If Europe wants to cut emissions faster, does this require a carbon tariff?

At the moment, there is a serious problem facing the world in global warming. The developed countries in the world are making moves to cut their emissions faster than the rest of the world.

If we are not careful, carbon tax can simply mean things need to be made on the other side of the world and shipped here

While this is only right, given the historical emissions that developed countries have already released, carbon tariffs are still going to be necessary.

You might ask why?

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Wolves have returned to Belgium after 100 years

Estimates vary, but it is thought that 15-20 wolves are in the country. This is made up of 1 pack in Flanders, and another in Southern Wallonia as well as a newly settled pair (this pair is likely to become a pack if allowed to survive).

Wolves have returned to Belgium. While only numbering about 20, if allowed to, it is likely to grow

Across the border in France and Germany, numbers are far higher. As a result, should these wolves be left alone, the numbers are likely to grow and spread.

Experts can be very good at spotting signs and clues of their presence, these skills are important to track the wolves however, these skills can also become very useful in ecotourism.

As global warming continues, Tigers and Leopards are extending their range higher into the Himalayas: how will snow leopards cope?

Nepal has significant populations of Tigers Leopards and Snow Leopards. Historical knowledge would state that tigers rule on the countries southern plains, Leopards rule in the mid country hill region and Snow leopards in the Himalayas.

This photo of a tiger high in the Himalayas was taken by a BBC crew for a documentary a few years ago
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Despite the promise to reverse their insane ban on on-shore wind turbines, there are fears that this what is going to happen

On-shore wind-turbines are far and away the cheapest (currently) and easiest form of renewable power to roll out. The UK is targeting net zero emissions by 2050 (as well as a 68% reduction on 1990 levels by 2030), so any rejection of the cheapest and one of the simplest means of power generation goes against all this. More urgent, the aim is to have a power grid that is 100% green by 2035 – just 12 years away.

Why should a very noisy minority be able to stop the countries efforts to cut our carbon footprint.

The simple fact is, that farmers up and down the country can make good extra money by hosting turbines. Whether crops or grazing is the primary use of the land, wind turbines take up a tiny proportion of the land, and have no discernible effect on output.

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Another habitat which stores vast amounts of carbon needs to be added to our list: Fjords

While Fjords are not particular common, and account for just 0.1% of the ocean surface area, they store 11-12% of the oceans carbon. Put differently, there are thought to be roughly 18 million tons of carbon stored in fjords around the world. To put it in perspective, that is a similar area to a speck of zest compared to the whole orange.

Norwegian fjord photo by Bob Vonderau 
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Could fossil fuels be pushed out of electricity generation by 2035 simply by market forces?

A report from Carbon Tracker (a London based non-profit) points out that Solar and wind have the potential of creating thousands of Petawatt hours of electricity a year, while current electricity demands stand at just 27PWh.

More crazy still is the space that it would take to get all our electricity from Solar. It would take 450,000 square km, which sounds like an insane amount of land. However, this is just 0.3% of land and significantly less than the land currently given over to the Fossil fuel industry. Given that much of our energy needs will come from wind, this is likely to be significantly lower. Another analysis suggests just 0.2% of land for solar, with 0.5% covered in wind turbines.

End of Oil Age? might we as a society end the need for oil within the next few decades? Photo credit Alexey
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Fusion breakthrough!

I wrote (rather poorly) back in October about fusion and its potential positives. In the middle of December, we had a breakthrough of incredible proportions.

For the first time, it took less energy to start fusion and sustain it, than was released in the reaction. This is obviously essential, as if it takes more energy to get the reaction to take place, than is generated you are using electricity not generating it.

Could this be the future of all energy creation?
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Easyjet has switched its green aviation focus from electric planes to hydrogen (though it is not giving up on battery planes)

Easyjet has switched its green aviation plans from electric to hydrogen. The aim is now to be flying a 200 person plane by 2035 on hydrogen. Previously, they were working with wright electric on a battery electric plane by 2030.

Currently, aviation emits roughly 2.5% of carbon emissions, and when taking into account non carbon effects, it accounts for roughly 3.5% of human global warming effects.

They have hastened to add, that this does not mean that they are giving up on battery electric, but that they wish to have multiple options. It is also recognized, that at least in the short-term, that while battery electric might be able to replace 80% of easyjets flight paths, the rest are to far for battery electric, unless power density takes a bigger leap forwards than currently expected.

In the meantime, inefficient aircraft are gradually being replaced. Of course this is good both for the environment and the company, as an inefficient plane uses more fuel to fly.

Vast seagrass forest is discovered by strapping cameras to sharks, and extend the area of seagrass by more than 40%

Tiger sharks are incredibly fierce, and can grow to be more than 16 foot (nearly 5m long). However, by strapping cameras to these fascinating animals (researchers attached cameras and trackers to the dorsal fins of tiger sharks, giving them hours of footage each time.

seagrass meadows are incredibly biodiverse, incredible carbon sinks and a huge new one increase the amount by 40%
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Could we increase the yields of wheat 600 times through vertical farming?

Vertical farming is a new concept. By growing crops indoors under lights, the crops grow far faster and so can be harvested multiple times a year. Furthermore, by using artificial lights it is possible to have many layers of food.

At the current time, indoor vertical farms only work for expensive fast growing plants, but this will change if electricity prices fall significantly
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