Tue.Jun 01, 2021

article thumbnail

A new love story: Electric vehicles and the electric grid

GreenBiz

A new love story: Electric vehicles and the electric grid. Mike De Socio. Tue, 06/01/2021 - 01:45. In the accelerating push to electrify transportation, one big obstacle always comes up: The grid. How will the electrical grid handle so many vehicles charging at once? Especially when fast-charging stations gulp down prodigious amounts of power? These are valid questions, and often utilities need to make improvements to the grid before installing significant charging infrastructure.

article thumbnail

This Brazilian home is made of rammed earth and bamboo

Inhabitat - Innovation

The designers chose to include rammed earth and bamboo construction techniques both to reduce costs and to provide important sustainability aspects to the project.

Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Trending Sources

article thumbnail

Scotland’s bathing waters start 2021 season with 94% achieving strict environmental standards

Envirotec Magazine

SEPA said improvement projects have had a positive impact at beaches with historically poor classifications, including Sandyhills beach in Dumfries and Galloway (image credit: James Johnstone , CC BY 2.0 license ). 94% of Scotland’s designated bathing waters have been rated sufficient or better by SEPA for the 2021 season. More bathing waters (34%) have been rated as ‘excellent’ since tighter standards first came into force in 2015.

Pollution 232
article thumbnail

Big Oil is in big trouble as courts, shareholders demand accountability

Inhabitat - Innovation

The heat is on as shareholders in ExxonMobil and Chevron stage coups and demand accountability, and a court tasks Shell with cutting emissions.

Demand 271
article thumbnail

Electrofuels Are the Future: The Driving Force to Decarbonizing Heavy Transport

Speaker: Ayesha Choudhury - Senior Vice President, Head of Capital Markets at Infinium

With the first wave of the energy transition, renewable energy sources (such as solar and wind) have begun replacing coal power generation. However, some sectors are lagging behind and struggling to decarbonize more than others, including large-scale transportation like commercial aviation, shipping, and rail transit. Electrofuels (aka eFuels) are the next generation of solutions to help the hardest-to-abate sectors pivot from their reliance on fossil fuels.

article thumbnail

ABB’s OCTOPUS software finds smart way to increase wind vessel uptime by 35 percent

altenergymag

The safe transfer of personnel between a support vessel and an offshore turbine platform is often the limiting factor in maintenance hours, where rough seas mean crews cannot land by walkway or from the air. In cases where maintenance can be carried out using robotics instead of personnel, the same restrictions would not apply.

192
192
article thumbnail

Harvested plastic and a pro skater create new Adidas shoe

Inhabitat - Innovation

In partnership with Puig, Adidas has debuted its newest shoes. This is the Puig PK Primeblue design.

Plastics 250

More Trending

article thumbnail

DveleIQ software results in smart homes powered by solar

Inhabitat - Innovation

Dvele creates prefab, solar-powered homes that reduce energy and water needs thanks to artificial intelligence.

article thumbnail

Where Are We in the Hydrogen Hype Cycle?

GreenTechMedia

The excitement around green hydrogen has grown dramatically in recent years. Will it live up to the hype? This week, we turn to technologist, author and investor Ramez Naam. Ramez and Shayle examine the drivers behind cost improvement -- namely the costs of electricity and different electrolyzer technologies -- and why they are likely still a long way off the deep declines hydrogen needs to scale.

Hydrogen 130
article thumbnail

Tortoise and otter, thought to be extinct, have been spotted in the wild

Inhabitat - Innovation

Last week was a big one for two animals thought to be extinct.

