Tag Archives: green

Harnessing Green Hydrogen: Fueling Industries from Steel Production to Agriculture

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Green hydrogen offers numerous potential applications

Bernat Armangue/Associated Press/Alamy

Hydrogen, the most prevalent element in the universe, generates energy when it reacts with oxygen, producing only water as a by-product. This is why it is being hailed by politicians as a versatile solution to combat climate change, potentially powering the multitude of vehicles and industries that currently depend on fossil fuels.

However, 99% of the hydrogen in circulation today is “gray” hydrogen, derived from processes that decompose methane or coal gas, subsequently releasing carbon dioxide. To attain net-zero emissions, many nations are now pivoting towards “blue” hydrogen, which captures this CO2 before releasing it into the atmosphere, or “green” hydrogen, generated by using renewable energy to split water molecules.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has remarked that green hydrogen represents a significant opportunity for Western nations to contend with China in the clean technology sector This was articulated at a press briefing on December 3rd.

The challenge is that low-carbon hydrogen costs at least double that of gray hydrogen. To boost production and reduce prices, government incentives are essential. While the European Union and others are backing the sector, former President Donald Trump has begun to dismantle proposed low-carbon hydrogen initiatives. This effort is ongoing in the US via a $7 billion initiative.

As a result of these obstacles, the analytics company BloombergNEF has revised its prediction for low-carbon hydrogen production down to just 5.5 million tonnes by 2030, amounting to around 5% of current gray hydrogen usage. Experts suggest that, given the limited availability of supplies, governments and organizations ought to concentrate on utilizing clean hydrogen where it is most beneficial for both the environment and the economy.

“Hydrogen can do nearly everything, but that doesn’t mean it should,” states Russell McKenna from ETH Zurich, Switzerland.

Recent studies conducted by McKenna and his team evaluated the CO2 emissions associated with producing and transporting low-carbon hydrogen for projects globally in 2000, contrasting it with the CO2 emissions this hydrogen could displace. Their findings indicate that hydrogen could significantly impact the climate in the manufacturing of steel, biofuels, and ammonia.

Conversely, employing hydrogen for road transport, electricity generation, and home heating sees limited emissions reductions.

Steel

In a blast furnace, coke made from coal serves the dual purpose of generating heat to melt iron oxide ore and supplying the carbon needed for chemical reactions that remove oxygen from the ore. Therefore, merely heating the metal using renewable electricity is insufficient. The reaction requires a carbon alternative, and hydrogen can produce water instead of CO2.

“The current technology allows for the production of iron from iron ore at an industrial scale without CO2 emissions, and that technology is hydrogen,” asserts David Dye from Imperial College London. “Any alternative would require substantial advancements in technology.”

Green steel startup Stegra is in the process of establishing a facility in northern Sweden, which aims to be the first carbon-neutral steel factory by the end of 2026, utilizing electric furnaces and green hydrogen generated from local river water. Similar projects are also being developed in Europe, Asia, and North America.

Nevertheless, generating green hydrogen and powering arc furnaces demands affordable renewable electricity. This year, the multinational steel producer ArcelorMittal declined a €1.3 billion subsidy aimed at transitioning two German steel mills to hydrogen, citing elevated electricity costs.

Ammonia

Crops require nitrogen in the form of nitrates to thrive, yet the soil contains limited nitrates. In the early 20th century, chemists Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch created a process that combines nitrogen, abundantly available in the air, with hydrogen to synthesize ammonia, which can then be transformed into various fertilizers.

This innovation fueled the agricultural revolution and the expansion of the global population, and today, hydrogen is primarily utilized in oil refining and ammonia production. Approximately 70% of all ammonia is used as fertilizer, while the remainder is employed in producing plastics, explosives, and other chemicals.

“You can’t electrify this… because it’s a chemical reaction requiring that input,” explains McKenna. “Thus, we need hydrogen, but it has to be decarbonized.”

Countries like Saudi Arabia are beginning to construct facilities that will leverage solar and wind energy to produce hundreds of thousands of tons of green ammonia, primarily for export. Simultaneously, a startup is working on compact, modular plants to generate green hydrogen and ammonia directly at US agricultural sites. However, at present, all these methods depend on governmental funding and tax incentives.

Alternative Fuel

Ammonia can also be burned in engines. While passenger vehicles and many trucks can efficiently operate on electricity, long-range transport methods, such as large trucks, ships, and airplanes, face challenges with battery storage and charging. Hydrogen holds potential as a key element in generating low-carbon fuels for this segment.

Research led by McKenna and his team has identified that manufacturing hydrotreated vegetable oils is one of the most advantageous applications of hydrogen. This involves treating used cooking oil with hydrogen to break down fats into combustible hydrocarbons.

Both ammonia and hydrotreated vegetable oil are being explored as substitutes for marine heavy fuel oil, which contributes to 3% of global emissions. The aviation sector, with a comparable carbon footprint, may also transition to ammonia.

Since hydrogen is produced independently of oil and closely resembles kerosene, it could also be harnessed to create synthetic aviation fuel compatible with existing aircraft.

In the long term, research teams at institutions like Cranfield University in the UK are conceptualizing aircraft featuring powerful tanks designed to store compressed hydrogen. Hydrogen and ammonia, which generate nitrogen oxide pollution when combusted, could alternatively be combined with oxygen in fuel cells, resulting in electricity and water. Ultimately, a fuel cell-powered aircraft represents a significant objective. Phil Longhurst from Cranfield University remarks.

“Hydrogen is the cleanest, zero-carbon fuel accessible, so it’s essentially the holy grail,” he concludes.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

The boy’s body was preserved in a copper coffin, taking on a green hue.

