Between 60 and 90 percent of the world’s fresh water is frozen in the ice sheets of Antarctica, a continent roughly the size of the United States and Mexico combined. If all that ice melted, it would be enough to raise the world’s sea levels by roughly 200 feet. While that won’t happen overnight, Antarctica is indeed melting, and a study published Wednesday in the journal … [Read more...]
Caribbean states beg Trump to grasp climate change threat
Caribbean states and territories have rounded on the Trump administration for dismantling the US’s response to climate change, warning that greenhouse gas emissions must be sharply cut to avoid hurricanes and sea level rise threatening the future of their island idylls. The onset of this year’s hurricane season has seen leaders in the region tell the Guardian that Donald … [Read more...]
Climate events could move Earth into a ‘hothouse’ state
A domino-like cascade of melting ice, warming seas, shifting currents and dying forests could tilt the Earth into a “hothouse” state beyond which human efforts to reduce emissions will be increasingly futile, a group of leading climate scientists has warned. This grim prospect is sketched out in a journal paper that considers the combined consequences of 10 climate change … [Read more...]
Using yesterday’s mining techniques to recycle today’s batteries
Researchers at Michigan Technological University are using century-old mining techniques to recycle lithium-ion batteries at low cost. It helps that Lei Pan, an assistant professor of chemical engineering, has a graduate degree in mining engineering. Pan had a suspicion the techniques used in the mining industry 100 years ago to separate metal from ore might work for recycling … [Read more...]
In the line of fire: the war against climate change
Earth is smouldering. From Seattle to Siberia this summer, flames have consumed swathes of the northern hemisphere. One of 18 wildfires sweeping through California, among the worst in the state’s history, is generating such heat that it created its own weather. Fires that raged through a coastal area near Athens last week killed 91 (see article). Elsewhere people are … [Read more...]
Africa’s pollution killing thousands of infants, study says
Modest reductions in air pollution can prevent the deaths of tens of thousands of infants in sub-Saharan Africa each year, according to a new scientific study that investigated the link between breathable air pollutants and premature deaths in 30 countries across the continent. Although few pollution monitoring systems exist in Africa, the researchers combined … [Read more...]
Tell SA’s biggest investment funds to help us divest from coal
South Africans are threatened by climate change, by the health and environmental impacts of fossil fuels – coal, gas and oil – and by the role of parts of the fossil fuel industry in state capture and in holding back wind and solar energy development. To build a just, sustainable, and healthy future for all South Africans, we need ethical savings and investments in our economy … [Read more...]
Climate change bill ‘must lead to action’
South Africa’s long-awaited draft National Climate Change Bill sends a good signal, but the devil is in the details. “It’s great news that a climate change bill is under development as climate change is already a devastating reality,” said Melita Steele, the senior climate and energy campaign manager at Greenpeace Africa. “However, we must make sure that it goes far … [Read more...]
Greenpeace slams China over R33.7bn Eskom loan
Environmental activist group Greenpeace is at odds with China after it awarded Eskom a $2.5 billion (R33.7 billion) loan to complete the coal-fired Kusile Power Station near Witbank in Mpumalanga province. On Tuesday, Eskom signed a loan agreement with the China Development Bank in Pretoria. The power utility says the facility will form part of the funding of Eskom's build … [Read more...]
The rise of battery storage and its implications for the renewables sector
The upward trend of renewables has grabbed headlines over the last few years, particularly due to the falling costs of solar photovoltaic (PV) power and countries increasing their renewable commitments in the wake of the Paris Agreement reached at COP21. The Middle East, in particular, is undergoing a significant transformative period, as it moves to diversify away from its … [Read more...]
Climate change to blame for Europe’s heatwave
Partly, it’s just the luck of the weather. The jet stream – the west-to-east winds that play a big role in determining Europe’s weather – has been further north than usual for about two months. A stationary high-pressure weather system has left the UK and much of continental Europe sweltering. Iceland, by contrast, has been hit with clouds and storms that would normally come … [Read more...]
Renewables jobs at risk unless emissions reduction target ramped up
Activist groups are intensifying efforts to persuade Australia’s states and territories to demand the 26% emissions reduction target in the national energy guarantee be ramped up, with new analysis suggesting jobs in renewable energy will be lost. A new projection from Green Energy Markets, funded by GetUp, says up to 15,000 jobs in large scale renewables projects in … [Read more...]
The socioeconomic benefits of a low carbon economy
These days the news is filled with reports and questions around energy. How is the kind of energy we use affecting the climate? How do we use energy sources sustainably? The questions now also include: how do we ensure that changes have a minimal impact on the economy, in particular jobs and the lives of the poor? The latter question is central to South Africa’s 2011 … [Read more...]
