New Paper in GM Crops & Food Suggests Glyphosate in Combination with No-Till Farming is the Single Most Effective Global Tool for Carbon Emissions Reduction, And Other Relative Benefits of Glyphosate

      There has certainly been a lot of debate about the safety of glyphosate, especially since the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified it in 2015 as a “probable human carcinogen,” A new paper published in GM Crops & Food, analyzes the CO2 equivalent emissions reductions that arise from the manufacture, distribution and farm level use of glyphosate as a vital part of conservation tilling, which refers to reduced-till or no-till farming. The paper attempts to quantify the emissions. According to the abstract, those emissions reductions are massive:

“Conservation tillage practices provide a net reduction in combined annual fuel and increased soil carbon retention-related emissions of −179.67 billion kg CO2e relative to a conventional plow-based alternative production system.”

     Glyphosate is typically used to control weeds in preparing land before crops are planted. It is also applied between crop rows and around the perimeters of the crops.

     The paper’s analysis includes an extensive literature review. Methodologies include the quantification of global glyphosate use, calculation of emissions from glyphosate manufacture, distribution, and farm-level use, calculation of emissions reduction from the use of conservation tillage, calculation of the contribution of glyphosate to emissions reduction from the use of conservation tillage, and comparisons to conventional crops and genetically modified herbicide-tolerant (GM HT) crops. The paper explains some of the aims of the literature review:

“A primary aim of the literature review was to identify the evidence about emissions after adoption of conservation tillage practices, soil organic carbon levels and other possible emissions such as nitrous oxide (N2O) relative to conventional tillage practices.”

     The literature review explored duration of studies, depth of soil carbon measurements, soil types, latitude and climate differences, interaction of conservation tillage with other conservation management practices, continuity of conservation tillage, and the combined effect of temperature, moisture, and soil texture on soil carbon.

     Table 1 shows the different tillage practices and how they are defined. These include conventional tillage (CT), reduced tillage (RT), and no tillage (NT. In addition, mulching and crop rotations are typically used in CT and RT. CT and RT make up conservation tillage (COT).

     Table 2 quantifies fuel use for CT, RT, and NT.

     Table 3 shows glyphosate use by country, and that the U.S. and Brazil, two of the world’s agricultural powerhouses, use the most glyphosate.

     Table 4 shows the annual average glyphosate use for 2019–2022 by crop/use.

     Table 5 shows the annual average CO2e emissions from the manufacture and distribution of glyphosate used in global agriculture by country of use: baseline 8.39 billion kg.

     Tables 6 and 7 show comparisons of RT and NT with CT in terms of fuel use and soil carbon retention.

     Table 8 notes glyphosate use in stages of crop growth key to the adoption of conservation tillage for 2019-2022, and Table 9 breaks that information down by country.

     Table 10 compares NT/RT-based conservation tillage area compared to levels if the same area was tilled by plough, attributable to glyphosate, by country.

     Table 11 compares annual global soil carbon retention CO2e emissions for NT-based conservation tillage area compared to levels if the same area was tilled by plough, attributable to glyphosate, by country.

     Table 12 is a summary of global annual CO2e emissions/storage attributable to the use of glyphosate in agriculture: 2019–2022 annual average.

     The paper goes on to describe applying sensitivity analysis to arrive at the final estimates.

 

The Environmental Benefits of Glyphosate

     Dan Blaustein-Rejto, writing for the Ecomodernist, explores the environmental benefits of glyphosate. He recounts public opposition to glyphosate due to perceived health impacts, soil health impacts, pollinator impacts, water contamination, and degradation of biodiversity. He argues that the net impacts of glyphosate are beneficial due to it replacing other, more toxic herbicides and “enabling farming practices that reduce soil erosion, water and air pollution, energy use, and crop losses.”

     He explains that glyphosate is mostly used for animal feed, biofuel, and fiber instead of human consumption:

“Glyphosate was first approved and marketed in the United States in 1974 as a broad-spectrum herbicide designed to kill most plants it contacts. Its rise coincided with the commercialization of genetically engineered glyphosate-tolerant (“Roundup Ready”) crops beginning in the mid-1990s. Today, glyphosate is primarily used on corn, soybean, and cotton operations, applied to roughly 80–90% of those crops’ acreages. These crops—which are overwhelmingly grown for animal feed, biofuel, and fiber rather than direct human consumption—account for the vast majority of all agricultural glyphosate usage, about 84%.”

     He emphasizes glyphosate’s low toxicity compared to other herbicides:

“By almost any measure, glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides (which contain other substances such as surfactants) have a low toxicity even at the high volumes used.”

