Waste Heat: Innovators Turn to an Overlooked Renewable Resource

When you think of Facebook and “hot air,” a stream of pointless online chatter might be what comes to mind. But the company will soon be putting its literal hot air — the waste heat pumped out by one of its data centers — to good environmental use. That center, in Odense, Denmark, plans to channel its waste heat to warm nearly 7,000 homes when it opens in 2020.

Limiting global warming could avoid millions of dengue fever cases

Limiting global warming to 1.5°C could avoid around 3.3 million cases of dengue fever per year in Latin America and the Caribbean alone - according to new research from the University of East Anglia (UEA).

NASA and NOAA Satellites Track Alberto in the U.S. South

On Tuesday, May 29, 2018, the National Hurricane Center issued the last public advisory on Alberto. NASA and NOAA satellites continued to provide imagery that showed the extent and strength of the storm in the southern U.S. Alberto has weakened to a subtropical depression.

Invisible barrier on ocean surface reduces carbon uptake by half

An invisible layer of biological compounds on the sea surface reduces the rate at which carbon dioxide gas moves between the atmosphere and the oceans, scientists have reported.

Construction delays make new nuclear power plants costlier than ever

The cost of building new nuclear power plants is nearly 20 per cent higher than expected due to delays, a new analysis has found.

A new analysis of the history of nuclear power plant projects shows since 2010 delays have contributed 18 per cent the costs.

Forest loss in one part of US can harm trees on the opposite coast

Large swaths of U.S. forests are vulnerable to drought, forest fires and disease. Many local impacts of forest loss are well known: drier soils, stronger winds, increased erosion, loss of shade and habitat.

Growing with Aquaponics at UConn

The University of Connecticut's Spring Valley Student Farm is now home to a newly up-and-running aquaponics facility, a welcome addition to the farm, which already grows and provides fresh produce to campus.

China Floods to Hit US Economy: Climate Effects Through Trade Chains

Intensifying river floods could lead to regional production losses worldwide caused by global warming. This might not only hamper local economies around the globe – the effects might also propagate through the global network of trade and supply chains, a study now published in Nature Climate Change shows. It is the first to assess this effect for flooding on a global scale, using a newly developed dynamic economic model. It finds that economic flood damages in China, which could, without further adaption, increase by 80 percent within the next 20 years, might also affect EU and US industries. The US economy might be specifically vulnerable due to its unbalanced trade relation with China. Contrary to US president Trump’s current tariff sanctions, the study suggests that building stronger and thus more balanced trade relations might be a useful strategy to mitigate economic losses caused by intensifying weather extremes.

Turning up the heat on thermoelectrics

Imagine being able to power your car partly from the heat that its engine gives off. Or what if you could get a portion of your home’s electricity from the heat that a power plant emits? Such energy-efficient scenarios may one day be possible with improvements in thermoelectric materials — which spontaneously produce electricity when one side of the material is heated.

Global concern: Memorial scientist calls on world to act on conserving space sites

A scientific study led by Memorial University has concluded global action is required to protect a number of significant geological features on Mars, the moon and other planets and celestial bodies.