wind energy
Siemens has agreed to supply Airtricity with turbines for a planned 350-megawatt onshore wind farm — possibly Europe’s largest — in southern Scotland. Airtricity is the renewable energy development division of Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE). The 2.3-megawatt turbines will go up at the Clyde wind farm in South Lanarkshire
energy efficiency
The UK government today launched a search for 20 communities that want to “be in the forefront of moving to a low-carbon economy.” The winning candidates will receive a share of the government’s £10 million Low-Carbon Communities Challenge to build on existing low-carbon schemes, with residents in each community
global warming
The Maldives, an nation of islands and atolls that stretches across the Indian Ocean, is also the lowest-lying country in the world with an average elevation of just 1.5 metres above sea level. That means its people are taking the threat of climate change and rising sea levels personally.
sustainability
What do the banana plant and the 1967 Dustin Hoffman classic, “The Graduate,” have in common? One word: plastics. After bananas are harvested, the plant material left behind normally goes to waste. However, researchers at Queen’s University Belfast are testing a new technique to use banana plants in the
global warming
Launched last week, our weekly Climate Change Index tracks research findings and events directly attributable to global warming. Our aim is to provide a numerical, week-to-week indicator of climate change developments. Items that qualify for listing in each week’s index include new climate data published in peer-reviewed academic journals
carbon offsets
Frequent fliers with Lufthansa and SWISS now have the option of using their award miles to make voluntary carbon offset donations, the two airlines have announced. The new offering expands the airlines’ existing CO2 compensation programme to allow passengers a way to offset personal carbon emissions generated during their flight.
global warming
The US should be spending roughly $200 million on research into climate change’s impact on public health, but actually spends just $3 million — or 1.5 per cent of the recommended investment — in that area, according to a group of US researchers and environmental organisations. The analysis, published in
space exploration
NASA’s discovery of water on the moon, announced this week, has major implications for the future of human space exploration, according to a space expert at Kingston University. Chris Welch, an expert in astronautics and space systems, said the findings could transform work for astronauts. “Scientists thought they knew
miniaturisation
The concept of a miniaturised traveller taking a trip through the human body — long the subject of fiction, from the 1960s movie, “Fantastic Voyage” to the cartoon, “SpongeBob SquarePants” — recently became real, when a film-maker at Kingston University swallowed a pill camera and broadcast the images live to a packed
Jurdy holds out hope for low-carbon cars …
smart vehicles
Starting next year, some 1,000 “intelligent vehicles” will take to Europe’s roads in a “first-of-its-kind- large-scale field operational test.” The euroFOT research project aims to scientifically test and assess the impact of eight advanced driver assistance systems on safety, efficiency and driver comfort. Among the 28 organisations participating
global warming
Glaciers along the Antarctic coastline and across all latitudes in Greenland are thinning rapidly, according to the most comprehensive imaging yet created using satellite lasers. The findings are an important step forward in the quest to make more accurate predictions for future sea level rise as the climate changes, according