     He also notes that glyphosate is not environmentally harmless:

“Ecological risk assessments from EPA and other regulatory agencies identify real concerns in some contexts. Chronic glyphosate exposure may slow growth of some birds. But one of the most concrete risks is not from glyphosate itself, but from surfactants that are mixed into some formulations to help it better penetrate plant leaves: EPA finds that drift from heavy aerial application of formulations with polyethoxylated tallow amine (POEA) carry a slight risk to some freshwater fish, amphibians, and aquatic invertebrates. Likewise, some formulations may increase the impact of acute exposure to birds, though the evidence on this is limited.”

     The graph below compares glyphosate to other herbicides.

     As the paper explored above notes, one of glyphosate’s most important environmental benefits is in herbicide-enabled no-till farming. He notes that once glyphosate-tolerant (GT) crops were developed, conservation tillage was enabled to grow successfully. Avoiding tillage has several other benefits, such as less fuel use, reducing soil erosion, soil moisture retention, preservation of soil structure, and much more.  

“Though often overlooked, conservation tillage also reduces the amount of dirt and dust from farming, significantly improving air quality.”

     One practice that has been particularly vilified is the pre-harvest spraying of glyphosate on wheat and some legumes. RFK Jr. and other MAHA advocates have recommended banning this practice. Blaustein-Rejto points out that this practice is uncommon, considered safe, and has unique environmental benefits. The practice is rare, being used on only about 3% of wheat. Measured residues were still small for these crops.

“Even in an implausibly extreme scenario where a child ate only wheat products made from grain that was sprayed pre-harvest and had the maximum legal glyphosate residues persist on it through processing, they would need to eat more than 1 ½ loaves of bread or 15 cups of pasta per day to reach EPA’s daily safety limit. That threshold is itself quite conservative, set 100 times below the highest dose that caused no harm in relevant animal studies.”

     Pre-harvest spraying can keep weeds down for subsequent crops, help spare land, and increase yields.

“Grain dryers burn large amounts of propane or natural gas to reduce moisture levels. Finally, when compared to other chemical desiccants, glyphosate is often one of the lowest-impact options available.”

     Glyphosate is certainly not the perfect herbicide, but it is much more beneficial than other herbicides, including some organic ones. Even better alternatives should continue to be pursued.

     He also touts new technologies:

“Precision application technologies that use computer vision and machine learning to identify and spray individual weeds can reduce herbicide use by about 30–60%, and up to 90 percent in some cropping systems and studies. Autonomous robotic weeders are beginning to scale beyond specialty crops and into row-crop agriculture. Recent proposals in Congress to increase support for farmers to purchase precision agriculture equipment could go a long way to accelerating adoption. But development of new pesticides, both synthetic and biological, as well as herbicide-tolerant genetically engineered crops remains critical for farmers to better manage weeds, especially ones that are resistant to existing herbicides.”

     Regulatory support for residue analysis is also important:

“USDA and FDA should expand routine monitoring for glyphosate and other herbicide residues and report results clearly. This is not because more evidence would necessarily identify new risks, but rather because public trust depends on visibility and accountability.”

     Finally, he summarizes the benefits of glyphosate:

“Glyphosate illustrates the environmental promise and tradeoffs of agricultural innovation. It helped enable meaningful reductions in tillage, fuel use, and herbicide toxicity. It also carries ecological risks that warrant continued research, scrutiny, and management. For policymakers, the key question is not whether glyphosate is flawless, but rather how to encourage its responsible use and develop alternatives that deliver better environmental outcomes. That requires rigorous oversight, transparent monitoring, and federal support for innovation instead of bans that replace one set of impacts with more damaging ones.”

 

Trump Executive Order Calls Glyphosate “Central to American Economic and National Security” and Calls for Adequate Supply

     In a break from RFK Jr. and anti-GMO activists, an executive order was announced that calls glyphosate necessary for the American economy and national security, and calls for maintaining an adequate supply. RFK Jr. relented and praised the EO. 

