БЛОГ

Archive for the ‘environmental’ category: Page 6

Aug 5, 2018

Sorry Elon Musk, But It’s Now Clear That Colonizing Mars Is Unlikely — And A Bad Idea

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, engineering, environmental, government, space travel, sustainability

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com’s Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.

Space X and Tesla founder Elon Musk has a vision for colonising Mars, based on a big rocket, nuclear explosions and an infrastructure to transport millions of people there. This was seen as highly ambitious but technically challenging in several ways. Planetary protection rules and the difficulties of terraforming (making the planet hospitable by, for example, warming it up) and dealing with the harsh radiation were quoted as severe obstacles.

Undeterred, Musk took a first step towards his aim in February this year with the launch of a Tesla roadster car into an orbit travelling beyond Mars on the first Falcon Heavy rocket. This dramatically illustrated the increasing launch capability for future missions made available by partnerships between commercial and government agencies.

Continue reading “Sorry Elon Musk, But It’s Now Clear That Colonizing Mars Is Unlikely — And A Bad Idea” »

Jul 14, 2018

NASA director reverses on climate change, after 1 month

Posted by in categories: astronomy, climatology, education, environmental, ethics, existential risks, governance, government, lifeboat, science, space, sustainability

For millennia, our planet has sustained a robust ecosystem; healing each deforestation, algae bloom, pollution or imbalance caused by natural events. Before the arrival of an industrialized, destructive and dominant global species, it could pretty much deal with anything short of a major meteor impact. In the big picture, even these cataclysmic events haven’t destroyed the environment—they just changed the course of evolution and rearranged the alpha animal.

But with industrialization, the race for personal wealth, nations fighting nations, and modern comforts, we have recognized that our planet is not invincible. This is why Lifeboat Foundation exists. We are all about recognizing the limits to growth and protecting our fragile environment.

Check out this April news article on the US president’s forthcoming appointment of Jim Bridenstine, a vocal climate denier, as head of NASA. NASA is one of the biggest agencies on earth. Despite a lack of training or experience—without literacy in science, technology or astrophysics—he was handed an enormous responsibility, a staff of 17,000 and a budget of $19 billion.

In 2013, Bridenstine criticized former president Obama for wasting taxpayer money on climate research, and claimed that global temperatures stopped rising 15 years ago.

Continue reading “NASA director reverses on climate change, after 1 month” »

Jul 12, 2018

Transmetropolitan: Relevant or Rose-Colored Glasses?

Posted by in categories: environmental, futurism

It’s a fantastic comic that holds up well as a story for a number of reasons. It’s cyberpunk without the genre’s trademark dinge: Robertson, Ramos, and colorist Nathan Eyring deserve a lot of credit for making a future packed with information overload, but not obscured by smog or gloom or perpetual rain. It’s also genuinely funny. Angry Warren Ellis is gifted at turning the combination of rage, foul language, and body parts into something beautiful. It’s also appropriately cynical, and I think this is where a lot of the comparisons to the present day come from.


Holy mother of God, Transmet is over 20 years old. But is it still sharp commentary, or a relic of its time?

Continue reading “Transmetropolitan: Relevant or Rose-Colored Glasses?” »

Apr 18, 2018

China fights big smog with big air purifier

Posted by in categories: environmental, sustainability

China has a found a novel way to tackle its massive air pollution problem: Putting up a giant air purifier the size of an industrial smokestack in the middle of a smog-plagued city.

Instead of pumping out billows of black smoke like the chimneys rising from factories in the northern province of Shaanxi, the 60-meter (197-foot) tall structure on the outskirts of the regional capital Xian blasts .

Standing between high-rises, the device is capable of cleaning between five million and 18 million cubic meters of air each day, depending on the weather, season, and level of pollution, according to a report by the Chinese website Thecover.cn.

Continue reading “China fights big smog with big air purifier” »

Feb 4, 2018

European Utility Giant Says ‘No’ To Crypto Mining, Even With ‘Clean Energy’ — By Molly Jane Zuckerman | Cointelegraph

Posted by in categories: cryptocurrencies, energy, environmental

“In a brief statement to Reuters, the Italy-based company said that they had “no interest whatsoever in selling power”to a mining company”

Read more

Feb 3, 2018

Renewables Overtake Coal in Supplying European Electricity | UNFCCC

Posted by in categories: energy, environmental, governance

“A new analysis by Sandbag and Agora Energiewende shows that the European Union generated more electricity from renewable sources such as wind, solar and biomass than coal in 2017, with renewables accounting for over 30% of Europe’s electricity for the first time.”

Read more

Feb 3, 2018

UN Calls on Investors to Align Portfolios with Paris Agreement | UNFCCC

Posted by in categories: business, environmental, finance

“Greater ambition to divest from fossil fuel investments and consistent climate action is needed from the global investor community to accelerate the move towards a low-carbon economy and a climate-resilient future, top UN officials said at a major investor summit in New York this week.”

Read more

Jan 26, 2018

European Electricity Industry Pledges to Deliver on Paris Agreement | UNFCCC

Posted by in categories: business, energy, environmental, governance

EURELETRIC, the association representing the interests of the electricity industry in Europe, has said the region’s power companies intend to be both part of a competitive European economy and reliably powered by clean, carbon-neutral energy.”

Read more

Jan 26, 2018

500 Companies to Commit to Science-Based Climate Targets | UNFCCC

Posted by in categories: business, environmental

“In an effort to spur further climate action at this year’s Global Climate Action Summit in September and at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP24) in December, Summit co-chair and Mahindra Group Chairman, Anand Mahindra today challenged businesses around the world to join the growing number of companies committed to setting greenhouse gas reduction targets in line with climate science.”

Read more

Jan 26, 2018

World Leading Multinationals Accelerating a Clean Economy — RE100 Report | The Climate Group | CDP

Posted by in categories: business, disruptive technology, environmental

“A rapidly growing group of ambitious multinational businesses are actively reshaping the energy market through their global investment decisions and accelerating a zero emissions economy, a new report released today (Tuesday January 23) shows.”

Read more

Page 6 of 23First345678910Last