Choking China: The struggle to clear Beijing's air
As pollution levels return to normal in China's capital after a record-breaking month of smog, what can be done to banish the smog?
As pollution levels return to normal in China's capital after a record-breaking month of smog, what can be done to banish the smog?
The unwavering predictability and scale of the tides in some parts of the world make them an attractive renewable energy source. Some estimates put the energy in the world's tides at as much as 1 million GWh per year, or about 5 per cent of the electricity generated worldwide, though only a fraction of this is likely to be exploited due to practical constraints.
What do a small Italian village, a community of millionaires in Oregon and a town in Austria have in common? Nearly all of their electricity needs are supplied by renewable energy. They are by no means the only ones. A growing number of communities are working towards using only electricity generated by renewables.
At first glance, geothermal energy seems almost too good to be true. It's clean, inexhaustible, provides predictable 24-hour power and you can get it just about anywhere. There is a snag, however. Outside of geologically blessed places like Iceland, Japan and New Zealand, where volcanically active rocks are close to the surface, the Earth's heat is locked away under several kilometres of rock.
THE price of a cup of coffee. That's one estimate of what it will cost each American every day for the next 20 years to break the fossil fuel habit of generations and turn to renewables instead. A daily outlay of a shade under a couple of dollars does add up to trillions over the decades, but is it really that much to ask? (Editorial)
Don't imagine that pumping more oil will get us out of our current mess, argues Matthew R Simmons - dealing with the addiction is the only option.
Price is just the start of it. We need to kick the petroleum habit or we'll soon be in real trouble, says Ian Sample.
Power lines stretching across continents would allow us to ditch fossil fuels for good
The airline industry's insatiable demand for fuel is bad news for the environment. But can biofuels provide the solution, asks David Strahan.
The first Formula 1 cars to be fitted with a controversial energy recovery system are due to race in this season's opening Grand Prix in Melbourne, Australia, on Sunday. But questions over the safety of the system remain unresolved in the run-up to the race.
The launch of a UK project to extract geothermal energy from hot dry rocks comes soon after two high-profile setbacks elsewhere in the world.