   

 

References:

 

Glyphosate use in agricultural production: it’s contribution to global carbon dioxide emissions. Graham Brookes. GM Crops & Food: Biotechnology in Agriculture and the Food Chain. Volume 17, 2026 - Issue 1. Full article: Glyphosate use in agricultural production: it’s contribution to global carbon dioxide emissions

What to know about glyphosate, the herbicide behind a Trump executive order that’s angered MAHA moms. Michal Ruprecht, CNN. February 24, 2026. What to know about glyphosate, the herbicide behind a Trump executive order that’s angered MAHA moms

Glyphosate’s Environmental Benefits: How the controversial herbicide saves wildlife and where it still falls short. Dan Blaustein-Rejto. The Ecomodernist. March 13, 2026. Glyphosate’s Environmental Benefits - The Ecomodernist

Japanese Funded U.S. Government-Owned Massive Natural Gas Power Plant Planned in Southern Ohio Could Be Largest in the World at 9.2 GW: Will Power Data Centers and More

     A massive 9.2 GW natural gas power plant slated to be built in Southern Ohio near Piketon on the large site of the former gaseous diffusion plant and uranium enrichment facility could be the largest in the world. The plant, funded by Japan and to be owned by the U.S. government, is expected to cost $33 billion. The PORTS Technology Campus project will be funded by Japan, but will not be particularly beneficial to Japan. It has been reported that the investment is more of a political ploy for Japan to get in Trump’s good graces, strange as that sounds. Japan also has strong defense ties and a large tariff deal with the U.S. According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

“The project stems from the Japanese government’s pledge last year to invest $550 billion in the U.S. to prevent President Donald Trump from hiking trade tariffs on imported Japanese products.”

     The site will also house the world’s most powerful AI data center. It is expected to be the first power plant to be owned by the federal government in decades.

     Power from the plant is expected to be transported via a planned $4.2 billion transmission line project to a nearby proposed $30 billion data center, built and run by SoftBank. A summary of the numbers by The Columbus Dispatch is below.

“The data center, which is slated to begin initial operation in 2028, will house more artificial intelligence capacity than all current AI systems put together worldwide, according to SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son.”

     That is a pretty impressive boast. It will be built on a 3700-acre site owned by the U.S. government. SB Energy, a SoftBank subsidiary, will operate the power plant, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

     The Plain Dealer emphasized the unusual nature of the plant. All other power plants owned by the U.S. government are either hydroelectric plants or Tennessee Valley Authority plants. It is one of the very few projects financed by another country and owned by the U.S. Another is the nearly completed $4.4 billion Gordie Howe International Bridge, which will link Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, and is being paid for entirely by the Canadian government. However, the bridge will be jointly owned by Canada and the state of Michigan.

“While profits will be split evenly between the U.S. and Japan until Japan recoups its money, plus interest, the St. Louis Federal Reserve analysis found that the U.S. stands to benefit substantially even at moderate return levels, but “only under implausibly high-return assumptions would Japan break even.”

     A groundbreaking event was hosted at the site on March 26, with many speakers, including Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Masayoshi Son, Chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group Corp, members of Congress, the CEO of AEP Ohio (also a project partner), and many others.

     There are also planned upgrades to the existing nuclear energy projects on the site. These include $900 million in U.S. Department of Energy funding for Centrus Energy Corp. to expand its uranium enrichment operations; and an agreement between Oklo Inc. and Meta Platforms, Inc. Oklo will develop an advanced nuclear small modular reactor power project to provide up to 1.2 GW of electricity dedicated to Meta’s data centers in the region.

     According to Ohio University, before the groundbreaking:

“SB Energy announced an initial investment of over $37 billion, combining a $33 billion 10 GW power plant with $4.2 billion in AEP Ohio grid upgrades to support a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) data center. The investment for the AI data center to be built by SB Energy has not yet been disclosed { I think they said $30 billion} but it will create a hub for innovation that accelerates research and scientific discovery by dedicating this massive AI data center to cutting-edge research in quantum computing, fusion energy and national security.”

     This is truly a massive project that will cost a massive amount of money, expected to be at least $67.2 billion. 

     The project will also take advantage of the Appalachian Basin's inexpensive natural gas, utilizing as much as 1.2 BCF per day, which is quite a lot of gas. 

 

   

References:

 

US government to own massive Japanese-funded power plant in Southern Ohio. Jeremy Pelzer. Cleveland Plain Dealer. April 2, 2026. US government to own massive Japanese-funded power plant in Southern Ohio

Ohio's $33 billion power plant is massive. Here's a by-the-numbers look at Piketon facility. Dean Narciso. Columbus Dispatch. April 5, 2026. Ohio's $33 billion power plant is massive. Here's a by-the-numbers look at Piketon facility

PORTSfuture groundwork continues to pay off with job growth at Pike County plant. Ohio Today. Ohio University. March 17, 2026. PORTSfuture groundwork continues to pay off with job growth at Pike County plant

Submersible and Floating Hydroelectric Technology for the Rivers Flowing into the Great Lakes

     Stephen Starr of The Guardian just published an interesting article about new hydroelectric technologies being deployed in the Great Lakes region, mostly in Canada. The Great Lakes host big cities in the U.S. and Canada, including Chicago, Toronto, Montreal, Milwaukee, and Detroit. These populated cities are experiencing growing power demands as well as demands for clean energy and less air pollution. The Great Lakes are freshwater lakes with no tidal power, but they do have reliably flowing rivers that connect them. Company Ocean Renewable Power Company (ORPC), which has long operated small submersible hydroelectric power generators in Alaska and Maine, has recently been developing two hydroelectric power generators on the St. Lawrence River in Montreal.

