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The Nuclear Hydrogen Initiative Says Nuclear Hydrogen Is a Critical Climate Solution We have seen this movie before and we didn't like the ending. More than 40 global participants announced the formation of the Nuclear Hydrogen Initiative, which is described as "a coalition working to advance nuclear hydrogen as a critical climate solution." A statement said: "The initiative will engage policymakers, businesses, investors, and other key stakeholders to raise awareness of the important role nuclear hydrogen can play in delivering carbon-free, secure and affordable energy." "We envision our nuclear plants becoming versatile clean energy centers that not only generate 24/7 carbon-free electricity for the grid, but also bring together clean hydrogen, renewables and other new and emerging technologies to power every corner of our economy," said Colleen Wright, vice president of Corporate Strategy for Constellation, the largest American nuclear operator with

Coca-Cola Trials Paper Bottles in Hungary The goal is to avoid plastic and be easily recyclable. Coca-Cola is far from being a role model for sustainable design, but it is doing something interesting in Europe right now. A partnership with the Paper Bottle Company (Paboco) of Denmark has resulted in a unique, mostly-paper bottle that will be able to hold carbonated beverages without exploding from the pressure or losing fizziness.  The goal is to create a fully-recyclable, plastic-free bottle that won't let gas escape, nor affect the flavor of the drink in any way, and after seven years of development, a version is ready for commercial trial. Customers in Hungary will receive their online grocery orders of AdeZ, a dairy-free fruit smoothie, in these paper bottles, and both Coca-Cola and Paboco will be watching closely to see what they think.  Michael Michelson is the commercial manager at Paboco. He told BBC that the bottles are made from a single, seamless piece of paper fiber to

What to Do if You See a Turtle on the Road Turtles are among the most threatened groups of vertebrate animals on earth—and too many are dying on our roads. As the weather warms up, turtles and tortoises are on the move. Especially females, who may be looking for a place to nest—and unfortunately, that place may very well be on the other side of a road. In some areas, turtle habitats are entirely boxed in by roads, meaning that these creatures are at an even higher risk of a vehicle collision. "Because turtles are long-lived species that mature slowly and have fairly low reproductive outputs, the survival and longevity of adults, especially females, is critical to the survival of populations," explains Kiley Briggs at The Oreanne Society. "So the fact that roadkill disproportionately affects mature females means that for some populations, only losing a few turtles per year due to vehicle strikes can tilt the balance toward gradual extirpation (localized extinction)."

5 Reasons Why the James Webb Space Telescope Is Such a Big Deal Many scientists believe there's another planet like Earth somewhere in the universe, and the search to find it is underway. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is be more powerful than its predecessors and will be able to see further into space to discover distant planets in far-off galaxies. It will even give us the tools to search for indications of an atmosphere that could sustain life. Its current mission launched into space on December 25, 2021. There are certainly larger Earth-bound telescopes, but as its name implies, the JWST will roam above the atmosphere, providing more powerful unobstructed views of the heavens than even the historic Hubble Space Telescope could offer. Funded by NASA in conjunction with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the infrared Webb telescope weighs 6 metric tons and will orbit 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. It boasts many new technological advan

Black Holes Power Some of the Brightest Objects in the Universe, So Why Is Ours So Calm? Despite their reputation as all-consuming voids of darkness, it might come as a surprise to learn that black holes are responsible for the brightest known phenomena in the universe. This remarkable contrast is possible because of the violent forces that black holes generate, ripping apart all matter that approaches and turning gas clouds into searing beacons of light. Sometimes, as shown in the animation below from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, these light shows can be on an order of magnitude that's difficult to comprehend. On July 31, 2019, NASA's Spitzer telescope captured an orbital clash between two black holes that generated an explosion of light brighter than that of a trillion stars or more than twice the brightness of our own Milky Way galaxy! A hungry cosmic furnace Black holes are capable of generating these light shows due to the way they wreak havoc on everything that d

