Transforming failure into an asset for future success
Failure is surely set to bring you down but you can also turn its demoralizing effect into a factor for future success. Recent research has found that experiencing setbacks hurts your self-esteem but it may also be the thing you need to propel you forward to later triumphs. Learn how to properly Read More...
California gives final OK to require solar panels on new houses
Solar panels will be a required feature on new houses in California after the state's Building Standards Commission gave final approval to a housing rule that's the first of its kind in the United States. Set to take effect in 2020, the new standard includes an exemption for houses that are often Read More...
Major study shows electric bikes good for health
Electric bicycles are divisive in the cycling community. Some cyclists think that they are for lazy people and others think that they are Read More...
Water hyacinths: Turning a curse into a cure
A Kenyan teacher Richard Awra uses water hyacinths in a new biofuel to combat both problems of energy poverty and plant overgrowth. The Kenya Marine institute estimates has covered about 10,360 hectares of Lake Read More...
Sails make a comeback as shipping tries to go green
As the shipping industry faces pressure to cut climate-altering greenhouse gases, one answer is blowing in the wind. European and U.S. tech companies, including one backed by aeroplane maker Airbus, are pitching futuristic sails to help cargo ships harness the free and endless supply of wind Read More...
Grasslands more reliable carbon sink than trees
Forests have long served as a critical carbon sink, consuming about a quarter of the carbon dioxide pollution produced by humans worldwide. But decades of fire suppression, warming temperatures and drought have increased wildfire risks — turning California’s forests from carbon sinks to carbon Read More...
Researchers want scientific publications to be free
Scientific literature may soon become available for free as scholars have signed a petition to back an initiative to end journal subscriptions. More than 1,400 researchers have signed their names to support the plan and claim that by 2020, papers resulting from their funding should be immediately Read More...
Tobacco use reaches unprecedented lows among Americans
Public health claims a win in the US as more American adults are quitting tobacco. The statistics show that cigarette smoking has reached unprecedented lows, down to 14 percent from over 40 percent in the mid-1960s. This proves the effectiveness of tobacco control interventions, such as smoke-free Read More...
Iceland’s hot springs are helping farmers to grow vegetables all year round
Besides generating a quarter of the country’s electricity, Iceland’s geothermal energy allows farmers to practice agriculture all year round. The naturally hot water is piped in to heat the greenhouses and the hot springs are also a key power source for the artificial lights that help farmers Read More...
Building new renewable energy cheaper than running existing coal power plants
Coal-powered plants could soon retreat from the energy game as technological breakthroughs allow renewables to show the industry what they’ve got. A new report concluded that 42 percent of global coal capacity is currently unprofitable, and the US could save $78 billion by closing coal-fired Read More...