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Solar
The UnAtomic Age
Illustration by nik harron. Since the 2011 Fukushima catastrophe, the global decline in nuclear power has steepened. More than 20 countries are phasing out nuclear plants, have stopped the construction of new reactors, or passed laws prohibiting nuclear power. The number of reactors and nuclear electricity output is falling worldwide.
Is a (Mostly) Solar World Coming?
Recent gains in solar and wind energy are tremendously encouraging. In 2013 there were 40 gigawatts of new solar installed globally and for 2014 the estimate is for 52 gigawatts and the rate of expansion is rising fast. To put these numbers in perspective, Canada, a highly electrified nation, has […]
Incredible Breakthrough Could Boost Solar Power Efficiency to Almost 100%
Given all the ways in which humans are otherwise smarter and better educated than plants, you’d think we would have established a bit more of an advantage in our capacity to harvest the sun’s energy.
That Sinking Feeling (Infographic)
Solar Water Heater
THE 31st annual Hillside Community Festival at Guelph Lake Conservation Area in Ontario made a notable addition to its clean-up crew this year. After 10 years of dreaming up plans, a small team of volunteers led by Nick Dalton of Magda Farm constructed a solar-powered water-heating system for dishwashing that […]
Finally, a Solar Car That Doesn’t Look Like a Spaceship
The cutting edge in solar cars is a vehicle that looks like something your dad might drive every day on his way to the paperwork bureaucracy factory. In the early days solar cars stretched the definition of the term. They were more like flying saucers than earth-bound vehicles. Drivers lay […]
Coal Remedy (Extended Interview)
The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) has teamed with the Lung Association and the Asthma Society to challenge provincial governments on their use of coal-powered electricity. Fresh from victory in Ontario, where the last coal plant will close in 2014, the formidable group has turned its attention […]
Ontario’s Wind Problem: Accepting the Blame
Last month in Goderich, Ontario, hundreds of protestors demonstrated outside the local courthouse during injunction deliberations for the proposed K2 Wind Power Project.
Renewables Aren’t Perfect, and That’s Okay
Sometime during the next 100 years or so, the world is going to run out of platinum. If we haven’t found a replacement, production of new jewelry, electrodes, anticancer drugs and turbine engines will all grind to a halt. Also coming to a screeching stop will be production of solar […]
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