10 Wonders of the Solar System These celestial marvels are truly out of this world. Our solar system is big. Way big. In fact, if Earth were the size of a marble, the solar system out to Neptune would cover an area the size of San Francisco. Within this vastness lies an array of celestial wonders: the sun with its surface of plasma, the Earth with its abundance of life and massive oceans, the mesmerizing clouds of Jupiter, to name a few. For this particular list, we've decided to highlight some well-known celestial wonders, as well as a few you might not know about. With new discoveries happening all the time, and so much left to explore, the cosmos is never short on beauty and astonishment. Below are just a few of the scattered jewels of our solar system. The impact crater of Utopia Planitia, Mars The largest recognized impact basin in the solar system, Utopia Planitia features a crater that stretches more than 2,000 miles (about 3,300 kilometers) across Mars' northern plains.

Air Canada Electrifies Its Lineup With Hybrid Planes Do planes with short range make sense in such a big country? Air Canada ordered 30 hybrid aircrafts being developed by Sweden's Heart Aerospace. The carrier also announced an investment in the company. "Air Canada has taken a leadership position in the industry to address climate change. The introduction into our fleet of the ES-30 electric regional aircraft from Heart Aerospace will be a step forward to our goal of net zero emissions by 2050," said Michael Rousseau, president and CEO of Air Canada. The plane is powered by four electric motors and carries lithium-ion batteries to let it fly with a full load for 125 miles (200 kilometers) in all-electric mode. Then the hybrid generators kick in, extending the range to 250 miles (400 km). With the number of passengers reduced from 30 to 25, they can push the range to 500 miles (800 km). As a Canadian, my first thought was this is a very silly idea—Canada is a big country.

The Auto Industry Alone Will Blow the 1.5-Degree Carbon Budget It's making too many cars between now and 2030. A new study from researchers in Australia and Germany, published by Greenpeace in Germany, finds that internal combustion engine (ICE) light duty vehicles (LDVs, or cars, light trucks, and SUVs) alone could pump out as much as 116 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide. The report, based on current projections by manufacturers, states: "Phasing out the internal combustion engine and fully electrifying LDV sales is necessary by 2030 to stay within a 1.5°C carbon budget. However, the industry’s plans—at least the plans of traditional manufacturers such as Volkswagen, Toyota, Hyundai/Kia, and GM—lead to projections of only 52% of battery electric vehicle sales by 2030." Cue up the commentariat, who will say, "What 1.5-degree Celsius carbon budget? It's already blown." To which we respond that every fraction of a degree matters, every kilogram of carbon dioxide m

Renewable Energy Sees Strong Growth But Not Enough A coal rebound, high energy demand, lack of ambitious goals, and multiple financial, political, and social challenges threaten clean energy growth. The renewable energy sector saw record growth in 2021 but the International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts that the ongoing surge in investments won't be enough to put the world on track for net-zero emissions by 2050. The IEA's "Renewables 2021" report forecasts that by 2026, global renewable electricity capacity will reach 4,800 gigawatts (GW), a 60% increase from 2020 levels. That means that over the next few years, the world should be able to produce more than half of its electricity from renewable sources, up from nearly 37% at the end of 2020. However, to avoid a climate catastrophe, renewable energy capacity would need to grow twice as fast and, on top of that, biofuels and the use of renewable space heating would need to grow exponentially. When it comes to growth,

How Much Energy Is in Lightning? And could we use it to power our lives? Lightning is the discharge of electricity caused by an imbalance between the positive and negative charges that build up in a thundercloud. Most lightning flashes occur between or within clouds, but about 40 million lightning strikes hit the ground in the United States each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which tracks lightning strike injuries and deaths. Is it possible to harness that energy to power entire communities? Here, we explore that question. Amount of Energy in Lightning Lightning produces 10 times more electricity than flows on high-tension wires. It also produces heat energy hotter than the surface of the sun, and sound energy (thunder) that can travel 25 miles. While only lasting a millisecond, a flash of lightning is thought produce up to 10 gigawatts (GW) of electricity, which would be a sixth of the capacity of all the rooftop solar panels in the U.S. in 2021. Ca