Opinion:
¶ “Court Ruling Reveals Failure Of Japan Nuclear Regulator’s Inspection Regime” • When the NRA drew up new nuclear plant safety standards for resuming reactor operations, the agency’s head boasted that they were the “toughest in the world.” But the Osaka District Court ruled that the agency failed to uphold those tough standards. [The Mainichi]
Ohi Nuclear Power Plant (Greg Webb, Wikimedia Commons)
Science and Technology:
¶ “Re-powering – It’s The New, New Thing For Existing Wind Farms” • Wind turbines today can generate quite a bit more electricity than they could a decade ago. The pylon that supports them really doesn’t care what kind of machinery is on top of it. Take down the old, put up the new, and enjoy the advantages of the most modern technology. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Three Simple Steps To Boost Soil Health And Help Tackle Climate Change” • The British Society of Soil Science, based at Cranfield University, is promoting three simple steps to boost the health of the nation’s soils and help fight climate change: remove pavers, use cover crops so the soil is not bare, and don’t use peat-based compost. [Cranfield and Marston Vale Chronicle]
Sprouting plants (Francesco Gallarotti, Unsplash)
¶ “Cost Analysis Explores Offshore Wind Power’s US Market Viability And Risk” • The National Wind Technology Center at the US DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory has tools and modeling expertise to weigh offshore wind costs, revenues, and risks within the broader context of technical, regulatory, legal, tax, and policy issues. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Mitigating Climate Change And Extreme Heat With Reflective Pavements” • Reflective pavements provide a strategy that can help solve the problem of urban heat islands. It is currently practiced in a few cities, such as Los Angeles, by implementing reflective coatings or brighter-color materials in the pavement mixtures. [SciTechDaily]
Light colored pavement (Jaysin Trevino, Wikimedia Commons)
World:
¶ “400,000+ Solar Co-Owners In Giant Community Solar Park Initiative In Denmark And Poland” • A giant community solar park initiative will make over 400,000 Danes co-owners in solar parks in Denmark and Poland. The initiative will be the largest solar investment in Denmark’s history, totaling around DKK 4 billion ($651.5 million). [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Denmark Announces An End To Oil And Gas Exploration In North Sea” • A report from the Washington Post says the Danish Parliament voted to end offshore gas and oil extraction, which had started in 1972 and made the country the largest producer in the EU. The Danish government says it is “now putting an end to the fossil fuel era.” [CleanTechnica]
North Sea oil platform (Erik Christensen, CC-BY-SA 3.0)
¶ “UK Urged To Follow Denmark In Ending North Sea Oil And Gas Exploration” • Boris Johnson announced last week that the UK would take a lead on fighting climate change by cutting CO₂ emissions 68% by 2030. But he is being criticized because the UK has not announced plans to end exploration in the North Sea for new gas and oil fields. [The Guardian]
¶ “The Negev Is Key To Our Renewable Energy Future” • The Finance and Energy ministries, the Israel Land Authority, and the Public Utilities Authority announced that Dimona, a small city in the Negev Desert has been chosen to house the nation’s largest single-output solar plant. The desert sun could supply 90% of Israel’s electricity. [The Jerusalem Post]
Negev Desert solar system (David Shankbone, CC-BY-SA 3.0)
US:
¶ “Solar energy saved Vermont $17 million in 2019” • From 2014 to 2019, small-scale solar in New England saved utilities and their customers more than $1.1 billion in wholesale power costs. These savings were enjoyed not only by people with solar, but everyone with an electric bill. Vermont saved $17 million in 2019 and $79 million since 2014. [Vermont Biz]
¶ “New Poll: Majority of Americans Would Change Where They Shop to Support Cleaner Ships” • A poll conducted for Pacific Environment by Yale University, George Mason University, and Climate Nexus finds that 74% of American voters would be more likely to shop at companies that use cleaner ways to ship their goods. [CleanTechnica]
Container ship (Photo by Ian Taylor on Unsplash)
¶ “Some Cadillac Dealers Chose To Close Rather Than Sell EV” • The Wall Street Journal reports that about 150 out of Cadillac’s 880 dealers chose to stop selling the brand’s cars to avoid getting into EV sales. The costs for dealer upgrades may have been the deciding factor for the dealers closing, but the dealers remaining have obstacles to electrification. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “City Of Boulder To Explore How Electric Vehicles Can Reduce Building Energy Costs” • In Colorado, the City of Boulder is partnering with Fermata Energy to test a way to reduce the city’s energy costs with an innovative pilot at the North Boulder Recreation Center. They will test a two-way charging station at the building. [CleanTechnica]
Have a superbly agreeable day.
geoharvey 