New Ideas

CO2 capture, reuse needs to be sustainable — and profitable
air pollution

(Pixabay)

Medill News Service
Northwestern University
The University of Michigan is investing millions to create technologies that capture carbon dioxide and turn it into products, though experts say some may not help reduce greenhouse gas permanently. Roxanne Liu and Minghe Hu report.
Science storytelling can build bridges to understanding

Here, a citizen scientist does sampling in Rocky Mountain National Park. (National Park Service)

Navya Pothamsetty
UC Berkeley
Two scientific storytellers explain the communication strategies they use and talk about what the consequences of ineffective communication are in the modern era.
Explainer: What is the 'carbon budget'?
Navajo Generating Station

The Navajo Generating Station, a coal fired power-plant near Page, Arizona. (Myrabella/Wikimedia Commons)

Anthony J. Campanella
State University College at Buffalo
Climate scientists from around the globe have laid out the maximum amount of CO2 that can be emitted into the atmosphere while still maintaining the 2°C increase in temperature. This threshold is called the carbon budget. But what exactly is it?
Mined, fracked, harvested, and drilled: What the future of our national parks might look like
Kait Evensen
Colorado State University
With our public lands under attack, I imagine a future where our parks are celebrated, not for the natural wonders within them, but for the resources we extract from them.
House subcommittee wants to lease some oil reserve facilities to pay for infrastructure updates

A technician at the Strategic Petroleum Reserve inspects a crude oil transfer pipe in this 2013 file image. (Photo courtesy the Department of Energy)

Medill News Service
Northwestern University
A GOP-lead House energy subcommittee is pushing legislation to require the DOE to lease some of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve facilities, and use the profits to update old equipment and infrastructure, as reported by Medill's Minghe Hu.
Just how much does Sweden want to save the planet?

(Photo courtesy Andreas Carlgren)

Olivia Urbanski
Loyola University Chicago
Sweden's former Minister of the Environment, Andreas Carlgren, instructs students at The Newman Institute in Uppsala, Sweden, and in this Q&A, provides unique insight into the environmental consciousness that pervades the country.
Rethinking animal agricultural subsidies: 'Meat' the better alternatives
A burger made from plants.
Katherine Baker
Columbia University
The meat industry receives billions of dollars in subsidies around the world, yet is one of the most unsustainable food sources. To feed the planet, we must consider alternative places to put our dollars in hopes of food secure future.
How can we defend Delaware Bay's ecosystem?

An aerial view of Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Milton, Delaware. Wetlands, like those shown here, has many benefits for a bay's ecosystem, including filtering runoff, mitigating floods, and as a home to baby fish and invertebrates. (Photo courtesy U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

Sydney Smyk
University of Delaware
The health of the Delaware Bay is in question. Human activities, even those at the far reaches of a watershed, can deeply effect a bay's ecosystem. So how can we prevent more damage and work on restoration?
Trader Joe's: How America's favorite grocery store fights food waste
Katherine Baker
Columbia University
There's a lot to love about Trader Joe's, including their impressive food donation program, which benefits local communities of each and every store.
Commentary: Where's the beef? Oh right, it's still everywhere...
Beef

Sustainable cattle farming creates a smaller carbon footprint in Freiburg, Germany. But is sustainable cattle ranching feasible on the large scale that the U.S. beef market demands? (Shandra Furtado/Planet Forward)

Katherine Baker
Columbia University
Beef is a major player in our food system, but at what cost? Correspondent Katherine Baker discusses the effects of beef on the environment and our health in this op-ed. 

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