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Josie Garthwaite

Journalist covering science, technology & environment

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Category Archives: National Geographic

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California Drought Dries Up Hydro, But Power Stays On (National Geographic)

March 12, 2014 by Josie Garthwaite

California’s record drought has parched crops, but hasn’t yet dimmed lights or choked the flow of electricity, even though the Golden State, with more than 300 dams, has long been a hydroelectricity leader among U.S. states.

Categories: Energy, Environment, National Geographic • Tags: California, Climate Change, drought, electricity, extreme weather, hydropower, natural gas, renewables, water

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Mojave Mirrors: World’s Largest Solar Plant Ready to Shine (National Geographic)

July 26, 2013 by Josie Garthwaite

The huge Ivanpah solar plant is part of a push to expand renewable energy on U.S. federal land. The developer took steps to relocate a population of the threatened desert tortoise.

Categories: Energy, Environment, National Geographic, Technology • Tags: BrightSource, California, Ivanpah, Mojave, Solar

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California Keeps Its Energy Cool in Summer Scorcher (National Geographic)

July 17, 2013 by Josie Garthwaite

Over the past 13 years, California has added more than 15,000 megawatts of natural gas-fired electricity generation, which helped ensure supply when a heat wave hit this summer.

Categories: Energy, National Geographic

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Too Much Wind Energy? Save It in Volcanic Rock Reservoirs (National Geographic)

July 2, 2013 by Josie Garthwaite

To manage a surplus of intermittent power in the Pacific Northwest, scientists propose underground compressed air storage in porous volcanic rock.

Categories: Energy, National Geographic, Science, Technology

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Oil Potential and Animal Habitat in the Monterey Shale (National Geographic)

May 29, 2013 by Josie Garthwaite

Much of the petroleum produced in California over the past 150 years has sprung from a jumble of rocks known as the Monterey shale formation. To some, the costs of using advanced technologies to unlock oil that remains tightly bound in the Monterey appear too high. Landscapes atop the shale include habitats for protected species such as the San Joaquin Kit fox, the California Condor, and blunt-nosed leopard lizard.

Categories: Environment, National Geographic, Science

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Bikes and Buses Propel Mexico City to Prize in Sustainable Transport (National Geographic)

January 17, 2013 by Josie Garthwaite

Bicycles, pedestrian-friendly plazas and walkways, new bus lines, and parking meters are combining to transform parts of Mexico City from a traffic nightmare to a commuter’s paradise.

Categories: Mobility & Transport, National Geographic, Sustainable Cities

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Coal-Fired Australia, Buffeted by Climate Change, Enacts Carbon Tax (National Geographic)

October 6, 2012 by Josie Garthwaite

Drought, rampant wildfire in the outback, and the degradation of the treasured Great Barrier Reef have forever altered how Australia views its energy endowment. Facing a future as one of the places on Earth most vulnerable to climate change, and one of the nations with the world’s highest per capita carbon emissions, Australia has taken steps to change its fate.

Categories: Energy, Environment, National Geographic, Policy

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A Rare Look Inside Carmakers’ Drive for 55 MPG (National Geographic)

August 18, 2012 by Josie Garthwaite

The next generation of cars will look much like today’s, but will weigh less, have better aerodynamics, and smarter systems that can ramp power up or down as needed.

Categories: Energy, Mobility & Transport, National Geographic, Policy, Technology

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Would a New Nuclear Plant Fare Better than Fukushima? (National Geographic)

March 24, 2011 by Josie Garthwaite

Would brand-new reactors have fared better in the power outage that triggered dangerous overheating at one of Japan’s oldest power plants? Not necessarily. The vast majority of plants under construction around the world are the same 1970s vintage as Fukushima Daiichi, and without integrated passive safety systems.

Categories: Energy, National Geographic, Policy, Technology

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Did you know? (Carnivores Among Us)

Coyotes now inhabit every state in the country except Hawaii, eating mostly rodents, rabbits, and fruit.

— "Learning to Live With Urban Coyotes"

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Did you know? (Going Without)

Desert tortoises in the Mojave are able to survive a year or more without water and live for as long as 80 years.

— "World's Largest Solar Plant Ready to Shine"

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You can email me at jgarthwaite at gmail dot com. Sign up for my mailing list here.

Did you know? (Creepy Crawlers)

A nearly 10-foot-long relative of the centipede called the Arthropleura splashed through Inner Mongolia's swampland 298 million years ago.

— "Into the Permian Woods"

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