Sustainable energy

The U.S. Is Closer to a Zero-Carbon Grid Than It Seems

The U.S. has a lot of work to do to draw down carbon emissions. But a new report shows that when it comes to the energy grid, things are actually in better shape than researchers thought it’d be by this point. The analysis from the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory takes a look…

Climate Change Dharna Noor Apr 14

The U.S. Leads The Way in Citywide Fossil Fuel Bans

In a cool and rare moment for the U.S., it’s a leader in something that may actually do some good for the planet. A new report shows that the U.S. currently has the most cities in the world that have enacted some sort of ban on fossil fuels at the local level. The report, issued…

Earther Molly Taft Mar 18

Stopping Carbon Pollution by 2050 Would Add $1 Trillion to the Economy

According to the best available climate science, the U.S. needs to completely zero out its carbon pollution by 2050 to secure a livable future. A new analysis from the nonprofit Energy Innovation lays out a plan to get there, which also would just happen to add a cool $1 trillion dollars to the national economy.…

Earther Dharna Noor Feb 25

Renewable Energy Had a Record-Setting Year Despite… All This

You don’t need me to tell you that 2020 was a terrible year. Covid-19 killed nearly 2 million people, including more than 350,000 Americans, and the pandemic left the global economy in shambles. But a new report shows that all things considered, one sector actually saw wild economic success: renewable energy. The Sustainable Energy in…

Earther Dharna Noor Feb 18

How Much the Oil and Gas Industry Paid Texas Republicans Who Are Lying About Wind Energy

As the crisis of rolling blackouts in Texas unfolds this week, some of the state’s loudest Republican politicians are falsely dragging “frozen wind turbines” as the cause. But behind every wind energy smear by a Texas politician is a dizzying amount of money contributed by the fossil fuel industry. Earther looked at whose money is behind…

Energy Molly Taft Feb 17

Texas Legislature May Introduce Bill to Blacklist Businesses That Don’t Love Fossil Fuels

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said that one of his “legislative priorities” for this year is passing a bill to protect the fossil fuel industry, by blacklisting businesses. In a public policy forum on Thursday sponsored by a business group, Patrick said the potential McCarthy-esque rule could be modeled off a disastrous pro-Israel bill he…

Earther Molly Taft Feb 12

Why Setting a Clean Energy Standard Should Be Democrats’ Next Move

Prior to last month, the last time Democrats controlled both houses of Congress and the White House was the early Obama years. And one of the signature failures of that period was a 2009 bill that would’ve created a national cap and trade program but ultimately never came to a vote in the Senate (it…

Climate Change Brian Kahn Feb 4

Waiting to Address Climate Change Will Cost Trillions of Dollars

There’s really no good reason to wait to tackle the climate crisis, but especially when it comes to money. A new report offers yet more proof that the longer we wait, the higher that cost will be. The analysis by policy research firm Energy Innovation, published on Wednesday morning, examines two scenarios for reaching net-zero…

Climate Change Dharna Noor Feb 3

This House Is a Living Experiment for the Future of Energy

Walking around Amsterdam, at times, feels like strolling through the city of the future. Solar panels abound. Electric vehicles fill the roads, and everybody else is on a bike. Meanwhile, tucked away in the western part of town, some 50 families have agreed to turn their houses into living laboratories to figure out a better…

Science Adam Clark Estes Jun 15

Insane Light System Blasts the Energy of 10,000 Suns

German scientists have constructed a powerful new light system that can focus energy equivalent to the radiation of 10,000 suns onto a single spot. Eventually, they hope, this “artificial sun” could be used to produce environmentally-friendly fuels. The impressive light system is called Synlight, and it’s located in Juelich, about nine miles west of Cologne, Germany.…

Physics & Chemistry George Dvorsky Mar 23

Denmark’s Monster Wind Turbine Just Smashed the 24-Hour Record For Energy Production

A 720-foot-tall wind turbine featuring 35 ton blades has just set a new world record, producing a whopping 216,000 kWh of energy over a span of 24 hours. That’s enough to power an average American household for twenty years. The giant turbine, located off the coast of Østerild, Denmark, is setting a new standard for…

Tech News George Dvorsky Feb 1

New Wind Turbines Could Power Japan for 50 Years After a Single Typhoon

Typhoons are generally associated with mass destruction, but a Japanese engineer has developed a wind turbine that can harness the tremendous power of these storms and turn it into useful energy. If he’s right, a single typhoon could power Japan for 50 years. Atsushi Shimizu is the inventor of the world’s first typhoon turbine—an extremely…

Tech News George Dvorsky Sep 28

Is Earth’s infrared radiation a potential energy source?

