Opinion:
¶ “Wind Energy Is Booming In Deep-Red Republican States” • Wind energy is thriving in America’s heartland, on the vast plains of Oklahoma, Texas, and Nebraska. Long an area devoted to oil and gas, Western Oklahoma is now home to one of the worlds’s largest wind farms. As the turbines turn, one mayor said, you can hear “the sound of money.” [CNN]
Oklahoma wind turbine (Raychel Sanner, Unsplash)
¶ “If We Want To Solve Climate Change, Businesses Need To Invest In Our Planet” • It will take a lot more than governments, environmentalists, and individuals can do to solve the climate problem. After decades of treating business leaders as the enemy, many environmentalists have come to realize that if we want to save the planet, we cannot do it without them. [CNN]
¶ “The Best Hybrid And Electric Vehicles For 2022, According To US News & World Report” • US News & World Report recently published its best hybrid and electric vehicles, after studying 82 models. Colin Aylesworth, Senior Editor on their Autos team, spoke with CleanTechnica about the models that were judged to be the best in their classes. [CleanTechnica]
Kia EV6 (Zotyefan, CC-BY-SA 4.0)
¶ “Can The Federal Government Require States To Allow Direct Sales Of Cars?” • With state legislatures in many states bought and paid for by dealers’ lobbyists, EV companies that do direct sales in a growing number of US states are finding that the remaining states are unlikely to budge. Congress can do something about that. [CleanTechnica]
Science and Technology:
¶ “Instant Long Duration Energy Storage: Just Add Carbon Dioxide” • Carbon dioxide is getting a bad rap these days, but even a molecule that contributes to global warming can help in a climate crisis. A case in point is long duration energy storage, which is the key to shoehorning more wind and solar energy into the grid, more quickly. [CleanTechnica]
Long duration energy storage (Courtesy of Energy Dome)
World:
¶ “Europe’s Summer Of Floods And Fire Was Its Hottest On Record, Report Finds” • The fifth European State of the Climate report says Europe went from an unusually cold spring to its hottest summer on record last year, smashing records for heat and daily rain, and Mediterranean wildfires burned through land around the size of Cyprus. [CNN]
¶ “Small Electric Vehicles Powered By Microgrids” • In Rural Nigeria, renewable energy minigrids can power two- and three-wheeled EVs for the same cost as fossil-fueled alternatives. This offers rural Nigerians the benefits of clean, affordable transport; bolsters electricity sales for the rural utility; and reduces costs of electricity for all. [CleanTechnica]
Nigerian street (Muhammadtaha Ibrahim Ma’aji, Unsplash)
¶ “Greens Unveil $17 Billion Renewable Energy Plan To Support Solar Battery Uptake As Part Of 2022 Federal Election Pitch” • The Greens want to offer Australians grants of up to $10,000 and loans of $50,000 to install solar batteries. The position part of a $17 billion plan to help households and businesses transition from gas to clean energy. [ABC]
¶ “Smart Grids Could Help Nova Scotia Reach Renewable Energy Targets, Experts Say” • Nova Scotia is placing a greater emphasis on renewable energy sources in order to meet its target of 80% renewable energy by 2030. The province will need to better manage the balance between available supply and demand, and smart grids will help with that. [CBC]
Lunenburg, Nova Scotia (Livia Widjaja, Unsplash)
¶ “Luxembourg Worried About Problems At EDF Nuclear Plant Near Border” • Two Luxembourg government ministers have written to French nuclear authority ASN to request information about problems with corrosion at an EDF nuclear plant near the Luxembourg border, French daily Le Parisien reported, quoting energy news wire Montel. [Reuters]
US:
¶ “Rising Gas Prices Bring Biden To A Political Crossroads Over Climate Policy” • The White House has been pushing renewable energy, but with a war that caused fuel prices to soar, pinching Americans’ wallets, it has been forced to reexamine the balance of its economic approach with the President’s ambitious climate policy commitments. [CNN]
White House (Suzy Brooks, Unsplash)
¶ “California High School Students Race Solar Powered Cars” • Here’s another way to get kids involved in solar transportation so they can learn about STEM careers. It has a lot more in common with the first solar-powered car, which was built by GM for a 1955 car show, than with what college teams or companies like Aptera are into today. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “UMass Amherst Launches Ambitious Goal To Power Flagship Campus With Renewable Energy By 2032” • The University of Massachusetts Amherst has unveiled UMass Carbon Zero, a program to limit the dangers of climate change and power the university’s 1,500-acre flagship campus with 100% renewable energy by about 2032. [UMass Amherst]
Murray D Lincoln Campus Center (Ktr101, CC-BY-SA 4.0)
¶ “Twitter Pledges To Remove Ads Skeptical Of Climate Change” • In an Earth Day blog post, Twitter’s sustainability team announced that it would begin blocking what the company called ”misleading information” about climate change. The company said the regulatory standard for information on the subject would be the IPCC and other scientific bodies. [Newsmax]
¶ “Catalyze Collaborates With Stream Realty Partners To Deploy 450 MW Of Renewable Energy On Stream Properties” • Power producer Catalyze said it has negotiated a Master Framework Agreement with Stream Realty Partners to develop on-site renewable energy systems on all of Stream’s industrial properties in the US. [pv magazine USA]
Have a perfectly lovely day.
geoharvey 