Plant Vogtle, a nuclear power plant in Waynesboro, Georgia, is the largest source of clean energy in the U.S. following the addition of two new reactors, according to Georgia Power. The plant’s unit 4 reactor began commercial operations in April and unit 3 went online last year. They are the first reactors built from scratch … Read more
Environmental activists calling for an international moratorium on deep-sea mining. Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images Brazilian marine scientist Leticia Carvalho will be the first-ever woman, oceanographer and person of Latin American heritage to lead the International Seabed Authority — and she says it “feels fantastic.” “I am very proud,” Carvalho told CNBC via … Read more
Demand for copper is surging. The red metal, considered a barometer for economic health, is a vital component for the construction and defense industries as well as a key component in electric cars, wind turbines and the power grid. But mining companies are having a hard time keeping up. Existing mines and projects under construction … Read more
The deadly riots that broke out earlier this month in the French territory of New Caledonia are pushing up the price of nickel, a key metal needed to transition off fossil fuels that has gotten more expensive as global conflicts affect the market. The South Pacific archipelago, located roughly 1,000 miles off Australia’s east coast, … Read more
COVAS DO BARROSO, Portugal — For centuries, Aida Fernandes’ family has lived in this village nestled in the rugged mountains that crown the northern border with Spain, with generation after generation grazing cattle and growing grapes in lush green fields. Then, in 2010, a wildfire — one of the growing number of blazes scorching this … Read more
While electric vehicles may be (theoretically) better for the environment than internal combustion-powered cars, the mining of minerals used to make their batteries is overrun with allegations of human abuse. A nonprofit called the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre recently posted a report that shows widespread human rights violations, and automakers just keep on … Read more
President Joe Biden’s administration on Friday safeguarded millions of acres in Alaska from fossil fuel drilling and mining — the latest in a frenzy of environmental actions in recent weeks that have drawn praise from green groups and condemnation from industry and Republican lawmakers. The Interior Department finalized a rule that bars oil and gas … Read more
.jpg "The Feds Are Trying to Get Plants to Mine Metal Through Their Roots")
“Just like we do research with corn, wheat, soybean, getting these plants to be more efficient in taking up nutrients—nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium—well, there needs to be this research that goes into understanding the mechanisms of metal hyperaccumulation,” says McNear. “And then enhancing that, whether it be through gene editing or whatever.” ARPA-E is eying a … Read more
Two of Blue Origin’s earliest employees, former president Rob Meyerson and chief architect Gary Lai, have started a company that seeks to extract helium-3 from the lunar surface, return it to Earth, and sell it for applications here. The company has been operating in stealth since its founding in 2022, but it emerged on Wednesday … Read more
A truck makes its way over the Victoria Falls bridge, spanning over the Zambezi River, linking Zambia and Zimbabwe, in Livingstone, Zambia, on Sunday, May 8, 2022. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images KoBold Metals, a California-based metals exploration company backed by billionaires including Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, said that it has discovered a … Read more
