EarthScape

03/05/2010 – First Wind, an independent US-based wind energy company, today was offered a conditional commitment from the US Department of Energy (DOE) for a $117 million loan guarantee to finance the construction of its proposed 30 megawatt (MW) Kahuku Wind project. Located in Kahuku, Hawaii, the project will have the capacity to generate enough…

Solar energy is an enormous resource that is readily available in all countries throughout the world, and all the space above the earth. Long ago scientists calculated that an hour’s worth of sunlight bathing the planet held far more energy than humans worldwide could consume in a year. I firmly believe that India should accelerate…

Starved and emaciated, sea lion pups are beaching themselves along the Pacific Coast. A strong El Nino tropical weather pattern is to blame. Unusually warm sea surface temperatures in the western Pacific are moving east, forcing the sea lions’ natural food sources — squid, hake, herring and anchovies — to seek out cooler waters. Adult…

A severe winter has left 4.5 million dead animals in stockyards across the Mongolian steppes, and many poor herders face the loss of all their property just before the important breeding season. About a tenth of Mongolia’s livestock may have perished, as deep snows cut off access to grazing and fodder. The damage to the…

The world’s first zero-carbon city is being built in Abu Dhabi and is designed to be not only free of cars and skyscrapers but also powered by the sun. The oil-rich United Arab Emirates is the last place you would expect to learn lessons on low-carbon living, but the emerging eco-city of Masdar could teach…

Aquaculture industry urged to look at location and management techniques to reduce the environmental impact of rapidly expanding sector Bigger fish farms do not necessarily have a greater impact on their surrounding marine ecosystems, according to an analysis of Scottish fish farms. Researchers from Oceanlab at the University of Aberdeen studied data from 50 salmon…

Sydney’s iconic Harbour Bridge and Opera House temporarily went dark on Saturday as nations across the western Pacific turned out the lights for Earth Hour 2010 to call for action on climate change. The symbolic one-hour switch-off, first held in Sydney in 2007, has become an annual global event and organizers World Wide Fund for…

Once upon a time a trip around the world made major headlines. Nowadays it is common place and a convenient way to measure air quality around the world by plane. A plane outfitted to measure greenhouse gases has taken off from Colorado on the first leg of a 24 day mission that will take it…

ScienceDaily (Mar. 25, 2010) — The severe epidemic of plague known as the “Black Death” caused the death of a third of the European population in the 14th century. It is probable that the climatic conditions of the time were a contributory factor towards the disaster. “The late Middle Ages were unique from the point…

Over 50 million people are affected by a severe drought in southwest China, according to Xinhua, the nation’s state media. The lack of rain and unseasonably high temperatures has also left 16 million people without easy access to drinking water. Since last autumn many regions have received only half their usual rainfall. The nation expects…