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City in Sierra Leone covers buildings in mirrors to fight extreme heat

City in Sierra Leone covers buildings in mirrors to fight extreme heat

3 June 2023

People in Freetown, Sierra Leone, are increasingly exposed to extreme heat due to climate change and the urban heat island effect, but covering homes in a reflective film significantly cut indoor temperatures


Inside the Tideway 'super sewer' near Fulham, London

Inside the huge London super sewer designed to fight river pollution

2 June 2023

A monstrous concrete pipe with a capacity of 1.6 million cubic metres is being built under London to reduce the frequency of sewage discharges into the Thames


Sections of a timber wind turbine tower under construction

Should we build wind turbines from wood?

1 December 2022

Most wind turbines are made from a mix of materials, making them hard to recycle – but wood could offer a more sustainable alternative


Rising seas could submerge Rio and Jakarta by 2100 – what can we do?

Rising seas could submerge Rio and Jakarta by 2100 – what can we do?

23 February 2022

Smart engineering solutions such as “sand motors” and artificial reefs will defend our coasts for a while. But in many places, conversations are already turning to a managed retreat inland


Think of the science of fatbergs next time you flush toilet paper

Think of the science of fatbergs next time you flush toilet paper

28 April 2020

Max up the yuck factor: environmental engineer Raffaela Villa explains how huge fatty deposits build up in our sewers and how we deal with them.


collapsed bridge

Climate change may see one in four US steel bridges collapse by 2040

23 October 2019

Rising temperatures threaten the safety of steel bridges in the US and globally. In the next two decades, one in four such bridges in the US look set to fail


Greenland

Why climate engineers are targeting Earth's last pristine spots

19 April 2018

Some of the last great wildernesses are being considered as likely candidates for geoengineering. It's a sad reflection of climate failings, says Olive Heffernan


Fire ants building a tower

Ants build living towers that flow like a fountain in reverse

11 July 2017

The rules that guide fire ants to make tall towers with their own bodies could be applied to miniature search-and-rescue robots


dam

Open the floodgates: Designer deluges could save dammed rivers

28 June 2017

Dams provide vital green power but destroy precious river ecosystems. Could unleashing artificial floods give us the best of both worlds?


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