Opinion:
¶ “We Must Keep In Mind The Costs Of The Green New Deal To Vulnerable Communities” • While the Green New Deal achieves net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, it will cost many workers in the fossil fuel industry their jobs. Specific solutions to this upheaval were given in a recent article in the Harvard Business Review. [CleanTechnica]
Appalachia
¶ “Climate Change: What Ten Presidents Have Known” • A White House memorandum addresses “the carbon dioxide problem” in straightforward terms. It warns of sea level rises that would sink New York City and Washington, DC. Produced by an adviser to President Nixon, it is one of many pieces of evidence in Juliana v United States. [CBS News]
¶ “A Short History Of Tesla Critics’ Claims” • It can be pretty interesting to go back in time and compare Tesla critics’ forecasts and predictions, the important claims Tesla critics have made, to what actually happened. There is a lot more that could be added to the list, but here is a short and simple summary of the history of pessimistic views of Tesla. [CleanTechnica]
Teslas
Science and Technology:
¶ “How do you bring a forest back?” • For a region with destroyed forests, an arid climate and depleted soils would be a recipe for disaster in an average reforestation program. For the Land Life Company, based in Amsterdam, it is an ideal place. The company reports that 96% of one group of seedlings survived a scorching summer without extra irrigation. [BBC]
¶ “Belgian Scientists Announce New Solar Panel That Makes Hydrogen” • According to Belgian news source VRT NWS, scientists at KU Leuven, located in Flanders, Belgium, say they have created a solar panel that uses sunlight to make hydrogen from the moisture in the air. It can produce up to 250 liters of hydrogen gas per day. [CleanTechnica]
Solar hydrogen generator (Credit: KU Leuven)
World:
¶ “Geneva Motor Show: Why It Will Be Electrifying ” • The Geneva International Motor Show, which gets under way in Switzerland this week, is one of the biggest events on the global auto industry calendar. With new auto emissions rules, European car manufacturers are introducing more EVs. The result may be an electrified car show. [BBC]
¶ “Electric Car Sales In Ireland Up 541% In 2019” • New car sales in Ireland are down more than 12% at the start of 2019, but EV sales are up sharply so far. In January and February, the number of electric cars registered in Ireland has almost equaled total sales of all types of cars in those months of 2018. EV sales are up over 500%, from last year. [CleanTechnica]
Hyundai Kona EV
¶ “Climate Change Policies Major Battleground In NSW Election” • Climate change has traditionally been viewed by Australian voters as a federal issue, but polling shows it is also on the state political agenda in New South Wales. About 20% of questions to ABC’s election campaign have been about environmental issues. [ABC News]
¶ “How A Tiny Offshore Wind Farm In Scotland Could Unseat A US President” • Scotland’s Court of Sessions ruled that Trump’s company and the Trump golf club in Aberdeen are on the hook for the country’s legal costs of his lawsuits to stop development of an offshore wind farm. But the legal ramifications of the case go beyond that. [CleanTechnica]
Offshore wind farm
US:
¶ “Tesla Will Reveal Sub-$40,000 Model Y On March 14th In California” • Tesla CEO Elon Musk dropped the news today on Twitter that the Tesla Model Y will be unveiled at an event at the Tesla Design Studio in Hawthorne, California, on March 14. Tesla’s new compact utility vehicle, will be 10% larger and cost 10% more than the Model 3. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Wisconsin Commission, Residents Mull Proposed Solar Farms” • The Wisconsin Public Service Commission is preparing to decide the fate of two proposed solar farms that would more than quadruple the state’s solar capacity and pave the way for more utility-scale solar projects. They are among nearly 30 proposed large solar projects. [Daily Reporter]
Dan Litchfield of Invenergy showing off a solar panel (Emily Hamer | Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism via AP)
¶ “MECO Renewable Energy Percentage Rose To 38% In ’18” • Maui Electric Co produced 38% of power used in 2018 through renewable sources, up from 34% in 2017, the utility’s parent company, Hawaiian Electric Cos, said. The percentages represent renewable energy used by customers as a percentage of total utility sales. [Maui News]
¶ “More Than 70 Oregon Scientists And Researchers Urge Oregon Legislature To Take Strong Climate Action” • As another year of possibly destructive wildfires, snowpack reductions, and declining fisheries looms in Oregon, 71 scientists, public health experts, and economists signed an open letter calling on state legislators to act. [Union of Concerned Scientists]
Wildfire in the Northwest (Bureau of Land Management)
¶ “Rep Lori Ehrlich Announces Two Bills To Combat Climate Change” • Massachusetts Rep Lori Ehrlich proposed a pair of bills to reduce greenhouse gas emissions produced by the state’s heating and transportation sectors. In 2017, there were 27,731 gas leaks reported in Massachusetts, and 15,829 are still unrepaired, her statement said. [Daily Item]
¶ “Rescuing Pennsylvania Nuclear Power Plants Could Come With Conditions” • Giving nuclear power plants what opponents call a bailout to keep them open could mean a hike in electric bills across the state. One key motivator for lawmakers could be that it steps up the fight against what some see as a bigger crisis: climate change. [The Mercury]
Have a fabulously beautiful day.
geoharvey 