Good News Notes: ‘“Coral reefs are amazing and beautiful, and we must conserve them,” Sam Purkis, chair of the department of marine geosciences at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, told VOA. Although coral reefs only cover 0.1% of the ocean floor, they are a lifeline for the planet. With…
Tag: climate change
Bats and a changing climate: How scientists are helping an endangered species
Good News Notes: “Bats are not an unusual sight around San Antonio and South Texas. In the heart of the city, bats are known to hang out under the Camden Street bridge, among other places. Farther north, the Bracken bat cave is a popular tourist spot for those who’d like to spot more than a…
Clean Energy Will Lower Household Energy Costs – Center for American Progress
Good News Notes: “Fossil fuels are driving up consumer energy costs, in part as a result of the industry’s exposure to the very climate disruptions it is continuing to worsen. These rising costs are yet another great reason to invest in clean energy now. Yet in a darkly ironic twist, fuel prices have been used…
Project Vesta: Cutting-edge technology battles climate change by using olivine sand to pull carbon dioxide from atmosphere
Good News Notes: “In the battle against climate change, a San Francisco nonprofit has developed a cutting-edge technology that uses olivine sand to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide emissions of all human activity around the world has surpassed 40 billion tons per year. Governments are now encouraging, and in some cases, requiring…
Growing Crops Under Solar Panels? Now There’s a Bright Idea
Good News Notes: “IN JACK’S SOLAR Garden in Boulder County, Colorado, owner Byron Kominek has covered 4 of his 24 acres with solar panels. The farm is growing a huge array of crops underneath them—carrots, kale, tomatoes, garlic, beets, radishes, lettuce, and more. It’s also been generating enough electricity to power 300 homes. “We decided to…
All UK’s electricity will come from clean sources by 2035, says PM
Good News Notes: “Speaking from Manchester, the prime minister said the target could be achieved through advances in wind power and other renewable sources. The shift towards renewable energy is part of government efforts to cut carbon emissions by 78% by 2035. However some green groups have warned that the UK is behind schedule for…
Google updates Maps, Search, Shopping, Nest for sustainability
Good News Notes: “On Wednesday, Google launched a suite of changes to many of its core products to help consumers make sustainable choices more easily. “Today, climate change is more than a threat,” Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google and parent company Alphabet, said in a prerecorded video during a virtual press event Tuesday. “It is a…
‘We embrace imperfection’: the adoption agency for preloved playthings
Good News Notes: “Charlotte Liebling was volunteering in a charity shop, when she realised that many soft toys end up in landfill or as chew toys for dogs. Treasured teddies that are a bit grubby or have an eye or two missing? They don’t even make it to the sales floor. “I had always cherished my…
Phykos’s carbon-capturing robotic seaweed farms are like planting fore
Good News Notes: “A new prototype of a small, solar-powered robotic vessel recently started sailing in the Pacific Ocean, pulling an underwater rack filled with seaweed. The startup developing the technology, called Phykos, says each platform holding the fast-growing kelp may be able to capture as much CO2 as 250 trees—and though the approach still needs…
Little fluffy clouds may help save Australia’s Great Barrier Reef
Good News Notes: “To slow the speed at which high temperatures and warm waters bleach the corals of the Great Barrier Reef, Australian scientists are spraying droplets of ocean water into the sky to form clouds to protect the environmental treasure. Researchers working on the so-called Cloud Brightening project said they use a turbine to…