NTU researchers build mini wind harvester to produce electricity from a gentle breeze | The Straits Times
The device is the size of a water bottle and made of copper, aluminium and other parts worth around $10. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Cleo Valentine - Cleo Valentine: We now know architecture can cause stress
In terms of architecture, it’s possible that the features that consistently produce minor stress responses in our bodies are the most insidious, precisely because they often go unnoticed.
‘No normal seasons any more’: seed farmers struggle amid the climate crisis
Floods, freezes and heatwaves threaten seed production as farmers scramble to produce strains that resist climate chaos
Electric power emissions barely rose in H1
The globe could be "nearing the point of falling power sector emissions."
Playing with climate, casually
I read this story on Canary Media with interest – “Solarpunk is going mainstream. This couple’s $1M Kickstarter proves it. Canary chats with the co-creators of the forthcoming video gam…
Australian student invents affordable electric car conversion kit
Australian design student Alexander Burton has developed a prototype kit for cheaply converting petrol or diesel cars to hybrid electric.
The living things that feast on plastic
Scientists are scouring garbage sites around the world for bacteria, fungi and even insects that harbor enzymes that could be harnessed for breaking down various polymers. It’s early days, but if the efforts can be efficiently scaled-up, such biological recycling could put a dent in the plastic waste problem.
Volvo is finally phasing out diesel cars next year in favor of an all-electric future
Volvo’s last diesel-powered car will roll out next year as the Swedish automaker looks toward an all-electric future. As one...
Lithium discovery in US volcano could be biggest deposit ever found
Find could point to new ways to prospect for material in high demand for batteries.
A.I. tools fueled a 34% spike in Microsoft’s water consumption, and one city with its data centers is concerned about the effect on residential supply
“They were pretty secretive on what they’re doing out there,” says a former mayor about Microsoft’s data center projects.
Microsoft disclosed that its global water consumption spiked 34% from 2021 to 2022 (to nearly 1.7 billion gallons, or more than 2,500 Olympic-sized swimming pools)
ChatGPT gulps up 500 milliliters of water (close to what’s in a 16-ounce water bottle) every time you ask it a series of between 5 to 50 prompts or questions
Google reported a 20% growth in water use
“was literally made next to cornfields west of Des Moines.”
Microsoft’s Remarkably Big Bet on Carbon-Absorbing Rocks
Why the tech giant is so high on Heirloom Carbon
Heirloom Carbon
Heirloom Carbon,
315,000 metric tons of carbon from the atmosphere over 10 years. For a sense of scale, that’s equivalent to about 75% of the carbon Microsoft emitted in 2022
$200 million, “based on market prices,” or $635 per ton
The process starts with limestone, which is formed from the detritus of corals, clams, and other sea creatures that use the dissolved carbon and calcium in the ocean to build their shells. Heirloom grinds up limestone and does something that humans have been doing for thousands of years — heats it in a kiln. This loosens carbon dioxide from the rock, leaving behind calcium oxide
It's Getting Too Hot for Tropical Trees to Photosynthesize, Scientists Warn
A small fraction of tropical tree leaves already pass the threshold, scientists estimate, and that number could grow under worst-case climate models.
Opinion | Kids getting burned on swings and slides? Here’s how to fix it.
In our warming world, kids are running out of places to play safely.
The Carbon Emissions of Writing and Illustrating Are Lower for AI than for Humans
As AI systems proliferate, their greenhouse gas emissions are an increasingly important concern for human societies. In this article, we present a comparative a
One of Europe’s Hottest Cities Harnesses a 1,000-Year-Old Cooling Technique
Cities are the first line of defense in humanity’s battle against deadly heat. Bloomberg Green’s Hot Cities series looks at changes some of the world’s hottest cities are making to protect their people from extreme temperatures.
India joins rush to renewables, but its rural solar systems fall off grid
A cautionary tale for a world racing into renewables: The large majority of mini-grids in India no longer work, an environmental group found.
Wildfires trigger explosions at ammo warehouse in Greece
Wildfires have also engulfed popular Greek tourist destinations such as Corfu, Evia and Rhodes.
Back from the Dead: New Hope for Resurrecting Extinct Plants
Armed with new technology, botanists are proposing what was once thought impractical: reviving long-lost plant species by using seeds from dried specimens in collections. The challenges remain daunting, but researchers are now searching for the best de-extinction candidates.
Energy Startup Says It Has Achieved Geothermal Tech Breakthrough
An enhanced geothermal system expands the range of sites able to be tapped for geothermal energy, and Fervo’s demo is the first time a company has shown it can be done on this kind of commercial scale.
Amsterdam to close cruise ship terminal amid effort to restrict tourism
Move by city council follows action to limit public cannabis use and to discourage wild partying by young Britons
Arizona restricts construction around Phoenix as water supply wanes
Arizona will not approve new housing construction on the fast-growing edges of its largest city that rely on groundwater thanks to years of overuse and a multi-decade drought worsened by the climate crisis
New Paper Links Climate Change to Shrinking Brain Size in Humans
A new study suggests a link between past climate changes and a drop in the size of the human brain – an adaptive response that emerges in an analysis of climate records and human remains over a 50,000-year period.