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The mummified remains of a boy buried in a copper box between 1617 and 1814

Annamaria Arabiso

An adolescent boy, interred in a copper coffin almost three centuries ago in northern Italy, stands out as the only nearly fully preserved green mummy known to exist.

While other ancient remains have shown partial mummification or green coloration from burial alongside copper or bronze items, a green mummified hand of a newborn clutching a copper coin was discovered in medieval Hungary within pottery vessels.

In contrast, this Italian mummy is largely intact, save for its feet, showcasing an almost entirely green complexion from skin to bone, with the exception of its left leg.

The mummy emerged from the basement of an old villa in Bologna in 1987, where it underwent forensic analysis at the University of Bologna. Experts determined it belonged to a boy aged 12 to 14, and it has been preserved at the university since.

Annamaria Arabiso, a conservation scientist at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, took part in the examination alongside a myriad of specialists including geneticists, anthropologists, radiologists, mathematicians, physicists, and computer scientists. “It was an impressive interdisciplinary effort,” she remarks.

The researchers conducted an extensive series of chemical and physical analyses on the mummy. Radiocarbon dating assigned the boy’s death to between 1617 and 1814, with Arabiso noting that the remains exhibited no apparent signs of trauma or disease.

Copper played a crucial role in preserving both hard and soft tissues, owing to its known antimicrobial characteristics, Arabiso states. However, the copper box reacted with acid from the body, leading to corrosion that created copper byproducts interacting with the chemicals in the bone. Gradually, copper ions replaced calcium in the boy’s skeleton, imparting a green hue and simultaneously enhancing the structural integrity of his bones over time.

The skin developed a rough layer of copper corrosion products referred to as patina, a pale green film typical on bronze items. Arabiso explained that this patina formed as a result of copper’s reaction with water and carbon dioxide during decomposition.

“This fundamentally shifts our understanding of heavy metals, revealing a more intricate relationship regarding their effects on conservation than previously assumed,” she states.

Possibly due to acidic interactions, the bottom of the copper box eventually cracked, leading to liquid spillage that left the remains in a cool, arid environment with limited oxygen, which mitigated decomposition. Arabiso suggests the boy may have become disoriented and lost his footing during this process.

“Engaging with these extraordinary human remains was profoundly emotional for me,” she shares.

Julia Gallo, having seen images of mummies for the first time at the Collège de France in Paris, expressed her awe. “Oh, how beautiful!” she exclaims. “This entire case study is utterly captivating.”

Gallo offered praise for the researchers’ efforts in meticulously investigating the physical and chemical processes leading to the mummification and subsequent color changes. “The evidence robustly supports their conclusions regarding both the preservation of tissues and bones and the variations in coloration.”

Historic Herculaneum – discover Vesuvius, Pompeii and ancient Naples

Embark on a captivating journey through the historical sites of Mount Vesuvius, Pompeii, and Herculaneum, where history and archaeology intertwine.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Green Bank Telescope Maps Cold ‘Dark’ Gas in Cygnus X

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An astronomer utilizing the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) has developed an extensive map of carbon monoxide (CO) and dark molecular gas in star-forming complexes, particularly in Cygnus X.

These images illustrate the location of CO-dark molecular gas within Cygnus X. Image credit: NSF/AUI/NSF’s NRAO/P.Vosteen.

For decades, scientists have recognized that most new stars are birthed in frigid clouds of molecular hydrogen gas.

A significant portion of this molecular hydrogen remains elusive to most telescopes as it fails to emit easily detectable light.

Astronomers have typically sought these clouds by examining carbon monoxide (CO), a molecule that serves as a glowing signal for star-forming regions.

However, it has been uncovered that CO houses a considerable amount of “non-glowing” gas conducive to star formation.

This concealed material, referred to as CO-dark molecular gas, has represented one of astronomy’s most significant blind spots.

In a fresh study, NRAO astronomer Kimberly Emig and her team mapped this hidden gas across extensive sections of the sky, using radio spectral lines from atomic recombination known as carbon radio recombination lines (CRRLs).

Their map encompasses Cygnus X, a star-forming region located approximately 5,000 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus.

“It’s akin to suddenly switching on a light in a room and discovering various structures that were previously unseen,” Dr. Emig remarked.

The newly constructed map unveils a sprawling network of arcs, ridges, and webs of dark gas permeating Cygnus X.

These formations indicate where star-forming materials accumulate and evolve before becoming noticeable as molecular clouds in CO.

The authors demonstrated that these faint carbon signals, observed at very low radio frequencies, serve as an extraordinarily powerful instrument for uncovering hidden gas that directly correlates ordinary matter with the birth of new stars.

They found that this dark gas is not static; instead, it flows, shifts, and moves at rates much faster than previously recognized. These dynamics influence the stellar formation rate.

Moreover, they discovered that the intensity of these carbon lines is directly connected to the intense starlight bathing the area, emphasizing the significant role radiation plays in galactic recycling.

“By illuminating the invisible, we can trace how the raw ingredients in our galaxy transform from simple atoms into complex molecular structures that will ultimately become stars, planets, and potentially life,” Dr. Emig stated.

“This marks merely the beginning of comprehending an otherwise unseen force.”

Find the results published in the October 17th edition of the Astrophysical Journal.

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Kimberly L. Emig et al. 2025. The cold dark gas of Cygnus X: the first large-scale mapping of low-frequency carbon recombination lines. APJ 992, 216; doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/adfa17

Source: www.sci.news

New Hybrid Species of Blue and Green Jays Found in Texas

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Hybridization among these species is notable within vertebrate groups. Such occurrences typically take place between recently diverged populations, with the most recent common ancestors of the Blue (Cyanocitta cristata) and Green (Cyanocorax yncas) Jays estimated to have existed at least 7 million years ago.

A hybrid of a man with a green Jay’s mother and a blue Jay’s father. Image credit: Brian R. Stokes.

