Sustainable energy
Inverting the Energy Paradigm
Charles takes an unusual approach to considering energy policy, one that applies equally to one’s personal energy as an embodied being of flesh.
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The Biomass Peril
By all appearances, woody biomass is an unstoppable behemoth initiated by the EU, which is now scrambling, as it tries to undo a monster of its own creation.
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Book Review: ‘Bright Green Lies’ Torpedoes Greens
The authors of ‘Bright Green Lies’ write: “Today’s environmental movement stands upon the shoulders of giants, but something has gone terribly wrong… Mainstream environmentalists now overwhelmingly prioritize saving industrial civilization over saving life on the planet.”
Read More The Woody Biomass Blunder
One of the most controversial fixes for global warming is the use of woody biomass, cutting trees, burning trees to achieve “carbon neutral” status in the worldwide battle to conquer climate change/global warming. It is a prime example of human insanity maddeningly at work destroying the planet.
Read More The Biomass Fiasco
Stop cutting down trees for biomass… STOP WOODY BIOMASS! That should be a bumper sticker on every vehicle in America and around the world as easy-to-read bumper stickers are more effective than many forms of advertising.
Read More Planet of the Humans: Review by Richard Heinberg
The recent film, “Planet of the Humans,” has led to some serious controversy within the world of alternative energies. One of the world’s leading advocates for making the shift away from fossil fuels offers his perspective.
Read More America’s Great Greenwashing
Celebrating 50 years of Earth Day, Michael Moore, executive producer and the director Jeff Gibbs re-released their daunting and alarming documentary about the heart and soul of America’s Green Movement in a compelling film: Planet of the Humans (2019).
Read More Governments Have ‘Historic Opportunity’ to Accelerate Clean Energy Transition, IEA Says
Political and financial leaders have “a historic opportunity” to usher in a new era for global climate action with economic stimulus packages to confront the coronavirus pandemic, the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) has said.
Read More America’s First Plant-Based, Solar-Powered, Zero-Waste School Is Opening Its Second Location
America’s first plant-based school is opening a new location! Founded in 2006 by movie-industry legend James Cameron; his wife, actress Suzy Amis Cameron; and her sister, Rebecca Amis, the MUSE School is not only completely vegan but solar powered and zero waste.
Read More The Climate Is Changing And So Must We
The threat of climate change requires us to change. If we can all act together with continuing lifestyle changes, our kids will be grateful.
Read More Paul Hawken: ‘We Need to Be Fierce and Fearless’ to Reverse Climate Change
Social entrepreneur and author Paul Hawken is a leading voice in the environmental movement. His visionary ideas emphasize changing the relationship between business and the Earth. As humanity seeks to rise to the challenge of our time, Hawken provides a refreshingly positive and comprehensive approach to global warming solutions…Bioneers sat down with Paul Hawken to learn more about his work and his plan for helping build a more connected world.
Read More Earth Overshoot Day is July 29, the Earliest Ever
It’s official. We’ve exhausted Earth’s natural resources for the year… and it’s only July. According to the Global Footprint Network, July 29 is Earth Overshoot Day this year, the date that human demand for ecological resources and services has surpassed what the Earth can regenerate in a year.
Read More Shifting U.S. to 100 Percent Renewables Would Cost $4.5 Trillion, Analysis Finds
Converting the entire U.S. power grid to 100 percent renewable energy in the next decade is technologically and logistically attainable, and would cost an estimated $4.5 trillion, according to a recent analysis by the energy research firm Wood Mackenzie.
Read More The Difference Passive Solar Heating Can Make to a Home
By taking advantage of passive solar gain (orienting our homes towards the sun among other strategies), we can save money, be healthier, and have less impact on the environment.
Read MoreBritain Becomes First Major Country to Commit to Legally Binding Zero Emissions Target
Theresa May will make the UK the first economy in the G7 to legislate for zero emissions. The CCC report also confirmed that even if other countries followed the UK by setting a zero emissions target, there was still just a 50/50 chance that the planet would remain below the recommended temperature of 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2100. Anything above that guarantees a shift in climate that will threaten human life.
Read MoreMaking the Leap to Electric
In Europe, the transport sector is currently responsible for over one-quarter of Europe’s CO² emissions — with 45% of that coming from road transport alone — putting it dead center in our climate emergency. It’s choking our communities with air pollution while rapidly heating our planet.
