Washington DC - The United States can quickly transition to nearly 100% renewable energy and phase out coal and nuclear power, according to a major new report from Greenpeace and the Global Wind Energy Council. Energy [R]evolution - A Sustainable USA Energy Outlook provides a blueprint for transform...
Clean water is life’s most basic need, yet one in eight people of the world’s population do not have access to it. In Cambodia, a country of 14.8 million, there are over 9,000,000 cases of diarrhea. Bad water accounts for 13% of the deaths and 14.8% of the health burden. Without a better water sourc...
While the month of April is generally recognized as “Earth Month,” over the last six years, the NBA has brought attention to environmental issues by hosting NBA Green Week Presented By Sprint. This year’s event featured the creation of commemorative t-shirts made out of post-consumer bottles b...
“Costa Rica opposition group says to scrap 2021 carbon neutrality target,” reads the headline of a recent Reuters news article. Standing on its own, the headline is accurate. However, lacking context, it could be misleading, causing readers who don’t venture beyond the headline to conclude that...
The green shoots of economic recovery are causing companies to take a fresh look at renewable heating and cooling systems as they give their Social Corporate Responsibility agendas fresh impetus. Plans which were put on the back burner during the recession are being revived and many organisations a...
This is the time of the year when you see endless summaries of 2013. The ones about sustainability can usually be characterized as a bag of mixed news, filled with both good and bad news from the past year.
And it can be quite depressing, right? After all, mixed news means that at best we...
Scientists in Lyon, a French city famed for its cuisine, have discovered a quick-cook recipe for copious volumes of hydrogen (H2).
The breakthrough suggests a better way of producing the hydrogen that propels rockets and energizes battery-like fuel cells. In a few decades, it could even help the wo...
Cambridge —
It’s for good reason Boston and Cambridge have earned strong reputations as leaders in sustainable building practices. In 2007, Boston amended its zoning code to become the first city in the nation to require LEED standards for all large-scale development projects. Cambridge followed su...
By Chris Beck
Beyond the well-being of polar bears and state of melted glacial caps, the effects of climate change range far and wide. They touch all corners of the globe. They shift weather patterns, affect human health and diminish freshwater supplies.
How does climate change, that shift in glob...
Despite some particularly unexplainable losses if you care about protecting the environment, the California Legislature made progress in 2013. The range of bills on the governor's desk awaiting his signature confirms that California remains the stalwart energy and climate leader in the country.
Thi...
It may seem uncomfortably close to science fiction, but robots are moving ever nearer to having humanlike abilities to smell, feel and see their surroundings, allowing them to operate more independently and perform some of the dangerous, dirty and dull jobs people don’t want to do.
They can “smell”...
Far too many conferences are boring, repetitive and uninspiring. Frequently, we find ourselves preaching to the choir, perhaps just trying to impress each other. Then, every once in a while, an event manages to bring together the right “vibes” and that’s when ideas can coalesce and energize.
I foun...
Written by Ellen Dorsey
I am part of a new professional development program at Portland State University’s Institute for Sustainable Solutions (ISS).The program is designed to give recent graduates like me the opportunity to develop professional leadership and networking skills in industries associ...
If you have any sense of wonder or faith in humanity, you would have to agree that Earth Day is an extraordinary event. It combines the functions of educator, movement builder and the largest public service project in the world. More than one billion people from almost every single country on Earth ...
In Washington, D.C., you can celebrate Earth Day at Union Station, where there will be music as well as other events. The theme chosen by the Earth Day Network for this year is “the face of climate change.”
Google also is observing Earth Day today with an interactive logo on its home page:
The fou...
The big rigs rattling past smokestacks sure don't make this Chicago roadway look like the greenest street in America.
But their tires roll over smog-eating pavement, the streetlights run on solar and wind power, the sidewalks were made with recycled concrete, and shrub-filled "bioswales" keep storm...
