The United Nations’ International Maritime Organization (IMO) has recently approved new emission reduction policies for marine shipping, which is a significant step towards reducing the sector’s carbon footprint. A study published in Earth’s Future highlights the need for further action to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

According to researchers from the University of British Columbia (UBC), who surveyed 149 marine shipping experts in 2021, the industry is expected to see a reduction of 30 to 40 percent in carbon intensity by 2030 compared to 2008 levels. This is a positive development, but it still falls short of the sector’s net-zero goal for 2050.

The study found that respondents with less than 10 years of experience in the maritime sector were the most optimistic about emission reductions, while those with more than 30 years of experience were the least optimistic. This suggests that there is a need for policy certainty and investment in green energy to drive change in the industry.

Dr. Amanda Giang, senior author of the study, notes that operational and technical measures can help achieve near-term reductions, but transitioning to green-energy fleets would require significant investments over the long term. Imranul Laskar, first author of the study, emphasizes the importance of policy certainty for the sector to make these investments.

The IMO’s approval of proposed regulations is a positive step towards reducing marine shipping emissions. However, it is clear that more needs to be done to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. The maritime industry has the potential to drive global energy transition, but it requires continued effort and investment in green energy and policy certainty.

The article begins by highlighting the significance of the discovery, emphasizing how it has provided new context to the mysterious Maya history. Researchers from Brown University have unearthed a buried altar in Guatemala, near the ancient city of Tikal, which they believe was built around 300 AD. The altar features four painted panels depicting a person wearing a feathered headdress and flanked by shields or regalia. This discovery has sparked excitement among archaeologists, as it suggests that Teotihuacan, a powerful empire from central Mexico, had a significant impact on the development and politics of Tikal.

Stephen Houston, a professor at Brown University, notes that the altar confirms that wealthy leaders from Teotihuacan came to Tikal and created replicas of ritual facilities that would have existed in their home city. This suggests that Teotihuacan left a heavy imprint on Tikal, influencing its politics and culture. The article goes on to discuss how researchers have collected mounting evidence of a less-than-friendly relationship between the two civilizations.

The research team has found a cut and mutilated stone with well-preserved text describing the conflict in broad terms. This suggests that around 378 AD, Teotihuacan was essentially decapitating a kingdom, removing the king and replacing him with a puppet king who proved a useful local instrument to Teotihuacan.

Andrew Scherer, another researcher involved in the study, notes that the altar was built right around the time of the coup. Inside the altar, researchers found a child buried in a seated position, a rare practice at Tikal but common at Teotihuacan. They also found an adult interred with a dart point made of green obsidian; Scherer says the material and design of the dart point are distinct to Teotihuacan.

The fact that the altar and surrounding buildings were later buried suggests that Teotihuacan’s presence left Tikal forever changed, even scarred. The research team believes that this burial was a deliberate act to commemorate the complicated feelings they had about Teotihuacan.

The article concludes by noting how this discovery has provided new context to the mysterious Maya history, highlighting the complex and often contentious relationship between Teotihuacan and Tikal.

The article discusses new research from the University of Massachusetts Amherst that shows upgrading electrical and broadband infrastructure using a “dig once” approach is nearly 40% more cost-effective than replacing them separately. The study found that co-undergrounding – burying both electric and broadband internet lines together – saves costs, making it feasible for smaller towns in Massachusetts to make undergrounding upgrades.

Using computational modeling across various infrastructure upgrade scenarios, the researchers found that co-undergrounding is 39% more cost-effective than separately burying electrical and broadband wires. They also explored how aggressively towns should pivot to putting lines underground, considering factors such as the cost of converting lines from above ground to underground, the cost of outages, and the hours of outages that can be avoided if lines are underground.

A case study in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, found that an aggressive co-undergrounding strategy over 40 years would cost $45.4 million but save $55.1 million from avoiding outages, considering factors like spoiled food, damaged home appliances, missed remote work hours, and increased use of backup power sources.

The researchers also took into account additional benefits such as increased property values from the aesthetic improvement of eliminating overhead lines, resulting in a net benefit of $11.3 million. They concluded that aggressively converting just electrical wires to underground was less expensive but had a significantly lower net benefit than co-undergrounding.

Future research directions include quantifying the impacts of co-undergrounding across various geographic locations and scenarios, investigating alternative underground routing options, and other potential outage mitigation strategies.

The study’s findings aim to help decision makers prioritize strategic planning for infrastructure upgrades, considering factors like soil composition, network type, and land use variables. The ultimate goal is to encourage utilities and towns to think strategically about upgrading electrical and broadband infrastructure using a “dig once” approach.