biodiversity
While many of us might worry about the dwindling bee populations across the UK, US and other places, a British supermarket chain is testing a unique strategy to help bring bees back: rooftop bee “hotels” on its stores. Sainsbury’s has recruited what is says is “retail’s first ever
energy storage
Russia’s Federal Grid Company (FGC) has signed a deal with the New York-based battery maker Ener1 to find ways to use high-performance batteries to make the ageing Russian electrical grid smarter and more reliable. Russia, the world’s fourth-largest electricity market, has seen record-setting demand for power. After two
energy efficiency
Air conditioning makes many parts of the tropics and subtropics — even temperate regions — more comfortable on those oppressively hot and sticky days of summers. But the technology that made metropolises like Miami and Las Vegas possible is also a big energy-guzzler, which is bad news for an increasingly carbon- and
information technology
The world’s next-generation workforce — students in university today — have strong opinions about the future of business, sustainability and real-time access to a wealth of information. But many don’t believe the education they’ve received has fully prepared them to deal with the challenges related to those issues. Students
A coalition of corporations and other organisations has launched a new global non-profit initiative aimed at tackling the “unprecedented challenges of urbanisation” and the need for economic, environmental and social sustainability. The Smart+Connected Communities (S+CC) Institute is intended to be provide both a virtual and physical forum to
carbon capture and storage
Geochemists attending a conference in the US today heard about a new way in which we might be able to safely store carbon dioxide emissions underground: as solid magnesium carbonates or calcium carbonates. Sigurdur Gislason of the University of Iceland described the process today during the Goldschmidt Conference being attended
zero carbon
A new roadmap from the UK’s Centre for Alternative Technology outlines the route Britain needs to take to achieve a more sustainable, zero-carbon status by the year 2030. “Zero Carbon Britain” is presented as a “fully integrated solution to climate change,” but also aims to present a path toward
While countries like Italy have already taken the plunge into the smart electricity metering pool, other countries are testing the waters more gingerly and taking their time before diving in. But while a certain amount of study and research are necessary, it’s also important not to let the process
solar energy
A new programme in Uganda aims to help poor households reduce their dependence on firewood by bringing them solar power. According to MPower, a new initiative by Mercy Corps, $25 can provide two months’ worth of clean and reliable solar energy to families in northern Uganda. The region, still recovering
development
If the UK government is to meet its goal of a zero-carbon building market, it’s going to have to do a lot better at persuading the construction industry that that target is achievable. That’s because, according to a new survey, some three-fourths of the British development industry don’
A new data centre designed and built by UK-based Keysource is proving to be one of the most energy-efficient facilities of its kind in Europe. There’s also a certain irony in that achievement, as the data centre was built for an oil exploration surveyor, Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS). The new
There can be no better way of developing an understanding of green issues than managing your own waste. And by waste I mean human waste that you flush down the toilet and not the contents your comparably sanitised kitchen bin. Don’t get me wrong. Domestic recycling is great and
