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