Science and Tecnology:
¶ “Weird Asymmetry: Nights Warming Faster Than Days Across Much Of The Planet” • University of Exeter scientists studied warming from 1983 to 2017 and found that days and nights have not warmed at the same rate. Areas where night-time warming is greater are about twice as large as those where days have been warming faster. [SciTechDaily]
Southern US at night (NASA image)
¶ “2020 Climate Events Were Examples Of How Excess Heat Is Expressed On Earth” • 2020 was the warmest year on record, though less than a tenth of a degree warmer than 2016, NASA analysis shows. Its massive wildfires, heatwaves, drought, melting of Arctic ice, hurricanes, and other destructive weather events are precursors of things to come. [CleanTechnica]
World:
¶ “Acciona Leads Spanish Floating Green Hydrogen Study” • Acciona is to coordinate a project to design and validate Spain’s first offshore plant for generating, storing, and distributing green hydrogen. The OceanH2 project will study several scenarios for implementation, including use of floating wind and solar, for offshore hybrid power generation. [reNEWS]
Artist’s concept of floating system (Acciona image)
¶ “19% Plugin Vehicle Market Share In France In December!” • The overall French automotive market had a horrible 2020. Sales were down 26% year over year. Annual sales totaled 1.7 million, the lowest figure since 1975. But sales of plugin vehicles were steaming hot. In December, sales jumped fourfold compared to the same month of 2019. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Total Takes $2.5 Billion Slice Of Developer Adani” • French oil and gas giant Total has acquired a 20% stake in Indian renewables developer Adani Green Energy under the $2.5 billion deal. The partnership will be a key contributor to Total’s objective of reaching 35 GWp of gross production capacity from renewable sources by 2025. [reNEWS]
Solar array (Total image)
¶ “Shift To Renewables Eases Key Environmental Problems, EU Says” • Europe’s shift to renewable sources for electricity and away from fossil fuels reduces both environmental problems and greenhouse gas emissions, the European Environment Agency said. Renewable sources, produced 34% of EU electricity in 2019 while fossil fuels generated 38%. [OE Digital]
¶ “The Solar Allure Of WA’s New-Model Business Park” • Peel Renewable Energy is about to energize a 1.2-MW solar farm in Western Australia. It has a fresh approach to industrial-estate development based on a phased microgrid. The infrastructure is small, while the renewably powered microgrid grows to meet the needs of incoming businesses. [pv magazine Australia]
Peel Renewable Energy solar farm (PRE image)
¶ “Japanese Firms Call On Government To Raise 2030 Renewable Energy Goal To 40-50%” • A group of Japanese companies, including Toshiba Corp, Sony Corp and Nissan Motor Co Ltd, called on the government to raise its 2030 renewable energy goal to account for 40-50% of its electricity mix, from the current 22-24%. [Business Recorder]
US:
¶ “Science Moms On Climate Change – Now It’s Personal!” • Science Moms is a group of six mothers, all climate scientists concerned about leaving a sustainable planet to their kids. Led by Katharine Hayhoe, their mission is to educate other mothers and encourage them to promote a progressive climate agenda locally, nationally, and internationally. [CleanTechnica]
Katharine Hayhoe (Image from YouTube)
¶ “Toyota To Pay $180 Million For Decade-Long Noncompliance With Clean Air Act Reporting Requirements” • Toyota Motor Company just had its hand popped by the Department of Justice for decade-long noncompliance with the Clean Air Act reporting requirements. Toyota will have to pay a $180 million settlement according to the DOJ and the EPA. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Texas Wind Power Dominates Coal In Crossover Year” • Everything is bigger in Texas, and wind power is no exception. Wind power has been growing in Texas for years. Now, for the first time, wind power has beaten coal power in the Lone Star State. In 2020, Texas received 22% of its electricity from wind and only 18% from coal. [CleanTechnica]
Texas wind turbines (Jason Dent, Unsplash)
¶ “Connecticut’s Bill 127 Would Allow Tesla To Sell Directly To Consumers” • The EV Freedom Bill proposes that manufacturers that produce only EVs and have no existing franchised dealer network be allowed to sell their vehicles directly to consumers. The proposed bill also allows for new ownership models such as subscriptions. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Nuclear Fusion Group Calls For Building A Pilot Plant By The 2040s” • The main criticism about nuclear fusion has been that its vast potential as a source of energy has always been just out of reach. But a group of top fusion scientists and researchers just issued a report to the DOE that calls for the US to build a fusion pilot plant by the 2040s. [The Star Online]
Have a resplendently glorious day.
geoharvey 
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