To live, people need food to eat and water to drink. That’s a simple fact. But with growing water scarcity around the world and an ever increasing population, we have to find better ways to produce the food we all need to survive. The solution could lie in one
Gas stoves have been quite the “hot button issue” lately. But a range of data from decades’ worth of research has already reached a consensus: Cooking with gas is dangerous to human health and a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions. Electrification has been ongoing, with Europe leading the way
Everyone is worried about outdoor air pollution, right? Yet, a poor indoor air quality (IAQ) can be an invisible yet ruthless killer. Even worse than Freddy Krueger. At least, you could see him in your dreams, I mean nightmares. Seriously, pollutants like volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particulate matter (PM), and
Heat pumps are versatile, efficient, and great for both heating and cooling … or are they? Whenever heat pumps are mentioned, critics bring up their ineffectiveness in the cold, so is that still true? Or do more modern heat pumps continue to work effectively in cold climates? I’m currently building
Tackling the climate crisis requires us to reinvent… well almost everything from our energy production methods, to our food sources, to our transportation systems. And transportation is a really important sector to highlight, as it’s the leading source of emissions in the U.S., contributing to one-third of all
I’ve been living with solar panels for almost 5 years now here in Massachusetts, and I thought it was time to take a look at how it’s been going. There’s been some twists and turns with solar production and how it’s fared going through the cold
The solar industry has a potentially fatal flaw: its reliance on silver. As a precious metal, silver is costly and difficult to come by, yet critical to pretty much every kind of solar panel.1 Worldwide solar capacity has officially crossed into terawatt territory and silver is putting that continued
Carbon offsets are everywhere these days. You might see them in little disclaimers on your favorite sneaker brand’s site, or you can buy them to help offset your next cross-country flight. They may be ubiquitous, but what really are carbon offsets and what should you know before buying into
Who doesn’t want a smartphone, laptop, or EV that can charge in minutes? Or a device that holds its charge just as well when it’s 5 years old as the day you plugged it in for the first time? Faster-charging, longer-lasting, and cheaper energy storage options are something
Concrete, the literal foundation of our built environment, is the most commonly used man-made material in the world. But its key ingredient – cement – has a carbon footprint that rivals the world’s biggest emitters. Under pressure to reduce emissions, the global construction industry is reckoning with an array of innovative,
One of the benefits of a factory built home is that the insulated wall panels are assembled in a climate controlled facility. However, they still need to get assembled on site … and that’s when mother nature can take her revenge. My factory built house started getting raised on site
And now for a hopeful environmental story about climate policy that worked… new U.N. data shows that the ozone layer is recovering, a major development for health, food security, and the planet. This is all thanks to humans around the world coming together to solve an environmental crisis. (Yes, you