“We’ve been working hard to engage with the community,” stated Brian Stokes, a graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin.

“While historical instances of vertebrate hybrids have often been linked to human influences—like the introduction of invasive species and recent range expansions—this particular case seems to have emerged due to climate shifts prompting the overlap of both parent species.”

During the 1950s, Green Jays, a tropical bird native to Central America, were limited to areas from Mexico to southern Texas, while Blue Jays, a temperate species found in the eastern U.S., extended westward to Houston, with minimal interaction between them.

However, their ranges have since converged around San Antonio as Green Jays migrated north and Blue Jays spread westward.

Stokes, who is focused on researching Green Jays in Texas as part of his PhD, actively monitors various social media platforms where birdwatchers share photos of sightings. This was one of several methods he utilized to capture birds, take genetic blood samples, and then release them back into their natural habitats.

One day, he spotted a rough image of an unusual blue bird featuring a black mask and white chest shared by a woman in the suburbs northeast of San Antonio. Although resembling a Blue Jay, it was distinctly different. The backyard birder welcomed Stokes for an in-person sighting.

“On our first attempt to capture it, the bird was quite elusive,” Stokes recounted.

“But the second day proved to be much more fortunate.”

Using a mist net—a long rectangular mesh of black nylon thread stretched between two poles, almost invisible to birds in flight—Stokes was able to successfully catch the bird on the second day after previously capturing and releasing dozens of others.

He quickly took a blood sample from this peculiar bird, allowing him to facilitate future research.

Interestingly, the bird vanished for several years, reappearing in the woman’s garden in June 2025. The reason for its return remains a mystery.

“I can’t explain it, but it felt like pure chance,” Stokes commented.

“Had it been two houses down, it likely wouldn’t have been reported at all.”

Investigations revealed that the bird is a hybrid descendant of a male Green Jay and a female Blue Jay.

It closely resembles other hybrids produced through researcher crossbreeding of Green and Blue Jays in the 1970s.

“Hybridization is likely far more prevalent in nature than researchers recognize, as we often miss these events happening,” Stokes expressed.

“Furthermore, in many species, physical barriers may prevent interactions that could lead to mating because we’re not actively observing.”

The team’s publication appears in the journal Ecology and Evolution.

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Brian R. Stokes and Timothy H. Keat. 2025. Intergenerational hybrids between historically isolated temperate and tropical Jays after recent expansion of the scope. Ecology and Evolution 15(9): E72148; doi: 10.1002/ECE3.72148

Source: www.sci.news

New Study Reveals Strategies to Alleviate the “Green Backlash”

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“There are two fundamental causes of dissatisfaction with climate policy: economy and culture.”

Alex Ramsay/Alamy

I have previously discussed protests in my UK hometown. The local council proposed increasing parking fees to reduce driving in contaminated areas. Ultimately, the council faced opposition and raised fees far less than they initially planned.

This scenario illustrates “green backlash,” a term referring to the rising opposition against environmental policies in affluent nations. Such resistance is often tied to a surge in support for right-wing populist parties, like Reform UK. The effectiveness of this can be seen in how Reform leads recent polls among UK voters as the next general election approaches.

This trend poses a challenge for the environment. Without government action, achieving significant progress on climate change becomes unlikely, but such initiatives can inadvertently empower anti-environment parties. Research indicates that the presence of right-wing populists in Europe slows down policies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and advancing renewable energy.

Recent studies published in Nature Climate Change suggest that there are strategies to counteract green backlash. Led by Valentina Bosetti at Bocconi University in Milan, researchers analyzed existing literature on green backlash to better understand its causes and potential remedies.

The findings reveal two primary sources of concern regarding climate policies: economic and cultural. Economic concerns arise from the financial burden of policies, such as increased parking fees in urban centers. Cultural concerns include a widespread mistrust of politicians and scientific authorities. Together, these factors significantly undermine support for parties promoting environmental policies, often driving voters toward opposing right-wing parties.

A notable case study that embodies both concerns occurred in Ontario, Canada. In 2009, the provincial government curtailed community input and halted the development of new wind power projects following protests from over 50 activist groups. Despite wind power’s popularity in Ontario, this localized backlash seemed to influence elections. In October 2011, the ruling Ontario Liberals lost their majority, particularly in districts with existing or proposed wind farms. Similar resistance to wind power has also occurred in Sweden and Germany.

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Researchers discovered that opposition to wind power diminishes when subsidies are offered.
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The shift towards encouraging electric vehicles has also faced backlash from those affected, particularly within the traditional automotive sector. In the 2016 US elections, Donald Trump garnered an average of 3 percentage points in counties with auto parts manufacturers. Researcher interviews with workers revealed that fears surrounding the EV transition influenced their support for Trump.

This paints a rather somber picture: governments attempting to implement positive environmental changes encounter resistance, which could lead to policy rollbacks or electoral losses. Often, they are supplanted by parties that neither pursue such policies nor recognize their urgency.

However, it’s important to note that while cultural factors may alienate some towards right-wing populism, they do not create a majority. Economic grievances, however, are addressable. For instance, Bosetti found that opposition to wind power significantly decreases when government subsidies are available and when local job creation hinges on such projects. Safeguarding jobs and upskilling workers may mitigate fears of unemployment and skill obsolescence, she suggests. It could be that straightforward.

Furthermore, there is considerable yet often underestimated support for policies that promote environmentally friendly practices. US researchers recently surveyed adults about their views on issues like reducing food waste, consuming less beef, installing home solar systems, adopting EVs, purchasing carbon offsets, and other climate-friendly behaviors. Most people expressed support for them. However, a significant gap exists between participants’ perceptions of overall support for these initiatives and the reality. Politicians often convey a distorted message; don’t let the appeal of green policies falter simply because of misinterpretations.

