Opinion:
¶ “Tesla Earnings Call Highlights – What I Learned” • I found the Tesla Q4 earnings call disappointing. It said basically that since they have plenty of demand for their current vehicles, there is no need to release the Cybertruck, Semi, or Roadster this year. But there are always some good nuggets of information to be shared when Elon Musk in on the call! [CleanTechnica]
Making EVs (From Tesla’s Q4 2021 Earnings Release)
¶ “Reaction To The McKinsey Climate Change Report” • The figures in the McKinsey consulting group report may sound dire. They show that the cost of addressing climate change will require the nations of the world to invest $9.2 trillion a year for many years to transition to 100% renewable energy. But they are not as bad as they sound. [CleanTechnica]
Science and Technology:
¶ “Gas Stoves Are A Threat To Health And Have Larger Climate Impact Than Previously Known, Study Shows” • The gas emitted from household stoves and ovens is not only dangerous to public health but also has much more significant impacts on the climate crisis than previously thought, research by scientists at Stanford University shows. [CNN]
Gas burner (Brett Jordan, Unsplash)
World:
¶ “Global Witness Exposes The Lie Behind The Carbon Capture Scam” • In 2015, Shell installed a carbon capture facility at its Scotford refinery northeast of Edmonton in Alberta. According to Dezeen, the system was designed to eliminate emissions from hydrogen production. But Global Witness says it actually released more CO₂ than it captured. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Australia Pledges $700 Million To Protect Great Barrier Reef Amid Climate Change Threat” • With a February 1 deadline to give UNESCO a report on the state of conservation of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia’s government pledged A$1 billion ($700 million) to protect it. The Australian Climate Council called the pledge “a band-aid on a broken leg.” [CNN]
Great Barrier Reef (Marek Okon, Unsplash)
¶ “Wärtsilä To Optimise And Decarbonise Gold Mine Power Station In Suriname” • Wärtsilä will supply a 7.8-MW, 7.8-MWh energy storage system to a gold mining company to help achieve its climate and decarbonization targets at a mine that it has in Suriname. It will be the first utility-scale energy storage system in the country. [Renewable Energy Magazine]
¶ “Innovative Financing: Developers Meet Rising Demand For Residential Geoexchange” • With a $3.8-million refinancing recently of two district geothermal (also called geoexchange) projects in British Columbia, Vancity Community Investment Bank has sealed its status as a leading Canadian financier for geothermal technology. [CleanTechnica]
Geoexchange systems (VCIB image)
¶ “India Could Create Millions of Jobs Through Renewable Energy” • Last year, India saw multiple waves of pandemic, increases in extreme weather events, and growing economic instability. The year 2021 also brought climate announcements from India, which shows that countries can create jobs, protect health, and combat the climate crisis. [NRDC]
¶ “Coal, Gas Power Shrinking In Australia As Renewable Energy Shines” • Renewable energy is squeezing fossil fuels further out of Australia’s power mix. Renewables accounted for a record-high share of average electricity generation in the final three months of 2021 and threatened the viability of coal-fired power plants. [Sydney Morning Herald]
Open pit coal mine (Max Phillips, CC-BY-SA 2.0)
¶ “Sweden Approves A Plan To Bury Spent Nuclear Fuel For 100,000 Years” • What to do with nuclear waste has been a major headache since the world’s first nuclear plants came on line in the 1950s and 1960s. Sweden’s government has given a go-ahead for building a storage facility to keep the country’s spent nuclear fuel safe for the next 100,000 years. [Nasdaq]
US:
¶ “Federal Judge Cites Climate Crisis In Decision To Cancel Oil And Gas Leases In Gulf Of Mexico” • A federal judge invalidated a massive oil and gas lease sale for 80 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico after a coalition of environmental groups sued the Biden admnistration to stop it. The ruling cancels 1.7 million acres of oil and gas leases from that sale. [CNN]
Oil drilling platform (Gary Leavens, CC-BY-SA 2.0)
¶ “President Biden Hypes Up GM And UAW Again” • President Biden is hyping General Motors again. An official White House press release says GM is making a $7 billion investment to create 4,000 new jobs at EV manufacturing sites in Michigan, the latest sign that the Biden economic strategy is helping power a historic American manufacturing comeback. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “New US Postal Service Contractor Proposes Electric Vehicles … For US Army” • For those who don’t know, Oshkosh Defense actually can make EVs. Earlier this week, the company upped the ante on its EV business by introducing the new eJLTV, which has been described as the “first-ever silent drive hybrid-electric Joint Light Tactical Vehicle.” [CleanTechnica]
USPS Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (Oshkosh Defense image)
¶ “Appalachian Power Files For Approval Of Projects” • Two filings submitted by Appalachian Power and Wheeling Power to the West Virginia Public Service Commission request approval and cost recovery for multiple renewable energy projects, a news release from Appalachian Power says. The move is expected to save customers $22 million. [Yahoo News]
¶ “Buena Park Becomes First City In Orange County To Choose 100% Renewable Energy” • Buena Park is now the first city in Orange County to choose to get its energy from 100% renewable sources. The Buena Park City Council voted 4-1 in favor of the resolution. Irvine, Huntington Beach, and Fullerton face similar resolutions soon. [Los Angeles Times]
Have an outstandingly awesome day.
geoharvey 
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