Just beyond the breakers along North Miami Beach, an underwater experiment is underway to see if a blend of concrete and corals could offer protection against storm waves. The timing couldn’t be better: hurricane season is here, and forecasters expect a busy one. Warm waters caused by climate change provide fuel for tropical storms and threaten corals with bleaching that can kill off reefs that shelter the shore. Better Planet spoke with University of Miami marine biologist Diego Lirman about an innovative project called “the Sea Hive,” honeycomb-shaped tubes of concrete that can slow waves and support coral growth. Lirman is also working to boost corals’ ability to withstand warmer waters. “What doesn’t kill you on a reef makes you stronger,” he told Newsweek. The Sea Hive could help protect one of the country’s most vulnerable and valuable stretches of coast against the impacts of climate change.
While the First of June launched hurricane season, June 5 marked World Environment Day. In a major address to mark the occasion, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called for a ban on advertising by the fossil fuels industry, and he urged the “Mad Men” of public relations firms and ad agencies to stop representing fossil fuels companies. “I call on these companies to stop acting as enablers to planetary destruction,” Guterres said. “Fossil fuels are not only poisoning our planet, they’re toxic for your brand,” he said. Better Planet spoke with one major ad agency that has pledged to forego fossil fuels clients.
In climate news elsewhere, the Washington Post reported on the Biden administration’s latest move to steer U.S. automakers toward cleaner cars, newly updated CAFE standards. CAFE stands for “Corporate Average Fuel Economy,” and the regulation applies across the entire fleet of vehicles a company sells. The rules announced Friday will push the average efficiency of new vehicles to 50 miles per gallon by 2031, up from the current standard of about 46 miles per gallon. Previously, the administration had set tailpipe emissions standards for both light vehicles and heavy trucks that encourage automakers to shift to making more electric vehicles.
And a pair of reports offer an update on the progress that clean energy is making both globally and in the U.S. Reuters reported on new work from the International Energy Agency which shows that worldwide investment in clean energy technology is expected to reach $2 trillion this year, twice the amount going into fossil fuels. The New York Times reported last week that in the U.S., solar is surging but wind power has hit a lull. Since the passage of incentives championed by the Biden administration, industrial solar installations have more than doubled and solar is expected to reach more than 30 gigatons of installed capacity this year. Wind projects, however, have flagged due to higher interest rates and supply chain limits.
Stay with Better Planet for the latest on climate solutions. This week, we’ll learn about efforts to reduce emissions from a “forgotten” greenhouse gas, and what it could mean for our food systems.