In York, the upcoming local election in 2027 is anticipated to focus on parking fees as a critical issue, with concerns about green backlash influencing voter decisions.

Graham’s Week

What I’m reading

Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett.

What I’m watching

Revisiting the BBC adaptation of Dracula on Netflix in preparation for my upcoming trip to Transylvania.

What I’m working on

An article for the Christmas issue. Honesty is key.

Graham Lawton is a staff writer at New Scientist and author of Don’t Complain: The Incredible Science of Everyday Illnesses. Follow him on Twitter @grahamlawton.

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  • Environment /
  • Climate Change

Source: www.newscientist.com

Transforming Retired Coal Plants into Green Energy Sources

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Abandoned coal power plant at an abandoned Indiana Army Ammunition Factory

American Explorer/Shutterstock

Numerous decommissioned coal-fired power plants have the potential to become reliable backup or emergency energy sources for the grid, eliminating the dependence on fossil fuels. Instead, they can utilize thermal energy trapped in soil.

The idea involves accumulating a large mound of soil near the coal facility and embedding industrial heaters within it. During periods of low electricity demand, these devices transform inexpensive electricity into heat, storing it in the soil at around 600°C. When electricity demand peaks, the heat can be transferred from the soil through heated liquid pipes.

A generator linked to the turbine blades of a coal plant can convert this heat into supplemental energy. The heat transforms water into steam, turning the turbine blades to produce electricity. “Rather than burning coal to heat water for steam, we harness heat from the energy stored within the soil,” explains Ken Caldeira from Stanford University in California.

This type of energy storage is crucial in supporting renewable energy sources like wind and solar, which often generate power intermittently. Soil offers a more affordable, abundant, and accessible resource for long-term energy storage compared to alternatives like lithium batteries and hydrogen fuels.

“The most exciting aspect is the low cost of energy capacity, especially since it is significantly cheaper than other energy technologies,” states Alicia Wongel at Stanford University.

Nonetheless, this approach has its challenges. “In such systems, minimizing plumbing and electrical costs is crucial, yet can be difficult,” notes Andrew Maxson from the Electric Power Research Institute, a non-profit research organization based in California.

Most soil consists of naturally heat-resistant materials like silicon dioxide and aluminum oxide, which makes it “very resilient to heat,” says Austin Vernon from Standard Thermals in Oklahoma. His startup aims to commercialize this “thermal” technology, especially for repurposing retired coal power plants in conjunction with nearby solar and wind energy sources.

There are many retired coal facilities across the United States. Close to 300 coal-fired power plants were shut down between 2010 and 2019, and an additional 50 gigawatts of coal capacity is expected to reach retirement age by 2030. In the late 2000s, cheaper natural gas and renewable energy began to outcompete coal.

Christian Phong from the Rocky Mountain Institute, a research organization in Colorado, views the idea of repurposing defunct coal plants positively. “This provides an opportunity for local communities to engage in the clean energy transition, generating jobs and additional tax revenue while navigating the shift away from coal,” he remarks.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

AI Projected to Clarify Nearly 50% of Data Center Electricity Consumption by Year-End: A Green Economy Perspective

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Artificial intelligence systems may represent nearly 50% of a data center’s power consumption by the end of this year, according to a recent analysis.

These estimates, provided by Digiconomist Tech Sustainability founder Alex de Vries-Gao, echo a prediction from the International Energy Agency regarding AI’s energy needs by the decade’s end, similar to current usage in Japan.

De Vries-Gao’s calculations, as detailed in the Sustainable Energy Journal Joule, are based on the energy consumed by chips developed by companies like Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices that are used for training and operating AI models. The study also factors in energy usage of chips from other providers, such as Broadcom.

The IEA reported that all data centers (excluding those for cryptocurrency mining) consumed 415 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity last year. De Vries-Gao asserts that AI currently contributes to 20% of that total.

He highlights various factors influencing his calculations, including energy efficiency in data centers and the power requirements of cooling systems that manage AI workloads. Data centers serve as the central nervous system for AI technology, making their energy consumption a significant sustainability issue for AI development and usage.

De Vries-Gao projects that by the end of 2025, AI systems could consume up to 49% of total data center energy, potentially reaching 23 gigawatts (GW) — double the total energy usage of the Netherlands.

Bar Chart

However, De Vries-Gao mentioned that several factors might dampen hardware demand, including reduced interest in applications like ChatGPT. Geopolitical tensions creating restrictions on AI hardware production, such as export limitations, are another hurdle. De Vries-Gao notes the challenges faced by Chinese access to chips, which led to the introduction of the Deepseek R1 AI model that purportedly required fewer chips.

“These innovations could help decrease both AI processing and energy costs,” said De Vries.

That said, he mentioned that enhanced efficiency could further encourage AI adoption. Additionally, a trend referred to as “sovereign AI,” where countries aim to create their own AI systems, might spur hardware demand. De Vries-Gao cited US Data Centre startup Crusoe Energy, which secured 4.5GW of gas-powered energy capacity, making it a leading contender for potential clients like OpenAI through its Stargate venture.

“These early indicators suggest that [Stargate] data centers may increase our reliance on fossil fuels,” noted De Vries-Gao.

On Thursday, OpenAI unveiled its Stargate project in the United Arab Emirates, marking its expansion outside the United States.

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Last year, Microsoft and Google acknowledged that AI poses risks to meet their internal environmental objectives.

De Vries-Gao commented that information about AI’s power requirements is increasingly scarce, describing the industry as “opaque.” While the EU AI Act mandates that AI firms disclose energy consumption related to model training, it does not cover daily usage metrics.

Professor Adam Sobey, mission director for sustainability at the UK’s Alan Turing Institute, stressed the importance of enhanced transparency regarding the energy usage of AI systems and the potential savings from advancing carbon reduction sectors like transport and energy.

