Opinion:
¶ “Cruel Irony Of US Politics: Climate Change, Ukraine, Gas Prices” • Here’s an epic plot twist in the American political drama: A President and the Democratic Party that came to office promising to wean the country off oil and gasoline to save the planet are now looking for ways to bring down the price of oil and gas to save a presidency. [CNN]
Russian T-14 Armata tank (Vitaly V Kuzmin, CC-BY-SA 4.0)
¶ “Misguided EU Sustainability Targets Will Lock In LNG For Decades” • EU policies to clean up shipping will replace current, conventional marine fuels with fossil liquid natural gas, with little benefit to the climate. The misguided EU sustainability targets encourage an uptake of LNG, a new Transport & Environment study shows. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “NOAA Sea Level Rise Report: Now It’s Personal” • Some people complain that stopping climate change will be expensive. There is no question the cost of doing something will be high, but the cost of doing nothing will be much, much higher. The latest report from the National Ocean Service about sea level rise makes that abundantly clear. [CleanTechnica]
Coastal flooding (National Ocean Service image)
Please click on the image to enlarge it.
World:
¶ “More Than Eight Million Trees Lost This Winter In The UK” • The heating climate is making our weather more severe and unpredictable. More than eight million trees have been brought down by bad winter weather in the UK, and many more trees are now threatened by another two named storms that are bearing down on Britain. [BBC]
¶ “Heavy Duty Electric Trucks In Sweden And Denmark: The EV Revolution Rolls Forward” • The EV revolution is rolling forward and it’s not waiting for stragglers. The latest word is that large battery-electric trucks are beginning to be brought to the heavy end of the transportation spectrum. Scania and Volvo Trucks are two makers of heavy-duty trucks. [CleanTechnica]
Electric truck (Scania image)
¶ “Big Oil Is Spending Serious Money On Clean Energy” • In the past, fossil fuel companies have been repeatedly lambasted for ‘greenwashing’ and making only minuscule investments in renewable energy. Now, that trend appears to be turning around. Oil and gas companies have become among the most active on green energy deals and investments. [Oil Price]
Australia:
¶ “Biggest Power Plant In Coal-Reliant Australia To Close Early” • Australia’s largest coal-fired power station will close seven years earlier than planned, as its operator says it is increasingly unable to compete with the “influx of renewables.” The 2.88-GW Eraring plant is north of Sydney, in New South Wales, and is operated by Origin Energy. [BBC]
Eraring power plant (Origin Energy image)
¶ “British Financiers Say Northern Territories Indigenous Renewable Venture Could Lure $50 Billion” • British financial services company Octopus Group will partner with Aboriginal communities in northern Australia on renewable energy plans it says could attract investments of up to A$50 billion ($36 billion) over the next decade. [Sydney Morning Herald]
¶ “Investors Float 40 GW Of Renewable Energy Projects For Hunter-Central Coast REZ” • The New South Wales Government said almost 40 GW of large-scale solar PV, wind, and hydro generation and energy storage projects have been received in the registration of interest for the Hunter-Central Coast Renewable Energy Zone. [pv magazine Australia]
Solar array (Neoen image, cropped)
US:
¶ “California Gas Prices Just Hit A Record High – $5 Gas Could Come Soon” • Gas in California hit a record high of $4.72 a gallon on average on Wednesday, and experts say a whopping $5 a gallon will likely be the norm there in a matter of months, if not sooner. Part of the reason for the price increase is the switch away from fossil fuels. [CNN]
¶ “Experts Say The Term ‘Drought’ May Be Insufficient To Capture What Is Happening In The West” • As the West goes into its 22nd year of a megadrought, officials at the US government’s top water resource management agency are trying to plan for an unprecedented age. The term “drought” may be insufficient to capture what is happening. [CNN]
Grand Canyon (Toni Tan, Unsplash)
¶ “Over 90% Of US Lithium Imports From 2016–2019 Came From Argentina And Chile” • The US imports many of the minerals used in EV batteries. They are mportant for meeting the increasing demand for EV production. From 2016–2019, over 90% of the lithium imported to the US came from Argentina (55%) and Chile (36%). [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Iberdrola Makes $10 Billion US Offshore Wind Pledge” • Iberdrola made a multi-billion dollar pledge to invest in three offshore wind projects totaling 2800 MW in Massachusetts. The Spanish firm will invest $10 billion on the development of the sites, Iberdrola chairman Ignacio Galán agreed at a meeting with Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker. [reNews]
Ignacio Galán and Governor Charlie Baker (Iberdrola image)
¶ “Fracking In Pennsylvania Contaminates Drinking Water And Harms Pregnant Women” • A study shows that in Pennsylvania, fracking has contaminated the drinking water. It found evidence that drilling shale gas wells negatively impacts both the drinking water quality and the health of infants, indicating large social costs of water pollution. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “New Mexico Regulators Approve Plan To Replace Nuclear Power” • New Mexico regulators approved a plan that calls for new solar generation to replace 114 MW of power Public Service Co of New Mexico will lose when it stops buying electricity from the Palo Verde nuclear plant in Arizona. PNM will develop the solar energy with battery storage. [USNews.com]
Have an uncommonly rewarding day.
geoharvey 
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