Climate change is set to reduce Latin America’s capacity to produce renewable energy, according to Roberto Schaeffer, a Brazilian energy planning expert. He told the Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Development underway in Brazil that many forms of renewable energy are vulnerable to variations in climate, due to their dependence on water…
If architecture is ‘design for living’, one of its greatest challenges is how to live with the masses of waste we excrete. Four pioneers in green sanitation design outline solutions to a dilemma too often shunted down the pan.
Little has been done to protect marine life since the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, conservation scientists conclude. On pledges to protect key habitat and restrict the size of fishing fleets, they say progress has been “pitiful”. Their analysis is carried in the journal Science and is being discussed during final preparations for the Rio+20 summit….
Climate change is widely expected to disrupt future fire patterns around the world, with some regions, such as the western United States, seeing more frequent fires within the next 30 years, according to a new analysis led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, in collaboration with an international team of scientists. By the…
Daniel Hillel developed a system called micro-irrigation, which has opened up dry regions to farming, revolutionizing agriculture worldwide. The Israeli scientist has worked closely with Arab friends in Jordan, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates.
The common sundew drosera rotundifolia grows in rain-fed bogs across much of northern Europe. These habitats have few nutrients, so the plant needs to boost its nitrogen intake by trapping midges and other insects with its sticky leaves. But human activities involving burning fossil fuels for transport and industry have greatly increased levels of nitrogen…
The final round of negotiations leading up to next week’s Rio+20 summit begins with countries very much at odds on key issues. The draft agreement would improve energy, water and food security in poorer countries, phase out fossil fuel subsidies and boost ocean protection. But with three days of negotiations left, only 20% has been…
Ozone-depleting gases from an eruption in a volcanically active region of Central America could thin Earth’s ozone layer for several years, scientists say. Current levels of the chemicals bromine and chlorine in the stratosphere – where ozone protects life on Earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation – could double or even triple with an eruption, German…
Poor management of water resources could stifle economic growth in some of the world’s most rapidly developing economies, according to research commissioned by banking group HSBC. The study, by consultancy Frontier Economics, estimates that by 2050 the world’s ten most populous river basins will be producing a quarter of the globe’s gross domestic product, compared…
UK researchers have developed a porous material that can preferentially soak up CO2 from the atmosphere. NOTT-202 is a “metal-organic framework” that works like a sponge, absorbing a number of gases at high pressures. But as the pressure is reduced, CO2 is retained as other gases are released. The development, reported in Nature Materials, holds…