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01 / 05
Scientists Say They Can Use AI to Solve Key Fusion Energy Problem

CNN | Energy Production

Scientists Say They Can Use AI to Solve Key Fusion Energy Problem

“There are several ways to achieve fusion energy, but the most common involves using hydrogen variants as an input fuel and raising temperatures to extraordinarily high levels in a donut-shaped machine, known as a tokamak, to create a plasma, a soup-like state of matter.

But that plasma needs to be controlled and is highly susceptible to “tearing” and escaping the machine’s powerful magnetic fields that are designed to keep the plasma contained.

On Wednesday, researchers from Princeton University and the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory reported in the journal Nature they found a way to use AI to forecast these potential instabilities and prevent them from happening in real time.”

From CNN.

ISAAA | Pollution

High-Yield Rice Emits up to 70 Percent Less Methane

“Rice, one of the world’s key staples, is responsible for 12 percent of global methane emissions. Now, an international team of scientists has identified chemical compounds released by rice roots that determine how much methane the plants emit…

When the research team grew these low fumarate and high ethanol (LFHE) rice varieties at various field sites throughout China, the LFHE rice produced 70 percent less methane on average compared with the elite variety from which it was bred. The LFHE crops also have high yields at yields—8.96 tons/hectare on average, compared to the 2024 global average of 4.71 tons/hectare.”

From ISAAA.

Our World in Data | Pollution

The World Has Probably Passed “Peak Air Pollution”

“Global emissions of local air pollutants have probably passed their peak.

The chart shows estimates of global emissions of pollutants such as sulphur dioxide (which causes acid rain), nitrogen oxides, and black and organic carbon.

These pollutants are harmful to human health and can also damage ecosystems.

It looks like emissions have peaked for almost all of these pollutants. Global air pollution is now falling, and we can save many lives by accelerating this decline.

The exception is ammonia, which is mainly produced by agriculture. Its emissions are still rising.”

From Our World in Data.

Our World in Data | Pollution

China Reduced SO2 Emissions by More than Two-Thirds in 15 Years

“Annual emissions of SO2 in China … rose steeply during the 1980s and 1990s. But they peaked in the mid-2000s, and over the last 15 years, they have fallen by more than two-thirds.

Putting emissions limits on coal plants and introducing desulphurization technologies that remove SO2 from smokestacks were critical drivers of this decline.”

From Our World in Data.