insert_link Environment World records hottest day amid global heatwave While Namibians endure winter, the world experienced its hottest day, with parts of the Mediterranean facing extreme wildfire risks. Data from the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service shows that Sunday saw the highest average temperature on Earth, exceeding last year's record. Global temperatures have hit or gone beyond a critical climate threshold for 12 months, highlighting the challenge of limiting global warming to below 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. Meanwhile, the […] todayJuly 24, 2024 14
insert_link Business / Economics Global e-commerce skyrockets to $27 trillion Did you know that the energy required for Bitcoin data mining reached 121 terra watts last year? That’s more than the amount consumed by most small countries. Daniel Johnson from UN news has more. Meanwhile, new data from 43 countries, representing about three-quarters of global GDP, show business e-commerce sales grew nearly 60% from 2016 to 2022, to reach $27 trillion. todayJuly 11, 2024 25
insert_link Environment We used 1,000 historical photos to reconstruct Antarctic glaciers before a dramatic collapse Looking up Crane Glacier, December 21 1968. PGC, UMN, CC BY By Ryan North, University of Wollongong and Tim Barrows, UNSW Sydney In March 2002, the Larsen B Ice Shelf collapsed catastrophically, breaking up an area about one-sixth the size of Tasmania. In a paper published today in Scientific Reports, we used nearly 1,000 film photographs of Antarctica from the 1960s to reconstruct exactly […] todayJuly 9, 2024 16
insert_link Africa Study: A third of Africa’s great apes at risk from mining of transition metals Rising demand for the metals needed to power the global renewable energy transition potentially threatens more than a third of Africa’s great apes. Nearly 180,000 gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobos face potential fallout from current and future mining projects for these transition metals, particularly in West Africa. Direct and indirect potential impacts from mining on apes include habitat destruction, health threats from light pollution and disease transmission, […] todayJuly 1, 2024 31
insert_link Sport Formula One is moving towards hybrid engines and renewable fuel. Major environmental progress or just ‘greenwashing’? By Yasir Arafat, Edith Cowan University; Muhammad Rizwan Azhar, Edith Cowan University, and Waqas Uzair, Edith Cowan University For the millions of fans who tune into every race, Formula One (F1) is more than just a sport – it’s the apex of aerodynamics, skill and strategy. Behind the scenes, a quieter but more crucial race against carbon emissions is unfolding. Given the sport’s […] todayJune 26, 2024 19
insert_link Environment Floating solar panels could provide much of Africa’s energy – new research By Iestyn Woolway, Bangor University and Alona Armstrong, Lancaster University New research has found that several countries could meet all their energy needs from solar panel systems floating on lakes. Climate, water and energy environmental scientists R. Iestyn Woolway and Alona Armstrong analysed how much energy could be produced by floating solar panels on just 10% of the water surface of one million bodies of […] todayJune 19, 2024 36
insert_link Environment Indian cities have become heat traps A senior government official says Indian cities have become "heat traps" because of their rapid growth, which is leading to increased carbon emissions and destroying water bodies. This comes as heatwaves in India have killed dozens of people this summer. Rebecca Bundhun reports. todayJune 18, 2024 34
Africa Detained Uganda environmental activist freed but ‘in bad shape’ An environmental activist in Uganda who is opposed to a huge oil project led by French giant TotalEnergies has been freed after five days in detention, his employer said Monday. Stephen Kwikiriza was found on Sunday evening dumped on a roadside in Kyenjojo, about five hours' drive west of the capital Kampala, said Samuel Okulony, director of the Environment Governance Institute. The activist had said he was […] todayJune 10, 2024 10
insert_link Environment Hydropower damages river systems in Africa: how more solar and wind power can solve this problem By Angelo Carlino, Carnegie Science; Andrea Castelletti, Polytechnic University of Milan, and Rafael Schmitt, Stanford University Across the African continent, more than 300 new hydropower projects are planned to meet the growing demand for electricity. Some of these will require big dams, which can have major negative environmental impacts. Another looming problem with hydropower is that the water cycle is affected by climate change. Water […] todayJune 7, 2024 30