Energy

an overhead shot of land split in three. the left side is dry and dusty. the middle has some vegetation, and the right side has a lot.

Desertification is destroying fertile land. Here’s how we’re fighting it.

a female presenting person in a lab coat holding a solar cell

New “tandem” solar cell breaks world record

A new tandem solar cell containing layers of silicon and perovskite has demonstrated an unprecedented efficiency of 33.7%.

Kristin Houser

Clean Energy

These 4 charts show the unstoppable growth of solar

Solar is growing fast enough to displace fossil fuels from the entire global economy before 2050, but infrastructure needs to keep up.

Andrew Blakers

Climate Crisis

Quantum computer designs heat-radiating window coating

Notre Dame researchers have used quantum computing to design a transparent window coating that reflects heat into the atmosphere.

Kristin Houser

Clean Energy

Your house could become a rechargeable cement battery. Here’s how.

Rechargeable cement batteries could allow for whole sections of multi-storey buildings to be made of functional concrete.

Emma Charlton, World Economic Forum

This cheap material could capture CO2 from power plants before it pollutes the atmosphere

The simple compound costs just a fraction of similar carbon-capturing materials.

Stephen Johnson

Climate Crisis

NASA detects 50+ methane “super-emitters” from space

A new instrument aboard the International Space Station has been used to identify more than 50 “super-emitters” of methane.

Kristin Houser

Clean Energy

Molten salt reactors could save nuclear power

Molten salt reactors, a type of nuclear reactor first explored in the 1950s, could be the future of clean energy.

Kristin Houser

Animals

Wild mammals are making a comeback in Europe thanks to conservation efforts

Many large mammals in Europe were close to extinction. New data shows us that the continent’s mammal populations are flourishing again.

Hannah Ritchie | Our World in Data

Climate Crisis

Solar geoengineering could cool Earth, but some regions might continue warming

Some governments might try to “geoengineer” the planet by spraying substances into the upper atmosphere to reflect sunlight away from Earth.

Noah Diffenbaugh and James W. Hurrell and Elizabeth A. Barnes and Curtis Bell and Patrick W. Keys

Climate Crisis

Does turning the air conditioning off when you’re not home actually save energy?

Which is more efficient: running the air conditioning all day long, or turning it off during the day when you’re not there to enjoy it?

Kyri Baker and Jennifer Scheib and Aisling Pigott

Agriculture

Supermarket uses hydroponic farm to grow veggies onsite

By installing a hydroponic farm inside a grocery store, an Egyptian company is combating climate change while delivering a fresher product.

Kristin Houser

Climate Crisis

The US is researching ways to block the sun

The US is developing a plan to study solar geoengineering, a controversial approach to combatting the effects of climate change.

Kristin Houser

Sections

Video

Freethink

We focus on solutions: the smartest people, the biggest ideas, and the most ground breaking technology shaping our future.