Opinion:
¶ “Cutting Emissions To Zero CAN Halt Climate Change In Our Lifetimes” • Buried under doomsday predictions on climate change, there is newer information from Michael Mann, the distinguished climate scientist. It turns out that if we cut to zero emissions, he tells us, the warming would continue, but only for a few years. [CleanTechnica]
Forest (Jay Mantri, Unsplash)
¶ “Oil Graduates Aren’t Finding Jobs” • “Did you ever hear of a solar panel?” That’s the question Sabrina Burns, a petroleum engineering student got from an Uber driver in 2018. She and some fellow students were headed to a petroleum industry banquet, and at the time it seemed a little silly. Now, they can’t find jobs in the industry. [CleanTechnica]
Science, Technology, and … :
¶ “Solar-Powered Amphibious Catamaran Concept Is A Literal Land Yacht” • No, you haven’t wandered into The Onion. This is CleanTechnica, and this is a real design put forward by an Italian design house, Lazzarini, which sometimes has fun with designs. It showed the Pagurus, an 82-ft. solar-powered “amphibious” catamaran, set to cruise on land. [CleanTechnica]
Pagurus on water (Courtesy of Lazzarini Design)
World:
¶ “African Renewable Installations Receive Financing” • In sub-Saharan Africa, fossil fuel sources dominate electricity supply. But the overall costs of wind and solar installations have fallen sharply, and investors are tapping into the potential for installing renewable energy capacity in African countries. A number of projects are lined up for 2021. [Argus Media]
¶ “Denmark, Luxembourg, And Netherlands Lead On Electric Buses In Europe” • Denmark leads the way putting zero-emission urban buses on the streets in Europe, with 78% of new vehicles being electric, data from green NGO Transport & Environment shows. In Luxembourg and the Netherlands about two-thirds of new buses are zero-emissions. [CleanTechnica]
BYD bus in the Netherlands (BYD image)
¶ “Renewable Energy ‘Village’ Earmarked For North-East Scotland” • Plans have been unveiled to construct a large-scale renewable energy park in the North-east of Scotland, designed to deliver between 150 and 200 MW of green energy to supply to the Scottish grid, with the capacity to power tens of thousands of homes across the region. [The Scottish Farmer]
¶ “Enel Grid-Connects 24 MW Of Spanish Wind” • Enel Green Power España has grid connected the 24-MW San Francisco de Borja wind farm in Spain. The €26 million project is the areas of Borja and Frescano in the province of Zaragoza. It comprises five 3.4-MW and two 3.3-MW turbines, and it is expected to generate 92.5 GWh of electricity per year. [reNEWS]
Wind farm (Enel Green Power image)
¶ “Former US Regulator Questions Small Nuclear Reactor Technology” • In New Brunswick, Saint John’s Moltex Energy says its new reactor design can reuse nuclear waste. But Allison Macfarlane, former chairperson of the US NRC, said no one has proven that it’s viable to reprocess nuclear waste and lower the cost and risks of storage. [Yahoo News Canada]
US:
¶ “As NASA And NOAA Warn Of Climate Emergency, They Weather Last-Minute Denial By Trump Appointees” • The last seven years were the hottest seven years on record. For 50 years, Each decade was hotter than the decade before it. Trump appointees deny or downplay the crisis, in some cases pushing their misinformation as official, without review. [CNN]
Thunderstorm (NOAA, Unsplash)
¶ “Oil Giant Splits From Powerful Lobbying Group Over Climate Change” • The American Petroleum Institute, the largest and most powerful US oil lobby, is losing one of its biggest members over a disagreement about addressing the climate crisis. Total, the French oil giant announced that it is quitting the API because of the lobby’s stances on climate issues. [CNN]
¶ “US Air Force Decarbonizes On Wings Of Energy Efficiency” • Energy efficiency isn’t much of a headline-grabber, but it is front and center in the Air Force’s mission to decarbonize itself and the entire Department of Defense, to boot. The US Department of Defense has been plowing the big bucks into all sorts of clean tech for years. [CleanTechnica]
USAF jet in Japan (Staff Sgt Gabrielle Spalding, US Air Force)
¶ “Massachusetts Governor Vetoes Climate And Clean Energy Bill” • Gov Charlie Baker vetoed sweeping climate legislation, which would have set ambitious environmental, social, and clean energy goals. A bill summary of S.229, “An Act Creating a Next-Generation Roadmap for Massachusetts Climate Policy,” laid out several key provisions. [pv magazine USA]
¶ “New York’s $306 Billion 2021 Infrastructure Plan – Largest In Nation” • New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced his state’s 2021 infrastructure plan. It is the largest such plan in the nation, with an expected cost of $306 billion. It includes a lot of support for climate-friendly transportation solutions. Here is a quick look focusing on them. [CleanTechnica]
Moynahan Trail Hall (Courtesy of Gov Andrew Cuomo via Flickr)
¶ “Summit Ridge Energy Now Has 42 Community Solar Farms In Operation In Illinois” • Summit Ridge Energy put 25 Illinois community solar farms online in the 4th quarter of 2020. It now has 42 community solar farms in Illinois and more than 90 in operation in the US. Another 25 should be under construction by the 2nd quarter of 2021. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Allegheny County Adds Six More Xcelsior CHARGE Electric Buses” • In Pittsburgh, the Port Authority of Allegheny County just chose to add six more of New Flyer’s Xcelsior CHARGE electric buses to its fleet. These new zero-emissions heavy-duty transit buses that will help the community to lower its collective carbon footprint. [CleanTechnica]
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