Opinion:
¶ “Mining Industry Pro on Trump’s Promises To Bring Back Coal: ‘He’s Lying’” • Art Sullivan has worked as a coal miner, mine manager and industry consultant in the US and around the world. When CNN asked him about President Trump’s promises to miners that he will save their jobs, Sullivan was blunt: “He’s lying to them.” [Environmental Working Group]
Trump Digs Coal
¶ “Jaitapur: A Risky and Expensive Project” • Électricité de France’s “techno-commercial proposal” to the government of India for the Jaitapur nuclear power project in Maharashtra will certainly be controversial. The first year tariffs from the project would be around ₹15/kWh (21¢/kWh). But the cost of the project is just a start of its problems. [The Hindu]
Science and Technology:
¶ “Drones, Automation, and Reforestation: How DroneSeed is Keeping Forests Healthy Post-Wildfire” • DroneSeed uses drones in post-fire environments to combat the spread of wildfires and keep affected areas healthy. Using automation, it seeks to make the revitalization of our forests faster, cheaper, and more efficient. [CleanTechnica]
Forest
¶ “Rising Oregon Temperatures Turn Annual Snowfall to Rainfall” • Oregonians are seeing changes in winter temperatures and precipitation distribution. Oregon State researchers analyze the impacts of longer wildfire seasons and rising temperatures on local forests and wildlife, finding a potential for lasting negative impacts. [The Daily Barometer]
World:
¶ “Before They Disappear: Treasured UNESCO Sites at Risk from Climate Change” • From the sinking city of Venice to the mass bleaching of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, climate change is drastically impacting some of the world’s most treasured heritage sites. Here is a set of many photos of UNESCO sites threatened by a changing climate. [CNN]
For Yellowstone: shorter winters, less snowfall, warmer rivers, shrinking lakes, and more fires (Wyoming Office of Tourism)
¶ “Vestas Bags 101 MW EPC Order for Wind Energy Project in Gujarat” • Vestas announced it has bagged an Engineering, Procurement and Construction contract for setting up a 101-MW project in Gujarat. The project is designed to sell power to commercial and industrial consumers through Power Purchase Agreements. [ETEnergyworld.com]
¶ “Daimler and BMW Collaborating on Large Joint Urban Mobility Company” • Daimler and the BMW are collaborating on a joint urban mobility company to create a sustainable, multi-modal, readily accessible urban transportation system. It will include ride hailing, car-sharing, charging, and parking in urban centers. [CleanTechnica]
BMW ReachNow
¶ “India Will Tender 500 GW Renewable Capacity by 2028” • To achieve its goal of generating 40% of electricity from non-fossil fuels by 2030, India would have to install 500 GW of renewable energy generation capacity by 2028, Anand Kumar, Secretary of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, said at a business summit. [pv magazine India]
¶ “Germany’s 2025 Renewables Share Goal “within Reach” – Think Tank” • The share of renewables in Germany’s gross power consumption climbed to 38.2% in 2018, according to a press release from Agora Energiewende. This meant that Germany’s target of 40% to 45% by 2025, as set in the Renewable Energy Act, is “within reach.” [Clean Energy Wire]
Wind turbines in Germany (Smaack, Wikimedia Commons)
US:
¶ “Supreme Court Blocks ExxonMobil’s Effort to Conceal Decades of Documents in Probe of Oil Giant’s Climate Deception” • The Supreme Court rejected ExxonMobil’s attempt to block Massachusetts’s demand for documents related to its investigation into allegations that it deceived the public and investors for decades about global warming. [DeSmog]
¶ “PG&E Stock Tumbles 21% on Bankruptcy Concerns” • PG&E could be on the hook for tens of billions of dollars for its potential role in California’s devastating Camp Fire last year — the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in the state’s history. The company has indicated it does not have the cash or assets to pay anything close to that amount. [CNN]
After the Camp Fire (Justin Sullivan | Getty Images)
¶ “Guess what? US Carbon Emissions Popped Back Up in a Big Way” • A report by the Rhodium Group, a research institution that analyzes global economic and environmental trends, found that in 2018 CO2 emissions rose 3.4% from the prior year. It is the second largest gain in two decades, and it comes after three straight years of decline. [Yahoo News]
¶ “DC and Nine States Collaborating on Carbon Emissions Reduction Policy” • The District of Columbia, Virginia, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont are working together to formulate a policy proposal to reduce transportation carbon emissions and air pollution. [CleanTechnica]
Washington, DC
¶ “Rooftop Solar Curtailment to Ease with Refocused Hawaii Energy Contracts” • Hawaiian electric utilities have been acting to de-link residential rooftop solar generators at peak hours for several years, but the installation-discouraging practice may fade as refocused utility-scale solar+storage contracts come into effect. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Tough Texas Market Conditions Defied as 42-MWh Battery System Comes Online” • Market opportunities for energy storage in Texas are considered limited, but the largest battery project in the state, a 42-MWh system, has come online, after Vistra Energy found niche opportunities to use batteries for integrating solar energy. [Energy Storage News]
Have an enchantingly agreeable day.
geoharvey 