Read MoreExtinction Risk and Rebellion: 15 Environmental Books Coming in June
This month brings new books from Greta Thunberg, Robert Macfarlane, the activists behind Extinction Rebellion and other conservation experts.
Read MoreNo Need to Dam Free-Flowing Rivers to Meet World’s Climate and Energy Targets
In a comment article published in the Nature last month, scientists argue that an “energy future in which both people and rivers thrive” is possible with better planning. The hydropower development projects now underway threaten the world’s last free-flowing rivers, posing severe threats to local human communities and the species that call rivers home.
Read MoreClimate Change: ‘We’ve Created a Civilisation Hell Bent on Destroying Itself – I’m Terrified’, Writes Earth Scientist
To understand you are in a prison, you must first be able to see the bars. That this prison was created by humans over many generations doesn’t change the conclusion that we are currently tightly bound up within a system that could, if we do not act, lead to the impoverishment, and even death of billions of people.
Read MoreWhy Low-Income Households Need to Be Part of the Clean Energy Revolution
In an interview with Yale Environment 360, energy researcher Tony Reames discusses the growing energy divide between rich and poor in the U.S. and the urgent need to provide low-income communities with better access to affordable clean energy technologies.
Read MoreCosta Rica Set To Become The Worlds First Plastic-Free And Carbon-Free Country By 2021
Costa Rica is in the top 5 of countries that are leading the way into renewable resources. It might seem small but it has a really big environmental impact. Since 2014 the country’s energy has been coming from 99% renewable sources, and it has been running on 100% renewable energy for over two months twice in the last two years.
Read MoreAccelerating Renewable Revolution Can Achieve Global Climate and Energy Goals Without Damming World’s Remaining Free Flowing Rivers
With thousands of hydropower dams planned across the globe, a new report from WWF and The Nature Conservancy demonstrates how we can solve the world’s climate and energy challenge without sacrificing our remaining free-flowing rivers and the diverse benefits they provide to people and nature.
Read More5 of the Best Ted Talks About Renewable Energy
Here are five eye-opening TED Talks that show how renewables are taking over every corner of the world – from Bhutan to Costa Rica, back to Germany, and more.
Read MoreNorway Refuses to Drill for Billions of Barrels of Oil in Arctic, Leaving ‘Whole Industry Surprised and Disappointed’
The largest party in Norway’s parliament has delivered a significant blow to the country’s huge oil industry after withdrawing support for explorative drilling off the Lofoten islands in the Arctic, which are considered a natural wonder.
Read MoreThe (Other) Economic Madness of the Green New Deal
A green new deal that creates new jobs and stimulates economic growth amounts to little more than a final blow-out binge before our once-and-done global economy comes crashing down around our ears. The only means of mitigating the environmental catastrophe that is gathering pace around us is to engage in a managed process of de-growth to create far smaller, localised and less consumptive economies than we have had for many decades.
Read More4 Creative Ways Cities Are Transitioning to a Clean Energy Future
Mayors from cities across the U.S. are stepping up and committing to broad and inspirational action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and decarbonize local energy systems. This leadership is especially critical given lack of federal climate action, but translating a mayoral commitment to reality can be a challenge.
Read More (Ted Talk – Angel Hsu) How China is (and isn’t) fighting pollution and climate change
China is the world’s biggest polluter — and now one of its largest producers of clean energy. Which way will China go in the future, and how will it affect the global environment? Data scientist Angel Hsu describes how the most populous country on earth is creating a future based on alternative energy — and facing up to the environmental catastrophe it created as it rapidly industrialized.
Read More (Ted Talk – Hannah Bürckstümmer) A printable, flexible, organic solar cell
Unlike the solar cells you’re used to seeing, organic photovoltaics are made of compounds that are dissolved in ink and can be printed and molded using simple techniques. The result is a low-weight, flexible, semi-transparent film that turns the energy of the sun into electricity.
Read More (Ted Talk – Amar Inamdar) The thrilling potential for off-grid solar energy
There’s an energy revolution happening in villages and towns across Africa — off-grid solar energy is becoming a viable alternative to traditional electricity systems.
Read More (Ted Talk – Monica Araya) A small country with big ideas to get rid of fossil fuels
How do we build a society without fossil fuels? Using her native Costa Rica as an example of positive action on environmental protection and renewables, climate advocate Monica Araya outlines a bold vision for a world committed to clean energy in all sectors.
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