Sobey remarked, “We don’t necessarily need an extensive number of compelling use cases for AI to offset the energy costs incurred upfront.”

Source: www.theguardian.com

Study Uncovers Aztec Preference for Sierra de Pachuca’s Green Obsidian

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Researchers have explored the significance of obsidian, a crucial resource in the Aztec empire, utilized for tools and ritual items, as well as its broad importance in the pre-Columbian period. They examined 788 obsidian artifacts, representing various objects and contexts excavated from the mayor of Tenochtitlan (c. 1375-1520), the empire’s core located in present-day Mexico City. Their findings revealed that the Aztecs favored Green Obsidian from Sierra de Pachuca, while also sourcing this material from seven other locations. These results indicate a complex economy that depended on extensive long-distance trade, influenced not only by conquests but also internal rivalries.

Obsidian artifacts from Tenochtitlan. Image credit: mirsa islas/ptm-inah.

“While the Mexica preferred Green Obsidian, the variety of obsidian types, especially in non-ritual artifacts, indicates that these tools came from multiple markets rather than being directly acquired from sources,” noted a candidate from Tulane University.

“By tracing the origins of this material, we can examine the distribution of goods across Mesoamerica.”

Analysis revealed that nearly 90% of the obsidian artifacts sampled were produced from Sierra de Pachuca Obsidian.

Most ritual items discovered within the buried offerings at Mayor Templo were crafted from this type of obsidian, including small weapons, gemstones, and decorative inlays for sculptures.

A modest yet significant portion of obsidian was sourced from regions like Otonba, Tulanche, Ucaleo, and El Paraiso, with some being beyond the control of the Mexica Empire.

These materials were typically used for tool-making and found in construction fill, suggesting their availability through local markets rather than strict state control.

This study traced the evolution of obsidian use from the city’s early days up to its fall in 1520 AD.

In the initial phases of the Empire, there was greater diversity in obsidian sources present in both ceremonial and daily items.

Following the consolidation of Aztec power around AD 1430, obsidian was primarily sourced from Sierra de Pachuca, indicating a trend towards religious uniformity and centralized oversight.

“This type of compositional analysis enables us to track the evolution of empire expansion, political alliances, and trade networks over time,” remarked Matadamas Gomora.

“This research highlights the vast scope and intricacy of the Mexica Empire and demonstrates how archaeological science can illuminate ancient artifacts and provide insights into past cultural practices.”

Survey results will be published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Diego Matadama Gomora et al. 2025. A compositional analysis of obsidian artifacts from the mayor of Tenochitlan, the capital of the Mexican Empire. pnas 122 (20): E2500095122; doi: 10.1073/pnas.2500095122

Source: www.sci.news

The green comet is most likely disintegrating and cannot be seen without a telescope.

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Newly discovered Green Comet is being tracked by a telescope, which suggests it may break apart as it approaches the sun. Naked Eye Spectacle.

Comet Swan from the Oort Cloud Beyond Pluton has been visible through telescopes and binoculars in recent weeks, but experts suggest it may not have survived its most recent journey. Travel past the sun and is fading rapidly.

“We’ll soon be left with a dusty cleavage pile,” stated astrophysicist Carl Battamus in an email.

A newly discovered comet swan on April 6th.Mike Orathon via the AP

Comets are frozen balls of gas and dust from billions of years ago that frequently pass through the inner solar system.

“These are artifacts from when the solar system first formed,” explained Jason Ibarra, director of the West Virginia University Planetarium and Observatory.

The latest comet was spotted by amateur astronomers who used photos from cameras on a spacecraft operated by NASA and the European Space Agency to study the sun.

Unlike Tsuchinshan-Atlas, comets do not come close to Earth. Other notable flybys include Neowise in 2020, and from the 1990s, Halebop and Hi-Aku Take.

A newly discovered comet swan with a streaming tail on April 6th. Mike Orathon via the AP

The comet, also known as C/2025 F2, would have been visible just after sunset, slightly north of the sun. Its green color may be challenging to see with the naked eye.

This was the first journey past the sun for this object, making it particularly susceptible to disintegration, according to Batam. After the flyby, the remainder of the comet vanishes into the outer reaches of the solar system, believed to be its birthplace by scientists.

“I don’t know if it’s ever coming back,” noted Batam.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Microsoft drives sustainable innovation in West London with AI-driven ‘green moonshot’ project

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If you want evidence of Microsoft’s progress towards its environmental “moonshot” goals, look closer to Earth to a construction site on an industrial estate in west London. The company’s Park Royal data center is part of the company’s efforts to drive the expansion of artificial intelligence (AI), but its ambitions are The goal is to become carbon negative by 2030. Microsoft says the center will be run entirely on renewable energy, but construction of the data center and the servers it will house will contribute to the company’s Scope 3 emissions (CO2)2. These relate to the electricity people use when using building materials or products like the Xbox. 30% increase from 2020. As a result, the company is exceeding its overall emissions target by roughly the same percentage.

This week, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates argued that AI can help fight climate change because big tech companies are “seriously willing” to pay extra to use clean sources of electricity so they can “say they’re using green energy.” In the short term, AI poses a problem for Microsoft’s environmental goals. Microsoft’s outspoken president, Brad Smith, once called the company’s carbon-reduction ambitions a “moonshot.” In May, he stretched that metaphor to its limits and said that the company’s AI strategy has “moved the moon” for it. It plans to spend £2.5bn over the next three years to expand its AI data center infrastructure in the UK, and has announced new data center projects around the world this year, including in the US, Japan, Spain, and Germany.

