With a landmark court ruling, the Naso people of Panama have won the rights to ancestral territory that includes two national reserves the tribe will now help manage. The victory comes as mounting evidence shows that Indigenous groups are often the best protectors of their lands.
-
Water
As World’s Deltas Sink, Rising Seas Are Far from Only Culprit
Although climate change is often blamed for coastal inundation in places like the Bay of Bengal, other factors such as dam building and urbanization play an important role. Scientists say that more sustainable development policies can help blunt the impacts of rising seas.
-
Energy
As Big Energy Gains, Can Europe’s Community Renewables Compete?
Local wind and solar cooperatives have been instrumental in fostering Europe’s renewable energy growth. Now, as multinational corporations play an ever-larger role in efforts to decarbonize Europe’s economy, the EU is looking to bolster these grassroots clean-energy initiatives.
-
Energy
Can Geothermal Power Play a Key Role in the Energy Transition?
Aided by advances in deep-drilling technology for fracking, engineers are developing new methods of tapping into the earth’s limitless underground supplies of heat and steam. But the costs of accessing deep geothermal energy are high, and initial government support will be crucial.
Solutions
In Boost for Renewables, Grid-Scale Battery Storage Is on the Rise
Driven by technological advances, facilities are being built with storage systems that can hold enough renewable energy to power hundreds of thousands of homes. The advent of “big battery” technology addresses a key challenge for green energy — the intermittency of wind and solar.
E360 Digest
-
More Than 400,000 U.S. Clean Energy Jobs Have Been Lost So Far During the Pandemic
The clean energy sector in the United States lost 429,000 jobs last year due to the economic impacts of Covid-19, with the industry hitting its lowest number of workers since 2015, according to a new analysis of federal unemployment filings. Based on the industry’s current growth rates, it could take well into 2023 for clean energy jobs to reach their pre-pandemic levels. More about More Than 400,000 U.S. Clean Energy Jobs Have Been Lost So Far During the Pandemic →
-
Scientists Say They Have Solved Desalination Mystery, Improving Efficiency
Scientists believe they have solved one of the biggest mysteries about desalination — exactly how reverse osmosis membranes work to remove salt and other chemicals from water — a breakthrough they say could help make the process more efficient and cheaper. More about Scientists Say They Have Solved Desalination Mystery, Improving Efficiency →
-
Sharks Born Prematurely, Weaker in Warmer Ocean Temperatures
As ocean temperatures rise, baby sharks will be born prematurely, undernourished, and into harsh environments difficult for them to survive in, according to a new study of epaulette sharks — an egg-laying species found on the Great Barrier Reef — published in the journal Scientific Reports. More about Sharks Born Prematurely, Weaker in Warmer Ocean Temperatures →
Never miss an article! Subscribe to the E360 Newsletter for weekly updates delivered to your inbox. Sign Up.
Biodiversity
How Non-Native Plants Are Contributing to a Global Insect Decline
The impact of introduced plants on native biodiversity has emerged as a hot-button issue in ecology. But recent research provides new evidence that the displacement of native plant communities is a key cause of a collapse in insect populations and is affecting birds as well.
-
Photo Essay
Overview: Transforming Land and Sea for a More Sustainable World
Aerial photos often document the destruction of the natural world. But these striking satellite images show how countries are beginning to respond to the global environmental crisis by restoring ecosystems, expanding renewable energy, and building climate resiliency infrastructure.
-
Interview
Filthy Water: A Basic Sanitation Problem Persists in Rural America
Residents of Alabama’s Lowndes County lack adequate wastewater systems and must contend with sewage backing up into their yards and homes. Environmental activist Catherine Coleman Flowers says this problem affects many low-income, rural parts of the U.S. and can no longer be ignored.
-
Opinion
How Biden Can Put the U.S. on a Path to Carbon-Free Electricity
Even without strong action by Congress, President-elect Joe Biden will have a wide array of tools — from expanding renewables on federal lands to pushing the financial industry on climate change — that could put the U.S. on a trajectory to decarbonizing its electricity sector by 2035.
