environment

Our Effect On Earth’s Water Cycle Is Both Fascinating And Terrifying

Initially, access to water defined where humanity could grow and develop. But now the opposite is true, and we’re the ones directing the future of our global water system. Watching that transition unfold is as sobering as it is stunning.


Oslo Is So Good At Recycling That It Has Run Out Of Rubbish

Norway’s capital city has a serious waste management issue — they’re way too good at it. Half of Oslo’s 1.4 million residents rely on a steady stream of refuse to power their appliances and heat their homes. Problem is there just isn’t enough rubbish to go around.


White Graphene: The New Supermaterial That Sucks Up Pollution

There’s a new supermaterial in town, and while it might be known as white graphene, it doesn’t contain a single atom of carbon. But that doesn’t make the new form of boron nitride any less useful — because it can suck chemicals and oil out of contaminated water in a jiffy.


New Solar Panels Keep Buildings Cool In Direct Sunlight

Someday, your home might be nice and cool in the middle of January without air conditioning. How? Some Stanford researchers have created a solar panel that cools buildings in direct sunlight.


Monster Machines: This Natural Gas Plant Is Turbocharged By The Sun

With the decreasing popularity of coal and increasing volatility of petroleum prices, natural gas is emerging as a major energy resource. And while we have plenty of reserves, an estimated 84 trillion cubic metres, it’s still a non-renewable resource that must be used sparingly whenever possible — like this new natural gas power plant prototype from the Department of Energy. It produces just as much electricity with 20 per cent less gas every time the sun shines.


Bitcoin Mining Has An Absurd Environmental Impact

Ah digital currency. It’s all in our collective hive-mind right? Coming and going in bits and bytes. Nothing to see here. So why is a hacking process called “Bitcoin mining” using $US150,000 worth of electricity a day? This had better be good.


Philips’ Prototype LED Could Save Billions Annually

Office parks and convenience stores rely on fluorescent lights. These flickering gas-filled tubes suck down far less energy than the incandescent bulbs they replaced, but they still consume some 200 terawatts of electricity every year. This new super-efficient LED prototype from Philips, however, puts florescents to shame.


There’s Gross Alternative Fuel Just Hanging Out In The Sewers

Everybody knows about using oil as a fuel source, but London is putting a new spin on the concept. Soon, the city will be mining its own sewers to bring up glorious globs of old cooking grease and melting them down into fuel. Delicious.


Farming Nemo: How Aquaculture Will Feed Nine Billion Hungry People

Shrimp fountains don’t grow on trees, you know — nor do Ahi Tuna steaks, Fish McBites or fried calamari. But that hasn’t stopped an increasingly affluent human population from annually demanding more and more seafood. As a result, an estimated 85 per cent of the ocean’s fish stocks are now either fully exploited or overfished. But an ancient form of aquatic farming, and current $US60 billion-a-year industry, may hold the key to both protecting wild fish populations and your local sushi shop.


Safer Bladeless Windmills Could One Day Dot The Nation

Opponents of windmills cite the dangers the spinning blades post to birds, the risk of damage due to storms, and the maintenance required to keep all those moving parts running smoothly. But what if a windmill lacked blades and didn’t move at all?


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