levels, propelled by a wind that's 20 mph faster, dropping an extra … the statistics of the storms, such as top wind speed, themselves remain stable. Storm … the same thing as tsunamis but driven by wind and atmospheric pressure rather than the …
Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond faces criticism over his decision to allow offshore oil drilling at the same time as pledging Scotland could achieve 100 per cent renewable energy by 2025
… Change Renewables Oil Energy Natural World windturbinesoffshore.jpg Scotland is on target … for electricity by 2050 through offshore wind and tidal power. However, green … READ MORE... NEWS ANALYSIS Offshore wind: can we afford it? High costs of offshore …
Mainstream climatologists predict a 15% fall in rainfall over the Amazon if it is stripped of its rainforest. But the 'biotic pump' theory, rooted in conventional physics and recently confirmed by experiment, shows that the interior of a forest-free Amazon will be as dry as the Negev desert. We must save the Amazon before it enters a permanent and irreversible dessication.
… Convergence Zone and the Atlantic Trade Winds. How can that possibly be when the coast … vacuum, and hence the idea that the trade winds, skimming over the surface of the … have been adamant that the surface winds will keep blowing with the same general …
Two critical markets are pursuing a stressed planet’s renewable resources, presenting policymakers with complex and difficult choices. The Worldwatch Institute’s latest look at Earth’s “vital signs” sees dangerous times ahead as the “sustainability crisis” unfolds. China Dialogue's Maryann Bird investigates
… use is up (as is, more encouragingly, wind and solar power), while carbon emissions … the encouraging signs was the growing use of wind power, spurred by concerns about climate … energy security. Outside of Europe – where wind capacity rose 19% last year -- Asia …
Stuck for ideas when you're stuck with the kids? Here are five outdoor activities from the Wildlife Trusts' new book '152 Wild Things to do'
… Kite flying is an excuse to get thoroughly windswept and to lose yourself watching clouds … shape-shift across the sky. Wait for the wind to pick up, then walk to the top of the … good gust and then launch your kite into the wind. Feel immense pride as it glides through …
As the UK Prime Minister welcomes the recommendations of his science advisors to 'go it alone' in Europe and embrace GMO crops, Pat Thomas wonders - whatever happened to the Precautionary Principle?
… GMOs - Throwing precaution to the wind Pat Thomas | 15th March 2014 Comment EU …
The first ever global life-cycle assessment of clean energy sources shows that a renewable system could supply the world's entire electricity needs by mid-century, writes Tim Radford.
… copper than conventional power plants, and wind power uses up to 14 times more iron, the … consider the whole-life costs of solar power, wind power, hydropower and gas and coal … that the large-scale implementation of wind, [solar] PV, and CSP [Concentrated Solar …
For the second year running CO2 emissions flatlined even as the global economy was growing at around 3%, writes Alex Kirby. But sharply rising temperatures show the need for further massive renewable energy deployment to actually bring emissions down.
… 90% of new electricity generation in 2015; wind alone produced more than half of new … of new electricity generation in 2015. And wind alone produced more than half of new … jumped from 19% to 28%, with hydro and wind accounting for most of the increase. But …
The world's smart money is piling into renewable energy, solar power in particular, write Tim Radford & Oliver Tickell, as renewables pull away from fossil fuels in terms of both investment and new generation capacity added each year.
… is piling into renewable sources such as wind and solar power. The United Nations … of all 158 nuclear power reactors in the US. Wind, solar, biomass, waste-to-power, … the buildout of coal and gas." The price of wind and solar power continues to plummet, and …
Radiation can be carried long distances by marine currents, concentrated in sediments, and carried in sea spray 16km or more inland, writes Tim Deere-Jones. So Fukushima poses a hazard to coastal populations and any who eat produce from their farms. So what are the Japanese Government and IAEA doing? Ignoring the problem, and failing to gather data.
… discharges, and facing prevailing onshore winds. UK research shows that such mechanisms … Where such environments are open to strong wind and wave action, sea to land transfer of … nuclides during periods of strong onshore wind and enhanced wave activity. Prolonged …
Forest fires raging near the abandoned Chernobyl nuclear disaster site in north Ukraine are releasing a surge of airborne plutonium particles as radioactive twigs, branches and leaf litter burn.
… Treetop flames and strong gusts of wind have created a real danger of the fire … The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind Ecologist Dmitry Shevchenko from …
The biggest and most indiscriminate killers of wildlife on the planet, commercial fishing fleets have brought us to the edge of a maritime ecological disaster, with fish stocks facing extinction all around the world.
