Science and Technology:
¶ “This Bat Appreciation Day, NREL Shines Light (Literally) On Bat Interactions With Wind Energy” • Bat Appreciation Day was April 17. With the US DOE’s Wind Energy Technologies Office’s support, National Renewable Energy Laboratory researchers are working hard on solutions that protect bats and other creatures near wind installations. [CleanTechnica]
Bats in the evening (Paul Cryan, PhD, USGS, public domain)
¶ “How Climate Change Is Disrupting The Global Supply Chain” • The COVID pandemic has rightly received most of the blame for global supply chain upheavals in the last two years. But the less publicized threat to supply chains from climate change poses a far more serious threat and is already being felt, according to scholars and experts. [GreenBiz]
¶ “Climate Change Making Aspects Of Weather Forecasting Challenging” • Akshay Deoras is a researcher in the Department of Meteorology, University of Reading, UK. He is working on understanding how to predict Indian monsoon low-pressure systems. In an interview he explains various aspects of weather forecasting challenges. [The Indian Express]
Indian monsoon season (Sonika Agarwal, Unsplash)
¶ “1.5°C vs 2°C: What Difference Can A Lousy Half A Degree Of Global Warming Make?” • What started as quiet concern is growing much louder among climate scientists: without a very radical change of course within the next few years, we’re not going to stop the world from passing 1.5°C of warming. We should be looking at what that means. [ABC]
World:
¶ “The French Town Where The Lighting Is Alive” • French start-up Glowee is making bioluminescent lights. Unlike standard streetlamps, which emit a harsh glare and need to be hooked up to the electricity grid, these otherworldly lights are powered by living organisms. Their light has a very soft quality. They will be installed in public places as a test. [BBC]
Glowee grows marine bacteria for lights (Glowee image)
¶ “Pioneering Electric Buses In Pune” • Although the domestic electric bus market in India is nascent, projections indicate four out of ten buses sold in the country could be electric by 2030. As a leading early adopter of e-buses, the city of Pune, Maharashtra, represents a valuable case study on the country’s public transport electrification. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Tidal Power Is Set For A Commercial Breakthrough In The UK” • Tidal energy has long been lurking in the UK’s renewable energy arsenal, outshone by its wind and solar counterparts due in part to early issues with technology readiness and high costs. But recent research shows it could provide 11% of the electricity needs of the UK. [The Maritime Executive]
Installing a tidal turbine (Glen Wallace, Flickr, CC BY-ND)
¶ “Greece Breaks One Renewable Energy Record After Another” • Greece is breaking one renewable energy record after another according to data from the Independent Power Transmission Operator. This is true both at investing and demand level with green technologies covering 67% and 68% of the country’s energy needs on April 1st and 2nd. [Greek City Times]
US:
¶ “Volkswagen Is Looking Into Developing An Electric Truck” • Volkswagen of America CEO Scott Keogh told Business Insider that Volkswagen might launch an electric pickup truck that would compete with Ford’s F-15 Lightning and Chevrolet’s Silverado EV here in the US. He said a battery-powered truck is a huge opportunity for Volkswagen. [CleanTechnica]
Ford’s F-15 Lightning (WMrapids, CC0 1.0)
¶ “Missouri Environmentalists Worry Bill Undermines Law Meant To Boost Renewable Energy” • Environmental advocates are raising concerns that a Missouri law enacted last year to speed up utilities’ transition to renewable energy may soon be changed to make it easier for companies to keep coal plants partially open. [The Joplin Globe]
¶ “US Firms Plan New Jersey Submarine Cable Site” • Rise Light & Power and Delaware River Partners are to develop a ‘shovel-ready’ site for a submarine cable manufacturing facility for the US offshore wind industry. The pair said the historic partnership would position New Jersey as a leading manufacturing hub in the growing offshore wind industry. [reNews]
Manufacturing facility (DRP image)
¶ “Climate Toll On US Military Bases: Damaged Roads, Sunken Runways” • US military bases in the Arctic and sub-Arctic are failing to prepare for long-term climate change as required, even as soaring temperatures and melting ice already are cracking base runways and roads and making flood risks worse, the Pentagon’s watchdog office said. [India Today]
¶ “The Pentagon Is Sending A New Nuclear Design To Idaho” • The Pentagon announced that a new nuclear design is going to be assembled in the Mountain West. It is to be a mobile nuclear microreactor that can travel in up to four shipping containers. The Pentagon is still deciding between designs from two separate East Coast teams. [Aspen Public Radio]
Have a profusely rewarding day.
geoharvey 
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