Energy and Climate Change

The presence of a strong El Niño almost ensures that 2015 will become the warmest on record for Earth and will have ripple effects on weather patterns all over the world.

There have been many published papers on regional wildfire behaviors, but no previous work has put weather’s effect on fire in a global context over such a long period of time.

That will mean big changes for freight businesses in California, one of the nation’s top gateways for international trade.

Under the plan, the town will be able to save money and turn all the streetlights on, according to town officials.

Elon Musk’s $5 billion Tesla "Gigafactory" in Story County, Nevada isn’t just going to be big, it’s going to be the biggest in the world.

"Climate Shock: The Economic Consequences of a Hotter Planet" http://press.princeton.edu/titles/10414.html should shift our narrative on climate change.

There is a big downside to this tech as it currently exists – the conversion efficiency sits at a lowly 1% – compared to as much as 25% for traditional solar panels. But the MSU researchers are aiming for more than 5% efficiency when their new panels are fully optimized.

"Has anyone completed a high-rise Passive House building before?"

This has to be one of the best Dutch ideas yet–roadside noise barriers that also generate solar power. Not only that, they work on cloudy days, and one kilometer (0.62 miles) provides enough electricity to power 50 homes.

Beyond boosting energy efficiency, advanced lighting systems can use sensors and software to detect motion and transmit images and audio.