“The St Lawrence River is one of the best opportunities in North America for our technology because it has consistent, high-velocity water for hundreds of miles. In the Montreal area, there’s 60-90 megawatts of resource potential alone,” says ORPC’s chief executive officer, Stuart Davies.

“The Niagara River, the St Lawrence River are big powerful rivers driven by the hydrology of the lakes draining out.”

     It should be pointed out that ORPC’s devices are small-scale, from 0.5MW to 5 MW in size, hardly a replacement for a gas or coal plant, but they do provide similar baseload power.

     ORPC has been producing hydropower in Alaska since 2019, providing power for a small community and reducing their diesel fuel requirements and costs.

      Another company, Orbital Marine Power, which has developed tidal power offshore Scotland, is developing a hydropower project in the Bay of Fundy’s Minas Passage in Nova Scotia. They also plan to develop a project later this year on the Niagara River in Buffalo, New York.

     The Guardian article notes that Canada has a better and faster regulatory environment for licensing hydroelectric power than the U.S., where it can take eight years or more to license a project. Canadian citizens also benefit from low-cost, low-emissions hydropower.

     While the St. Lawrence and Niagara rivers are fast-moving, other rivers connecting the Great Lakes are slower-moving, with currents of 2.3 to 2.5 knots. Michael Bernitsas, a professor at the University of Michigan, has tested a hydroelectricity-generating technology called Vivace that can harness hydro energy from water that moves as slowly as half a meter per second. One area targeted for testing this technology in the future is where Lake Huron flows into the St. Clair River, about 50 miles north of Detroit.

“As water moves, it pushes cylinders which oscillate up and down on the device, generating kinetic energy. Bernitsas says the devices can be manufactured in sizes starting from under a meter in width and height to a scale suitable for larger projects.”

“The immediate market for our small technology would be portable applications in situ in the ocean, for example powering Noaa buoys,” he says.

     He estimates that it will take another two years before the technology is deployable. These technologies can also be deployed in oceans to tap tides, but saltwater is much more corrosive, and river water deployments can last much longer. Michael Bernitsas, a professor at the University of Michigan, has tested a hydroelectricity-generating technology called Vivace that can harness hydro energy from water that moves as slowly as half a meter per second.

     ORPC is also exploring anchoring to riverbed bottoms as has been done in Northern European tidal power projects, in order to eliminate problems due to surface ice in the winter. The company is also planning a project on the lower Mississippi River, potentially between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, for late next year.

     ORPC also notes that its projects are fish-safe, not resulting in killing and maiming fish as has been a problem at larger hydroelectric dams.

          Compared to wind and solar in the U.S., hydro is poised for further development since it retains its 40-50% tax credit. That will likely result in more of these types of hydro projects being developed.

 

References:

 

Demand for hydropower surges as Trump clamps down on clean energy: Home to one of the world’s largest deposits of freshwater, the Great Lakes region will soon host next-generation generators – just as prices are being hiked across the US. Stephen Starr. The Guardian. March 31, 2026. Demand for hydropower surges as Trump clamps down on clean energy | US news | The Guardian

RivGen® Power System & Integrated Microgrid Solutions. Ocean Renewable Power Company (ORPC). RivGen® Power System & Integrated Microgrid Solutions - ORPC

Orbital Marine Power. Technology - Orbital Marine

Vortex Hydro Energy. How it Works | Vortex Hydro Energy

U.S. Utility-Scale Solar and Wind Generation Hit a Record 17% Share (19% if Smaller Deployments are Included) in 2025 Despite Solar Deployments Dropping by 22%

      Utility-scale solar and wind have reached a new record as generation share on the U.S. grid, hitting 17% in 2025. The EIA defines utility-scale as facilities that produce 1MW or greater. If smaller deployments such as rooftop solar are included, then the share rises to 19%. That is quite an accomplishment. In comparison, the EU, which does not have the domestic supply of oil & gas that the U.S. has, is at 30% share for utility-scale wind and solar. The EU's stronger push for renewables has come at a cost, and electricity prices continue to be the highest where renewables penetration is highest - Germany and California, for example.

