Yesterday was the 55th celebration of Earth Day. This year's theme was "Our Power, Our Planet", with a focus on how rapidly growing renewable energy sources are promising hope in the fight against the climate crisis.
Posts tagged as “energy”
Last year, the US got more of its electricity from wind and solar power than from coal. It's the first time that's ever happened, and it shows how quickly the US is moving toward cleaner energy sources. Because renewable energy is so cheap, it will probably continue to grow, despite President Donald Trump's push to increase fossil fuel use.
Cuba is facing a serious power problem. On Friday, the entire island lost electricity. As of Monday, much of the island was still without power. The blackout shows how much work is needed to improve Cuba's electricity system. Making things worse, parts of the island were hit by a hurricane on Sunday.
The United Kingdom said goodbye to coal-powered electricity on Monday when the last coal-fired power plant in the country closed down. The closing of the Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station marks the end of a 142-year history of coal-powered electricity in Great Britain.
The world's countries have reached a new climate agreement. For the first time, the deal clearly calls on countries to move away from using fossil fuels to create energy. But many people say the agreement doesn't go far enough to protect the planet from global warming.
On Tuesday, Virgin Atlantic flew a large passenger jet from London to New York using 100% "Sustainable Aviation Fuel" (SAF). The flight was meant to show that it's possible to fly using cleaner fuels, but experts disagree about the effects of SAF on the climate.
As the world struggles to deal with the climate crisis, some companies are working to remove polluting carbon dioxide from the air. That's a huge and challenging goal, but two US companies have recently made important progress.
Hydrogen is a gas that burns cleanly and produces a lot of energy. It will play an important part in tackling the climate crisis. Until recently, producing hydrogen created pollution. Now, scientists say there may be large amounts of natural hydrogen hidden underground.
On August 1, new rules went into effect in the United States that make it against the law to sell most incandescent light bulbs. These are older-style light bulbs that create light by heating a wire. The law is expected to save energy and help the environment.
Imagine being able to use energy from the sun all the time, even when it's night. That's the idea that scientists at Caltech are exploring. They're working on collecting sunlight in space and sending its energy to Earth.
Scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have invented a new way to make electricity. Their method uses super-tiny holes to make electricity from moisture in the air. The scientists hope the method will one day lead to cheap, clean electricity anywhere at any time.