Opinion:
¶ “What Is Nord Stream 2 And Can Biden Kill It?” • President Joe Biden said that natural gas will not flow through Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline to Germany if Moscow orders an invasion of Ukraine. It is a $11 billion undersea pipeline between Russia and Germany. Russia could use it as a coercive tool, and the Germans don’t want to be controled. [CNN]
Pipe-laying ship Solitaire (PR Allseas, CC-BY-SA 3.0)
¶ “The EV Transition Requires Infrastructure That Inspires Confidence And Powers All Communities” • From the largest metropolitan areas in the US to rural communities in Georgia, we need cleaner, more affordable, and efficient transportation options if we are going to solve climate change in a way that uplifts communities. [CleanTechnica]
Science and Technology:
¶ “No Silver-Bullet Solutions For Saving Used Planet” • With much of the planet already “used-up”, the world has hard choices to make over how to use land in the most sustainable and effective way. That is the take-home message from fifty leading experts on why land matters in tackling a host of existential challenges. [BBC]
Austrian landscape (Dimitry Anikin, Unsplash)
¶ “Fraunhofer ISE Invents Silicon Recycling Process For Solar Panels” • Frauhnofer ISE is one of Germany’s premier research institutions. In a press release, it says it has devised a way to recapture the silicon in old solar panels and reprocess it to be reused to manufacture new solar cells. The process can be used on an industrial scale. [CleanTechnica]
World:
¶ “Huge Profits At BP And Shell Revive Calls For Windfall Tax To Tackle Fuel Poverty” • In earnings reports, BP posted an annual profit of almost $12.9 billion, and Shell reported a profit of $19.3 billion after what it described as a “momentous” year. Meanwhile, households are suffering energy poverty. This has people calling for a tax on windfall profits. [CNN]
Pump jack (Jeff W, Unsplash)
¶ “Why Uganda Is Investing In Oil Despite Pressures To Go Green” • Vast oil reserves lie beneath Uganda’s Lake Albert and a fledgling oil business is going for them. There are environmental concerns and questions over whether it is too late for an oil boom, but it seems that change is coming to the wide valley floor, below the steep escarpment. [BBC]
¶ “Electric Triumph TE-1 Motorcycle Revealed” • A prototype of the Williams Advanced Engineering-developed, Triumph TE-1 electric motorcycle has finally been revealed, with the completed demonstrator now fully ready for live testing and final styling from the Triumph motorcycles team. It will be capable of 80 kW (107 hp) of continuous power. [CleanTechnica]
Electric Triumph TE-1 (WAE, Triumph)
¶ “January German Plugin EV Share 22% – Fiat 500 In Top Spot” • Germany, Europe’s largest auto market, and the world’s second largest plugin market after China, saw plugin electric vehicle share of 21.6% in January, almost flat year-on-year. January plugin registrations suffered a hangover after December’s end-of-year emissions compliance push. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “US Energy Secretary Ties Renewables To World Peace” • The greatest peace plan ever could be based on renewable energy, US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said in her opening remarks at a US-EU Energy Council Ministerial this week. The issue of energy security has been highlighted due to Russia’s actions in Ukraine. [Oil Price]
Secretary Granholm addressing reporters (US DOE image)
¶ “Serbia’s Energy Security Plan Targets 50% Renewables Share By 2040” • Serbia plans to build solar power plants, wind farms, and pumped-storage hydropower plants, but also gas-fired power plants, energy storage batteries, and hydrogen facilities for its energy transition. Its Coal-fired power plants would all be closed by 2050. [Balkan Green Energy News]
US:
¶ “US Army releases first climate strategy with goal to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050” • The US Army released its first climate strategy with goals to reduce its greenhouse gas pollution by 50% by 2030 and attain “net-zero” emissions by 2050. The US military has been impacted by extreme weather in the past few years. [CNN]
Lunch at McDonalds (Konrad Ciężki, Pexels)
¶ “Founding A Federal Emissions Center – Tracking Methane Emissions Better” • The Biden administration has released a new set of actions for tackling super-polluting methane emissions. Their plan includes the formation of an interagency working group to coordinate greenhouse gas measurement, monitoring, reporting, and verification. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Ford E-Transit Deliveries To Customers Have Begun” • Ford E-Transit electric work vans are leaving the factory in Kansas City and are on their way to 300 business and commercial customers. More than 10,000 have already been ordered. Ford CEO Jim Farley says his company intends on being the Tesla of electric commercial vehicles. [CleanTechnica]
Ford E-Transit (Image courtesy of Ford)
¶ “Environmental Groups Praise Xcel Energy’s Plans To Close Coal Plants, Bolster Renewables” • Xcel Energy’s plan to retire all of its coal plants in the next eight years while building out its renewable energy capacity got unanimous approval from state regulators. It would, however, extend the operating life of the Monticello nuclear plant. [Bring Me The News]
¶ “Justice Signs Bill To End Nuclear Power Ban” • West Virginia Governor Jim Justice has signed a bill to repeal the state’s ban on nuclear power. It lifts a 26-year moratorium on the construction of nuclear power facilities in the state. The ban was intended to protect the coal industry in a state that has 88% of its electricity coming from coal. [WVPB]
Have an incredibly gratifying day.
geoharvey 
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