ecology
Global Carbon Emissions Set to Rise for First Time in Four Years
After years of flat growth, global carbon dioxide emissions are set to rise again in 2017 to hit a record high, according to new data that seriously threatens international efforts to avert dangerous global warming. The Global Carbon Project’s 12th…
Germany Could Shutter 20 Oldest Brown Coal Plants Without Creating Energy Shortages
Following the most recent election, German chancellor Angela Merkel is faced with the task of forming a coalition government involving the CDU/CSU alliance, the pro-business FDP, and the environmentalist Green Party. The alliance has been dubbed the Jamaica Coalition, because…
Air Pollution Responsible For More Than 10.7 Million Kidney Disease Cases A Year, Analysis Shows
Exposure to particulate matter air pollution is responsible for more than 10.7 million cases of the development of chronic kidney disease per year, according to a new study led by Benjamin Bowe, MPH, of Clinical Epidemiology Center at the VA…
Reports: Syria to Sign Paris Agreement, Further Isolating US
The US looks set to become the only country outside the Paris Agreement, after Syria reportedly signalled it would ratify the international climate change accord. The New York Times reported today that a member of the war-torn country’s delegation at…
Scientists: Strategic Crop Growth Based on Climate Change Could Feed 825 Million More
Scientists in the U.S. and Italy have worked out a strategy to feed an extra 825 million people—by rearranging where crops are grown. Their new menu for the global table could serve up 10 percent more calories and 19 percent…
Report: 1/4 of World’s Oil Refineries Face Closure by 2035 if Greenhouse Gas Emissions Targets Are Met
Roughly a quarter of the world’s oil refineries face closure by 2035 if governments around the world manage to actually meet their current greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets, according to a new report from the think tank Carbon Tracker, the…
Portugal Aiming to Introduce “Free Zones” for Self-Driving Vehicles & Drones
The government of Portugal is now planning to introduce “free zones” in certain parts of the country where self-driving vehicle and drone tech can be deployed and tested more easily through the use of special regulations and investment incentives, Portugal’s…