At any given moment, our planet bleeds 100 million gigawatts of infrared radiation back into space. Needless to say, converting this wasted heat to a renewable energy source would be a sure-fire game changer. Physicists from Harvard University may have just figured out how to do it. Our Earth, which is heated by the sun,…

io9 George Dvorsky Mar 4

This gorgeous skyscraper is also a wind power plant

Behold the Pertamina Energy Tower, a U.S.-designed building that’s slated for construction in Jakarta, Indonesia. Reaching a height of a half-kilometer, the tower will harvest its own wind energy through an opening at its peak. Once completed in 2020, the Skidmore, Owings & Merrill-designed building will be twice as high as Wisma 46, the tallest…

io9 George Dvorsky Dec 11

No, Extreme Human Longevity Won’t Destroy the Planet

It’s only a matter of time before humanity solves the aging problem. And resistance to radical life extension has already begun, driven by fears of overpopulation and the exhaustion of our planet’s resources. Here’s why the critics are wrong. Top image: “Chi-Town” by Stefan Morell. Make no mistake, it’ll take us a long, long time…

io9 George Dvorsky Oct 2

Could a captive tornado power an entire city?

The Thiel Foundation’s Breakout Labs recently announced its plans to fund a radical new approach to producing cheap and clean energy. Called the Atmospheric Vortex Engine (AVE), the highly conceptual power plant would generate a controlled tornado that drives multiple turbines. With controlled being the key word, here. The idea was devised by Canadian engineer…

io9 George Dvorsky Dec 26

Could stunt kites be the future of wind energy?

The idea of harnessing the energy from wind by using ground-based stations linked up to atmospheric turbines is gaining traction. Trouble is, they’re expensive, unwieldy, and prey to low winds. Moreover, why go to all the trouble of building massive wind turbines when something much simpler exists? Such is the thinking of German development firms…

io9 George Dvorsky Nov 6

Is nuclear power really on the way out?

Last year’s horrifying natural disaster in Japan sent shockwaves around the world in more ways than one. The meltdown at Fukushima was a stark reminder of what can happen when nuclear power gets out of our control. Some nations responded to the catastrophe by shutting down plants and announcing ambitious phase-out plans — leading some…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 12

This House Provides Sustainable Energy in a Half-Shell

Solaleya’s Pearl house takes on the counter-intuitive task of maximizing its energy efficiency by limiting the amount of solar energy it absorbs throughout the year. This tactic allows the structure to delegate energy-intensive tasks to the elements. The house has integrated photovoltaic panels on the white steel roof to collect sunlight and supply energy, but…

Tech News Kyle Wagner Apr 12

Energy-Generating Waterfall Doubles As Bungee Platform

During the night, this tower is an energy-generating waterfall. During the day, it creates power using large solar panels while allowing bungee jumpers to leap from level 90.5. Designed by RAFAA with the 2016 Olympic Games in mind, the Solar City Tower is supposed to be “a symbol for the forces of nature.” Basically it…

Tech News Rosa Golijan Mar 19

The U.S. Is Closer to a Zero-Carbon Grid Than It Seems

The U.S. Leads The Way in Citywide Fossil Fuel Bans

Stopping Carbon Pollution by 2050 Would Add $1 Trillion to the Economy

Renewable Energy Had a Record-Setting Year Despite… All This

How Much the Oil and Gas Industry Paid Texas Republicans Who Are Lying About Wind Energy

Texas Legislature May Introduce Bill to Blacklist Businesses That Don’t Love Fossil Fuels

Why Setting a Clean Energy Standard Should Be Democrats’ Next Move

Waiting to Address Climate Change Will Cost Trillions of Dollars

This House Is a Living Experiment for the Future of Energy

Insane Light System Blasts the Energy of 10,000 Suns

Denmark’s Monster Wind Turbine Just Smashed the 24-Hour Record For Energy Production

New Wind Turbines Could Power Japan for 50 Years After a Single Typhoon

Is Earth’s infrared radiation a potential energy source?

This gorgeous skyscraper is also a wind power plant

No, Extreme Human Longevity Won’t Destroy the Planet

Could a captive tornado power an entire city?

Could stunt kites be the future of wind energy?

Is nuclear power really on the way out?

This House Provides Sustainable Energy in a Half-Shell

Energy-Generating Waterfall Doubles As Bungee Platform

‘She-Hulk’ Was Apparently One of Marvel’s Most Successful Shows

The World’s First Eye-Tracking Smart Glasses Are Intriguing and Unpolished

Noah Hawley Is Remaking ‘Terrified,’ Which Shouldn’t Happen

Unprecedented Observation Reveals 2 Supermassive Black Holes Locked in a Tight Death Spiral

This Apple MacBook Pro Is Now Under $500 After 78% Off, Grade-A Refurb Deal (16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, Touch Bar)

Anthropic Launches ‘Project Glasswing’ to Stealthily Spot Cybersecurity Issues for Rivals

Tiny Robots Reveal Hidden Ocean Chemistry in Low-Oxygen Waters

Aunt Lydia Survived ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ to Bring New Complexity to ‘The Testaments’

Aqara Thermostat Hub W200 Review: Almost Better than My Ecobee

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

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