$550 billion in new infrastructure spending is coming to projects nationwide—and a big slice is bound for Texas. From new electric buses to rail projects to improved power infrastructure to lead water service line removal and more, Texas’ environment may … Continue reading
Category Archives: Pollution
Responding to Climate Change NASA is a world leader in climate studies and Earth science. While its role is not to set climate policy or prescribe particular responses or solutions to climate change, its purview does include providing the robust … Continue reading
New data from space is providing the most precise picture yet of Antarctica’s ice, where it is accumulating most quickly and disappearing at the fastest rate, and how the changes could contribute to rising sea levels. The information, in a … Continue reading
Coal has long been in decline, but with financial giants rethinking oil and gas, and a major proposed oil project folding, is the end in sight for new fossil fuel projects as well? Around the globe, energy and urgency is … Continue reading
One of America’s highest Latino-populated cities now has a strategy to address the climate crisis. Earlier this month, the San Antonio (64% Latino) City Council passed Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (CAAP) by a 10-1 vote. It outlines objectives that … Continue reading
Sustainability has always been a game of catch up. The current energy production and construction trends mean that sustainability researchers have to come up with clever ways to lower emissions. Researchers at Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) in Barcelona have … Continue reading
How to solve the political paradox of climate change? While most Americans accept that man-made climate change is real, they are divided about what to do in response to it and how urgently to take action. Recent polling from the … Continue reading
Capitalism has often been identified as the underlying cause of the climate crisis. A leading voice on the subject is Naomi Klein, one of the climate movements most influential thinkers, whose seminal book on climate change was subtitled Capitalism vs. … Continue reading
Just 100 companies have been the source of more than 70% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions since 1988, according to a new report. The Carbon Majors Report (pdf) “pinpoints how a relatively small set of fossil fuel producers may … Continue reading
HOUSTON — One by one, they stepped to a clear plastic lectern at the Global Plastics Summit here and talked about what their companies were doing in response to the world’s crisis in plastics waste. Representing businesses all along the … Continue reading
A curious thing recently happened in Southern California. One of the largest utilities in the country scrapped a proposal to build a new peaker plant, opting instead to build a battery system that could store excess electricity from solar and … Continue reading
Tired of plastic pollution? There are many alternatives. Why should we and brands care about plastic pollution? Plastics is one of the biggest challenges the world is facing right now. Thanks to David Attenborough’s Blue Planet, consumers are suddenly aware … Continue reading
Whale blubber and buggy whips were once fine industries, but progress moved us away. And today we know the days are over of a false choice between environmental protection and economic growth. Since when did the simple concept of leaving … Continue reading
Alan Jamieson remembers seeing it for the first time: a small, black fiber floating in a tube of liquid. It resembled a hair, but when Jamieson examined it under a microscope, he realized that the fiber was clearly synthetic—a piece … Continue reading
In rural communities struggling with limited job growth and a roughly 40 percent net decline in farm incomes since 2011, wind and solar royalties have dramatically boosted economic development. In 2017 alone, farmers and ranchers received $267 million in wind … Continue reading
Detroiters were refusing city-sponsored “free trees.” A researcher found out the problem: She was the first person to ask them if they wanted them. The residents Carmichael surveyed understood the benefits of having trees in urban environments—they provide shade and … Continue reading
Forty-five top economists from across the political spectrum are calling for the United States to put a tax on carbon, saying it is by far the best way for the nation to address climate change. Does this plan include exempting … Continue reading
What did Exxon know and when did they know it, will it be like the tobacco industry's debacle of deniability? Massachusetts' attorney general is trying to force Exxon to turn over decades of records involving what it knew about climate … Continue reading
How long until this concept crosses the pond? Packaging-free refill shops are on the rise in Wales as the backlash against plastic gathers pace. Last year saw "zero waste" shops open in Crickhowell in Powys, Tenby in Pembrokeshire and in … Continue reading
Fungi can be used to break down waste plastic and create sustainable building materials, according to scientists from Kew Gardens in London. The State of the World’s Fungi 2018 report – the first of its kind – highlights the aspergillus … Continue reading