Nothing is fixed in time or space. Everything – from quantum particles to people, planets and galaxies – is in constant motion, and part of a constellation of inextricably interwoven systems. That might seem like […]
arketyp. News Feed
Digital, tech & innovation narratives curated from across the web
Category: Environment
Is Tesla Becoming a Threat to the World’s Biggest Utilities?
It appears that the California disruption machine intends to take on not only the powerful German auto brands, but the country’s major electric utilities as well. The electric utility industry is on the verge of […]
What is the Environmental Impact of Lithium Batteries?
Although electric vehicles are emission-free they still cause a climate impact which derives from the manufacturing of the car and not least the battery. Electric cars are moved by lithium batteries and their production entails […]
The Staggering Ecological Impacts of Computation and the Cloud
Anthropologist Steven Gonzalez Monserrate draws on 5 years of research in server farms to illustrate some of the diverse environmental impacts of data storage. While in technical parlance the “Cloud” might refer to the pooling […]
Can a Planet Have a Mind of Its Own?
“We don’t yet have the ability to communally respond in the best interests of the planet. There is intelligence on Earth, but there isn’t planetary intelligence.” If the collective activity of life—known as the biosphere—can […]
Animals Laugh Too
Every pet owner knows that animals love to play, but laughter seems reserved for humans, a few apes, and maybe a few birds good at mimicking humans and apes. As it turns out, according to […]
Redefine Meat to Serve 3D-Printed, Plant-Based Meat at Eateries in Europe
Startup also unveils first ‘whole cuts’ for high-end restaurants in the UK, Germany, Netherlands Israeli startup Redefine Meat will begin offering 3D-printed plant-based “meat” products at select high-end restaurants in Europe, the company announced on […]
Wildlife Photographer of the Year
The competition, which is in its 57th year, awards 19 categories of wildlife photography, including behaviour, photojournalism, and portraiture. This year, the competition received 50,000 entries from photographers around the world. Judges looked for innovation, […]
Can Nuclear Fusion Put the Brakes on Climate Change?
Amid an escalating environmental crisis, nuclear fusion offers a dream — or a pipe dream — of limitless clean energy. Let’s say that you’ve devoted your entire adult life to developing a carbon-free way to […]
The Best ‘Mascot’ for Long-Term Thinking?
Spend enough time in long-termist circles, and somebody will tell you a story about trees. What is it about trees and long-term thinking? There are plenty of inert objects that last beyond our lifetimes and […]
The Jungle Megacities of Cambodia
How Early Megacities Emerged From the Jungles of Cambodia and how instability, climate, and neglect drove their slow collapse. When I arrived in Phnom Penh during Cambodia’s dry season in January, I stumbled through the […]
Plants may Possess Intent
Research suggests that at least one type of plant – the french bean – may be more sentient than we give it credit for: namely, it may possess intent. The issue of whether or not […]
A Permaculture Master Grows an Oasis in the Desert
Following his own success in creating a lush oasis in the middle of the desert, Goran N’Diaye is now training the next generation of young Senegalese farmers. Goran N’Diaye is a pioneer in sustainable farming […]
2020: A Truly Unimaginable Year for Biodiversity
The Guardian’s biodiversity editor looks back on a year that put the state of the planet on the agenda in ways no one could have foreseen. The year 2020 was always destined to be a […]
The Top Five Climate Stories of 2020
From raging wildfires to a pending shift on U.S. climate action, the year was a notable one for climate change. Though the coronavirus pandemic has been a defining story of 2020, the year has been […]
Has China Mastered Weather Modification?
Using rockets and pickup trucks, Chinese officials are seeding clouds and bringing the rain. Last month, 16 “artificial rain enhancement rockets” were launched off the back of a pickup truck 300 miles south of Beijing. […]
The Price of Solar Electricity has Dropped 89% in 10 Years
It may have seemed far-fetched a decade ago, but clean energy has already passed its economic tipping point. A 2019 report from the nonprofit Rocky Mountain Institute found that it was cheaper to build and […]
The Great Conjunction of 2020
On December 21 — coincidentally the winter solstice — the two largest planets in our solar system will appear to almost merge in Earth’s night sky. During the event, Jupiter and Saturn will sit just […]
The Social Life of Forests
Trees appear to communicate and cooperate through subterranean networks of fungi. What are they sharing with one another? Now a professor of forest ecology at the University of British Columbia, Simard, who is 60, has […]
The New Energy Giants
Enel, Iberdrola, NextEra Energy and Orsted prioritized the building of clean-power plants when those assets were alternative and expensive. Now they’re on the cusp of a breakthrough. Meet the clean supermajors. They have the clout […]
How Localisation Can Solve Climate Change
Visions of a globalised future with renewable energy are wholly unrealistic unless we change the economy. The general consensus seems to be that the problem of climate change is just a question of replacing one […]
Behind China’s ‘Pork Miracle’
As Chinese demand for pork grows and grows, traditional small-scale farms are being replaced by vast, AI-assisted operations that feel more like smartphone factories. Some of the most delicious pork in China is currently being […]
Solar’s Future is Insanely Cheap
Solar has plunged in price faster than anyone predicted. And modeling of that price decline leads me to forecast that solar will ultimately reach prices lower than virtually anyone expects. Before going on to the […]
NextEra Now More Valuable Than Exxon
NextEra Energy Inc., the world’s biggest provider of wind and solar energy, is now more valuable than oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp., once the largest public company on Earth. NextEra ended Wednesday with market value […]
China’s Plan for Net-Zero Emissions by 2060
Though the country is a huge polluter, it leads the world in the clean technologies that could make this feasible. Now, in perhaps the most important news of 2020 that you may have missed, China […]
The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards
Take a look at some of the light-hearted images of wildlife submitted by finalists from this year’s Comedy Wildlife Photography awards. The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards (CPWA), “most probably the world’s funniest photography competition” according […]
Feline Philosophy
A sense of uneasiness about their place in the world seems innate in humans, whereas contentment is the default condition of cats. Philosophy has served many human impulses. Contrary to what is commonly supposed, an […]
Gaia Versus the Anthropocene
A single strand coded protein packed in a fatty shell — so small that it is almost immune to gravity — is changing humanity as we know it. What is happening? If we approach this […]
Sparrow Song Goes ‘Viral’
White-throated sparrows in British Columbia are whistling a new tune and it’s going viral across Canada. What started as a minor change to a common song has now morphed into a continent-wide phenomenon before our […]
Lockdowns Trigger Fall in Emissions
Responses to coronavirus crisis cause sharpest drop in carbon output since records began. Carbon dioxide emissions have fallen dramatically since lockdowns were imposed around the world due to the coronavirus crisis, research has shown. Daily […]