Training and running the AI models underlying products like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini uses significant amounts of electricity to power and cool the associated hardware, plus carbon is generated by manufacturing and transporting the associated equipment. “This is a technology that will increase energy consumption,” said Alex de Vries, founder of DigiConomist, a website that tracks the environmental impact of new technologies. The International Energy Agency estimates that the total electricity consumption of data centers is Doubling from 2022 levels to 1,000 TWh (terawatt hours) in 2026. This is equivalent to Japan’s energy demand. With AI, data centers 4.5% of world energy production That will happen by 2030, according to calculations by research firm Semianalysis.

The environment has also been in the spotlight amid concerns about AI’s impact on jobs and human lifespan. Last week, the International Monetary Fund said governments should consider imposing carbon taxes to capture the environmental costs of AI, either through a general carbon tax that covers emissions from servers, or a specific tax on CO2.2 It is generated by the device. The big tech companies involved in AI (Meta, Google, Amazon, Microsoft) are seeking renewable energy sources to meet their climate change targets. Largest Corporate Buyer Renewable Energy I bought more than half The power output of offshore wind farms in Scotland, which Microsoft announced in May it would invest $10 billion (£7.9 billion) in. Renewable Energy Projects.

Google aims to run its data centers entirely on carbon-free energy by 2030. “We remain steadfast in our commitment to achieving our climate change goals,” a Microsoft spokesperson said. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who left the company in 2020 but retains a stake in the company through his Foundation, has argued that AI can directly help combat climate change. He said Thursday that any increase in electricity demand would be matched by new investments in green generation to more than offset usage. A recent UK government-backed report agreed, saying that “the carbon intensity of energy sources is an important variable in In calculating AI-related emissions, but adding that “a significant portion of AI training worldwide still relies on high-carbon sources such as coal and natural gas”. Water needed to cool servers is also an issue, A study It estimates that AI could account for up to 6.6 billion cubic meters of water use by 2027. Two thirds This is equivalent to the annual consumption of England.

De Vries argues that the pursuit of sustainable computing power will put a strain on demand for renewable energy, resulting in fossil fuels making up for shortfalls in other parts of the global economy. “Increasing energy consumption means there isn’t enough renewable energy to cover that increase,” he says. Data center server rooms consume large amounts of energy. Photo: i3D_VR/Getty Images/iStockphoto. NexGen Cloud, a UK company that provides sustainable cloud computing, says that in an industry that relies on data centers to provide IT services such as data storage and computing power over the internet, data centers could use renewable energy sources for AI-related computing if they were located away from urban areas and near hydroelectric or geothermal generation sources. “We are excited to join forces with NVIDIA to bring the power of cloud to the cloud,” said Youlian Tzanev, co-founder of NexGen Cloud.

“Until now, the industry standard has been to build around economic centers, not renewable energy sources.” This makes it even harder for AI-focused tech companies to meet their carbon emissions targets. Amazon, the world’s largest cloud computing provider, aims to be net zero (removing as much carbon as it emits) by 2040 and aims to source 100% of its global electricity usage from renewable energy by 2025. Google and Meta are also pursuing the same net zero goal by 2030. OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, uses Microsoft data centers to train and run its products.

There are two main ways that large-scale language models, the underlying technology behind chatbots like ChatGPT and Gemini, consume energy: The first is the training phase, where the model is fed huge amounts of data, often from the internet, to build up a statistical understanding of the language itself, which ultimately enables it to generate large numbers of compelling answers to queries. The initial energy costs of training an AI are astronomical, meaning that small businesses (and even smaller governments) that can’t afford to spend $100 million on training can’t compete in the field. But this cost pales in comparison to the cost of actually running the resulting models, a process called “inference.” According to Brent Till, an analyst at investment firm Jefferies, 90% of AI’s energy costs are in the inference stage – the power consumed when you ask an AI system to answer a factual question, summarize a chunk of text, or write an academic paper.

The power used for training and inference is delivered through a vast and growing digital infrastructure. Data centers contain thousands of servers built from the ground up for specific pieces of AI workloads. A single training server contains a central processing unit (CPU) that’s nearly as powerful as a computer’s, and dozens of specialized graphics processing units (GPUs) or tensor processing units (TPUs), microchips designed to speed up the vast amounts of simple calculations that make up AI models. When you use the chatbot, you watch it spit out answers word for word, powered by powerful GPUs that consume about a quarter of the power it takes to boil a kettle. All of this is hosted in a data center, whether owned by the AI provider itself or a third party. In the latter case, it’s sometimes called “the cloud,” a fancy name for someone else’s computer.

SemiAnalysis estimates that if generative AI were integrated into every Google search, it could consume 29.2 TWh of energy per year, roughly the annual consumption of Ireland, which would be prohibitively financial for the tech company, sparking speculation that Google may start charging for some of its AI tools. But some argue that focusing on the energy overhead of AI is the wrong way to think about it. Instead, think about the energy that new tools can save. A provocative paper published in Nature’s peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports earlier this year argued that AI creates a smaller carbon footprint when writing or illustrating text than humans. Researchers at the University of California, Irvine estimate that AI systems emit “130 to 1,500 times” less carbon dioxide per page of text than a human writer, and up to 2,900 times less carbon dioxide per image. Of course, there’s no word on what human authors and illustrators will do instead: redirect and retrain their workforce in other areas, e.g. Green Jobs – It could be another moonshot.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Study: Certain plants are more effective than others in removing air pollution through green walls

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Biologists are University of Surrey They investigated interspecific variation in particulate matter accumulation, washout, and retention in 10 broad-leaved plants, focusing on leaf characteristics.

thomson other. We found that the interaction between macromorphology and micromorphology in green-walled plant species determines their particulate matter removal ability.Image credit: Thomson other. 2024., doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170950.

Green wall is a vertical system that has received particular attention because it can be installed without occupying additional space at street level.

