Tag: Huck Fairman
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SOLUTIONS: Solar Power Breakthrough
By Huck Fairman A recent online piece announced what sounds like a significant solar power breakthrough. Until now solar power has had some drawbacks, but a recent development could take solar power to new heights of eco-harmony, while also being kind to our wallets. This is the benefit of perovskite solar cells. Perovskite is a…
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SOLUTIONS: Reptiles survival
By Huck Fairman As many recognize, humans are changing the natural world, and by doing so are threatening its very survival. A recent report, again on the PBS Newshour, warned that globally 1 in 5 reptile species is facing extinction. This was the conclusion of a study published in the scientific journal Nature. The two essential,…
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SOLUTIONS: Coming together on CO2
By Huck Fairman As a recent Sierra Club magazine article reminded us, CO2 is an essential ingredient in our atmosphere and biosphere. It flows into plants and the oceans, into rocks and the soil through decomposition. Most of the planet’s CO2 is stored in rocks. But lately we have been changing the balance. By burning…
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SOLUTIONS 6/10: The devastation to coral reefs and the fish they support
By Huck Fairman The dangers that we all face from the global climate crisis have been widely, and in detail, documented. Those dangers take many forms as our environments react to the heat and pollution we are pouring into our atmosphere, oceans and continents. A recent report documented by a PBS Newshour program details the…
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SOLUTIONS: Improving Recycling
By Huck Fairman Our country has not been particularly effective in its recycling programs. A recent NPR article provided an overview of where we are. Only 30-35% of all materials are recycled. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimated that only 8.5% of plastics refuse is recovered to produce new products. Where is the rest…
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SOLUTIONS 5/20: The insects we depend on
As with our oceans, forests, and species across our lands, the planet’s insect populations are being reduced or altered to near-extinction by our policies and what we manufacture: in this case, pesticides. A new book by British biologist and insect expert, Dave Goulson, “Silent Earth,” details the threats to our own survival arising from human…
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SOLUTIONS 5/13: The oceans, too
By Huck Fairman Many who can read and who respect science understand that we are warming the Earth, very possibly to a catastrophic level. Those not concerned may want to read a research piece in SCIENCE, “Avoiding Ocean Mass Extinction From Climate Warming.” Written by two Princeton University researchers, Professor of Geosciences Curtis Deutsch and…
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SOLUTIONS 5/6: Writing For The World
By Huck Fairman Margaret Renkl, opinion writer for The New York Times, and author, whose latest book is “Graceland, At Last: Notes on Hope and Heartache For the American South,” has for some time written about the health of our nation, physical, psychological and political, particularly around Nashville where she lives. In her latest column,…
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SOLUTIONS 4/29: Green Hydrogen for Cars and Trucks
By Huck Fairman PBS NewsHour and science correspondent Miles O’Brien recently presented an encouraging report on the development of fuel cell powered cars and trucks that are powerful, have superior range, and produce no emissions – only water. This development has stemmed in part from the research and development coming out of the National Fuel…