Opinion:
¶ “The Warning Shot The US Is Ignoring: Climate Change Impacts On California Central Valley” • California’s Central Valley is expected to suffer many effects of climate change. This will affect the whole country, because what happens in the valley doesn’t stay in the valley. The Union of Concerned Scientists is devoting a blog series to the region. [CleanTechnica]
Looking for water (Cynthia Mendoza, USDA, public domain)
¶ “The New Entrant To The Energy Sector” • Green hydrogen can play a vital role in enabling countries to reach their goals for net-zero emissions. Neoen hydrogen expert Sacha Lepoutre and Everoze partner Nicolas Chouleur discuss a case that shows how stacking different revenue streams could improve the economics of renewable energy. [pv magazine Australia]
¶ “The Feds Have Collected More Than $44 Billion For A Permanent Nuclear Waste Dump – Here’s Why We Still Don’t Have One” • The federal government has a fund of $44.3 billion for a permanent nuclear waste disposal facility. With climate change, renewed interest in nuclear power has restored interest in nuclear waste storage. [CNBC]
Tunnel at Yucca Mountain (NRC image)
Science and Technology:
¶ “Is nuclear energy ‘green’? France and Germany lead opposing camps” • The French government argues that investments in nuclear power will allow France to keep energy costs in check and meet its climate goals.The German government argues that nuclear plants are too risky, and too slow and costly to build, to be a solution to the climate crisis. [Stars and Stripes]
World:
¶ “Nuclear Energy Scares People. The Climate Crisis Is Giving It Another Chance” • Nuclear plants are notoriously expensive to build. Construction tends to run over budget and time, and wind and solar energy has typically come out cheaper. How to safely store the radioactive waste it produces is another headache. But some people demonstrate in favor of it. [CNN]
Nuclear plant (Nicolas Hippert, Unsplash)
¶ “Philippines Super Typhoon Rai: Death Toll Reaches 75” • At least 75 people are now known to have died after a devastating storm struck the Philippines on Thursday. Super Typhoon Rai – which had winds of about 195 km/h (120 mph) – sent some 300,000 people running for safety when it hit the country’s south-eastern islands. [BBC]
¶ “Nigeria, China To Partner On Renewable Energy” • The Nigerian federal government says it will partner China on the development of a renewable energy research center that will boost renewable energy technology in selected universities, according to a statement by the ministry of science, technology, and innovation. [TheCable]
Wind turbines (Dan Meyers, Unsplash)
¶ “Resumption Of Fourth Nuclear Power Plant Rejected” • A majority of voters in Taiwan rejected a proposal to restart construction on the mothballed Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Gongliao District. The vote was 4,262,451 to 3,804,755. The referendum was initiated by nuclear power advocate Huang Shih-hsiu. [Taipei Times]
¶ “Turkey To Scale-Up Renewable Geothermal Energy Generation” • The World Bank’s Board of Directors approved loans totaling $300 million for Turkey, to support geothermal energy development, to tap heat sources deep in the ground. The loans are additional to financing for two initial loans worth $250 million. [Modern Diplomacy]
Geothermal power plant (Tommy Kwak, Unsplash)
US:
¶ “Top Rated 2021 EV Is Tesla Model 3, Edmunds Writes” • Edmunds announced that the 2021 Tesla Model 3 was its Top Rated EV of the year. It noted that Tesla’s lead was despite an influx of new EVs from other automakers coming to the market. The Tesla Model 3 sedan has held Edmunds‘ Top Rated EV title for three consecutive years. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Tesla’s Austin Gigafactory To Be $10 Billion Investment, Says Musk” • Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that the company’s new all-electric vehicle factory in Texas will require an investment of more than $10 billion over time. The Austin gigafactory (Tesla Giga Texas), located close to the airport, is a central element of planned company development. [CleanTechnica]
Austin Gigafactory, six months ago and now (Tesla image)
¶ “Tesla Looks To Achieve Significant Growth In 2022” • This year has had many challenges for most of the auto industry. The pandemic continues, supply chain woes are not ending, and chip shortages are plaguing most automakers globally. Looking ahead, 2022 could continue to present challenges. But it looks like Elon Musk and Tesla may be ready. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “$5 Billion For Electric School Buses In US Infrastructure Investment And Jobs Act” • The Infrastructure Investment And Jobs Act, aka Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, includes $5 billion for EV charging, but – much less discussed – it also includes $5 billion for cleaner school buses, especially electric school buses! This is tranformative. [CleanTechnica]
Proterra electric bus plant (Proterra image)
¶ “‘Green’ Energy Project Leaves A Mississippi Town Gasping For Air” • In the US, federal incentives to build wood-burning power plants are much smaller than those in the UK and the EU, and their share of the country’s electricity generation has declined in recent years. But some states have lavished tax breaks on firms that harvest and process wood. [HuffPost]
¶ “Climate Change Is Reshaping The Lobster Industry In Maine” • The Maine lobster industry in Maine is worth $1.4 billion. It employs more than 4,100 people directly and thousands more in related businesses. But climate change is warming the chilly Atlantic water lobsters need to thrive, prompting a marine migration to the north. [Yahoo News]
Have a realistically encouraging day.
geoharvey 
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