     From the EIA graph below, it can be seen that utility-scale solar and wind doubled their share on the grid from 2018 to 2024 from 8% to 16%. The increase in grid share has been steady over the past two decades.  Before that, it was virtually non-existent. Two decades ago, in 2005, the grid share was less than 1%. Based on recent trends, with continuing efforts, one might project that the grid share for wind and solar is increasing by 9% over 7 years. That means 26% in 2032 and 35% in 2039. That is, of course, less than the Biden administration was hoping for, but still quite impressive.

     The EIA also notes that wind and solar generation are intermittent and that dispatchable generation in the form of coal, natural gas, nuclear, oil, and presumably hydro are at a share of 75% of utility-scale generation for 2025. It was also noted that wind generated more power at 464,000 GWh than solar at 296,000 GWh, although solar capacity saw a larger increase, rising 34% compared to wind’s 3%. However, new solar generation in 2025 was at 26.5 GW, down 22% from 2024, which was at 33.8 GW.

     According to an annual report by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), fourth quarter deployments dropped considerably, with expectations that many of those projects will add to 2026 and 2027 numbers:

“SEIA noted that in the first three quarters of 2025, solar installations remained largely the same year over year, “but in the fourth quarter, volumes fell by nearly 40% year-over-year. By the end of 2025, installations totaled just under 35 GW as many utility-scale projects were delayed into 2026 and 2027.”

“As developers shifted their focus towards safe harbor strategies, there was less urgency to bring late-stage projects online by year end,” SEIA said. “This weakened fourth quarter deployment but created a more robust near-term pipeline for 2026 and 2027.”

     SEIA and Wood Mackenzie think that solar capacity will triple over the next decade, a similar growth rate to what has been occurring. More graphic data from the report is given below.

 

    

 

References:

 

Utility-scale solar and wind hit a record 17% of US generation in 2025: EIA: “Combining utility-scale and small-scale solar generation in 2025 increases the share of wind and solar to 19% of total net generation,” said the Energy Information Administration. Diane DiGangi. Utility Dive. March 25, 2026. Utility-scale solar and wind hit a record 17% of US generation in 2025: EIA | Utility Dive

Solar installations fell 22% in 2025: FERC: “As developers shifted their focus towards safe harbor strategies, there was less urgency to bring late-stage projects online by year end,” the Solar Energy Industries Association said. Diana DiGangi. Utility Dive. April 1, 2026. Solar installations fell 22% in 2025: FERC | Utility Dive

Wind and solar generated a record 17% of U.S. electricity in 2025. Energy Information Administration. March 20, 2026. Wind and solar generated a record 17% of U.S. electricity in 2025 - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)

Solar Market Insight Report 2025 Year in Review. Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). March 9, 2026. Solar Market Insight Report 2025 Year in Review – SEIA

China’s Reduction in Aerosol Air Pollution Linked to Fewer Aerosol-Fueled Storms in Arctic, Subsequent Lower Loss of Sea Ice, Along with a Reduction in Global Cooling (which is still likely the dominant effect)

     While it is well-known that reducing aerosols from air pollution in the atmosphere leads to a loss of the global cooling effect of aerosols, new research published in Nature’s npj Climate and Atmospheric Science suggests that China’s big push to reduce its air pollution has had other effects that offset the loss of that global cooling effect. In particular, it was observed that there were fewer aerosol-fueled storms initiated in the Arctic, resulting in a reduction in the loss of Arctic sea ice.

     Bjørn Samset, a senior researcher at the CICERO Centre for International Climate Research in Norway, told Live Science:

"This pollution temporarily slowed global warming and gave the rest of us a bit more time to adapt to a warmer climate. What is happening now is that we're seeing the full effects of greenhouse-gas-driven warming, which we would sooner or later have to face anyway."   

     According to Live Science, the research suggests that:

“From 2000 to 2014, smog billowing from Chinese smokestacks may have been steering winter storms northward across the North Pacific, funneling more of them into the Arctic and destroying ice in the Bering Sea.”

     The article in Live Science explains much better than I can how this process works:

“To understand how soot and sulfate particles over Shanghai could influence ice off the coast of Alaska, it helps to think about what happens inside a storm. Every mid-latitude cyclone — the swirling, comma-shaped systems that generate much of the Northern Hemisphere's winter weather — runs on a kind of heat engine. Warm, moist air evaporates near the ocean surface, rises and condenses into clouds, releasing heat that fuels the storm's circulation.”

