Imagine you're living in China and your family switches from traditional cooking methods to cleaner fuels. What happens? Well, a lot! A study shows that a small increase in using clean cooking fuels can boost a country's total household income by billions. In China, this means an extra $37 billion a year! But it's not just about money. It's also about fairness. These...
Ever thought about how plastics could help save the planet? Well, they just might! Polymers, as scientists call them, are being used in amazing ways to make clean energy a reality. Let's start with wind power. You know those massive wind turbines? The blades are made from special polymers that make them lighter and stronger. This means they can harness more wind ener...
Imagine trying to schedule clean energy in a world where wind and sun don't always cooperate. That's what makes this job so tough! Traditional methods are struggling to handle the complex and ever-changing nature of clean energy sources. So, what's the solution? Enter the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) big data platform, packed with computational power a...
President-elect Donald Trump’s energy policy, often summarized as “drill, baby, drill, ” is expected to get more complex. His cabinet picks, including Doug Burgum for Interior Secretary and Chris Wright, a natural gas fracking CEO, hint that fossil fuels will be the focus. Both have experience with renewable energy, too. Burgum saw wind power soar in North Dakota dur...
In 2017, China started a "coal-to-gas" policy to reduce indoor air pollution. This policy helped rural households switch to cleaner energy. But did it also improve the mental health of elderly residents? Researchers from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey (CHARLS) found that it did. They used a special method called difference-in-differences to compa...
Illinois' environmental and labor leaders are exploring cooperation to tackle the state's climate challenges. Jennifer Walling, head of the Illinois Environmental Council, and Marc Poulos, a labor representative, recently visited Germany to learn about their efficient mass transit system. They hope to apply these ideas to Chicago's crumbling infrastructure and encour...
China has been on a mission to get more plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) on its roads. The idea is to cut down on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by using electricity instead of gas. But does this plan really work? Researchers looked into this from 2016 to 2020. They found that swapping a regular car for a PHEV can reduce CO2 by about 12. 38 kg per 100 km. Tha...
With just days left in office, President Joe Biden is on a mission to safeguard his key policy wins. High on his to-do list is the CHIPS and Science Act, which has ramped up domestic production of memory chips. Economic experts warn that if incoming President Donald Trump decides to axe this program, it could lead to a whopping $1 trillion loss for the U. S. Biden i...
You've probably heard about lithium and how important it is for our clean energy future. But did you know that a lot of it is stuck in places that are really hard to reach? Enter some clever scientists from Australia who've figured out a new way to get at this hidden lithium. They call it EDTA-aided loose nanofiltration, or EALNF for short. EALNF can dig into places...
Imagine a world where carbon dioxide, the main culprit behind climate change, is transformed into a clean energy source. Sounds like science fiction, right? Well, researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have made it a reality. They've developed an innovative electrochemical cell that can efficiently convert captured carbon dioxide into formate, a green fuel th...