If nuclear power has a future, it will likely be small, modular and water cooled, according to an expert with global credentials in nuclear research. “There are plenty of technologies now—50 different models around the world. Once one of them gets into a financially viable equation, that will capture the entire market,” said Alfredo Caro, [...]
January 2023
The number and range of mosquitoes has boomed across North America in recent years, and with it, the number and range of mosquito-borne diseases. Ticks and fleas are following their lead. “Between the period of 2004 to 2016, the number of diseases caused by these insects— mosquitoes, ticks and fleas—has nearly tripled during this time [...]
It was supposed to be a dirty autumn and winter, with European nations scrambling to replace Russian gas with high-polluting coal. But according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, the cold seasons so far have been the cleanest in more than 30 years. “There were widespread expectations that the fossil fuel [...]
On Dec. 19, the governments of 196 countries agreed to set aside 30 percent of the earth for wildlife, to slash subsidies to harmful industries, and to cut food waste in half, all in an effort to halt and reverse the collapse of the earth’s biodiversity. But science has shown that government efforts need individuals [...]
A Biden Administration effort to curb methane emissions on federal lands relies on a single phrase in the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 that may give the administration little leverage with the courts. The Administration is taking comments now on a proposed rule that would limit how much methane drilling companies can leak, vent, or [...]
A venerable energy-storage technology is getting a new lease on life thanks to a clever redesign and an agreement between the power industry and environmentalists. “Pumped storage is getting a second look. The sleeping giant is waking up for several reasons,” said Dan Reicher, a senior research scholar at Stanford University and a former U.S. [...]
Scientists have three main theories for the persistent decline in the numbers of monarch butterflies: • loss of their food supply to the herbicide glyphosate, • hazards along their four-generation-long migration from the Midwest and Canada to the mountains of Mexico, or • effects of climate change. “We accept that there’s probably some combination of [...]
A company soon to settle in West Virginia has developed a battery that offers four days of full discharge using some of the cheapest, most available elements on earth. “They are now building and will soon deliver a next generation battery. It’s based on iron, water and oxygen. You couldn’t imagine a simpler supply chain,” [...]
The U.S. has half the technology it needs to decarbonize its power and transportation sectors by 2050, according to a senior scientist at Argonne National Laboratory. “We have about half the commercial technology that we need to decarbonize,” said George Crabtree, the leader of the national labs’ efforts to develop next-generation batteries for transportation and [...]