“Aerosols — the tiny particles that make up industrial haze — disrupt this engine in a subtle-but-consequential way. Water vapor normally condenses around a relatively small number of particles, forming large droplets that fall quickly as rain on the storm's southern flank. If the air is full of aerosols, however, each particle becomes a seed for a cloud droplet. The result is a vast number of smaller droplets that don't readily coalesce into raindrops. Rainfall on the storm’s southern flank is suppressed, and moisture travels farther along the storm's conveyor belt toward its northeastern flank, where it releases its heat — in exactly the right place to nudge the whole system poleward.”

     Lead author Dianbin Cao, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, and colleagues relied on four decades of observational data and combined it with modeling to show how aerosols released in East Asia affected winter cyclones in the North Pacific.  

“Comparing 14 years of elevated aerosol loading between 2000 and 2014 against 15 lower-aerosol years from the preceding decades, the researchers found that cyclone tracks shifted northward by up to 1.23 degrees by the time the storms dissipated — enough to nearly double the number of cyclones crossing into the Arctic.”

     The study suggests that aerosols can strongly affect these storms and their own effects:

“When these storms arrive in the Bering Sea, their effects can be dramatic. A cyclone's counterclockwise winds shove ice back toward the Chukchi Sea, between Alaska and Russia. Waves break ice floes apart. Southerly gales bring warmer air that can, even in the depths of winter, tip temperatures above freezing, as happened so acutely in 2019.”

     The good news is that since China began addressing its aerosol pollution problem in 2013, the number of aerosols released into the atmosphere has dropped by about 75% over the next decade. This made the air cleaner in China, and the article calls it “one of the most effective environmental interventions in history.” This could lead to fewer storms tracking into the Arctic region.

     Of course, we also know that the reduction of atmospheric aerosols can accelerate global warming since the particles reflect sunlight back into space and have a cooling effect on the atmosphere. Other studies have indicated that this is indeed occurring. A 2025 study led by Samset found that East Asian aerosol reductions have measurably accelerated global warming. Dan Westervelt, an atmospheric scientist at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and a co-author on Samset’s 2025 study, thinks the warming effect will win out. He told Live Science:

 "Unmasking warming will probably dominate, as it is more persistent and can occur during all seasons, while the storm-track changes are probably more episodic.”

     He also notes that reductions in aerosol particles in the U.S., for instance, took about three decades, and I add that much of that was due to natural gas replacing coal as an energy source due to the shale and fracking revolution. In contrast, China was able to clean up its much greater aerosol production in about a decade, which should lead to bigger measurable, observable effects, as this post explains is indeed happening.

        As noted in the paper’s abstract below, further mitigation of East Asian aerosol particle pollution could lead to fewer storms tracking into the Arctic region and subsequently less loss of sea ice as a result. As the second graphic shows, fewer Arctic storms are strongly correlated with less loss of sea ice.  

 

References:

 

China's huge push to reduce air pollution had an unexpected consequence in the Arctic. Quentin Septer. Live Science. March 31, 2026. China's huge push to reduce air pollution had an unexpected consequence in the Arctic

Anthropogenic aerosols can shape the winter mid-latitude cyclone tracks. Dianbin Cao, Dongze Xu, Yanluan Lin, Yi Deng, Xuelong Chen, Qiang Zhang, Meng Gao & Xu Zhang. npj Climate and Atmospheric Science, Article number: (2026). March 18, 2026. Anthropogenic aerosols can shape the winter mid-latitude cyclone tracks | npj Climate and Atmospheric Science

Blue Dragon Energy & Environmental Blog 2.0: Blog Topic Statistics

     With the number of posts in this blog approaching 1000, I thought I would analyze some statistics regarding topics. My own classification scheme may differ from others. Many topics overlap with posts fitting multiple categories, usually around two on average. Some posts fit as many as four or five categories. Some categories are incomplete. The Energy Management and Efficiency category could likely be doubled or tripled since I quickly added it recently, for example. Most categories are complete. I was curious how graphed results would look. Some topics are broader than others. Some can be split up in different ways. My categorization has my own biases. I have worked as an oil & gas exploration and production geologist. Thus, oil & gas is one of the biggest in terms of the number of topics. I was surprised that Climate Science & Policy had so many posts, but it is likely due to it being a broad topic and timely topic. If I had combined Power Grid Markets and Policy and Power Grid Technology, it would have been 74 and the biggest topic. Of course, if I had combined the three Oil & Gas topics, they would have had well over 130. It would be 150, but several overlap. This blog also has linked lists of posts in each topic and is searchable with the search bar. I will likely keep this Excel file updated and perhaps post it periodically, perhaps annually, if I keep posting. 

