Opinion:
¶ “Letter from Bonn: Pollution Killing More Indians Than Wars, Govt Must Understand Urgency of Now” • India loses more people to pollution than it would possibly to a war. Yet, successive governments resort to ad hoc measures, lacking implementation of a long term strategy to ensure clean air to people and address their right to life. [News18]
Schoolboy with his face covered by a handkerchief
¶ “COP 23: Bill McKibben says the drive for 100% renewables is too slow. Time to accelerate!” • It may be possible for the world to reach 100% renewable energy by 2050, or sooner. But Bill McKibben said preventing absolute catastrophe requires action on emissions far faster than what market conditions alone would produce. [Red, Green, and Blue]
¶ “Hurricane Maria has made Puerto Rico the land of opportunity for solar power” • Seven weeks after hurricane Maria, the traffic lights are still down in San Juan. The bankrupt Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority has 1.4 million customers, but it cannot supply power to most of them. Now it has serious competition. [Quartz]
In Utuado, after fifty days of cleanup (Raquel Pérez Puig | Quartz)
Joseph Mangum, of Sunnyside Solar, is on the ground in
Puerto Rico, helping people. How to help him help them?
One way is at [Sunnyside Solar’s crowdfunding website].
¶ “Stop rewarding failure: Protect consumers, not profits” • More than a decade ago, our nation decided to pursue more nuclear power generation. But what we did not support was providing corporate welfare, putting all the project’s risks on the backs of electric customers, instead of on the people who decided to take the risk of investment. [The Augusta Chronicle]
World:
¶ An oil pipeline exploded in Bahrain, causing a massive fire near a market and a hospital. The General Director of Civil Defence said that 21 vehicles and 78 personnel were deployed to control the fire in an oil pipeline near Buri village. He also said the explosion was the result of an act of terrorism, and linked the act to Iran. [Іnsіdеr Cаr Nеws]
Fire after the pipeline explosion in Bahrain
¶ With solar panels tacked to their sledges and a biofuel made from wood chips to keep them warm, a British father and son duo will attempt to reach the South Pole relying solely on green energy. Seasoned explorer Robert Swan and his 23-year-old son Barney will begin their eight week, 600-mile expedition on November 15. [Yahoo News UK]
¶ Pope Francis blasted “shortsighted human activity” for global warming and rising sea levels and urged leaders at climate talks in Germany to take a global outlook as they negotiate ways to curb heat-trapping emissions. Francis met with a delegation of Pacific leaders and told them he shares their concerns about rising sea levels. [CTV News]
Pope Francis listening to Baron Waqa, President of
Nauru (L’Osservatore Romano | Pool Photo via AP)
¶ Queensland’s Labor government is in ongoing talks with American energy firm Boston Global to build a battery factory in Townsville, amid a $151 million election pledge to kickstart plans for a new solar plant. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk promised the multi-million dollar cash injection into the state’s renewable energy sector. [Yahoo7 News]
¶ Environmental activists protested at a German coal-fired power plant, just as Italy announced when it would its use of coal. Protesters projected images of Pacific islanders threatened by climate change onto the cooling tower of the lignite-fuelled power station in Neurath, in western Germany, along with the words “coal destroys our future.” [New Delhi Times]
Greenpeace coal protest
US:
¶ A group of US states, cities, businesses, and universities said they are still committed to curbing global warming even as the Trump administration is walking away from the Paris climate accord. They said, however, that they will not be able to achieve the necessary cut in greenhouse gas emissions without some efforts at the federal level. [Newser]
¶ Stories of Kauai are turning heads at the United Nations Climate Conference. The island’s strides in clean energy, along with the progress in the rest of the state, are catching attention. Sen Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, is part of a five-person legislative delegation representing the American people at the UN Climate Conference. [Thegardenisland.com]
Kauai (Photo: Christopher Michel, Wikimedia Commons)
¶ Empire District Electric Co, based in Joplin, Missouri, plans to develop an additional 800 MW of wind power and to generate that power as close to its Missouri service area as possible, it announced. That $1.5 billion investment could change the face of a rural area north of Joplin, where Empire is looking at its options. [Joplin Globe]
¶ Wind power and other renewable energy sources are playing an important role in keeping the campus of the University of Illinois sustainable. The University is purchasing wind power from Rail Splitter Wind Farm LLC under a contract that goes until October 2026. The university has a goal to eliminate 100% of carbon emissions by 2050. [Daily Illini]
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