Climate Change

The humble chore of cleaning solar panels plays a key role in solar cell efficiency, especially in desert regions where frequent dust storms and lack of rain combine to reduce panel output by up to 35 percent. That same lack of rain also presents a…

Climate Change

Climate Change is hitting us Now & will only Worsen: When will We Start Acting Like Adults?

contributors

(By Tom Giesen) Americans tell us through a recent Gallop poll that upward of 65% of them know global warming is happening. However, only 36% feel that it will pose a serious threat to their way of life. But that conclusion is dead wrong; our way of life is changing dramatically. The physical evidence across […]

Climate Change

Coal, Gas & Oil are Huge Water Hogs; Solar is a Water Saver

Juan Cole

Solar Power Is A Huge Water Saver (World Water Day Infographic) (via Clean Technica) Every year on this day since 1993, the community of nations has focused on the importance of fresh water and advocated for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. Severe droughts experienced recently in places like the American West, the… —– […]

Climate Change

Big Oil and Gas Wants your Drinking Water, Too: UN

contributors

(By Jacob Chamberlain) An unrelenting increase in energy production, including unconventional methods such as tar sands extraction and fracking, will severely damage the world's already dwindling water supply, the UN warned on Friday. "There is an increasing potential for serious conflict between power generation, other water users and environmental considerations," says the World Water Development […]

Climate Change

5 Signs Solar Power is Taking over the World

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) Burning fossil fuels (coal, natural gas and oil) is putting 32 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide annually into the atmosphere. Since CO2 is a greenhouse gas that traps heat from the sun on earth and prevents it radiating back out to space, this unprecedented human output is causing climate disruption, a […]

Climate Change

Climate Change: ‘Abrupt,’ ‘Unpredictable,’ ‘Irreversible’ and ‘Highly Damaging’

Juan Cole

In a rare move, the world’s largest scientific society released a report nudging the public to wake up to the scientifically sound and increasingly frightening reality of climate change. “As scientists, it is not our role to tell people what they…

Asia

Climate Change and the Rise of Genghis Khan

Juan Cole

Mild weather may have propelled rise of Genghis Khan (via AFP) A pleasantly warm and wet spell in central Mongolia eight centuries ago may have propelled the rise of Genghis Khan, according to a US study Monday. The research was based on an analysis of tree rings spanning 11 centuries, showing that the conqueror… […]

Africa

East African countries are dealing with the impacts of climate change

Juan Cole

Posted on 17 March 2014 by Guest Author, John Abraham As I have written before, I have a particular interest in smart energy sources for the developing world. Issues of climate change and energy supply meet as countries try to provide basic services…

Climate Change

Global Warming has made Greenland Ice Sheet unstable, increasing Sea Rise (Plus Spectacular Video)

Juan Cole

Warming melts last stable edge of Greenland icesheet (via AFP) The last edge of the Greenland ice sheet that had resisted global warming has now become unstable, adding billions of tonnes of meltwater to rising seas, scientists said on Sunday. In a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change, they said… —- Related […]