They also offer other benefits, such as reduced dependence on existing soil conditions and additional ecosystem services.

Green wall is a term that includes walls covered with all forms of vegetation.

Green facades and living walls are two types of green walls, where green facades usually include climbing plants, whereas living walls include planting materials and plants to support a more diverse variety of plants. Includes technology.

The reduction of air pollutants by green walls depends on several factors such as plant type, barrier dimensions, leaf area index, humidity, wind speed, and orientation of the location.

“By planting vertically against green walls, communities can purify the air without taking up too much street space,” said Mamatha Thomson, a postgraduate researcher at the University of Surrey.

“Our study suggests that this process depends not only on leaf shape but also on the micromorphological properties of the leaf surface.”

“We believe that the right mix of species creates the most effective green walls. We look forward to conducting further research to see if we are right. .”

In this study, Thomson et al. planted 10 species: Evergreen Candy Tuft (Iberis sempervirens), Ivy (hedera helix) And that Wild marjoram (Ornamental pill beetle)in a custom-built 1.4 meter green wall.

The leaves of the evergreens candytuft and ivy were found to be particularly good at trapping pollutant particles, both large and small.

Meanwhile, rain was able to wash most of the pollutants from the lavender's hairy leaves.

Candytuft and marjoram also performed well in washing away small pollution particles.

“We hope that urban planners and infrastructure experts can use our findings to think more carefully about what they plant,” said Prashant Kumar, a professor at the University of Surrey.

“Having a green wall is a great way to remove pollution, but what you plant on top of it can make a big difference to its success.”

of result It was published in the magazine Total environmental science.

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Mamatha Thomson other. 2024. Investigating the interplay between particulate matter scavenging, scavenging, and leaf properties in green-walled species. Total environmental science 921: 170950; doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170950

Source: www.sci.news

Green Bitcoin presale reaches $1 million while Bitcoin hits near all-time high – Blockchain News, Opinion, TV, Jobs

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London, UK, February 29, 2024, Chainwire

Environmentally friendly virtual currency project green bitcoin More than $1 million was raised during the limited-time presale phase.

With an innovative gamified staking model and energy-efficient foundation, Green Bitcoin offers token holders a way to stake their tokens and generate revenue.

Gamified staking model offers a unique way to earn money

Green Bitcoin’s gamified staking model has a unique twist that allows token holders to attempt to predict Bitcoin’s daily price movements, and if successful, they receive a reward based on their accuracy and staking size. You can earn different rewards.

This system resets daily, ensuring continuous engagement.

Unlike common staking protocols with fixed yields, Green Bitcoin’s model offers dynamic yields.

As outlined in green bitcoin white paper the project has allocated over 27% of its total token supply to staking rewards, ensuring a huge amount of incentives for accurate BTC price prediction.

This pool of funds will be distributed over two years.

Green Bitcoin raises over $1 million as crypto market rapidly grows

Based on the revival of the cryptocurrency market, green bitcoin presale has crossed the $1 million mark and is offering discounted tokens to potential investors.

Unlike typical pre-sale setups, the team at Green Bitcoin encourages long-term holding by allowing users to immediately stake their purchased tokens.

Coinsult, a reputable blockchain security company, audited Token smart contract.

According to the company, there is growing interest in the project on Green Bitcoin’s social channels. of the project telegram groups I have seen growth over the past week. green bitcoin twitter account The number of followers has increased to 3,400.

Green Bitcoin is also featured in YouTube videos named: crypto boy praised its “Predict-to-Earn” model.

About Green Bitcoin

Green Bitcoin is a new crypto project on the Ethereum chain that offers a greener and more sustainable alternative to Bitcoin, as well as innovative “earn predictions” including staking rewards and weekly challenges for holders provide the element.

The Green Bitcoin Project was launched in late 2023 with a pre-sale hard cap goal of $7 million and has raised over $1 million to date. Smart contracts are audited by Coinsult.

Users can access Green Bitcoin Presale here

Green Bitcoin is the source of this content. This press release is for informational purposes only. This information does not constitute investment advice or investment recommendations.

contact

green bitcoin
contact@greenbitcoin.xyz

Source: the-blockchain.com

5 Cybersecurity Stories That Make Us Green with Envy in 2023

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In 2018, my former VICE Motherboard colleague Joseph Cox and I began publishing a list of the best cybersecurity articles published elsewhere, with HTML tags for our readers. It wasn’t just to honor a friendly competitor, by adding articles from other publications, we were providing readers with a complete picture of what happened in the world of cybersecurity, privacy, and surveillance in the year that was just coming to an end. Our original inspiration was Bloomberg Businessweek’s Jealous List, which is an Overview of current progress A selection of the best stories published elsewhere, chosen by Bloomberg reporters and editors. Now that both Cox and I have left Motherboard, TechCrunch is taking a look at the Cyber ​​Jealousy List, relisting the year’s best cybersecurity stories and the ones we were most jealous of. — Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai.

