PETRILA, Romania — For many years, Sebastian Tirinticǎ worked in a coal mine, just like his father and grandfather before him. These days, Tirinticǎ, now 38, is largely surrounded by solar panels and wind turbines as he travels across Romania to train former coal workers and others for jobs in renewable energies. It’s been a...
Migrating birds find refuge in pop-up habitats
Every July, the western sandpiper, a dun-colored, long-beaked bird, leaves the shores of Alaska and migrates south. It may fly as far as the coast of Peru, where it spends several months before making the return trip. Western sandpipers travel along the Pacific Flyway, a strip of land that stretches along the Western coast of...
US and India Should Do More With Critical Minerals
India and the US often describe each other as natural partners. In reality, collaboration between them usually fails to meet expectations. That seems likely to be the case with their new pact on critical minerals unless both sides focus on what exactly each can bring to the relationship. In a recently signed memorandum, the two countries agreed...
Study: Farmers Are Open to Innovation to Cope With Climate Change
Higher yield potential is driving adoption of digital farming, with two thirds of the famers using digital tools already and the same amount wanting to learn more about AI, according to Future Farming. This is one of the key findings from the 2024 Farmer Voice survey, a study among 2,000 farmers across Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, India, Kenya, Ukraine,...
Could war in the Gulf push oil to $100 a barrel?
The Economist writes on how conflict in the Middle East might impact oil prices. EVER SINCE Hamas’s attacks on Israel a year ago, the biggest fear in oil markets has been that tensions would escalate into a full-blown regional war pitting Israel against Iran, the world’s seventh-largest producer of crude. Until recently both countries seemed keen to...
Japan Firms Unite to Cut Methane Emissions from LNG Supply
Shoko Oda and Tsuyoshi Inajima of Bloomberg report that Japanese firms are cutting methane emissions from their LNG supply. Twenty-two Japanese utilities and trading houses are joining an initiative that aims to leverage their buying power to curb methane emissions from liquefied natural gas supply chains, as pressure mounts globally to curb the harmful greenhouse gas. Companies...
Europe Set for Colder Winter Than Last Year as La Niña Arrives
France, the UK and Scandinavia will be the coldest parts of Europe during October, according to forecasters. By contrast, southeast Europe and the south of Spain are likely to remain warm, according to Maxar Technologies Inc. Athens, which was seared by heat waves and wildfires over the summer, could see temperatures reach 32C (90F) early in the month, according to Weather Services International.
World’s biggest banks pledge support for nuclear power
"Nuclear energy has also started to gain support from Big Tech, which sees it as one low-carbon solution to powering data centres. On Friday, Microsoft announced a 20-year deal with Constellation Energy to restart an 835-megawatt nuclear reactor at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania that was in the process of being decommissioned. Larry Ellison, co-founder and chief technology officer of Oracle, said this month that the company was designing a huge data centre with 'permits for three . . . small modular nuclear reactors'."
Rolls-Royce wins pioneering deal to build mini nuclear plants in Czech Republic
"Rolls-Royce is on course to secure the first order from a European government to build a fleet of mini nuclear reactors after being selected as the preferred supplier in a competition overseen by the Czech government."
The U.S.-Canada Energy Relationship Is Underappreciated – And May Now Be Under Threat
"Together, Canada and the U.S. have dominated global oil and growth in the past decade, creating an energy secure North America while driving billions into innovation and technologies designed to lower emissions. Policy actions that limit production and export capacity could reverse this progress, leaving us and our allies more vulnerable. We must instead leverage our deeply interconnected energy systems and rock-solid commercial relationships in support of a North American Energy Security framework that will deliver benefits for decades to come. Our organizations and collective membership stand ready to be a fully committed partner in this effort."