A youth displaced by the fighting charges batteries with solar panels at a makeshift shop in a camp for internally displaced persons at the United Nations base in Bentiu, Unity State. REUTERS/Andreea Campeanu
The Climate Lab that Sits Empty
Behind a locked door on the ground floor of a new University of Colorado science center, a laboratory outfitted with specially reinforced concrete floors sits dark and empty, like a dining room set for a guest who never arrived. In this case, the no-show is a $2 million, 12-ton machine that is vital to addressing global warming. The machine, a high-precision accelerator mass spectrometer, uses nuclear physics to detect the presence of a rare, heavy isotope of carbon. It enables scientists to distinguish fossil fuel emissions from all other sources of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, information crucial to monitoring and reducing those emissions.
Gaps in the Electric Grid aside, African Economies Are on the Rise
While the African Development Bank Group has committed to investing $12 billion in electrical projects during the next four years and will leverage an expected $45-$50 billion in cofinancing for power plants, the group lamented the lack of bankable projects in the pipeline. That’s where Access Power comes in. The company is a fast-growing developer, owner, and operator of power plants in emerging and frontier markets. Access Power is developing power projects worth more than $1 billion in 23 countries across Africa and Asia. By generating sustainable power, Access Power can make the necessities of modern life possible, from clean drinking water and sanitation, to the production of food and a safe way to cook it, to transportation and telecommunication.
Mapping for Sustainable Development: MCC Hosts Its First-Ever Mapathon
With increased access to computers, mobile devices, and other internet-enabled technology, governments, businesses, and citizens are producing more information than ever. At the forefront of the data revolution is geospatial data, which helps us generate accurate maps and is critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. We often use map applications to help us get from point A to point B without a second thought, but accurate maps are not universal worldwide. So MCC recently held its first-ever mapathon in Washington, DC.
Can This Irrigation Startup Help Growers Thrive during Droughts to Come?
In the world of irrigation technology, one eight-year old startup is rising to the top of the competitive pack. Denver-based SWIIM System—formally known as the Sustainable Water and Innovative Irrigation Management System—has software that creates a crop-water budget based on data collected over 60 times an hour and also allows growers to track water usage in real-time. It's currently in use across more than 70,000 acres of US farmland growing both permanent and annual crops, as well as Los Angeles's water utility regulator—the largest in all of California.