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Record New Renewable Power Capacity Added at Lower Cost
As the cost of clean technology continues to fall, the world added record levels of renewable energy capacity in 2016, at an investment level 23 per cent lower than the previous year, according to new research published today by UN Environment, the Frankfurt School-UNEP Collaborating Centre, and Bloomberg New Energy Finance.Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2017 finds that…
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Tropical lowland frogs at greater risk from climate warming than high-elevation species, study shows
A new study of Peruvian frogs living at a wide variety of elevations—from the Amazon floodplain to high Andes peaks—lends support to the idea that lowland amphibians are at higher risk from future climate warming.
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How Changes in Rainfall Impact the World Economy
An afternoon rainstorm might seem like an inconvenience at times, but rainfall is an essential part of the world ecosystem. Most of us know this.
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ALMA Captures Dramatic Stellar Fireworks
1350 light years away, in the constellation of Orion (the Hunter), lies a dense and active star formation factory called the Orion Molecular Cloud 1 (OMC-1), part of the same complex as the famous Orion Nebula. Stars are born when a cloud of gas hundreds of times more massive than our Sun begins to collapse under its own gravity. In the densest…
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Satellites map carbon sequestered by forests, with accuracy of up to ten metres
Led by VTT, the EU North State project has developed a new method of using satellite images to evaluate the forest carbon balance. The carbon balance indicates how much carbon is sequestered or released by forests each year. This enables the carbon balance to be displayed on digital maps, with an accuracy of up to ten…
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New UN Report Blames Pesticides for Food Insecurity
The United Nations says it’s time to overturn the myth that pesticides can feed the world and come up with better, safer ways of producing our food.
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Wi-fi on rays of light: 100 times faster, and never overloaded
Slow wi-fi is a source of irritation that nearly everyone experiences. Wireless devices in the home consume ever more data, and it’s only growing, and congesting the wi-fi network. Researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology have come up with a surprising solution: a wireless network based on harmless infrared rays. The capacity is not only…
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Skilled Workers More Prone to Mistakes When Interrupted
Expertise is clearly beneficial in the workplace, yet highly trained workers in some occupations could actually be at risk for making errors when interrupted, indicates a new study by two Michigan State University psychology researchers.
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Astronomers observe a dying red giant star's final act
Using a powerful telescope, scientists view spiral pattern of gaseous emissions around LL Pegasi and its companion star.
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Stanford scientists reveal how grass developed a better way to breathe
Grasses are better able to withstand drought or high temperatures than many other plants in large part due to changes in their pores, called stomata. Stanford scientists have discovered how grasses produce these altered pores, which could someday lead to crops that can better survive climate change.