Durante muchos años, los fabricantes de aerogeneradores han buscado formas de aumentar la eficiencia en el aprovechamiento de la energía eólica.

Han construido rotores más grandes, palas más largas y los han anclado sobre estructuras cada vez más altas para acceder a vientos más fuertes.

Las turbinas se construyen en tierra y en alta mar. Ahora, las turbinas eólicas marinas se están actualizando. Echemos un vistazo a la nueva frontera en energía eólica.

¿Alguna vez se preguntó qué elimina todo ese calor de su refrigerador? Resulta que los fluidos llamados hidrofluorocarbonos (HFC) están en juego.

Los HFC son sustancias químicas que circulan por los bordes de un refrigerador y absorben el calor. Como resultado, los HFC se evaporan y el vapor resultante se vuelve a condensar en un líquido, completando así el ciclo.

¿Cómo puede ser esto un problema? Los HFC son gases de efecto invernadero, lo que significa que son muy dañinos para nuestro medio ambiente.

 ¿Ha conducido por un campo petrolero y ha visto una llama ardiente saliendo de una chimenea alta?

Los campos petrolíferos emiten millones de toneladas de gases de efecto invernadero contaminantes y sustancias químicas cancerígenas en un proceso llamado quema de petróleo y gas.

Estas bengalas pueden no ser tan inofensivas como parecen. Recientemente, el ministro de Medio Ambiente de Irak, Jassem al-Falahi, admitió que la contaminación de los campos de producción de petróleo resultó en un mayor riesgo de cáncer de leucemia en las comunidades locales.

Did you know that the Salton Sea is more than twice as salty as the Pacific Ocean?

This manmade lake in southern California has been increasing in salinity and toxicity since the 1970s, causing major environmental health disasters for humans and wildlife.

Fortunately, on November 28 the US government pledged to dedicate $250 million over a four-year period to the lake’s cleanup and restoration. 

Did you know that the climate crisis is affecting Native American tribes?

Many tribes live in coastal areas that are being eroded by rising sea levels and melting permafrost. Permafrost - a layer of permanently frozen ground - is a mixture of soil, sand, and gravel held together by ice.

From biodegradable plastic made of seaweed to a “Greenhouse-in-a-Box”, the annual Earthshot Prize Awards was star-studded as ever with groundbreaking contributions to solving the world’s most critical environmental challenges. 

The awards, which were hosted in Boston, Massachusetts this year, were presented by Prince Williams and Princess Catherine of Wales, who attended the ceremony to cap off their brief trip to America.

Exciting news, folks! Researchers have reported that new seaweed has been discovered near Antarctica. Could this discovery solve the problems of climate change, food, and land shortage? 

Another superb news this week - corals have regenerated off the coast of Kiribati.

Why are these ecosystems a crucial defense against climate change? 

Let’s take a look at both, how they benefit our planet, and what the new research means to all of us.

Planet Earth has hit a new milestone! On November 15, our planet began supporting a population of 8 billion humans.

It has only been 11 years since we reached a milestone of 7 billion people. Every billionth person born is celebrated by the United Nations. For this milestone, a baby from the Dominican Republic was chosen to serve as the face of the children who helped us reach the 8 billion mark.

On November 18, over 200 countries concluded two weeks of climate negotiations at COP27.

COP, or the Conference of the Parties, is an annual event held by the United Nations. During last year’s COP in Glasgow, all eyes were on pledges made by countries to reduce carbon emissions. This is important if we are to stay within a 1.5 °C global warming.

At this year’s COP, hosted in Egypt, getting to net zero emissions still remained a key goal. While no new commitments were made, delegations made a significant pledge to phase down fossil fuels.

Did you know that the African nation of Congo is home to the world's largest peatlands?

Covering over 16.7 million hectares, they are larger than mainland England and Wales. The peatlands of Congo also hold carbon that if released would be the equivalent of three years worth of emissions. 

Scientists worry that global warming will cause Congo’s peatlands to once again switch from storing to releasing carbon into the atmosphere.

Let’s take a look at what peatlands are, how they form, why they are important, and why losing them can be so devastating.