France passes law to ban all oil and gas production by 2040

PARIS — France's parliament has approved a law banning all exploration and production of oil and natural gas by 2040 within the country and its overseas territories.

Under that law that passed a final vote on Tuesday, existing drilling permits will not be renewed and no new exploration licenses will be granted.  https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/energy/2017/12/19/france-passes-law-ban-all-oil-and-gas-production-2040/966132001/

Article courtesy of USA Today by The Associated Press

Is Seaweed the Next Big Thing in Sustainable Food?

As Tollef Olsen throws a white buoy labeled “SEAFARM” into Portland, Maine’s Casco Bay on a cold, clear November day, he reminisces about talking to the Maine Sea Coast Vegetables founder Shep Erhart back in the early 1980s about the environmental benefits of farming seaweed.
Olsen recites: “No land, no fresh water, no fertilizer, no pesticides [used]…it also sequesters carbon.” But the big question was always, would people actually eat it? “Erhart would say, ‘There’s just not enough of a market.’ Now, he’s like, ‘Yup, it’s time. It’s working.’”
https://civileats.com/2017/12/20/is-seaweed-the-next-big-thing-in-sustainable-food/
Article courtesy of Civil Eats by Lisa Held

This Is The World’s First Fully Solar Train

The Australian beach town of Byron Bay has a traffic problem–especially during holidays, when tourists cause gridlock on local streets. Until recently, there were few options for public transit. But the town now has a second option for traveling one common route: The world’s first fully solar-powered train, running on a restored train line that was out of use for more than a decade.
https://www.fastcompany.com/40509756/this-is-the-worlds-first-fully-solar-train
Article courtesy of Fast Company by Adele Peters

The hyperloop industry could make boring old trains and planes faster and comfier

The promise of hyperloop ranks near the top of the spectacular index: a network of tubes that will shoot people and their things from city to city at near supersonic speeds. But even if you never clamber into a levitating pod, the work being done now to make hyperloop a reality could make your future journeys—whether by plane, train, or automobile—faster, comfier, and cooler.  https://www.wired.com/story/hyperloop-spinoff-technology/
Article courtesy of Wired. by Meredith Rutland Bauer

Shutdown of coal-fired power plant results in significant fetal health improvement in downwind areas

First study to show fetal health improvement as a result of a coal-fired power plant shutdown due to direct federal level regulation on single pollution source finds 15 percent reduction in likelihood of having a low birth weight baby and 28 percent reduction in likelihood of a preterm birth in areas downwind of the power plant.   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/12/171221122409.htm
Article Courtesy of Science Daily source: Lehigh University

UW’s robotic fleet will probe under Antarctic ice shelves for clues to future sea-level rise

Later this month, a University of Washington researcher will heave a half-million dollars’ worth of robotic sensors into the frigid waters off Antarctica — and hope for the best.
If all goes well, the drones could gather some of the most extensive measurements ever from beneath the continent’s vast and vulnerable Western ice shelf. If things go wrong, the bots could vanish into the labyrinth of cavities and crevasses under the ice, never to be heard from again.  http://www.theolympian.com/news/local/article191577664.htmlArticle courtesy of The Olympian by Sandi Doughton / The Seattle Times

Read more here: http://www.theolympian.com/news/local/article191577664.html#storylink=cpy

Winds of worry: US fishermen fear forests of power turbines

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — East Coast fishermen are turning a wary eye toward an emerging upstart: the offshore wind industry.
In New Bedford, Massachusetts, the onetime whaling capital made famous in Herman Melville’s “Moby-Dick,” fishermen dread the possibility of navigating a forest of turbines as they make their way to the fishing grounds that have made it the nation’s most lucrative fishing port for 17 years running.  https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/winds-of-worry-us-fishermen-fear-forests-of-power-turbines/2017/12/25/15272706-e97d-11e7-956e-baea358f9725_story.html?utm_term=.3a3ae07d3989
Article courtesy of The Washington Post by Philip Marcelo/Associated Press

All the big changes happening (and not happening) at the MBTA and when to expect them

Last week’s arrival of the first new Orange Line train cars provided another reminder of the MBTA’s ongoing quest to improve service. And whether or not passengers have started noticing, the agency says its transformation is “gaining speed.”  https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2017/12/20/mbta-changes
Article courtesy of Boston.com by Nik Decosta Klipa

What needs to happen before electric cars take over the world

Faster than anyone expected, electric cars are becoming as economical and practical as cars with conventional engines. Prices for lithium-ion batteries are plummeting, while technical advances are increasing driving ranges and cutting recharging times.  https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/18/business/electric-car-adoption.html
Article courtesy of the New York Times by Jack Ewing

France passes law to ban all oil and gas production by 2040

PARIS — France's parliament has approved a law banning all exploration and production of oil and natural gas by 2040 within the country and its overseas territories.  https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/energy/2017/12/19/france-passes-law-ban-all-oil-and-gas-production-2040/966132001/
Article courtesy of USA Today by Associated Press

UPS orders 125 Tesla big-rig trucks that look as if they were designed for Batman

LOUISVILLE — UPS Inc. is making a big investment in all-electric big rigs by placing an order for 125 of the sleek new semi trucks from Tesla.

