It is possible, today, to have a world entirely free of fossil fuels. What was once an abstract concept is possible because, technically speaking, electricity can power everything we do every day – heat homes, drive a car, watch TV or charge a computer. And this electricity can come simply from wind turbines, solar panels […]
Dressed in a flannel skirt with trousers underneath, on July 22, 1871, British mountaineer Lucy Walker (1836-1916) reached the top of the Matterhorn (4,478 m/14,692 ft). She was the first woman to do so. Before that exploit, in 1870, Walker made the first female ascent of the Aiguille Verte (4,122 m/13,524 ft) in the Mont […]
More than 2 billion people in the world do not have access to clean drinking water. And even in developed countries, many people do not think water from the tap is safe. Over half of households in the United States are concerned about the quality of their water supply and only 55% of Europeans drink […]
Once upon a time, a Frenchman named Joseph Ferdinand Cheval had a vision. And he had the passion to see his vision through. A postman by profession, from 1879 to 1912, after work, often in the dark working by candlelight, he toiled 93,000 hours over 10,000 days to build a palace. He was no architect […]
Here’s another upbeat story from the World Economic Forum about a man who is making a difference. His simple technique in Burkina Faso boosts the planting of trees and contributes to the Great Green Wall. This movement is fighting desertification in the Sahel region and halting the expansion of the Sahara Desert by the planting […]
According to the WWF’s Living Blue Planet Report, more than half of the world’s coral reefs have died in the past 30 years due to climate change, overfishing and pollution. “Over 25 per cent of all marine species live in coral reefs, yet they cover an area about half the size of France.” Increasing pressure […]
Although wind energy production has mainly focused on wind turbines, they still present issues to do with noise generation, animal and bird migratory interference, maintenance, costs, and lack of infrastructure. But innovation has moved so quickly that the advantages of wind power have fomented unique, promising strategies for this clean energy. According to Energy.gov, the […]
Each of the richest people on earth has a carbon footprint some 175 times greater than that of someone in the poorest 10% on the planet, according to estimates by Oxfam, thereby driving climate change and its devastating effects worldwide. Yet it is not the rich who are suffering the most from the effects, or […]
Protecting 30% of the Earth by 2030 is the goal of the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People. This intergovernmental group of more than 50 countries co-chaired by Costa Rica and France, with the United Kingdom as Ocean co-chair, aims to secure a global deal for nature and people that can halt the accelerating […]
In 2018, Virgin Atlantic announced the first use of food waste as jet fuel, by successfully completing the first transatlantic flight from Florida to London using a mixture of regular jet fuel and fuel made from discarded food. At the time, the mixture was only 5% ethanol food waste to 95% normal jet fuel, but […]
