Yale e360 · Page 53

A Canadian company is drilling exploratory wells in Namibia for what could be a major oil and gas find. Local residents and conservationists fear the project could use up scarce water supplies and cause widespread ecological disruption downstream in the…

Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions are projected to increase by 1.5 billion tons this year, the second-largest increase in history, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency. Read more on E360 →

Ending the use of fossil fuels to heat homes and buildings is a key challenge for cities seeking to move to net-zero emissions. Nowhere is that more evident than in Philadelphia, where technical and financial hurdles and a reluctant gas company stand in the…

Despite pledges of reform, the world’s leading supermarket and fast-food companies are doing little to address the environmental and human rights abuses associated with beef production. Read more on E360 →

The eighth annual Yale Environment 360 Video Contest is now accepting entries. The contest honors the year’s best environmental videos. Submissions should focus on an environmental issue or theme and be a maximum of 20 minutes in length. The contest aims to…

If you’re planning a reasonably short trip in France, a plane will soon no longer be an option. Read more on E360 →

Seagrasses, mangrove forests, and coastal wetlands store vast amounts of carbon, and their preservation and restoration hold great potential to bank CO2 and keep it out of the atmosphere. But can the blue carbon market avoid the pitfalls that have plagued…

High-profile programs aimed at planting billions of trees are being launched worldwide. But a growing number of scientists are warning that these massive projects can wreck natural ecosystems, dry up water supplies, damage agriculture, and push people off…

Critically endangered North Atlantic right whales gave birth to the largest number of calves in six years, offering a glimmer of hope for a population that has been driven to the verge of extinction because of entanglements with fishing gear and collisions…

For years, European countries have built “waste-to-energy” incinerators, saying new technology minimized pollution and boosted energy production. But with increasing concern about the plants’ CO2 emissions, the EU is now withdrawing support for these…

Washington, D.C.’s Tidal Basin, flanked by rows of the city's celebrated cherry trees, is facing a growing threat from rising seas and land subsidence. Read more on E360 →

Unlike other oil-producing states, much of the drilling in California takes place in residential neighborhoods, often in Spanish-speaking communities. Despite mounting complaints about pollution from the wells, the state has failed to take action to address…

A comprehensive United Nations study says that 45 percent of the intact forests in the Amazon are in Indigenous territories, comprising an area that sequesters more carbon than all the tropical forests in either Indonesia or the Democratic Republic of the…

A massive mine tailings dam proposed for a seismically unstable area of Sumatra’s rainforest would be at high risk of failure, mining experts warn. The dam’s collapse would be a disaster, they say, releasing a wall of waste slurry that would engulf and…

China is building large numbers of coal-fired power plants to drive its post-pandemic economy. The government has promised a CO2 emissions peak by 2030, but the new coal binge jeopardizes both China’s decarbonization plans and global efforts to tackle…

A new MIT study shows that the cost of lithium-ion batteries — used to power phones, laptops, and electric vehicles — has fallen by 97 percent over the past three decades. Read more on E360 →

Greenhouse gas emissions in the United Kingdom have plunged by 51 percent since 1990 and the country is halfway toward slashing its CO2 emissions to zero by 2050, according to the Web site Carbon Brief. Read more on E360 →

In an interview with Yale e360, epidemiologist Shanna Swan talks about how falling sperm counts and other fertility problems are linked to chemicals in consumer products and explains why the Biden administration needs to follow Europe’s lead in restricting…

Driven by GM, Tesla, and the Biden administration, the U.S. is now poised to press ahead in the transformation to electric vehicles. Big challenges still loom, but technological advances, government support, and growing consumer appeal will drive the…

The Santa Martha territory of Peru is experiencing unprecedented deforestation as drug traffickers and land grabbers encroach. Owned by the Indigenous Cacataibo community, a majority of this 14,485-hectare territory had been officially preserved as forestland.…