Although Germany has been a global leader in moving to decarbonize its massive economy, the country's ambitious clean-energy transformation is faltering. Now, a broad spectrum of energy experts are working to revitalize the effort to make Germany nearly carbon-free by mid-century.
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Climate
Can Artificial Intelligence Help Build Better, Smarter Climate Models?
Researchers have been frustrated by the variability of computer models in predicting the earth’s climate future. Now, some scientists are trying to utilize the latest advances in artificial intelligence to focus in on clouds and other factors that may provide a clearer view.
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Interview
Coastal Warning: An Unwelcome Messenger on the Risks of Rising Seas
Marine scientist Orrin Pilkey has long been cautioning about sea level rise and the folly of building and rebuilding along coastlines. In an interview with Yale Environment 360, he talks about why an eventual retreat from oceanfront property on the U.S. coast is inevitable.
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Biodiversity
Sparing vs Sharing: The Great Debate Over How to Protect Nature
What is the best way to save nature – to cordon off areas for parks and open space or to integrate conservation measures on working lands? Recent research makes a case for each of these approaches and has reignited a long-standing debate among scientists and conservationists.
Analysis
After a Long Boom, an Uncertain Future for Big Dam Projects
The rise of wind and solar power, coupled with the increasing social, environmental and financial costs of hydropower projects, could spell the end of an era of big dams. But even anti-dam activists say it’s too early to declare the demise of large-scale hydro.
E360 Digest
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California’s Bus Fleet Will Be 100 Percent Electric by 2040
Any new public transit bus purchased in California by 2029 must be a 100 percent electric vehicle, according to a new unanimous vote by the California Air Resources Board, the state’s clean air agency. It is the first statewide policy in the United States to require an entire vehicle class go electric, the Union of Concerned Scientists wrote. More about California’s Bus Fleet Will Be 100 Percent Electric by 2040 →
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Could Deep-Sea Reefs Provide Refuge for Climate-Stressed Coral?
A team of marine biologists have discovered nearly 200 species of Great Barrier Reef corals living in a deep-sea reef off the northeast coast of Australia — more than six times what researchers previously believed to be living there, according to a new study published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The findings make the Australian coral colony the most diverse deep-water reef in the world. More about Could Deep-Sea Reefs Provide Refuge for Climate-Stressed Coral? →
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Melting Permafrost Could Damage Infrastructure for 3.6 Million People
Across much of the Arctic, communities and infrastructure sit on top of a thick layer of permafrost that has stabilized the ground for millennia. But as global temperatures rise, this frozen soil is melting, causing homes and businesses to collapse and roadways to crumble. Now, a new study has found that most of the Arctic’s built environment will be damaged by the thaw, even if nations meet their Paris Agreement climate targets. More about Melting Permafrost Could Damage Infrastructure for 3.6 Million People →
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A U.S. scientific panel reports that technologies that take CO2 out of the atmosphere could be a significant part of a strategy to mitigate global warming. In an e360 interview, Stephen Pacala, the panel’s chairman, discusses how these fast-developing technologies are becoming increasingly viable.
Biodiversity
‘Rhino Coin’: Can a Cryptocurrency Help Save Africa’s Rhinoceroses?
South African ranchers who raise rhinos are supporting a virtual currency, backed by stockpiles of valuable rhino horn, to fund protection of the threatened animals. But their hopes rest on the long-shot gamble that the global ban on the horn trade will be lifted.
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Cities
From High Above, A New Way of Seeing Our Urban Planet
The world’s cities are expected to grow by another 2.5 billion people by 2050. A new collection of satellite images starkly illustrates the sheer size and imprint of the world’s urban centers and their vulnerability in the face of population growth and climate change.
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Opinion
Why Brazil’s New President Poses an Unprecedented Threat to the Amazon
Newly elected Jair Bolsonaro, an authoritarian nationalist sometimes called the “tropical Trump,” has staked out an environmental agenda that would open the Amazon to widespread development, putting at risk a region that plays a vital role in stabilizing the global climate.
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Climate
Is Warming Bringing a Wave of New Diseases to Arctic Wildlife?
Rapid warming and vanishing sea ice in the Arctic has enabled new species, from humpback whales to white-tailed deer, to spread northward. Scientists are increasingly concerned that some of these new arrivals may be bringing dangerous pathogens that could disrupt the region’s fragile ecosystems.
A New Era of Wildfires
From North America to the Mediterranean to Siberia, the world is struggling to cope with more and more powerful wildfires.