Cities have a green infrastructure blind spot
Carbon footprint standards exist for buildings, but not for the landscaping that surrounds them.
Jun 2021 22
Sarah DeWeerdt
Sarah DeWeerdt is a Seattle-based freelance science journalist specializing in biology, medicine, and the environment. In addition to Anthropocene, her work has appeared in Nature, Newsweek, Nautilus, Spectrum, and many other publications. Find her on Twitter at @DeWeerdt_Sarah.
Jun 2021 15
To help save the climate, ask yourself if that videoconference could be a voice call
The major determinant of the environmental footprint of Internet activities: video, especially high-definition video, a new study reveals.
Jun 2021 8
Can zero emissions and economic growth go together? Yes, but conditions apply.
The percentage of GDP required to achieve zero emissions decreases as GDP rises
Jun 2021 1
The social contagion of solar packs a lot of power
People with lots of neighbors who have solar panels are more likely to have solar panels themselves
May 2021 25
What if the conventional wisdom about the high cost of decarbonization is wrong?
There’s a glaring blind spot in climate-economy models. When they corrected it, researchers discovered a path to a green energy system that’s cheaper than the fossil fuel system it replaces
May 2021 18
In a side-by-side comparison hydrogen fuels required up to 14x as much electricity as direct electrification
Hydrogen can help decarbonize things that are hard to electrify—but banking on their widespread use risks locking in the fossil fuel economy
May 2021 11
Hitting climate targets depends on building smaller homes and more multi-family units—not just energy efficiency
Carbon emissions from US households have been falling since 2005, but not fast enough
May 2021 4
Researchers demonstrate how carbon taxes can reduce global poverty . . . not exacerbate it
Distributing carbon tax revenues on an equal-per-capita basis would reduce the number of people living in extreme poverty worldwide by 6 million
Apr 2021 27
A novel radiant cooling system saves energy and fights COVID at the same time
Conventional HVAC systems require airtight buildings; in this new system, energy savings and increased fresh air to go hand in hand
Apr 2021 20
In the sustainability race, the Olympic Games are lagging behind
No Olympics since 1992 scores high on all sustainability indicators, and the overall picture is middling at best
