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Editor's picks: Top 10 stories of 2018
From revelations about the hidden messages in burbling lakes of lava to the staggering costs of runaway climate change, these 10 stories shed light on our planet and how we're changing it. They include our editor's picks and some our best-read stories for the year.
Q&A: What should we do with nuclear waste?
Nuclear security expert Rod Ewing discusses new recommendations for solving the U.S. nuclear waste problem, why conventional risk assessments don’t go far enough and what makes this challenge more difficult than putting a man on the moon.
Global carbon dioxide emissions rise even as coal wanes and renewables boom
Renewable energy capacity has hit record levels and global coal use may have already peaked. But the world's carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels increased in 2018, and the trend places global warming targets in jeopardy.
What do the midterm results mean for environmental policy?
The recent midterm elections could have far-reaching implications for the direction of federal- and state-level environment and energy policy. Stanford experts discuss ways forward, lessons learned and more.
Researchers map susceptibility to man-made earthquakes
Stanford geophysicists forecast a decline in potentially damaging earthquakes from wastewater injection in Oklahoma and Kansas through 2020.
Cash, carbon, crude: How to make oil fields bury emissions
A new analysis looks at what it would take for oil companies to start pumping millions of tons of carbon dioxide into their wells to boost crude production – and what it would mean for the climate.
X-rays reveal a secret to longer battery life
Experiments at SLAC and Berkeley Lab uproot long-held assumptions about how lithium ions move through a common battery material and will inform future battery design.
Measuring crude oil's carbon footprint
Some oil fields are cleaner than others. But together, they show natural gas management drives more emissions than scientists thought. A new study highlights a path to shrink crude oil's climate impact.
Mining the cleantech boom and bust for investment lessons
The boom and bust in clean energy investments starting in 2008 produced some lessons to guide future government policy and investment strategies for the next cycle of investment in a sustainable energy future.
New technique brings clean hydrogen fuel one step closer
A new method could pave the way to producing hydrogen fuel in large quantities at dramatically lower costs compared to current processes that rely on platinum.
A new, cheaper way to store energy from wind and solar
A new type of flow battery that involves a liquid metal more than doubled the maximum voltage of conventional flow batteries and could lead to affordable storage of renewable power.
The steep costs of nuclear waste in the U.S.
Expert Rodney C. Ewing discusses how failure to implement a permanent solution for nuclear waste storage and disposal is costing Americans billions of dollars per year.
Q&A: Getting to Net-Zero Emissions
Stanford researchers discuss what it will take to achieve net-zero carbon emissions, including technology development and political barriers to overcome.
U.S. oil and gas methane emissions are 60 percent higher than EPA reports
A new study shows leakage equals $2 billion dollars in wasted natural gas — enough to supply 10 million households — and provides a roadmap for future emissions research.
Geothermal at the foot of Kilauea
Geothermal engineer Roland Horne discusses geothermal energy in the face of natural hazards and a way to tap the earth’s heat far from volcanoes in the future.
What does the future of energy look like?
Eight Stanford scientists share ideas for how the world can reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and make energy more sustainable, secure and affordable for all.
Wastewater project harnesses anaerobic bacteria to save energy
A wastewater treatment plant under construction in Redwood Shores will be the largest to test a technology that significantly reduces the cost of cleaning water. The key: bacteria that eschew oxygen while producing burnable methane.
A way for carbon capture at biorefineries to pay off
A new paper maps out how tax credits and possible incentives from state fuel standards could allow ethanol producers to profit from removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
EPA's proposed rollbacks of mileage standards are a terrible idea
Rob Jackson argues in Scientific American that proposed EPA mileage rollbacks are shortsighted and a matter of human health as well as economics.