How “green” is nuclear energy’s carbon lifecycle?
Both surging interest and investment in nuclear energy as a way to meet net zero goals and to diminish the worst effects of climate change, as well as the US commitment at COP28 to triple nuclear energy capacity by 2050, are reasons to pause and examine how “green” nuclear power really is. It is important to consider the carbon life cycle of a typical, light-water reactor nuclear power plant (NPP). If nuclear energy is not truly lower in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions over that life cycle than other power sources, then nations choosing it as a way to meet legally-binding Paris Agreement NDCs regarding GHG reduction requirements may open themselves up to climate litigation.
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The Impact of the Renewable Energy Rush on Indigenous Peoples
Indigenous peoples’ lands and territories constitute at least 28% of the global land surface. Indigenous people represent 5,000 unique cultures worldwide, and they protect 80% of the world’s remaining biodiversity. At the same time, despite having contributed the least to climate change, many indigenous people will experience the most drastic impacts from it if humans don’t ramp up renewable energy production rapidly and worldwide. Yet is it possible to do so without repeating the atrocities of the past or worsening indigenous peoples’ circumstances in the present?
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Making Waves/The Wave of the Future: Floating Photovoltaic Arrays
Water and solar energy are the building blocks of life—especially in the arid West. An emerging technology takes advantage of both has the potential to provide 50% of the world’s ongoing energy needs through a clean, green new technology: Floating photovoltaics (FPVs). Alternatively known “aquavoltaics”1 (AVs), “floating solar arrays,” or “floatovoltaics,” FPVs can increase sustainable energy production while decreasing the costs and ecological concerns related to terrestrial solar arrays.
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Do we have a Human Right to a Clean Environment?
Is the right to a clean environment a protected human right? According to the United Nations and a collection of youth plaintiffs in lawsuits across the U.S., the answer is yes. If so, then the door is opening to a new approach to climate justice litigation, based on pre-existing treaties and state constitutions, that could change the way environmental justice advocates approach their work. This spring and summer, several important cases will be tried that could set the precedent for whether or not this approach will work.
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There’s a Hole in the Bottom of the Sea
“It’s like Dr. Seuss down there,” according to Diva Amon, a scientist who studies the marine floor, describing the incredible sea life and geologic formations in an area known as the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), which may soon be opened to the first-ever deep sea mining of polymetallic nodules.
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Shining a Light on Solar Recycling
What happens when technology made for the good goes bad? Unfortunately, solar panel waste is a growing problem as photovoltaics gain traction in our energy economy. According to NREL, these “decommissioned PV modules could total 1 million tons of waste in the United States by 2030, or 1% of the world’s e-waste. This presents not only waste management concerns but also opportunities for materials recovery and secondary markets.”
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