     The first chart is the number of posts by topic arranged alphabetically, and the second chart is the number of posts by topic from most to least.

Energy Demands of 6G Networks: New Paper Models Synthetic Biology-Based Fuel Cell-Powered Bio-Hybrid Networks as a Sustainable Alternative for Ultra-Dense Small-Cell Base Stations

6G Networks: High-Density Networks Require More Energy and Better Energy Management

      Mobile communication networks are notoriously power-hungry. Future 6G networks will be “a complex ecosystem of densely deployed software and hardware components,” according to a 2023 German whitepaper. This will include the incorporation of AI capabilities. Of specific concern are the energy consumption and energy efficiency of 6G networks.

     Radio access networks (RAN) account for most of the 6G energy requirements, 73% according to the German whitepaper. Power costs account for between 20% and 40% of the operating expenses of network operators. The newer data-heavy networks make lowering energy costs the prime driver of innovation, which was not the case for previous networks. It is simply that higher data consumption means higher energy consumption and higher operational costs. 3G and 4G networks focused more on enhancing user experience through faster speeds and broader coverage. 5G networks began to address energy consumption, but there is much more to be done. Energy efficiency needs to be embedded from the outset.

     According to an article in ICT Networks:

“Despite technological advancements such as improved power amplifiers and faster base station wake-up times, the annual growth in data demand—estimated at around 2.8%—continues to outpace efficiency gains. This imbalance means that even incremental improvements in hardware and software are insufficient to curb overall power usage. For 6G, this reality serves as a wake-up call, pushing standardization bodies like 3GPP and industry leaders to treat energy as a core design constraint.”

     The need for computational power and dense network deployments in more sophisticated modern applications means higher power use is a given. This has created a tension between performance and energy consumption, which needs to be addressed. Autonomous systems and AI processing require ultra-low latency, massive connectivity, and high reliability. There is a need to develop smarter algorithms and hardware optimizations that prioritize efficiency. IOT and smart grids require dense networks that can adapt dynamically, and doing that while maintaining energy efficiency is challenging. Thus, scaling up these 6G networks without much higher energy consumption is a hurdle that must be overcome.

     Emerging solutions include technological innovations across network architecture. The article in ITC Networks gives four strategies: technological innovations, industry and academic collaborations, embedding efficiency from the outset, and reflecting on past efforts to address their energy efficiency failures. Regarding technological innovation, it is noted:

“Strategies such as lean network designs aim to eliminate unnecessary transmissions across time, spatial, and frequency domains, while energy-efficient air interfaces and waveforms are being developed to optimize signal transmission. Additionally, user equipment (UE)-assisted algorithms for power saving, synchronized sleep modes for downlink (DL) and uplink (UL), and dynamic resource allocation are gaining traction. The integration of AI and ML into network operations further enhances efficiency by enabling predictive management of resources, ensuring that energy is used only when and where it is needed.”

     Standardization bodies like 3GPP can play an important role in industry/academic collaborations by setting up frameworks that prioritize efficiency.

“Industry stakeholders focus on practical implementations, such as base station sleep modes and cost-effective infrastructure upgrades, driven by the need to reduce total cost of ownership. Meanwhile, academia explores cutting-edge concepts like novel waveforms and advanced interference management, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. This synergy ensures a comprehensive approach, embedding energy-conscious principles into every aspect of 6G development.”

     Embedding efficiency from the outset is a firm requirement. However, it may require redesigning some system elements.

     Past efficiency failures involved the inability to predict the level of future data demands. This must be avoided in designing the new networks. Setting up pilot projects and standardization of power-saving protocols will be needed to test 6G networks.

     5G networks incorporated some energy-saving features for both user equipment (UE) and base stations (BSs), but many were added later, after the networks were deployed. 5G energy saving innovations include introducing specific low-power modes during idle times, including idle mode signaling reduction and discontinuous reception (DRX). The other 5G power saving innovations are described below from a Samsung blog article:

“5G introduced both short and long DRX cycles to strike a balance between latency and energy efficiency. Complementing DRX, Discontinuous Transmission (DTX) enables BSs to skip transmissions during periods of low or no traffic, further conserving energy. Additionally, Carrier Aggregation allows for the selective activation or deactivation of secondary carriers, optimizing energy use by ensuring resources are only utilized when necessary. Together, these mechanisms collectively contribute to significant improvements in energy efficiency across 5G networks.”

     Below, they list more power-saving features of later releases of 5G networks.

     Energy and network management for 6G has been deemed “energy performance,” according to an Ericson white paper, and such innovations often require a new generation format.

