Japan’s
Renewable-Energy Revolution Japan's approach to stewardship of its land and
water resources is distinct from that of the U.S. As an island nation with a
millennia-long history, the concepts of reuse, repurposing and multiple use are
intrinsic to Japanese culture. In 2011, the Tohoku earthquake and subsequent
Fukushima nuclear disaster caused Japan to reassess its dependence on nuclear
power as a primary source of electricity generation. Building renewable-energy
capacity, predominantly in the form of photovoltaic projects, is one answer in
the nation's quest for alternatives. These images, from a series of flights
over the Tokyo and Kobe/Osaka regions of Japan, show a range of photovoltaic
projects on former golf courses, quarries, dams, man-made islands and floating
projects on ponds and reservoirs.
Climate
change damages US economy, increases inequality Unmitigated climate change
will make the United States poorer and more unequal, according to a new study.
The poorest third of counties could sustain economic damages costing as much as
20 percent of their income if warming proceeds unabated. States in the South
and lower Midwest, which tend to be poor and hot already, will lose the most,
with economic opportunity traveling northward and westward. Colder and richer
counties along the northern border and in the Rockies could benefit the most as
health, agriculture and energy costs are projected to improve. "Unmitigated
climate change will be very expensive for huge regions of the United
States," said Hsiang, Chancellor's Associate Professor of Public Policy at
UC Berkeley. "If we continue on the current path, our analysis indicates
it may result in the largest transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich in
the country's history." The team of economists and climate scientists
computed the real-world costs and benefits: how agriculture, crime, health,
energy demand, labor and coastal communities will be affected by higher
temperatures, changing rainfall, rising seas and intensifying hurricanes.
