A dramatic, overall improvement in food security is one of the great success stories in human history. Especially since the Green Revolution of the mid-twentieth century, both the quantity and quality of calories supplied improved people’s day-to-day health, lengthened life spans, and boosted nearly every other aspect of well-being. Yet 1 in 11 people in the world in 2020 were
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measures the dollar value of the final goods and services produced in a country. Changes in GDP are the most widely used indicator of a country’s overall economic health. There four components of GDP: Data Metadata PNG Dividing a country’s GDP by its population is a common way to measure the average level of material affluence
In March 2022 President Biden announced that he would authorize the release of up to 180 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to help lower gasoline prices in the wake of market disruptions caused by the Russia-Ukraine War.1 Can such action lower prices at the pump? Let’s take a look. What is the Strategic Petroleum
With 4% of the world’s population, the United States consumes 40% of the world’s oil, due largely to its consumption of travel and shipping by its 267 million cars and trucks that are inefficient relative to other countries. The United States has substantial oil resources, accounting for about 17% of all oil ever produced in the world. Nevertheless, domestic supply
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) provides $369 billion in energy and climate spending over the next 10 years. By a large margin, the IRA is the single largest federal government program aimed at energy and the environment. For comparison, the second largest program was the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) which provided more than $90
In 2007, Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino issued an executive order that committed the City to reducing its annual GHG emissions by 80% below 1990 levels by 2050.1 This set in motion an ongoing stream of research, community engagement, and policies to reduce GHG emissions by improving energy efficiency and shifting to cleaner fuels and electricity. In 2016, Mayor Martin
Life expectancy is an important gauge of human well-being. It is an indicator of Sustainable Development Goal #3 to “ensure healthy lies and promote well-being for all at all ages,” and a key element of the Human Development Index. In ancient Greek and Roman times life expectancy at birth was likely limited to about 35 years of age.1 In 2022,
Archaeological evidence suggests that Native Americans used geothermal energy for cooking and warmth as early as 10,000 years ago. Greeks and Romans are famous for their use of hot springs for bathing and medicinal purposes as early as the 3rd century BCE. The first modern, at scale geothermal power plant was the Wairakei facility located in the Taupō volcanic zone
Germany and Spain launched the modern solar photovoltaic (PV) industry with power plants coming online in the mid-2000s in the 20 to 60 MW range. They were quickly followed by China, the United States, South Africa, Japan, India, Germany, Turkey, France, and other European countries. In recent years China has accounted for nearly one-third of new capacity additions in the
The lack of adequate access to clean, affordable energy services diminishes a person’s quality of life along multiple dimensions. The economic impact is often measured as the energy burden: the percentage of household income that is spent on fuel and electricity. As applied in Europe and the United States, energy burden is typically measured by the total spending on household
A dramatic, overall improvement in food security is one of the great success stories in human history. Especially since the Green Revolution of the mid-twentieth century, both the quantity and quality of calories supplied improved people’s day-to-day health, lengthened life spans, and boosted nearly every other aspect of well-being. Yet 1 in 11 people in the world in 2020 were
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measures the dollar value of the final goods and services produced in a country. Changes in GDP are the most widely used indicator of a country’s overall economic health. There four components of GDP: Data Metadata PNG Dividing a country’s GDP by its population is a common way to measure the average level of material affluence
In March 2022 President Biden announced that he would authorize the release of up to 180 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to help lower gasoline prices in the wake of market disruptions caused by the Russia-Ukraine War.1 Can such action lower prices at the pump? Let’s take a look. What is the Strategic Petroleum
With 4% of the world’s population, the United States consumes 40% of the world’s oil, due largely to its consumption of travel and shipping by its 267 million cars and trucks that are inefficient relative to other countries. The United States has substantial oil resources, accounting for about 17% of all oil ever produced in the world. Nevertheless, domestic supply
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) provides $369 billion in energy and climate spending over the next 10 years. By a large margin, the IRA is the single largest federal government program aimed at energy and the environment. For comparison, the second largest program was the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) which provided more than $90
In 2007, Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino issued an executive order that committed the City to reducing its annual GHG emissions by 80% below 1990 levels by 2050.1 This set in motion an ongoing stream of research, community engagement, and policies to reduce GHG emissions by improving energy efficiency and shifting to cleaner fuels and electricity. In 2016, Mayor Martin
Life expectancy is an important gauge of human well-being. It is an indicator of Sustainable Development Goal #3 to “ensure healthy lies and promote well-being for all at all ages,” and a key element of the Human Development Index. In ancient Greek and Roman times life expectancy at birth was likely limited to about 35 years of age.1 In 2022,
Archaeological evidence suggests that Native Americans used geothermal energy for cooking and warmth as early as 10,000 years ago. Greeks and Romans are famous for their use of hot springs for bathing and medicinal purposes as early as the 3rd century BCE. The first modern, at scale geothermal power plant was the Wairakei facility located in the Taupō volcanic zone
Germany and Spain launched the modern solar photovoltaic (PV) industry with power plants coming online in the mid-2000s in the 20 to 60 MW range. They were quickly followed by China, the United States, South Africa, Japan, India, Germany, Turkey, France, and other European countries. In recent years China has accounted for nearly one-third of new capacity additions in the
The lack of adequate access to clean, affordable energy services diminishes a person’s quality of life along multiple dimensions. The economic impact is often measured as the energy burden: the percentage of household income that is spent on fuel and electricity. As applied in Europe and the United States, energy burden is typically measured by the total spending on household
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