“Some solutions, such as those related to UE idle-mode functions like system-information broadcast, random-access, and paging can only be changed when a new generation is introduced.”  

“For 6G, we need to ensure that we can benefit, in terms of reduced network energy consumption, from deployment architectures where RAN processing is more centralized.”

     They also note that lean design features have been successful in 5G NR and should be further developed in 6G networks.

“The introduction of lean design in 5G NR, which focuses on minimizing transmissions not related to data transfer, has been a tremendous success enabling large network energy savings due to micro-sleep between transmissions. For 6G, we should continue to build on the lean design success story and do more of what has proven to work well in 5G.”

     As shown below, lean design can be incorporated in the time, space, and frequency domains into new 6G networks.

     They note that the lean design features of 5G NR were very successful and can be further developed in 6G.

 

New Paper Models Synthetic Biology-Based Fuel Cell-Powered Bio-Hybrid Networks as a Sustainable Alternative for Ultra-Dense Small-Cell Base Stations

     A December 2025 paper published in the journal Scientific Reports explores the possibility of synthetic biology-based fuel cell-powered networks as a sustainable alternative for ultra-dense small-cell base stations. As noted in the abstract:

“Simulation results indicate that bio-hybrid systems can achieve reliable energy autonomy, significantly reducing reliance on centralized power grids while simultaneously lowering emissions.”

     Incorporating these biohybrid systems into ultra-dense networks has some security and ethical challenges. These include cyber–physical vulnerabilities and public acceptance. The microbial bioreactors need to be free of tampering concerns.

     AI-driven power balancing is incorporated into these systems. Control and optimization frameworks employ model predictive control, described below:

“Model Predictive Control (MPC) provides an anticipatory mechanism by leveraging system dynamics to optimize inputs such as substrate feeding and storage switching over a finite horizon, making it particularly effective under fluctuating microbial performance and forecasted load conditions. Adaptive neural controllers, including deep recurrent architectures like LSTMs, capture temporal dependencies in bioenergy generation and predict short-term variations, enabling proactive energy balancing. In addition, hybrid rule-based and AI frameworks combine hard-coded safety constraints, such as minimum biofilm health thresholds, with data-driven optimization, ensuring interpretability without sacrificing adaptability.”

     Below are some graphs from the paper that show that the increased energy demands of 6G networks consist of their total transmission and computational needs, which are based on the number of devices.

     As noted in the paper’s conclusions below, these systems are powered by “microbial fuel cells and enzyme-driven energy systems.” However, at present, they only exist as simulations. Field trials and experimental validation will be the next step.

 

 

References:

 

Bio-hybrid 6G networks with synthetic biology-enabled base stations for energy-autonomous telecommunications. Abdulrahman Al Ayidh, Mohammed M. Alammar, Mohamed Abbas, Muneer Parayangat & Abdullah Alharthi. Scientific Reports volume 15, Article number: 43784 (December 15, 2025). Bio-hybrid 6G networks with synthetic biology-enabled base stations for energy-autonomous telecommunications | Scientific Reports

How Will 6G Networks Balance Energy and Innovation? ITC Network. June 6, 2025. ITCnetwork publications

Energy Performance of 6G Radio Access Networks: A once in a decade opportunity. Ericsson. White PaperGFTL-24:001335. November 2024. 6g-energy-performance.pdf

Energy Saving for 6G Network: Part I. July 8, 2025. Hyoungju Ji, Younbum Kim, Hongbo Si, and Aris Papasakellariou. Samsung. Blog. BLOG | Samsung Research

Sustainability of 6G: Ways to Reduce Energy Consumption. Hecker, Artur, Bernardos, Carlos Jesus Gavras, Anastasius Schörner, Karsten Bou Rouphael, Rony AL-Naday, Mays, Lombardo, Chiara, Ghoraishi, Mir. Zenodo. 6G Infrastructure Association. October 24, 2024. Sustainability of 6G: Ways to Reduce Energy Consumption

6G Energy Efficiency and Sustainability. Fraunhoffer IIS. 6G Platform Germany. January 2023. Whitepaper6GSustainability.pdf

From Efficiency to Sustainability: Exploring the Potential of 6G for a Greener Future. Rohit Kumar, Saurav Kumar Gupta, Hwang-Cheng Wang, C. Shyamala Kumari, and Sai Srinivas Vara Prasad Korlam. Sustainability. 2023, 15(23), 16387. November 27, 2023. From Efficiency to Sustainability: Exploring the Potential of 6G for a Greener Future | MDPI