Full Frame: Going Green

Full Frame

Akureyri, Iceland has a low carbon footprint because the town uses geothermal and hydropower energy for all its heating and electricity.

Iceland’s low-carbon commitment

Iceland has become a global model for environmental sustainability, especially when it comes to renewable energy. One town in particular — Akureyri –gets nearly 100% of its power for heating and electricity from renewables. Full Frame’s Mike Walter sat down with Akureyri Mayor Asthildur Sturludottir to talk about how the town made the environment and sustainability a top priority.

“I think every city can do it,” Sturludottir said. “You can mobilize your citizens and other cities. They can look to us as a role model and implement their policy like we have done.”

 

China’s sustainability future

China has set goals of reaching peak emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060.  Currently, it’s the world’s largest producer of wind and solar power.

“A lot of that transition is going to require just a sort of wholesale transformation of China’s energy system,” said John Paul Helveston, an assistant professor in George Washington University’s School of Engineering and Applied Science. His research focuses on energy-saving technologies and the transition to a sustainable economy, including in the United States and China. 

 

Meet the ‘female Indiana Jones’ saving the world’s oceans

Since traveling the globe during her unconventional childhood, Alison Teal has been paving the way for better environmental policies in an effort to clean up the planet.

“I’m not on the search for the Holy Grail,” Teal said. “I’m on the search for the biodegradable cup or my surfboards that are made out of recycled coffee cups and plant resin … I think that there’s something that we can do every day to make a change.”