Growth in offshore wind energy offers huge opportunity to create US jobs
In the smallest town in the country's smallest state, something big has happened.
Oct 19, 2022
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In the smallest town in the country's smallest state, something big has happened.
Oct 19, 2022
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Less than six months after rejecting a proposal for a major desalination plant in Huntington Beach, the California Coastal Commission on Thursday approved plans for a different, smaller project in Orange County they say could ...
Oct 14, 2022
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Colorado State University professor Jennifer Bousselot is growing a garden on top of a building in Denver as part of her ongoing research into "green roofs" and her efforts to educate the public about their many benefits.
Sep 20, 2022
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In the wake of a new White House report on the climate implications of energy-hogging cryptocurrency mining, Cornell Engineering research suggests that providing green policy incentives for carbon capture and renewable energy ...
Sep 14, 2022
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The last bits of ash and greenhouse gases from Hawaii's only remaining coal-fired power plant slipped into the environment this week when the state's dirtiest source of electricity burned its final pieces of fuel.
Sep 1, 2022
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At the Venice International Film Festival, virtual reality is only a small part of the immersive experience. On a small island just a short water shuttle ride from the main festival headquarters on the Lido, festivalgoers ...
Aug 31, 2022
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As interest grows in the potential of using "green" hydrogen generated from renewable electricity to help decarbonize maritime shipping, a new study from the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) estimates ...
Jun 22, 2022
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The Bank of Jamaica is preparing to issue a nationwide digital currency for the first time in its history following recent approval from legislators.
Jun 7, 2022
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In the tropics, the deep sea is cold and the sea surface is very warm. That temperature difference can be harnessed and turned into electricity. If we can improve the technology, this method of producing power could be a ...
May 31, 2022
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Plant-covered roofs have become a regular sight in Portland, Oregon. The city is a leader in incorporating green infrastructure for stormwater management, including free street trees, rebates for small residential housing ...
May 4, 2022
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An island (pronounced /ˈaɪlənd/) or isle (/ˈaɪl/) is any piece of land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls are called islets. A key or cay is another name for a small island or islet. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot, /ˈaɪ.ət/. There are two main types of islands: continental islands and oceanic islands. There are also artificial islands. A grouping of geographically and/or geologically related islands is called an archipelago.
The word island comes from Old English ī(e)gland (literally, "watery land"). However, the spelling of the word was modified in the 15th century by association with the etymologically unrelated Old French loanword isle.
There is no standard of size which distinguishes islands from islets and continents.
When defining islands as pieces of land that are surrounded by water, narrow bodies of water like rivers and canals are often, but not always, left out of consideration[citation needed]. For instance, in France the Canal du Midi connects the Garonne river to the Mediterranean Sea, thereby completing a continuous water connection from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. So technically, the land mass that includes the Iberian Peninsula and the part of France that is south of the Garonne River and the Canal du Midi is surrounded by water. For a completely natural example, the Orinoco River splits into two branches near Tamatama, in Amazonas state, Venezuela. The southern branch flows south and joins the Rio Negro, and then the Amazon. Thus, all of the Guianas (Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana) and substantial parts of Brazil and Venezuela are surrounded by (river or ocean) water. These instances are not generally considered islands. However, small pieces of land bordered by rivers are considered islands.
This also helps explain why Africa-Eurasia can be seen as one continuous landmass (and thus technically the biggest island): generally the Suez Canal is not seen as something that divides the land mass in two. The mainland of Australia is often considered the largest island because it is covered on all sides by water while not being connected to another body of land.
On the other hand, an island may still be described as such despite the presence of a land bridge, e.g., Singapore and its causeway or the various Dutch delta Islands, such as IJsselmonde. Some places may even retain "island" in their names after being connected to a larger landmass by a wide land bridge, such as Coney Island. The retaining of the island description may therefore be to some degree simply due to historical reasons - though the land bridges are often of a different geological nature (for example sand instead of stone), and thus the islands remain islands in a more scientific sense as well.
This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA