e2 - Eye on Earth, a service of
World Watch Magazine in partnership with the
Blue Moon Fund, provides our community with a unique perspective on current events, newly released studies, and important global trends. This update service offers context to critical world events that are seemingly disparate yet often closely related, highlighting the connections between human consumption and the natural world, while telling the stories of individuals and organizations that are supporting new approaches to resource use, energy use and urban development. Eye on Earth presents the news of today with an eye towards tomorrow, illustrating how current events will shape our own future and that of generations to come.
Spain is now home to Europe’s first commercial concentrating solar power plant, an 11-megawatt facility located in the municipality of Sanlucar la Mayor, 25 kilometers west of Seville.
Regional programs, or development projects that transcend political borders, are vital for tackling major transboundary challenges such as slowing the spread of disease and managing shared water supplies, but they account for only 3 percent of all international development support.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last week that the federal government has the power to regulate greenhouse gases (GHGs) under the Clean Air Act will have far-reaching effects, according to the
New York Times.
This year, as the demand for corn to produce ethanol surges, farmers in the United States are expected to grow the most corn since 1944, according to the
New York Times.
A new study has found that aggressive fishing of large sharks in the Northwest Atlantic may be causing the decimation of the bay scallop fishery along the U.S. Eastern seaboard. Hammerheads, duskies, and other sharks have been over-harvested for their meat and fins, allowing their prey, in particular the cownose ray, to thrive and deplete the scallop population, the research suggests.
The non-profit X Prize Foundation, known worldwide for its efforts to encourage private spaceflight, is launching a new competition to develop super-efficient vehicles that are capable of succeeding in the marketplace. The international, multi-year challenge aims to inspire teams to build desirable, affordable, fuel-efficient, and production-capable vehicles by offering a multi-million dollar cash purse.
By 2050, the world’s population is projected to increase from 6.7 billion to 9.2 billion, according to a just-released United Nations (UN) assessment.
An adventurous pack of biofuels enthusiasts will set out today for a 4,500 mile (7,242 kilometer) car rally from the United States to Central America.
Earlier this month, Portland, Oregon, became the first city in the United States to publish an official strategy for coping with a future in which oil is no longer economical.
Environmental and other leaders in water and sanitation efforts gathered in Washington, D.C. on March 22 in honor of World Water Day, which focused this year on the theme “Coping with Water Scarcity.”
