In Namibia, MycoHAB is hoping to solve two issues for the price of one: make use of a pesky plant known as the encroacher bush and deal with the country’s housing crisis. By harvesting the water-intensive weeds that encroach on farmland and combining them with a mushroom byproduct known as mycelium, MycoHAB founder and architect Chris Maurer creates bricks to build homes. The World’s Carolyn Beeler spoke to Maurer to learn more.
China began restricting exports of graphite supplies needed to make electric vehicle (EV) batteries on Dec. 1. EV carmakers are nervous about shortages because the US lacks its own domestic supplies. One of the world’s largest sources of graphite has been discovered in Alaska, but the company with mining rights to the site is Canadian.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has sent energy costs surging, European leaders scrambling for alternative suppliers of gas, and redirected flows of Russian oil toward Asia. Some European countries also burned more coal in response to the energy shock. But the most transformational long-term change will be in increased investments in renewable energy, according to International Energy Agency chief energy economist Tim Gould.