250
250
article thumbnail

The International Marine Purchasing Association and Green Business Bureau Join Forces

Green Business Bureau

New program will enable maritime suppliers to verifiably demonstrate their sustainability. Green Business Bureau (GBB) has partnered with the International Marine Purchasing Association (IMPA) to bring the GBB sustainability program, framework and certification to the global maritime industry. GBB and IMPA are working together to make ship manufacturers, services, operators and suppliers more sustainable and protect our planet and workers by enabling businesses to manage a sustainability program

article thumbnail

AR/VR Simulations for Sustainable, Regenerative, Circular Cities

Speaker: Nik Gowing, Brenda Laurel, Sheridan Tatsuno, Archie Kasnet, and Bruce Armstrong Taylor

With 191 country signatories to the Paris Climate Agreement now hard at work in the race to zero carbon by 2050, much of the heavy lifting in ecosystem sustainability falls on the shoulders of the world's densely populated urban centers. This conversation considers how today's AI-enabled simulation media, such as AR/VR, can be effectively applied to accelerate learning, understanding, training, and solutions-modeling to sustainability planning and design.

article thumbnail

New report: US transit fleet could electrify by 2035 for an investment of less than $89 billion

Charged

According to a new report produced by the Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) at the request of Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH), the entire US public transit fleet could replace its fossil fuel vehicles with battery-electric and fuel cell buses by 2035 at a cost of between $42 billion and $89 billion, depending on bus capital costs and other factors.

article thumbnail

Sustainability Performance Management and Accountability: Executive Guide To Becoming A Sustainable Business – Step 7

Green Business Bureau

The Playbook for Becoming a Sustainable Business. If your company is working toward improving its sustainability performance, you need a strategy, plan and roadmap. There are ten steps we’ve defined at Green Business Bureau to gear your company’s purpose, culture, focus and actions towards sustainability. All 10 steps below were summarized in the first article, The Executive Guide for Becoming a Sustainable Business : Step 1: Define your vision, mission and values.

article thumbnail

8 Reasons To Hire A Skip Bin For Garden Cleanup

Green Living Guy

Garden waste, unlike your daily household waste, is usually bulky. That’s especially true after a thorough lawn and garden maintenance. As such, you need a smart approach to handle the garbage involved. Hiring a skip bin might be the best… Read More 8 Reasons To Hire A Skip Bin For Garden Cleanup. The post 8 Reasons To Hire A Skip Bin For Garden Cleanup appeared first on Green Living Guy.

Waste 132
article thumbnail

Sodium-ion batteries offer the UK an opportunity to take a lead in sustainable battery market

altenergymag

The growing interest in sustainable next-generation battery technology underscores an opportunity for the UK to take a leading role in this industry,

Batteries 135
article thumbnail

How Digital Transformation will Bend the Curve of the Linear Economy Toward the Circular

Speaker: Bruce Armstrong Taylor, Co-Founder & Managing Director of SmartNations Foundation, Jimmy Jia, Venture Partner at Pi Labs, Fabienne Durand, Senior Advisor to the SmartNations Foundation, & Roger Strukhoff, Executive Director of the Tau Institute

The Climate 4.0 Economy. Climate change is here. We see it in many ways already. Weather catastrophes: Texas freezing over, the wildfires of California, the increasingly unpredictable violence and frequency of hurricanes, the rapid melting and disappearance of polar ice caps. Much more evidence all around us. What can we do in our corporate organizations, in our homes and communities, to change the current course?

article thumbnail

How many people has climate change killed already?

Grist

Every year heat kills tens of thousands of people. Their breathing grows shallow, their heart rates flutter, their muscles spasm, and then they die. Heat killed over 100,000 people in 2018, when high temperatures broiled the European Union. A new study suggests that climate change was responsible for many of those deaths. The paper, published Monday in Nature Climate Change, scrutinized summertime deaths in 43 countries between 1991 and 2018 — the largest collection of heat mortality data

article thumbnail

Rubio Impact Ventures backs surgical care tech startup Incision

Impact Alpha

ImpactAlpha, June 1 — Amsterdam-based Incision launched in 2014 to help surgeons and other operating room staff share surgical experiences, skills and expertise. The post Rubio Impact Ventures backs surgical care tech startup Incision appeared first on Impact Alpha.

