The Big Fix
New project seeks to solve housing crisis using mushroom byproduct and troublesome weed
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.
Coalition of small island states makes a case that greenhouse gas emissions are covered by UN Law of the Sea
In Hamburg, Germany, an international tribunal makes rulings on the UN’s Law of the Sea, which deals with marine territorial rights and navigation, and requires states to prevent and control marine pollution. This week, a coalition of small island states is asking the court to rule on an unusual case: that greenhouse gas pollution is covered under this law of the sea.
War in Ukraine speeding up Germany’s transition to renewables
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year upended energy markets throughout Europe. No country was hit harder than Germany. At the time, more than half of Germany’s gas came from Russia. In the short term, the country had to double down on fossil fuels: keeping coal-fired power plants open longer and building new liquefied natural gas terminals. But in the long term, the war pushed a government falling behind on renewable energy goals to enact some ambitious new policies.
Renewable energy seen as an answer to Ukraine’s wartime energy woes
Russian attacks on Ukraine’s power stations knocked out more than half of the country’s capacity to generate electricity last fall and winter. The widespread blackouts are over for now, but the new focus on energy security is raising prospects for a speedier transition to renewable energy as Ukraine rebuilds.