The Planet (on, and off)

Matt Stockburn already knew paper supplies were running short when the Toronto city clerk’s office, where he works as a manager, received a notice from its envelope supplier to expect shipment delays. Long-term disruptions to the pulp and paper industry coupled with more recent supply-chain issues triggered a global shortage Read more…

Germany has ordered overnight shutdowns for non-essential digital signage, to save its reserves of natural gas for more important purposes. Like many European nations, Germany relies on natural gas imported from Russia. And thanks to Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, that gas is currently in short supply. The European Union Read more…

Zombie ice from the massive Greenland ice sheet will eventually raise global sea level by at least 10 inches (27 centimeters) on its own, according to a study released Monday. Zombie or doomed ice is ice that is still attached to thicker areas of ice, but is no longer getting Read more…

The effort to prevent electricity blackouts this winter is expected to delay the closure of part of a coal-fired power station in Nottinghamshire, with the plant’s German owner nearing agreement with the UK authorities. In the third in a series of deals to have more coal power on standby if Read more…

All living cells power themselves by coaxing protons from one side of a membrane to the other. A place where this occurs naturally outside of cells are alkaline hydrothermal vents on the deep seafloor, inside highly porous rock formations that are almost like mineralized sponges. “Carbon and energy metabolism are Read more…