Quiet Moxie

All about energy in the world today. We’re following innovations, trends, and green-related news so you don’t have to.

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“Climate Engineering” Plan Could Have Unintended Consequences

A plan to do "climate engineering" could have unintended consequences.

“Climate engineering,” also known as geoengineering, in order to reduce climate change could have unintended consequences. Photo: Shutterstock

The world is facing a climate crisis, there’s no doubt about it. Some of the best and brightest minds in the world are working hard to come up with solutions. One such solution involves “climate engineering” in the form of spraying sulfur dioxide in the…

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‘Global Thermometer’ Is Tracking Temperature Extremes

A "global thermometer" has detected increasing global land temperatures.

Droughts in the tropics are just one consequence of rising global land temperatures. Photo: Shutterstock

According to a paper published in the Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, large areas of the earth are experiencing rising maximum temperatures.

This may sound like a no-brainer, given that we’re in an era of unprecedented global warming, but the conclusions drawn through this…

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Looking Back and Looking Forward

Looking back, things seem grim. But we need to look forward, step up, and fight for the environment.

Photo: Avivi Aharon / Shutterstock.com

The last year has been unprecedented in terms of climate change and climate news. President Trump pulling out of the Paris Agreement while two other remaining holdouts signed on, making the United States now the only country in the world that is not a signatory. Not only that, but he rolled back environmental regulations on everything from oil drilling to…

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Global Warming is Drenching the Northeast

Global warming is drenching the Northeast, and this could have catastrophic effects on the region's farmers.

Potatoes, one of the key cash crops in the Northeastern state of Maine, could be severely affected by warmer and wetter weather. Photo by Agence Producteurs Locaux Damien Kühn on Unsplash

Last week I wrote about how drought conditions in California, caused by climate change, are causing an increase in the number of wildfires there. But on the other side of the country, things are getting warmer…

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Has Climate Change Influenced California’s Latest Trouble With Wildfires?

Has climate change influenced California's latest trouble with wildfires?

Are wildfires increasing in frequency and severity due to climate change? Photo: Shutterstock

It’s been a brutal season of wildfires this fall up and down California, with devastating blazes hitting wine country in the northern part of the state in October and the Los Angeles area now facing a fierce set of fast-growing blazes. Scientists have speculated that human-influenced climate change has…

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Great Barrier Reef May Be More Resilient Than Once Thought

The Great Barrier Reef may be more resilient than once thought.

A sea turtle swims above the Great Barrier Reef. Photo: Shutterstock

New research gives us reason for hope that the Great Barrier Reef is not set up for doom, despite the extensive damage and bleaching of the reef itself.

Scientists at the University of Queensland, the Australian Institute of Marine Science, CSIRO, and the University of Sheffield have recently published a paper with the results…

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Global Warming Hiatus? Not So Much

Global warming hiatus? Not so much.

Arctic glaciers. Photo: Shutterstock

New data from the University of Alaska Fairbanks shows that missing Arctic temperature data, not the climate, created the seeming “pause” of global warming from 1998 to 2012.

In fact, the improved datasets the researchers gathered shows that the Arctic warmed six times faster than the global average during the so-called global warming hiatus.

Atmospheric…

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Scientists Find New Way to Process Radioactive Waste

Scientists in Japan have found a new way to process radioactive waste.

The question of what to do with radioactive waste may have been solved by a team of Japanese scientists. Photo: Shutterstock

Ever since the first atomic bomb was exploded during World War II’s Manhattan Project, and ever since the first nuclear power plant opened in Obninsk, Russia, radioactive waste has been accumulating. As the number of nuclear power plants and nuclear weapon plants increased,…

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Moving Bus Stops Could Reduce Pollution Exposure

Moving bus stops could dramatically reduce commuters' pollution exposure.

Passengers board an MTA bus in New York. Moving that stop away from the intersection could reduce the pollution to which transit commuters are exposed. Photo: Roman Tiraspolsky / Shutterstock.com

There’s no doubt that mass transit can make a huge difference in the overall air quality of cities. An increasing number of people are realizing that they can reduce their carbon footprint by riding a…

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Keeping Plastic Out of Our Waters

Nations and states are working to keep plastic out of our waters. Read about their efforts.

Plastic pollution in the ocean. Photo: Shutterstock

This past week Chile’s President Michelle Bachelet signed a bill that will ban plastic bags in more than 100 coastal areas. Her decision, she said, was about “taking care of our marine ecosystems.”

“Our fish are dying from plastics ingestion or strangulation; [limiting plastic bags] is a task in which everyone must collaborate,” she added.

It’s…

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New Study Says Sea Animals Eat Plastic Because of Its Taste

Scientists have long known that plastic in the oceans can mimic prey, causing huge problems for sea life. But what they didn’t know is that even corals eat plastic. Corals don’t have eyes, and they…

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New Study Says Sea Animals Eat Plastic Because of Its Taste

New research shows that sea animals may eat plastic because it tastes good.

These coral polyps are feeding–and most likely ingesting lots of microplastics in the process. Photo: Shutterstock

Scientists have long known that plastic in the oceans can mimic prey, causing huge problems for sea life. But what they didn’t know is that even corals eat plastic.

Corals don’t have eyes, and they don’t move from their location, so why would they eat plastic? Apparently because it…

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Whales and Dolphins Have “Human-Like” Cultures and Societies

Whales and dolphins have "human-like" cultures and societies.

Dolphins and other cetaceans exhibit sophisticated social behaviors such as alloparenting, the parenting of other parents’ young. Photo via Pixabay

Whales and dolphins are increasingly threatened by fishing activities, environmental noise, and other factors. If we don’t take a stand to conserve these creatures, we could end up wiping out two other species with high intelligence and culture.

A…

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Road Pricing Could Be the Most Effective Solution to Car Pollution

Road pricing could be the most effective solution to car pollution.

Photo via Pixabay

Motor vehicles are a huge source of pollution in cities. For many years, governments have used traffic management strategies to try and reduce vehicle emissions—but few seem to have made as much of a difference as road pricing.

Road pricing is essentially a “pay per use” planthat levies charges such as road tolls, congestion charges, and charges designed to discourage the use of…

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Parrot Population Threatened By Human Activity

Almost 40% of the neotrpoical parrot population is being threatened by human activity.

A pair of scarlet macaws in flight. Photo: Shutterstock

A new paper published in the journal Biological Conservation shows that more than 38 percent of the Neotropical parrot population of the American continent (Neotropic) is endangered by human activity.

The main dangers: hunting for the local and international trade, and loss of natural habitat.

Despite the fact that the Wild Bird Conservation…

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The Dog Domestication Date Debate Has Been (Sort Of) Resolved

The dog domestication date debate has been (sort of) resolved.

Photo: Shutterstock

You might not know this, but there are two distinct arguments about when dogs were domesticated. One group believes dogs were domesticated in the Paleolithic age (more than 17,000 years ago), and another believes dogs were domesticated much later, in the Neolithic age (17,000 to 7,000 years ago).

So, when exactly were dogs domesticated?

A team of researchers from Cornell…

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Texas A&M Student Designs Educational Tool to Teach Kids About Agriculture

A Texas A&M student designed a tool to teach kids about agriculture.

Hydroponic greenhouse. Photo via Pixabay

Alfredo Costilla had a vision: He wanted to provide an educational tool for teachers and parents to educate kids about the world of agriculture.

The Texas A&M Ph.D. candidate developed BitGrange, a process that uses hydroponics and technology to connect elementary school students with the science of agriculture.

Hydroponics involves growing plants without…

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