The oil industry is now supporting U.S. federal methane regulations, after having opposed them in the past. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, and emissions have climbed over the past two decades as oil and gas production continued to rise. Now, global efforts to rein in methane pollution are receiving …
Read More »New Concept for Rocket Thruster Exploits the Mechanism behind Solar Flares
A new fusion rocket thruster concept which could power humans to Mars and beyond has been proposed by a physicist at the US Department of Energy’s plasma physics laboratory at Princeton University. According to the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) the rocket would use magnetic fields to shoot plasma particles …
Read More »The Five Factors Driving the Mass Adoption Of Electric Vehicles
Global electric vehicle sales grew by 43% during 2020, and in some markets such as Norway or the Netherlands sales outnumber petrol and diesel cars. In Europe overall, electric sales during 2020 exceeded half a million units, while in the United States, the new Biden administration is considering incentives to …
Read More »Nord Stream 2 Remains Sour Point in US-Europe Ties
Antony Blinken, Joe Biden’s Secretary of State nominee, said on Tuesday that the new government will use every persuasive tool to stop the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. The statement triggered debate over why Biden’s administration, which voiced multiple times it would repair tattered transatlantic ties, persists …
Read More »Merkel Stands by Nord Stream 2, but Is Open to Discussing Russia with Biden
Angela Merkel said she’s willing to discuss energy ties with Moscow with the incoming U.S. administration, but the German chancellor reiterated her support for a controversial gas pipeline to Russia. “We need to also discuss which economic relations in the gas sector are possible with Russia, and which aren’t,” Merkel …
Read More »German Power Sector could Achieve 100% Renewables by 2040
On its planned path to climate-neutrality by the middle of the century, Germany could achieve complete decarbonisation of its power sector already by 2040 – and EU climate targets might even compel the country to greatly speed up the expansion of wind and solar power, government ministers have said at …
Read More »Biden Set to Supercharge Clean Energy Push with $40B Stash
Twelve years ago, the Department of Energy was so central to the incoming Obama administration’s stimulus plans that DOE staffers were among the first through the doors at the transition headquarters, helping the Secret Service take the plastic wrap off tables and chairs so they could get to work. Now, …
Read More »2020: The Year of the Great Energy Disconnect
2020 obviously will be the Year of the Pandemic. However, when it comes to energy, 2020 will also be known as the Year of the Great Disconnect. Thanks to the COVID-19 Pandemic, never have fossil fuels been more important for human health, yet never have they been more disparaged and …
Read More »2020: A Year of Crisis, Crossroads, and Alternative Histories
There is an alternative history to 2020. It was the year the world’s largest polluter pledged to fully decarbonise its economy within 40 years. The year voters in the planet’s pre-eminent superpower rejected a racist, misogynist, climate denier in favour of a man who pledged to engineer a net zero …
Read More »Rumor: Apple will Start Production of Its Self-Driving Car by 2024
Apple is moving forward with its electric self-driving car technology after all, and will start production in 2024, according to a report from Reuters. Apple plans to produce a passenger vehicle that could include its own battery technology. Apple first started to design its own vehicle way back in 2014, …
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