If you were using the internet in October 2016 and lived on the East Coast of the United States, you may have heard of the day Twitter, Spotify, Netflix, PayPal, Slack, and hundreds of other major websites stopped working for several hours. You will remember that. As it turns out, this is the work of his three enterprising young hackers, who have built one of the most effective distributed denial-of-service tools ever created. In this long work, andy greenberg profiles three young hackers and tells the untold stories of their lives, from teenage computer geeks to seasoned cybercriminals and ultimately reformed cybersecurity experts. . Sit back in your comfortable chair and immerse yourself in this must-read. In September, an unholy alliance of Russian cybercriminals and Western teenagers with exceptional social engineering skills allegedly hacked and destroyed the MGM casino in Las Vegas, causing widespread chaos. . This was one of the most talked about cyberattacks of the year, and several publications were written about this story. jason kabler former editor-in-chief of VICE Motherboard and currently one of the co-founders of the worker-owned outlet. 404 Media He had the smart idea to fly to Las Vegas and see the mess for himself. The result of his trip was a work that showed just how badly MGM was hurting, creating, as Kebler puts it, a “nightmare” for casino employees. NPR cybersecurity correspondent Jenna McLaughlin reported from Kiev that she had recorded a series of excellent news and audio stories about life in wartime Ukraine. People defending the country after the Russian invasion. Cyber ​​warfare has played an important role in warfare. Cyber ​​attack hits Ukraine’s energy sector and the military operation.Mr. McLaughlin’s dispatch period varied widely. In reporting on Ukraine’s defensive (and offensive) operations against the Russian invaders, Highlights of ordinary daily life in Ukraine Of course, it’s a special feature on soccer. In a surprising change of attitude, electronics manufacturer Anker admitted that its cameras were not always encrypted. In short, security researchers discovered a bug that shows: Access unencrypted streams of customer videos, even though Anker’s Eufy cameras claim to be end-to-end encrypted. The Verge verified and reproduced the security researcher’s findings and his Anker The company eventually admitted that its cameras were not end-to-end encrypted. and was actually producing an unencrypted stream. Hats off to The Verge for their impressive and tenacious reporting that gets to the bottom of the issue. Anker’s misrepresentation and failure to cover it up. In 2020, Russian government hackers slipped malicious code into the software supply chain of SolarWinds, a tech company whose customers range from giant corporations to federal agencies. The hack was stealthy and incredibly effective, giving the Russians an opportunity to steal secrets from a rival country.Veteran cyber security reporter Kim Zetter They spoke with those who helped investigate the incident and reconstructed the stealth hack almost shot by shot in an incredibly detailed and deep investigation.Zetter also published Convenient and detailed timeline of events On her substack, worth subscribing If you haven’t done so yet. The SolarWinds hack two years ago went down in history as the most audacious and sophisticated supply chain hack ever undertaken.

For years, few people knew about Appin, an Indian company. However, as reported by Reuters, thanks to an investigation based on “hundreds of interviews, thousands of documents, and research from multiple cybersecurity companies,” a team of journalists discovered that Appin was involved in hacking activities for hacking purposes. reported and made public evidence showing that It helped obtain information on executives, politicians, military personnel, and wealthy people around the world. This is one of the most detailed and thorough looks inside the shadow world of professional hacking companies that don’t work for governments like his team or his NSO group, but for wealthy private clients. This is one of the things I researched.When this story itself became a headline Reuters forced to remove article to comply with New Delhi court order. Reuters reported. Editor’s note It supports the report. Trickbot is one of the most active and damaging Russian cybercrime organizations, attacking thousands of businesses, hospitals, and governments over the past few years.The study is based on interviews with cybersecurity experts and analysis of large amounts of data from ransomware gangs leaked online. matt burgess and lily hay newman Revealing one of Trickbot’s “key personas”.Journalists identified him as a Russian man who said he was “obsessed” with Metallica and liked classic movies. hacker. A week after the reporter published this article, US and UK governments announce sanctions against 11 people For alleged involvement in Trickbot, including the man identified in WIRED’s original article. Today, U.S. and British authorities sanctioned 11 suspected Trickbot members, and the Department of Justice dropped three charges against Trickbot and Conti members. Maxim Galochkin is the only person charged in all three cases. @WIRED It was made public in an investigation last week. Data obtained by a Politico reporter includes nearly a year’s worth of facial recognition requests. Alfred Ng In the year after New Orleans police began using facial recognition, the technique was shown to fail to identify suspects in most cases and was used almost exclusively against black people.The use of facial recognition by police, law enforcement, and government agencies remains highly controversial act all over America. Critics have argued that facial recognition is deeply flawed at the technical level because it is almost always trained on white faces, but Ng’s report shows that facial recognition is a serious problem for authorities using the technology. It confirms what civil rights activists have long argued is that it amplifies prejudice. Or, in the words of a New Orleans City Council member who voted against facial recognition, its use in New Orleans is “totally ineffective and patently racist.” Toward the end of last year, password management company LastPass lost its encrypted password vault containing customer passwords and other sensitive information to cybercriminals during a previous data breach. I admitted that. The full impact of this theft remained unknown until September 2023. Cybersecurity reporter Brian Krebs Researchers have reported that they have identified a “highly reliable set of leads” to more than 150 possible victims of cryptocurrency theft related to stolen LastPass password vaults. According to Kleb’s extensive reporting, more…

Source: techcrunch.com

The Impact of Green Accounting on the True Cost of Cheap Food for a Better World

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In these difficult times, it seems like complete nonsense to say that food prices are cheap. In the UK, the average grocery bill is Up more than 12% in the past year. But it is. The price tag on food is about two-thirds lower than it would be if we paid full price. But don’t worry. We have a plan to resolve this issue.

That may sound unpleasant. Who wants their grocery bills to go up even more? But in reality, we are already paying the real price, and most of it is just being secretly hidden from us. “In total, he pays four times as much for meals,” he says. Alexander Muller At the sustainability think tank TMG in Berlin. First, pay at the cash register. And we pay the health, environmental and social costs of producing that food, primarily through taxes.

green accounting

These costs are “externalities”. Things that are not free are treated as free, such as the environmental destruction caused by agriculture and the health costs of obesity. Now the producers are ignoring them and letting the rest of us pick up the bill. Maybe it won’t last very long. Economists and accountants – don’t yawn in the back. – We are working on a system called True Cost Accounting (TCA) that aims to internalize these externalities and upend decades of economic tradition. If we play our cards right, we won’t all end up spilling more cash at the register, but rather a massive rebalancing of global supply…

Source: www.newscientist.com