Opinion:
¶ “Should Lake Erie Have Legal Rights?” • On February 26, voters in Toledo, Ohio, will be asked to approve the Lake Erie Bill of Rights, a ballot initiative that would make it possible for citizens to sue those who pollute the lake for damages. The proposal is controversial, but passionately supported by environmental activists. [CleanTechnica]
Lake Erie Algal Bloom map
¶ “We Need A Fossil Fuel Primer Because The Media Isn’t Telling Us Enough About Climate Change” • Media outlets usually fail to report funding sources behind the information they present. One climate action you can do is to call out media outlets every time you see they are not fully transparent about funding sources. [CleanTechnica]
Science and Technology:
¶ “Cultured Lab Meat May Make Climate Change Worse” • Researchers are looking for alternatives to traditional meat because farming animals acts to drive up global temperatures. However, meat grown in the lab can make matters worse. Researchers say it depends on how the energy to make the lab meat is produced. [BBC News]
Cultured meat (Getty Images)
World:
¶ “Global Climate Targets Will Be Missed As Deforestation Rises, Study Says” • International targets to cut emissions and limit climate change will be missed due to rises in deforestation and delays in changing how humans use land, a new study warns. Deforestation and palm oil cultivation have contributed to the worsening situation. [CNN]
¶ “Germany Sees Solar Installations Spike To Nearly 3 GW In 2018” • Germany’s solar market witnessed its strongest growth in half a decade during 2018, adding almost 3 GW of capacity, according to industry figures. This is a 68% increase from the previous year. The total capacity of German solar power has grown to 46 GW. [Greentech Media]
German solar farm
¶ “Australia’s Drought Leading To ‘Suffering’ Of Children, UN Warns” • In Australia, children suffer growing psychological tolls from drought, said the UN’s children’s agency. One high school student told researchers: “Before the start of this year I’d never shot a lamb in my life, and I’ve done probably about 50 or so this year… it is just normal now.” [BBC]
¶ “How Renewable Energy Can Lower Power Cost” • Solar, geothermal, and wind energy investments in Kenya over the past decade are beginning to pay off. In one year, wind-generated electricity has grown from 2% to over 14% of total installed national capacity. Geothermal power is at 45% and hydro power is at 29.8%. [nation.co.ke]
Wind farm in Kenya (Nation Media Group file photo)
¶ “Power-To-Gas Crucial For Solar-Based Energy System” • German transmission system operator TenneT and Dutch natural gas infrastructure and transport company Gasunie have called on European policymakers to adopt new rules to enable strong integration of power and gas infrastructure and to support power-to-gas systems. [pv magazine International]
¶ “Renewables Need Urgent Investment To Ease Australia’s Transmission Bottlenecks, Experts Warn” • Renewable energy experts have called on Australia’s federal and state governments to invest in additional transmission infrastructure and storage, saying its emissions reduction targets will not be met without rapid policy action. [The Guardian]
Solar collectors (David Gray | Reuters)
¶ “Chinese Offshore Giant Receives First Foundations” • The first two of roughly 500 offshore wind turbine foundations have been designed and fabricated for Chinese developer State Power Investment Corporation. The company has secured permits for the installation of 3.2 GW of offshore wind energy off the Guangdong coast. [reNEWS]
US:
¶ “21 New York Universities Form Renewable Energy Purchasing Consortium” • 21 universities in the state of New York banded together in the New York Campuses’ Aggregate Renewable Energy Solutions consortium, which seeks to lower financial barriers to renewable energy procurement through combined purchases. [CleanTechnica]
Cornell University (Cornell010, Wikimedia Commons)
¶ “Wallace Broecker, Climate Scientist Who Popularized Term ‘Global Warming,’ Dies At 87” • Climate scientist Wallace “Wally” Broecker died at the age of 87. Among other things, Broecker was known for bringing the term “global warming” to a mainstream audience, and he became known as the “Grandfather of Climate Science.” [The Weather Channel]
¶ “Giant Wind Power Transmission Project Could Spark New Wind Rush In Wind Belt” • The Grain Belt Express is one in a group of ambitious wind power transmission projects under the umbrella of the company Clean Line Energy. The massive project 700-mile wind has been stalled, but it looks like it might be restarted. [CleanTechnica]
Please click on the image to enlarge it.
¶ “Huebner: Renewable Energy Could Soon Take Place Of Fossil Fuel Generation” • The Executive Director of a Wisconsin non-profit working to build the state’s renewable energy production disagrees with an assertion made that renewable energy is not economically feasible to meet state energy needs. He says that lobbyists use outdated numbers. [WXPR]
¶ “Study: Switch From TVA Power Could Save Up To $333 Million” • Memphis Light, Gas & Water could save $240 million to $333 million each year by switching away from the Tennessee Valley Authority for electricity, according to a report. Clean power is much cheaper than the power from nuclear reactors and coal-fired power plants. [Memphis Flyer]
Have an astonishingly great day.
geoharvey 