China and the US make a deal on the reduction of CO2 emissions

China and the US make a deal on the reduction of CO2 emissions

China and United States, the two countries that emit the largest amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere worldwide reached an agreement to reduce CO2 emissions and fight climate change. They declared this during a joint press release of Chinese president Xi Jinping and US president Barack Obama held on 12th November, at the end

LED lights vs. conventional bulbs: spot the differences

LED lights vs. conventional bulbs: spot the differences

Korea is replacing street lights with LED lights: the aim of this programme is to reduce the electricity bill and light pollution. LEDs require 10 times less energy to generate light, offering a less light dispersion in the air. In public areas where lights have been changed to LED, the inhabitants can see the stars

Midnight sun in Alaska

Midnight sun in Alaska

[vimeo url=”http://vimeo.com/101584491″] In the days right before and after the summer solstice, i.e. the year’s longest days, the sun doesn’t set in some areas of the polar circles and the poles, but it shines even at midnight. In the boreal hemisphere, summer solstice usually is on 21 June.   There are just a few places

Climate: here is what will disappear from the United States

Climate: here is what will disappear from the United States

According to a report published by the Union of Concerned Scientists, more than two dozen historical sites in the U.S. are likely to disappear due to severe natural disasters including floods, drought and fires caused by climate change.   From the Statue of Liberty to Jamestown, the first English settlement in Virginia, from Boston’s historic districts to

Women who are changing the world

Women who are changing the world

Chilean socialist party leader in the Senate María Isabel Allende, 69 years old, was named President of the Senate by the majority. Daughter of Salvador, the ex president of Chile, who was overthrown by a coup d’état in 1973 and sister of Isabel, the famous writer, she will officially assume the post on 11th March. Allende

World’s largest concentrated solar power plant now operational

World’s largest concentrated solar power plant now operational

The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System, set up in the California Mojave Desert, is the world’s largest concentrated solar thermal power station, and started delivering solar electricity on 13 February. At full capacity, the facility produces 392 megawatts (MW) of solar power, enough electricity to provide 140,000 California homes with clean energy and avoid 400,000 metric

Google Earth shows global warming

Google Earth shows global warming

How much has temperature in your region raised? Did global warming modify the climate of your country? The answer is just a click away.   You only need to download CRUTEM4 for Google Earth, released by the research unit (UEA CRU) of the University of East Anglia. It contains temperature data collected by 6,000 weather stations

The disappearance of the monarch butterfly

The disappearance of the monarch butterfly

The number of monarch butterflies that have migrated from the United States to the forest covered peaks of the Sierra Madre in Mexico has continued to decline this year. In December 2013 only 35 million individuals of the most popular butterfly in the whole of North America migrated, coming to inhabit 6,700 square metres of