Largest Offshore Wind Farm Approved for UK Coast
Plans for the world’s biggest offshore wind farm have been given the green light by the energy secretary, with planning permission for an array of up to 400 turbines 80 miles off the Yorkshire coast on the Dogger Bank. The project, more than twice the size of the UK’s current biggest offshore wind farm, is expected to cost $9.2 billion to $12.3 bil… Read More
Last Tango for Nuclear?
Everybody loves a comeback story. If you like the U.S. nuclear power industry, it’s a Michael Jordan-type gallant return. If you don’t like nukes, it’s more of a Gloria Swanson gruesome comeback in Sunset Boulevard. Similar to both Jordan and Swanson’s character, Norma Desmond, the industry has tried more than one revival. The current one may be m… Read More
California Water Becomes Scarce and Energy Hungry
With California in the throes of one of the worst droughts of the past century, researchers say slashing the energy requirements of supplying water to cities and farmers will become critical as long-term droughts become a greater possibility.… Read More
Obama Orders Rising Seas Built In to Building Standards
Flood risk from sea level rise brought about by climate change will have to be factored into the building standards of any new and rebuilt federally funded construction project, including those built by local governments receiving federal money, according to an executive order President Obama issued Friday. … Read More
NASA’s $1 Billion Soil Moisture Mission Ready For Lift Off
NASA is spending nearly $1 billion on a new satellite, scheduled to be blasted into space over the weekend, following nearly a decade of work and two launch delays, that will help scientists measure moisture levels in the top two inches of the world’s soils. A couple inches of loam or humus could sound like much ado about nothing. But to the earth… Read More
Scientists Find Which Coral Reefs Will Survive Warming
Scientists have identified which parts of the Great Barrier Reef and other reefs are most capable of recovering from mass bleaching events which will become more frequent due to global warming. The information should help conservationists to target their efforts to protect the portions of reefs that are most capable of survival, they say. Previous … Read More
After December Rains, California Comes Up Dry
Two steps forward, one-and-a-half steps back: That’s been the story of the tenacious California drought lately. After a torrent of rains in December made a small dent in the deep, statewide drought, the faucet has turned off, and some areas have relapsed back into ‘exceptional’ drought, the worst drought category recognized by the U.S Drought … Read More
Ocean Warming: Probing a Blue Abyss
For every 10 joules of energy that our greenhouse gas pollution traps here on Earth, about 9 of them end up in an ocean. There, the effects of global warming bite into fisheries, ecosystems and ice. But those effects are largely imperceptible to humans — as invisible to a landlubber as a doomed albatross chomping on a baited hook at the end of a lo… Read More
