Global Briefs Archive

‘Sink’ Setback

Logging, drought and wildfires may be turning forests in Africa, Asia and Latin America into carbon emitters rather than absorbers.

Clear Gain

Scientists have developed a transparent, luminescent solar concentrator that looks like clear glass that could potentially supply two-fifths of U.S. energy needs.

Distributed Power

Across the U.S., energy users of all sizes are taking control of their power supply and relieving stress from the grid.

To counter U.S. President Donald Trump’s anti-science stance, French President Emmanuel Macron has awarded 18 climate scientists from the U.S. and elsewhere millions of euros to relocate to France to “Make Our Planet Great Again.”

Transforming Plastics

A British company has invented a solar-powered, onsite mini-recycling plant that transforms plastic waste into usable architectural tiles.

Top Polluters

New research shows that a 100 fossil-fuel producers globally are responsible for 71 percent of all global greenhouse gas emissions during the last 30 years.

Chinese Chokepoint

China’s recyclable processors have given notice they will accept only paper waste uncontaminated by garbage, which has become a mountainous problem for many U.S. recycling companies.

Waxworm Wonders

Bacteria found in waxworms can digest plastic in mere weeks or months, far outperforming other plastic decomposition processes requiring 10 to 1,000 years.

We Need Trees

With the loss of 73.4 million acres of tree cover globally in 2016, annual tree-planting programs like Arbor Day in the U.S. and more massive tree-planting programs like those in Brazil, India and New Zealand are sorely needed.

Sway Congress

The Trump Administration’s Fiscal Year 2019 budget again calls on Congress to lift long-standing prohibitions on the destruction and slaughter of wild horses and burros.

Wind Harvest

The first floating wind farm in the UK, Hywind in Scotland, will have a 30-megawatt capacity to provide clean energy to 20,000 homes.

Sickly Salmon

Parasitic sea lice that kill salmon and render them inedible are disrupting salmon farms worldwide, driving up the price of salmon.

Fossilized Financing

The world’s biggest economies provide four times more public financing for fossil fuels than for renewable energies.

Grassroots Gumption

The Sweet Potato Project, a collaborative venture in St. Louis, trains at-risk youth in culinary, business, horticulture and restaurant skills.

Food Sourcing

Efforts are underway to grow the sea microalgae that can produce the nutrients needed to feed a growing global population.

Veggie Renaissance

Motivated by health, animal welfare and environmental concerns, 28 percent of Britons have drastically reduced their meat intake.

Protective Plants

Houseplants can help purify indoor air quality, which is often contaminated by toxic chemicals in paint, furniture, dry-cleaned clothes, cleaning supplies and other household products.

Range Brutality

Whether 90,000 wild horses and burros will live or die depends on Congressional action when the fiscal 2018 spending bill is finalized.

Renewable Payoff

For a few hours last May, Germany’s renewable mix of energy generated so much power that customers were actually paid for using electricity.

Auto Revolution

Thanks to environmental concerns and technology advances, cars with internal combustion engine are yielding to electric vehicles around the globe.

Sealife Sanctuary

Greenpeace is working with the European Union and Germany to set aside an Antarctic sanctuary of almost three-quarters of a million square miles to protect whales, penguins and other wildlife.

Bottle Buyback

To increase recycling and reduce trash, Britain is considering charging a deposit fee for plastic bottles, an approach that worked in Denmark and South Australia.

Bureaucratic Bungle

The agriculture giant’s newest weed-killer, dicamba, is facing opposition from farmers that report crop damage and human health issues.

Yes to Yarn

By making and dying their own yarn, buying organic fibers and knitting for people in need, crafts people are making yarn arts more eco-friendly and fun.