Startups 119
article thumbnail

Can Cannabis Cultivation Lead to Additional Environmental Impacts?

Green Living Guy

Over the last couple of years the world has gone through some unprecedented circumstances. As a result, it has led to a dynamic shift within the needs of the people. For instance, we have been experiencing the demand for products… Read More Can Cannabis Cultivation Lead to Additional Environmental Impacts? The post Can Cannabis Cultivation Lead to Additional Environmental Impacts?

Demand 111
article thumbnail

Are we finally in the death-throes of the fossil fuel era?

Renewable Energy World

Global efforts to curb the use of fossil fuels are being made by all of the world’s leading nations, but occasionally, despite the genuine momentum, it can still feel like everything is moving a bit too slowly. However, a new eye-catching report put together by London-based think tank Carbon Tracker, shows that we might’ve finally left fossil fuels in the ground for good by 2035.

article thumbnail

Base10 will donate half its profits in a new $250 million fund to historically Black colleges and universities

Impact Alpha

ImpactAlpha, June 1 — Limited partners in the Black-led San Francisco venture firm’s Advancement Initiative fund include Howard University, Florida A&M, Hampton University, The post Base10 will donate half its profits in a new $250 million fund to historically Black colleges and universities appeared first on Impact Alpha.

98
article thumbnail

Biden seeks more money for DOI in 2022 budget to combat climate change, build renewables

Renewable Energy World

Last week, the Biden-Harris administration submitted to congress the budget for fiscal year 2022. The Department of the Interior’s (DOI’s) 2022 budget proposal totals $17.6 billion — an increase of $2.5 billion, or 17 percent, from the 2021 enacted level. The significant investment will help DOI address the climate crisis while creating good-paying union jobs and investing in healthy lands, waters, and economies in communities across the country, said the Whitehouse in a press release.

article thumbnail

The Brief: Centering Blackness (podcast), HBCU venture capital, virtual surgery, cost-effective pay-for-success, facilitating dealflow

Impact Alpha

Greetings, Agents of Impact! Check out these ImpactAlpha partner events this week: U.S. Impact Investing Alliance and the Federal Reserve Bank of New. The post The Brief: Centering Blackness (podcast), HBCU venture capital, virtual surgery, cost-effective pay-for-success, facilitating dealflow appeared first on Impact Alpha.

article thumbnail

The IEA’s New Net Zero ‘Roadmap’ is Dangerously Reliant on Destructive Bioenergy

DeSmogBlog

The International Energy Agency’s new “ Net Zero by 2050 ” report has won plaudits for its bold recommendations on how the world can limit warming to 1.5°C, in line with the Paris Agreement: no investment in new fossil fuel projects, and an end to petrol and diesel cars by 2035. But the vision it presents governments is fantastic in another sense of the word, too.

article thumbnail

Try 7 organic strategies to control garden pests

Greenability Magazine

Is something eating up your plants or spreading disease in your newly planted garden? Here are seven easy strategies for organic control of pests, weeds and disease that you can try now. Following a year of pandemic restrictions and shelter in place, interest in local, self-reliance continues with more community members drawn to backyard food production.

Organic 94
article thumbnail

'Retrofit revolution': Sadiq Khan unveils suite of measures to decarbonise London's buildings

Business Green

Measures include new Innovation Partnership with potential value of up to £10bn to help decarbonise social housing and create green jobs in the capital. The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has unveiled a package of measures designed to unlock up to £10bn in value towards a green homes "retrofit revolution" across the UK capital, in a bid to make buildings more energy efficient, slash energy bills and reduce emissions.

