advertisement advertisement advertisement As of February 2021, COVID-19 has killed more than 2.2 million people around the world. The pandemic has changed the way we work, live, and socialize. advertisement advertisement At the same time, 2020 also brought new reasons to be hopeful about climate change. With the election of Joe Biden as president, the United States is poised to resume a leading role on the issue. China committed to the ambitious goal of being carbon neutral by 2060. In 2021, the United Nations will gather in Scotland for another major summit on climate change. Of course, none of this guarantees that we’ll make progress, but the opportunities are there. I expect to spend much of my time in 2021 talking with leaders around the world about both climate change and COVID-19. I will make the case to them that many of the lessons from the pandemic—and the values and principles that guide our approach to it—apply just … [Read more...] about Bill Gates: These 3 lessons from COVID-19 can help us fight climate change
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The U.S. rejoined the Paris Agreement. Now comes the hard part
advertisement advertisement advertisement More than three and a half years after Trump said that the U.S. would pull out of the Paris climate agreement, we’re back in. On Biden’s first day in office, rejoining the accord was the third of 17 immediate executive orders he signed as soon as he was sworn in. Rejoining was simple; after sending a letter to the United Nations, the U.S. will officially be part of Paris again in a month. The next part is harder. How can the world’s second-largest polluter shrink emissions enough to comply with the deal? advertisement advertisement “Rejoining is just the threshold,” says Rachel Cleetus, the policy director for the climate and energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. “We need to do a lot more to show the world that the U.S. is going to do its fair share.” One of the first steps is setting a new goal—a pledge that each country makes as part of the Paris Agreement. In 2015, when … [Read more...] about The U.S. rejoined the Paris Agreement. Now comes the hard part
Former Soda Bottles Become Low-Cost Solar Lights
advertisement advertisement advertisement Even as countries like India race to stretch the power grid to rural areas, well over a billion people around the world still don’t have access to electricity. If someone wants to have light at night to study or work, they tend to use kerosene lamps, even though they’re expensive, smoky, and a fire hazard. For several years, designers have worked on perfecting cheap solar lanterns as an alternative. One of the latest reuses plastic water bottles to help bring the cost down even more. advertisement “With Infinite Light , we aimed to create a sustainable lamp with minimum cost,” say the designers at Designnobis , the Turkey-based firm that created the concept. “The lighting unit does not require any infrastructure, and it is a ready-to-use package that can be placed in a discarded plastic bottle.” A flexible solar panel inside a water or soda bottle collects sunlight during the day, and small … [Read more...] about Former Soda Bottles Become Low-Cost Solar Lights
Hitting net zero by 2050 could add $1 trillion to the U.S. economy
advertisement advertisement advertisement To avoid catastrophic climate change, the U.S. needs to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, meaning that emissions shrink so much that whatever’s left can be offset by nature or by technology such as machines that can suck CO2 out of the atmosphere. A new report from the nonprofit Energy Innovation says that the goal is possible—and reaching it comes with other benefits, most notably adding nearly $1 trillion to the GDP. advertisement “Our modeling, along with several other recent deep decarbonization studies, shows getting the U.S. to net-zero emissions by 2050 is feasible and would generate millions of new jobs and significant GDP growth for the U.S.,” says Robbie Orvis, director of energy policy design at Energy Innovation, where a team used a detailed modeling tool to analyze the policy needed to get to net zero. “Much of the reductions required can be achieved with today’s technology. But to be on … [Read more...] about Hitting net zero by 2050 could add $1 trillion to the U.S. economy