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Environment
After Crisis Comes Understanding
The 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill devastated Prince William Sound in Alaska – and, over 20 years later, the repercussions of this environmental catastrophe are still being felt. Yet studies of the disaster, which continue to this day, have not only brought us to a greater understanding of the event, but have proved crucial to devising effective methods for cleaning up future spills. Sarah Pursey reports.
Running Dry
Water is absolutely essential to terrestrial life. The earth’s surface is 70 percent water, so there should be no problem with supply, and this is why many of us take water for granted. Bob Combes investigates claims of a looming global water crisis and solutions for protecting this very precious resource.
Ground control
An alarming development is quietly taking place under our feet. The impact of global warming, intensive farming practices, urbanisation and overpopulation have long been conspiring to deplete the Earth’s valuable topsoil resources. Sarah Pursey reports on the very real threat of the Dust Bowl days depicted in Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath returning with a vengeance – and on a global scale.
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Against the Grain
The global drive for a new green fuel to power vehicles and aircraft has been widely blamed for the 2008 world food crisis, which saw dramatically increased food prices that caused political and economical instability and social unrest in both poor and developed nations. Unfortunately, the diversion of farmland and crops for ethanol production is only one of many drawbacks of the industry, as Gemma Carter discovers.
The Future of Renewable Energy Integration
In 2007, European leaders signed up to a binding EU-wide target to source 20 percent of their energy needs from renewables, including biomass, hydro, wind and solar power, by 2020. Rather than relying on each of these, decidedly intermittent, energy sources individually, a revolutionary scheme appears to be taking shape, which could ensure energy security for countries across the continent. Gemma Carter reports on the European energy ‘supergrid’ concept.
Green Shoots
Amid the pressures of the global financial crisis, some might ask how we can afford to tackle climate change. The UN’s Green Economy Initiative instead asks, ‘How can we afford not to?’
Environmental Business Leads the Way
In these challenging times for global business, one industry has been singled out as a potential catalyst to stimulate the revival of the world economy.
Food packaging: in need of repackaging
Faced as we are with a global food shortage crises, economic downturn and climate change, could food packaging, in fact, be the key to reducing waste? Sarah Pursey explores the packaging debate and asks whether less really is more?
Slow steam ahead
Will slower shipping speeds be the norm in the future? Sarah Pursey takes a look at how the shipping industry is responding both to the challenge of reducing its environmental impact and staying commercially viable in an economic climate of ever increasing oil prices, which despite a recent reprise are predicted to reach new highs in the not to distant future.
Power to the people?
In the field of energy generation, does big necessarily have to be better? The idea that size equals efficiency is deeply ingrained in our way of thinking – but what of other experiments in generation on a smaller scale?
All that glitters…
Ranking the environmental performance of countries against a range of pre-set criteria, the Environmental Performance Index from Yale and Columbia Universities is recognised as the environmental benchmarking standard for countries around the world.
Active disassembly
To most people recycling is something that you put in the green box and leave for the bin-men. However, for anyone involved in the European manufacturing industry, the process is very different, as EU directives are demanding considerations for recycling
Combating carbon emissions
Climate change is an issue on everyone’s agenda, yet the figures detailing carbon production continue to grow. Pioneering new methods for reducing carbon emissions are being developed every day.
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- Industry
- General
- Energy
Gemma Carter examines one of the most populous countries in Africa.
The Gift of the Nile
Algae are the focus of attempts to achieve commercially-viable systems for harnessing photosynthesis for atmospheric CO2 fixation and biosynthesis of fuels.
A Green Solution
In the aftermath of the failed Copenhagen environmental summit last December, the question of finding a secure, environmentally sustainable and economically viable source of energy to power the future remains unanswered. As a result, nuclear power has been thrust back into the limelight, could a nuclear future be the safest, cleanest and most cost-effective option? Laurie Cuthbert investigates