Packaging 101
article thumbnail

Cathedral thinking

Mr. Sustainability

How medieval thinking can help shape the future Summary - The question how we can solve enormous problems such as climate change tends to freeze people. Where to start? How can a politician who maybe has only one term initiate and finish a project of this magnitude? More often than not, history provides an example of how the ingenuity of mankind solves ostensibly impossible tasks.

article thumbnail

Second-hand clothing sales are accelerating - and bringing fashion closer to a circular economy

Business Green

Planet Tracker’s Catherine Tubb, explores the rise of second-hand fashion – and what its growth means for the industry. The resale market - also known as re-commerce, consignment or pre-loved - is reshaping the fashion industry. Consumers are increasingly choosing to shop second-hand or 'vintage', driven by the growing awareness of the environmental and social impact of the apparel supply chain.

Fashion 100
article thumbnail

State ROFR laws are holding back transmission buildout in MISO and must go away

Renewable Energy World

There are multiple opportunities for transmission buildout at MISO but limited prospects for independent transmission companies. Opportunities in favor of transmission include policy planning projects to interconnect renewable projects, the need for reliability in the MISO South region, and additional proactive planning approaches to address the capacity needs of local resource zones at MISO.

Law 88
article thumbnail

HSBC secures shareholder backing for coal financing phase-out plan

Business Green

Campaigners welcome AGM vote but warn bank's commitment must be followed up by robust framework for delivering global 2040 coal financing phase out. HSBC shareholders have approved the bank's plans to phase out financing for the coal industry in developed nations by the end of the decade and by 2040 worldwide, following growing pressure for more ambitious climate action.

article thumbnail

Report: Indonesia to overtake China as top nickel producer this year

Charged

Materials supply chain intelligence company Roskill expects Indonesia to become the world’s largest producer of refined nickel this year, pushing China to second place. As recently as 2014, Indonesia produced only 24 kilotons of refined nickel. In 2020, Indonesia produced 636 kt of refined nickel, most of which was nickel pig iron (NPI) for the domestic and Chinese stainless steel industry.

article thumbnail

Nasdaq snaps up majority stake in carbon removal marketplace Puro.earth

Business Green

Acquisition aimed at addressing growing demand for carbon removal projects such as direct air capture, BECCS, biochar and carbon-embodied buildings. Nasdaq today announced it has snapped up a majority stake in Puro.earth, an online marketplace that offers verifiable and tradeable industrial carbon removal services to leading corporates such as Microsoft and Swedish banking giant SEB.

Carbon 85
article thumbnail

Donaldson expands battery venting product line with Dual-Stage Flex resealable vent

Charged

Donaldson has expanded its dual-stage battery pack vent line with the addition of the Dual-Stage Flex battery vent. The new battery vent enables pressure relief at lower pressures, helping support battery life and reliability. EV weight can be reduced by using thinner battery pack walls, but thin walls can’t withstand higher pressures within the battery pack.

article thumbnail

Escape to the Master Gardener tours

Greenability Magazine

Explore rain gardens, native plant landscapes, local garden art, plant sales and more on two garden tours hosted by Master Gardeners in June. Douglas County Extension Master Gardeners Garden Tour • June 5 – 6. The Douglas County Extension Master Gardeners Garden Tour begins in Lawrence, KS with a tour of 10 themed gardens at the Douglas County Extension Demonstration Gardens, 2110 Harper St.

Soil 78
article thumbnail

SAE WPT Task Force urges FCC to support wireless charging standard

Charged

SAE International’s Wireless Power Transfer and Alignment Task Force is urging the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to act to support the commercialization of wireless charging operating in the frequency band of 79 kHz to 90 kHz. The SAE task force consists of more than 150 international experts representing automakers, suppliers, users, national laboratories and government agencies.

article thumbnail

'Get its own house in order': UK urged to end new fossil fuel licensing in North Sea to meet net zero

Business Green

Letter from 50 campaign groups urges government to heed recent advice of International Energy Agency that growing fossil fuel supply is incompatible with a 1.5C world. Pressure is mounting on the UK government to end all new oil and gas exploration and extraction licenses in the North Sea, following the International Energy Agency's (IEA) landmark warning last month that further investments in new fossil fuel supplies must end this year if the chances of limiting global warming to 1.5C are to be