Mammals Can’t Seem To Evolve Fast Enough
Our planet has been through five upheavals over the past 450 million years. During each one, the environment on earth changed so dramatically that most plant and animal species became extinct. After each of these mass extinction events, evolution slowly filled the gaps in the environment with new species.
Hydrogen Powered Cars
Hydrogen-powered cars are trying to make inroads in the rapidly-evolving automobile market. Several major automakers – including Hyundai, Toyota and Honda continue to invest heavily in the technology while selling a limited number of cars around the world.
A Battery That Eats Carbon Dioxide
Fossil fuel-based power plants are increasingly considering the use of carbon capture technologies as a way to reduce emissions. The biggest challenge to the wide-spread adoption of such technology is its energy cost, which of course equates to economic cost. Present-day power plants equipped with carbon capture systems can use up to 30% of the electricity they generate just to power the capture, release, and storage of carbon dioxide.
Throwing Off Nature’s Seasonal Clock
Ecosystems throughout the Arctic are regulated by seasonal changes leading to a finely tuned balance between the greening of vegetation and the reproduction of animals. The rapidly warming climate and the disappearing sea ice are upending that balance.
Clean Water In The Corn Belt
Iowa is grappling with a growing battle over the integrity of its water. Nitrogen and phosphates have been flowing in ever-increasing quantities into Iowa’s public water supplies and dealing with the problem has become a major political issue in the state.
Robo-Taxis And The Grid
The world of personal transportation is evolving. There are three trends that are developing at the same time: cars running on electricity rather than fossil fuels, cars operating autonomously, and people sharing vehicles instead of owning them.
Glacial Engineering
As the world struggles with trying to limit carbon emissions and slow the pace of global warming, there is increasing analysis of various forms of geoengineering. Often, these consist of nearly unthinkable efforts to intervene in the climate on a global scale with unpredictable and possibly catastrophic consequences.
Legos And Plastics
Globally, consumers are voicing concerns about the impact of plastic waste on the planet. Conscious of these consumer concerns, many companies are trying to switch to recyclable or less-polluting packaging. Some are even ditching plastics all together.
Diesel Is Dirty
Three years ago, Volkswagen was found to have illegally cheated federal emissions tests in the US using devious programming of emission control devices. The subterfuge enabled 11 million passenger cars to meet U.S. emissions standards in the laboratory despite that fact that they actually produced up to 40 times higher emissions than the legal limit in real-world driving.
Peak Fossil Fuel Demand
There used to be a lot of talk about peak oil. Peak oil was the theorized point in time when the maximum rate of extraction of petroleum was reached, after which there would be a terminal decline. It was often presented as a looming catastrophe for civilization.
Airports and Rising Seas
There are many low-lying coastal airports around the world. These airports are increasingly vulnerable to the rising sea levels and the more extreme weather brought about by climate change.
Rapid Response To Climate Change More Important Than Ever
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has issued a new report emphasizing the importance of taking rapid action to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and examining the consequences of allowing temperatures to rise 2 degrees instead.
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