Opinion:
¶ “Some Are Claiming Blue Gas Is A Tesla Killer. It’s Not” • Blue gas is gasoline or diesel that is a hydrocarbon fuel manufactured from hydrogen and carbon feedstocks instead of being refined from petroleum. This sounds interesting, but there are several questions that need answers. After some study and analysis, here are the results. [CleanTechnica]
Test tubes (B.Lachner, placed in the public domain)
¶ “Everything About Bitcoin” • Tesla has now invested $1.5 billion in bitcoin and there are a lot of different opinions about that. In fact it’s an entirely new discussion because never before has a company trying to transition the world to sustainable energy embraced an experimental technology whose side effects are so contrary to its mission. [CleanTechnica]
Science and Technology:
¶ “The Immense Potential Of Forests To Sequester Carbon” • How much carbon could we eliminate from the atmosphere through better forest management? Is it bad to harvest forests to produce lumber? We sat down with two forestry management and carbon offset program experts to discuss this topic and here is what they had to say. [CleanTechnica]
Forest (Donald Giannatti, Unsplash)
¶ “Climate Change And Record Cold: What’s Behind The Arctic Extremes In Texas” • Climate change has made for warmer winters and heat records that now outnumber cold records by 2 to 1 globally. The historic cold snap may seem counterintuitive, but paradoxically, a warmer climate may have contributed to the extreme cold. [CBS News]
World:
¶ “Petronas CEO Says Important To Diversify Into Renewable Energy” • In a no holds barred interview on the issue, Petroliam Nasional Bhd president and CEO Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz shed some light on how Malaysia’s only Fortune 500 company is gearing up to future proof itself with renewable energy in coming decades. [Malay Mail]
Petronas Tower (Wayne Chew, Unsplash)
¶ “Morocco Shines In The Sky Of Renewable Energy, UN And International Media Say” • Morocco is often cited as an African leader in the field of renewable energy. But in addition to its target to generate 52% of its energy mix from renewable sources by 2030, Morocco plans to cut by 20% its energy consumption by the same year. [The North Africa Post]
¶ “Philippine DOE Requires Solar And Renewable Energy Technologies In Buildings” • Solar photovoltaic and renewable energy technologies are now required in new and existing Philippine buildings after the country’s Department of Energy issued a policy on the adoption of the guidelines of energy conservation. [Inquirer.net]
Manila (Aeron Oracion, Unsplash)
¶ “Government Plans First $500 Million Green Bond To Fund Hydropower Projects” • The government of Pakistan is planning to issue a $500 million green bond in the next few months to help boost its development of hydroelectric power. The bond, denominated in euros, will be the government’s first to fund environmental goals. [Daily Times]
¶ “Post-Fukushima Reactor Halt Produces Inexperienced Plant Workers” • The suspension of nuclear reactors in Japan after the 2011 Fukushima disaster has kept many workers from engaging in plant operations. This resulted in inexperienced employees accounting for nearly a quarter of the workforce at the plants, a Kyodo News tally shows. [The Mainichi]
Inside a cooling tower in a US plant (Jakob Madsen, Unsplash)
US:
¶ “Texas To Add 35 GW Of Wind And Solar In Next 3 Years, Boosting Grid Resilience” • A majority of the Texas power plants that failed were thermal. Some wind turbines not equipped for cold also failed, but others produced more than expected. In the next three years, 35 GW of wind turbines and 26 GW of batteries are set to be added to the Texas grid. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Texas Weather: President Biden Declares Major Disaster” • President Joe Biden has declared a major disaster in Texas, clearing the way for more federal funds to be spent on relief efforts there. Power is returning across Texas and temperatures are set to rise, but at least 14 million people still have difficulty accessing clean water. [BBC]
Texas cold (Thomas Park, Unsplash)
¶ “Tesla Owners Rallying To Provide Aid To Austin” • The Del Valle area, where the Austin Gigafactory is being built, is rather poor. Many of the grocery stores are low on food as it is, but this community is even more badly affected since food and water supplies are so low. So the Tesla community is stepping up to help with a relief fund. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Big Gas Cashes In On ‘Jackpot’ As Millions Of People Freeze” • Comstock Resources Inc is a shale driller operating in Louisiana and Texas. Roland Burns, its President and CFO, had this to say about the tragedy that hit Texas: “[T]his week is like hitting the jackpot.” Journalist Richard Wilson made a video showing how shockingly big that jackpot is. [CleanTechnica]
Have an enduringly cheerful day.
geoharvey 
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