Opinion:
¶ “Greta Thunberg Got The World’s Attention. But Are Leaders Really Listening?” • The science is clear that we need to act now on climate change. But commitments to reduce planet-warming emissions that were announced at the UN Climate Summit this week show some world leaders are not yet willing to take really transformative action. [CNN]
Greta Thunberg and other climate activists (Sarah
Silbiger | Getty Images North America | Getty Images)
¶ “Why Vladimir Putin Suddenly Believes In Global Warming” • Some Russians have seen climate change as a “good thing,” with new opportunities for commerce, shipping, and exploration for petroleum sources. But the melting of permafrost poses a huge threat to Russia’s heartlands, as the thawing ground cannot bear the weight of infrastructure. [Bloomberg]
¶ “Food Or War: A Book That Teaches Common Sense” • Famine and conflict over food have been driving forces for as long as humans have lived on the planet. A new book called Food or War, by Julian Cribb, chronicles thousands of years of human history surrounding the quest for food and its violent consequences, into the present age. [CleanTechnica]
Fenway Park Gardens (Carolyn Fortuna | CleanTechnica)
World:
¶ “Solar, Wind Are Now Cheaper Than Coal In Most Of The World” • Bloomberg reported this week on the once unthinkable phenomena of solar and wind subsidies disappearing across the world because the industry has outgrown the need for them. The costs of electricity from renewable resources has dropped below the cost from coal. [OilPrice.com]
¶ “China struggling to kick its coal habit despite Beijing’s big climate pledges” • Even as China reiterated its commitment to reducing emissions last week in New York, earlier this month at least three large, new coal-fired power stations appeared to be either operating or under construction in Inner Mongolia in northern China. [CNN]
Sheep grazing near a new coal plant (CNN)
¶ “Ban On Single-Use Plastic In Ministries Of Power, Renewable Energy From Oct 2” • Single-use plastic will be banned from October 2 in India’s Ministries of Power, and New and Renewable Energy, by order of Union Minister RK Singh. The order says all public sector undertakings and attached offices of both ministries will also ban single-use plastic. [Devdiscourse]
¶ “Energy Minister Angus Taylor’s Liddell Taskforce Told Singleton ‘Comfortable’ With Liddell Closure Plans” • Lack of government leadership is the biggest issue facing Australia’s Hunter Region as closure of Liddell power station approaches and the region transitions away from coal, Hunter councils told a federal/state Liddell taskforce. [Newcastle Herald]
Liddell coal-fired power station (Photo: Janie Barrett)
¶ “Iran’s Renewable Power Generation Capacity Exceeds 840 MW” • The capacity of Iran’s renewable power plants reached 841 MW, the Iranian Energy Ministry reported. The country’s renewable power plants have so far generated about 4.171 billion kWh of electricity, preventing emissions of 2.871 million tons of greenhouse gases. [Tehran Times]
US:
¶ “Dozens Arrested At Protest Outside New England’s Largest Coal Power Plant, In Bow, NH” • Nearly 70 people were arrested during a protest at a coal-fired power plant in Bow Saturday. The activists had marched onto the grounds of Merrimack Station, the largest coal-burning facility left in New England that is not set to retire. [New Hampshire Public Radio]
Activists at Merrimack Station (Annie Ropeik | NHPR)
¶ “Apple Encourages Suppliers To Move To Green Energy With New Investment Projects” • Apple has moved to using 100% renewable energy, but now hopes that it can convince its suppliers to do the same. With 70% of its corporate carbon footprint is in the supply chain, Apple is helping its suppliers make the transition. [AppleInsider]
¶ “Big Banks Are Shifting Mortgages Made Riskier By Climate Change Onto Taxpayers” • New research first reported by The New York Times suggests banks are shifting mortgages made riskier by the climate emergency over to financial institutions backed by US taxpayers, a finding that echoes the subprime lending crisis of 2008. [Truthout]
Flooded house in Texas (Thomas B Shea | Getty Images)
¶ “Feds Give Counties Grants To Help Boost Ailing Coal Industry” • The Associated Governments of Northwest Colorado won a $200,000 matching federal grant to help it develop new ways to market its coal. The plan could include finding ways to create coal-derived products as a way to help diversify the coal industry. [The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel]
¶ “Push For Nuclear Power In Space Sets Off Proliferation Debate” • NASA could place human missions to the moon or Mars in political jeopardy if it opts to use power from highly-enriched uranium in space, warns Alan Kuperman, the founding coordinator of the Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Project at the University of Texas at Austin. [Yahoo News]
Have an exceedingly comfortable day.
geoharvey 