Geoengineering is the deliberate and large-scale intervention in the Earth’s climatic system with the aim of reducing global warming. Who should do it and when? Anything done has the possibility of affecting everybody so who should be consulted? Who decides such world spanning concepts? A new study investigated these concerns. The findings are the (more…)

Who said the effects of global warming are all negative? According to new research conducted by UCLA, melting sea ice during the late summer will make Arctic shipping channels much more accessible.

The economy of the world depends on shipping (more…)

A new smart material called a MOF (metal organic framework) has the ability to adsorb carbon dioxide and release it when exposed to sunlight thus creating a new breakthrough in a way to recycle CO2 emissions using renewable energy.

The process is known as dynamic photo-switching (more…)

Increasingly warm and humid conditions that are predicted in the coming decades could slash worker productivity 10 percent worldwide by mid-century and could eliminate worker capacity altogether in some regions during the hottest months, a new U.S. study predicts.

In an analysis of labor capacity based on existing (more…)

When global warming is discussed, many will try to predict how much the ice cap will melt and how much the seas will rise. There are many variables in this calculation. A new study by an international team of scientists analyzing ice cores from the Greenland ice sheet going back in time more than 100,000 years indicates the last interglacial period may be a good analog for where (more…)

As a close observer of the energy and climate global scene since 2004, I have to say that 2012 was full of interesting news and I thought I should offer a selection of the most important ones.

Many countries unveiled last year large efforts to tackle climate change and high energy prices. On all continents, good news is piling up. However, I (more…)

With policymakers and political leaders increasingly unable to control global climate change, more scientists are considering the use of other engineering approaches other than control at the source to reduce warming impact. The problem is whatever you do, it will have some impact somewhere and somehow. The impact may be good but it also may be bad. University of Iowa (more…)

Sempra U.S. Gas and Power announced this week that Los Angeles and Burbank are going to buy solar power from a 250 MW plant in Boulder City, NV.

The price? According to the city attorney, via this contract (pdf) LADWP will be getting 1.9% of its power from an emission free, global-warming fighting, (more…)

Researchers from the University of Michigan said this month that the crop of new cars and trucks sold in the U.S. in October are the most efficient ever to hit American roads. Their average fuel was 24.1 mpg combined. That’s a four mile-per-gallon improvement from five years ago.

This gain in fuel efficiency equates to a collective (more…)

Bill McKibben — author, climate activist, and founder of 350.org — is in the midst of a 21-city “Do the Math” tour to build grassroots support for combating climate change. The target of the campaign is the fossil fuel industry, and McKibben and 350.org are calling for universities, colleges, and governments to divest themselves of oil and coal company assets. (more…)