"Air conditioning, where affordable, is part of the answer. If powered by renewable energy, it is not bad for the climate, and it can save lives. A study in the Lancet concluded that there were 345,000 heat-related deaths worldwide in 2019 among the over-65s, and that the toll would have been 50% higher without air conditioning. So environmentalists are wrong to shun this wonderful technology. Since the organisers of the Paris Olympics decided not to install air conditioners in athletes’ quarters, many teams will simply bring their own."
Startup aims to transform the power grid with superconducting transmission lines
"The lines are designed to transport five to 10 times the amount of power of conventional transmission lines, using essentially the same footprint and voltage level. That will be key to helping them overcome the regulatory hurdles and community opposition that has made increasing transmission capacity nearly impossible across large swaths of the globe, particularly in America and Europe, where new power distribution systems play a vital role in the shift to renewable energy and the resilience of the grid."
The Carbon Cleanup Industry Is Growing in Louisiana
"The humid climate is also a boon for Heirloom’s technology, which relies on heating limestone to remove CO2, according to Alexa Dennett, Heirloom’s head of marketing and communications. The smaller-scale plant will allow the company to test the kilns it uses as part of its system, Dennett added."
Radical Technology Aims to Rev Up Oceans’ Power to Cool the World
"Vesta said its work in North Carolina will remove about 6,000 metric tons of carbon over several years. Its sand mixture acts like an antacid, boosting water’s alkalinity and its ability to absorb more carbon. The company previously conducted what it said was promising research in the Dominican Republic but decided other sites would be better for initial deployments. It then ran a successful small-scale test in New York."
New technology recycles pollutants into versatile commodities
"'The process produces ammonia from ambient temperature and pressure using wave chemistry and plasma. The integration of the A-Box and WhiteBox enables the desulphurization of energy transition metals like copper and nickel, without the need for water or limestone, and the resulting 'waste stream' from the process is then converted into fertilizer,' he said."
Google is using AI to predict floods—and sending cash to people before disaster hits
"GiveDirectly also piloted the idea in Mozambique last year, giving families $225 three or four days before a flood. 'Some families used [the cash] to purchase essential supplies like food and medicine,' Lummis says. 'Some people relocated to safer areas. In some cases, people immediately started to make reinforcements to their homes, building stronger structures. Some people spent the cash immediately after to reinvest in businesses or buy seeds to replant because their crops had been destroyed.'"
Exxon Mobil and Air Liquide agree to support production of low-carbon hydrogen
"Air Liquide, which supplies gases and services to industries, will build and operate four Large Modular Air separation units to supply 9,000 metric tons of oxygen and about 6,500 metric tons of nitrogen every day to the Texas facility to help produce low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia."
How heat pumps can turn wasted energy into low-carbon whisky
"Chivas Brothers’ £60 million ($76 million) decarbonization plan is built on the heat-recovery project it launched at Glentauchers in 2021. The facility still relies on fossil-fueled boilers, but its new system has cut the distillery’s total energy usage by 48 percent and energy-related carbon emissions by 53 percent by reducing how much it has to use those boilers, according to the company’s case study."
Can Small Nukes Power a Greener UK Future?
"All parties are promising economic growth as the pathway out of the UK’s many problems. They might want to think again about the price of energy, how it’s the fastest path to growth, and how nice it would be to promise not just cheap but green and abundant electricity to all by 2026. With no new pylons and no black mould required."
Meet the Tree-Free Alternative Trying to Disrupt the Paper Industry
Reel Paper’s bamboo solution features sustainable, biodegradable, and plastic-free packaging, delivering a premium product without compromising quality.