Andrew Warren, chairman of the British Energy Efficiency Federation, wrote an optimistic column about the increasing priority for energy saving that appears in the January 2020 issue of Energy in Buildings & Industry magazine. Let’s all hope he is right. What are your views? The year energy saving became fashionable Let me start 2020 … Continue reading Optimistic that energy saving will become trendy again
Coal phase out in Germany runs into problems
Germany plans to phase out coal power by 2038. The embattled Hambach Forest is now protected, but some villages will still have to make way for the last open-pit mines. Activists and local residents are appalled. Karin Jäger and Gero Rueter explain in an article on the Deutsche Welle website. Hambach Forest: Germany's sluggish … Continue reading Coal phase out in Germany runs into problems
Answers to air pollution questions lie in our distant evolutionary past
It’s not just a modern problem. Airborne toxins are so pernicious that they may have shaped our DNA over millions of years. Carl Zimmer explains in an article in the New York Times. Air Pollution, Evolution, and the Fate of Billions of Humans The threat of air pollution grabs our attention when we see it … Continue reading Answers to air pollution questions lie in our distant evolutionary past
Understanding the causes of Australia’s bushfire season
While we have all watched in horror the fires and devastation in Australia, it is instructive to better understand the causes of the bushfire season. Despite the political smokescreen, scientists are in no doubt that global heating has contributed to Australia’s fire emergency. Graham Readfearn provides a good review of the causes in an article … Continue reading Understanding the causes of Australia’s bushfire season
Brakes a bigger source of particulates in roadside air than vehicle exhausts
Brake dust produces more of the most harmful kind of air pollution than vehicle exhausts, a new study finds. Tom Bawden explains in an article on the inews website. Brake dust is a major source of air pollution, new study finds Brake dust produces more of the most harmful kind of air pollution than … Continue reading Brakes a bigger source of particulates in roadside air than vehicle exhausts
It will not be possible to meet climate goals without immediate and durable action on building fossil fuel use
Mark Silberg writes on the Rocky Mountain Institute website that the US has to change its attitude towards using fossil fuels in buildings if there is any hope to meeting long-term climate goals. While this is about the US, no doubt this is equally true globally. What are your views? Fossil Gas Has No … Continue reading It will not be possible to meet climate goals without immediate and durable action on building fossil fuel use
Canadian medical schools have not adequately addressed the urgent need for training related to planetary health and climate change
Brenna Owen writes on the National Newswatch website that medical students in Canada are calling for their education to now address the growing health effects of climate change. Is this also a rising concern in other countries? Canadian medical students call for better education on health and climate change Canadian medical schools have not … Continue reading Canadian medical schools have not adequately addressed the urgent need for training related to planetary health and climate change
Financing Europe’s green transition
This was a critical week for ensuring the European Union takes a more ambitious approach to the low-carbon energy transition. The European Commission unveiled a €1 trillion investment plan to fight climate change on Tuesday. The Commission proposals would dedicate around a quarter of the EU budget to the task. The proposal has already had … Continue reading Financing Europe’s green transition
Important rallying cry: “Never demolish, never remove or replace, always add, transform, and reuse!”
While the European Environment Agency recently published a briefing on construction and demolition waste, Oliver Wainwright writes on a similar theme in The Guardian of the need to never demolish another building. What are your views? The case for ... never demolishing another building The wrecking ball has always been the great symbol of … Continue reading Important rallying cry: “Never demolish, never remove or replace, always add, transform, and reuse!”
New EEA briefing on construction and demolition waste
Construction and demolition waste makes up just over one third of total waste generation in the EU. Despite relatively high recovery rates of used materials, Europe’s construction sector will need to be even more ambitious in its waste management practices if it is to fully embrace Europe’s circular economy. According to a European Environment Agency … Continue reading New EEA briefing on construction and demolition waste
Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 