There are serious concerns about how the shipping industry is disposing of its toxic waste during the process of shipbreaking: the way an old ship is disposed of, being broken up for scrap recycling. Most vessels have a lifespan of a few decades before they need to be retired; beaching is the most commonly used method to do this, as it is employed by 95 per cent of (more…)

When I got started in this subject a few years ago, the efficiency of thin film solar (i.e., the percentage of sun’s radiant power that is converted into electricity) was measured in single digits. Here, we just achieved 16.1%, a huge increase from the former record holder at 14.7%. (more…)

Asia’s social and economic performance over the past three decades has been the most important development in the economic world, and in the 21st century, it has become the powerhouse of the global economy. With this in mind, the prospect of developing Asia-oriented institutions designed to tackle some of the region’s most pressing challenges (more…)

We’ve had discussions recently on the amount of subsidies that the fossil fuel industries receive from the federal government here in the U.S. To be sure, there is a great deal of hanky-panky played with these numbers. Let me go out on a limb here and suggest that the accounting method and total number that one chooses is often a function of the case one’s (more…)

In response to my recent piece on electric vehicles, a few readers sent me John Peterson’s position on the subject. Thanks, but I’m already quite familiar with it. John’s a brilliant, honest, and levelheaded guy; in fact, I plan to visit him in Switzerland when I’m in Europe next spring. Having said this, I disagree with him here. (more…)

The remote Alaska Native village of Kivalina has been in danger for a number of years from the effects of climate change.

“Sea ice no longer adequately forms on the village’s coastline, leaving the tiny island—perched on a thin strip of land between a sea and a lagoon—vulnerable to storms and erosion, and requiring relocation.” (more…)