… is the beauty. Along the peninsula, the road winds through fishing settlements known as … maples and yellow birch glow against the wind-stunted fir and spruce. Seawards, in the … tell you that the Bonavista peninsula is windy all year but never gets particularly hot …
The giant waves that hit Cornwall's coast this weekend form part of a long term trend, writes Tim Radford. Extreme weather linked to global warming is leading to more violent and more frequent storms devastating beaches, ports, infrastructure and coastal communities on Europe's exposed Atlantic coastlines.
… England was lashed yesterday by strong winds and giant waves, with Cornwall taking the brunt of the fierce weather. Huge winds swept in over coastal town seafronts, …
Scientists mapping the effects of deforestation in the Amazon are increasingly concerned that we are reaching a tipping point – when the forest will start to die back of its own accord and rain, currently generated by the Amazon forests, will stop falling, not just in neighbouring countries but as far afield as the United States and South Africa.
… brought in from across the Atlantic. Trade winds that sweep close to the surface of the … process. When passing over the warm ocean the winds pick up massive quantities of water … being drawn across the Atlantic in the trade winds, and so the cycle is complete. Every …
Who are we? We are the people who are ready to fight back, writes Derrick Jensen. The people who no longer live in hope that the Earth will be saved, but in the certainty that we will save her. We are activists, survivors, lovers and fighters. And we say: the destruction will stop.
… the shark. We speak for the soil, for the wind, for the snow, for the ice caps. We speak … voices that are no more and no less than the wind moving in and out of our bodies, over our …
To find out about habitats, species and ecosystems are faring, don't just look, writes Ella Browning. Listen! Many species are hard to see, but have distinct auditory signatures, and advances in electronics suggest a future of landscapes 'wired for sound' feeding data streams for ecological analysis, not to mention detecting criminal activities from 'black' fishing to illegal logging and hunting.
… prey or even just find their way around. Wind whistles, rain hammers and streams … natural but non-biological sounds like rain wind and waves (geophony). Humans often don't …
A low carbon Britain rests on the electrification of our energy supply. But new research by the University of Surrey has highlighted the challenges facing government, market and civil society-led pathways to reducing emissions
… rapidly through renewables (largely offshore wind), newbuild nuclear and possibly carbon … electricity surpluses –arising from high wind power generation happening to occur at …
Fed up with rainy summers? Blame global warming, and specifically, the melting Arctic. But for the future, nothing is certain.
… stream . Jet streams are currents of strong winds, around 10km up in the atmosphere. Generally these winds blow from west to east, carrying weather …
Sooner than it takes to build a nuclear power station, lithium-air batteries could be helping wind and solar to make coal, oil and nuclear obsolete, say Cambridge scientists. Five times lighter and five times cheaper than current lithium batteries, Li-air would open the way to our 100% renewable future.
… lithium-air batteries could be helping wind and solar to make coal, oil and nuclear … at $60-140. With ever-falling costs for wind and solar generation (solar is already …
Thanks to the efforts of local residents, Ennerdale has been restored to its natural glory. Matilda Lee takes up the villagers' inspiring tale
… streetlights makes a night drive through the winding mountainous roads to Cumbria’s Low … own definition of wild from unpredictable wind, to the wandering sheep to the bits of …
Next week the indigenous peoples of the Yukon challenge their Government in the Territory's Supreme Court, writes Jill Pangman. At issue, its plans to open the Peel watershed, a vast unspoilt ecosystem rich in wildlife and cultural meaning, for industrial development.
… in the translucent shallow waters of the Wind River. A great arc of limestone peaks … outfitter in the Bonnet Plume, Snake and Wind River drainages since the 1960's, and has …
An ancient grassland SSSI at Rampisham could be saved following a government decision to put an 'hold' notice on the West Dorset Council's planning consent for a huge solar farm, writes Martin Harper. Now Eric Pickles must 'call in' the case to a public inquiry, or set a truly dreadful precedent for our most precious nature sites.
… from the exposed nature of the site, open to wind, rain and the fierce summer sun. The … that this decision needed challenge. As with wind farms the RSPB is in principle supportive … of renewable energy developments. But as with wind farms our line is simple - they must be …
Want to mix a little conservation with your holiday? Volunteering on Skomer Island, a haven for seabirds and nature lovers, is a rewarding experience says Eifion Rees
… of Jack Sound can be choppy, with northerly winds and bad weather meaning cancelled … against the island's rocky shores and the wind is a constant presence, the towering …