"There is a global need to increase crop production to feed a growing population. High-income industrialized countries already have the tools to increase crop yields; in contrast, farmers in lower-income countries often struggle to access inputs like fertilizer. By prioritizing organic production over yields, the EU is promoting deforestation and biodiversity loss in lower-income countries — all while continuing to import the non-organic genetically engineered crops that EU countries refuse to grow domestically."
Articles from Around the Web
One Year Later: The Storm That Knocked Texas Out Cold
"The fact that we are still talking about the Texas grid a full after the storm indicates just how much of an impact the blackouts had on so many. It changed our awareness of things we once took for granted and has taken center stage in our politics. But, while we have made some progress, to say the grid is fixed would be premature, we are not yet done."
Can autonomous, seafloor-scanning robots speed up offshore wind development?
"Bedrock, a two-year-old, Brooklyn-based startup, aims to make the process up to 10 times faster with its electric, autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) that can navigate along the ocean floor in waters up to 300 meters deep. Bedrock is still in the early stages of testing this tech—it has only built one AUV so far—but it raised $8 million in a seed round last March and is hiring 'aggressively' to grow the current team of ~20 full-time employees, its CEO and co-founder, Anthony DiMare told us."
It’s Not Just Climate: Are We Ignoring Other Causes of Disasters?
"Of course both climate change and land drainage were important in causing the floods. But while one will take decades of international action to fix, the other could be healed locally."
Nuclear Power’s Future Is Looking Brighter
"But, with the current slate of nuclear plants under construction, there is at least some hope that nuclear is regaining acceptance, and can make a growing contribution toward arresting the growth of global carbon emissions."
Putin weaponizing gas supplies to Europe will be ‘deeply damaging’ for Russia, says Dan Yergin
"Russian President Vladimir Putin will have to pay the price if he were to 'weaponize' gas supplies to Europe as Russia-Ukraine tensions rise, says energy expert Dan Yergin."
Engineers are building bridges with recycled wind turbine blades
Maddie Stone writes in The Verge on innovative ways that wind turbines are being repurposed. “That makes it just the second ‘blade bridge’ in the world. The first, installed last October in a small town in western Poland, officially opened in early January. The engineers and entrepreneurs behind these bridges are hopeful they represent the beginning of...
France’s Macron Bets on Nuclear Power to Fight Climate Change
"France already relies on nuclear power to generate more than 70% of its electricity. But the average age of its fleet of reactors is 37 years old, putting pressure on authorities to bring a new generation on to the market in the coming years."
Direct Air Capture & The Climate Long Game
"In December 2021, RMI’s startup accelerator, Third Derivative (D3), announced First Gigaton Captured, a four-year partnership with the Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham Environmental Trust to find, fund, and scale the most promising carbon removal startups. First Gigaton Captured will focus on specific areas for innovation in direct air capture technology, and qualified startups are encouraged to apply when applications open in March."
Bill Gates’ climate fund mobilizes $1.5 billion to make climate tech less expensive
"Catalyst plans to take a portfolio approach, investing in multiple projects working on each of the four areas of emerging climate tech it has identified, and then determing the best way to get long-term funding for the project."