Published reports put the cost of the trucks at between $150,000 and $200,000 each and that the UPS order is the largest to date for a vehicle   https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/nation-now/2017/12/19/ups-orders-125-tesla-big-rig-trucks/967167001/

Article courtesy of USA Today Network James Bruggers, Louisville Courier Journal

Is Seaweed the Next Big Thing in Sustainable Food?

As Tollef Olsen throws a white buoy labeled “SEAFARM” into Portland, Maine’s Casco Bay on a cold, clear November day, he reminisces about talking to the Maine Sea Coast Vegetables founder Shep Erhart back in the early 1980s about the environmental benefits of farming seaweed.
Olsen recites: “No land, no fresh water, no fertilizer, no pesticides [used]…it also sequesters carbon.” But the big question was always, would people actually eat it? “Erhart would say, ‘There’s just not enough of a market.’ Now, he’s like, ‘Yup, it’s time. It’s working.’”
https://civileats.com/2017/12/20/is-seaweed-the-next-big-thing-in-sustainable-food/
Article courtesy of Civil Eats by Lisa Held

2017 will rank among Earth's top 5 warmest years

This year will almost certainly rank as one of the planet's top five warmest years on record, according to new data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA. In fact, the top NASA climate scientist reported Monday that 2017 is likely to be the second-warmest year on record, behind 2016, which in turn displaced 2015 from the top spot.  http://mashable.com/2017/12/19/top-5-hottest-years-global-warming-nasa-noaa/#Tn4sU03Vpmq5
Article courtesy of Mashable by Andrew Freedman

This Is The World’s First Fully Solar Train

The Australian beach town of Byron Bay has a traffic problem–especially during holidays, when tourists cause gridlock on local streets. Until recently, there were few options for public transit. But the town now has a second option for traveling one common route: The world’s first fully solar-powered train, running on a restored train line that was out of use for more than a decade.
https://www.fastcompany.com/40509756/this-is-the-worlds-first-fully-solar-train
Article courtesy of Fast Company News by Adele Peters

Australia Powers Up the World’s Biggest Battery — Courtesy of Elon Musk

The battery is the size of an American football field. It is capable of powering 30,000 homes, and its rapid deployment reflects the union of a blackout-prone state and a flashy entrepreneur, Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla Motors, who pledged to complete its construction in 100 days or do it for free.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/30/world/australia/elon-musk-south-australia-battery.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fbusiness-energy-environment
Article courtesy of The New York Times by Adam Baidawi

Too few highway chargers are last `hurdle' for electric cars

Aren't Taking Over Yet

Rolling out super chargers along highways in Europe and North America is key to unlocking sales of electric cars, according to the head of the biggest network provider.  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-01/too-few-highway-chargers-are-last-hurdle-for-electric-cars
Article courtesy of Bloomberg by Elizabeth Behrmann

'Super beans' raise hopes in hunger-prone parts of Africa

The so-called "super bean," a fast-maturing, high-yield variety, is being promoted by Uganda's government and agriculture experts amid efforts to feed hunger-prone parts of Africa. It's also a step toward the next goal: the "super, super bean" that researchers hope can be created. The beans are produced by conventional genetic selection, not the contentious genetic modification technologies.
 http://www.bostonherald.com/news/international/2017/12/super_beans_raise_hopes_in_hunger_prone_parts_of_africa
Article courtesy of The Boston Herald by The Associated Press

Climate change cannot be mitigated without carbon capture

The solution can be found at the Hellisheidi geothermal power plant, Iceland’s largest, just outside the capital Reykjavik. Since 2014, the plant has been extracting heat from underground, capturing the carbon dioxide released in the process, mixing it with water, and injecting it back down beneath the earth, about 700 meters (2,300 ft) deep. The carbon dioxide in the water reacts with the minerals at that depth to form rock, where it stays trapped. https://qz.com/1144298/humanitys-fight-against-climate-change-is-failing-one-technology-can-change-that/
Article courtesy of Quartz by Akshat Rathi

04 December Forest gumption: How scientists are tapping everything from drones to pruning shears to stem global warming

December 3, 2017 Kilombero Valley, Tanzania—Andy Marshall, a biologist, yanks on the steering wheel of a battered Nissan station wagon and swings it off a track in the Kilombero Valley of southern Tanzania. Rain from the night before has left hubcap-deep puddles across the road. Mr. Marshall downshifts, swerves onto a recently harvested field of sugar cane, and parks on the furrows. The Nissan shudders for an instant before going quiet. https://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2017/1203/Forest-gumption-How-scientists-are-tapping-everything-from-drones-to-pruning-shears-to-stem-global-warming
Article courtesy of CSM by Daniel Grossman

Rising Waters: Can a Massive Barrier Save Venice from Drowning?

A huge barrier designed to protect Venice from sea level rise and storm surges is set to be operational next year. But the project’s engineering limitations and cost overruns are raising questions about the mega-projects that many coastal cities are hoping can save them.http://e360.yale.edu/features/rising-waters-can-a-massive-sea-barrier-save-venice-from-drowning
Article courtesy of Yale Environment 360 by Jeff Goodell