Opinion:
¶ “How Can Urban Landscapes Modulate Their Carbon Footprint?” • What comes to mind when you think of a city? Is it concrete and urban sprawl? Or can you envision an exciting life filled with economic and cultural opportunities? Cities need to transcend their reliance on stifling, toxic, deadly fossil fuels and suppression of the natural world. [CleanTechnica]
Urban landscape (Photo retrieved from NOAA, public domain)
Science and Technology:
¶ “The Most Devastating Hurricanes Could Double By 2050 In Nearly All Regions Of World, Scientists Say” • Intense hurricanes and typhoons of category 3 or stronger, the most devastating storms on the planet, could more than double by 2050 in nearly all regions of the world because of climate change, according to a report in Science Advances. [CNN]
¶ “Some Experts Fear These Forests Could Shift From Absorbing Carbon Dioxide To Emitting It” • Wildfires burning in the vast and pristine forests of Canada, Europe, and the far Northern US could release an enormous amount of planet-warming emissions between now and 2050, putting the world’s climate goals in peril, scientists reported. [CNN]
Alaskan boreal forest (LB Brubaker, NOAA, public domain)
¶ “Korean Researchers Develop Battery Tech With Blistering Charge Speeds” • The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology say they did some battery development that is pretty astonishing. They claim to be able to make a hybrid lithium-ion battery that could theoretically reduce the charging time for an electric car to one minute. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Photovoltaics vs Nuclear Power On Mars” • Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have compared how PV or nuclear energy could power a crewed outpost for an extended period on Mars and have determined that solar offers the best performance. The team considered four scenarios, one with a nuclear reactor and three with PVs. [PV Magazine]
Mars colony (Davian Ho, University of California, Berkeley)
World:
¶ “India Has Seen Months Of Extreme Heat And This Week It Will Only Get Hotter” • Life-threatening heat waves arrived in India a month earlier than normal, shattering temperature records, with highs reaching over 100°F (38°C) – and it will only get hotter. Over one billion people will be subjected to excessive heat, one expert said. [CNN]
¶ “Ukraine War: Russia Gas Supply Cuts ‘Blackmail’, Says EU” • Russia’s decision to cut off gas exports to Poland and Bulgaria is an “instrument of blackmail”, the EU says. Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said the move showed Russia’s “unreliability” as a supplier. Russia supplies over a third of the EU’s natural gas. [BBC]
Ursula von der Leyen (Kuhlmann, MSC, CC-BY-SA 3.0)
¶ “22% Of New Cars In Europe Have A Plug!” • Despite declining growth rates, the European passenger plugin vehicle market is still growing significantly, up 10% in March. This is especially significant, as the overall market continues to fall off a cliff, down 19% year over year last month, marking its ninth consecutive month on the red. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Caribbean Must Speed Renewable Energy Transition To Manage Oil Shocks” • Caribbean countries must transition to renewable energy quickly because of high costs of fossil fuels, the president of the Caribbean Development Bank said. Imported petroleum provides about 80% of the energy for the nineteen countries that borrow funds from the bank. [Reuters]
Antigua (Mark Jordan, Unsplash)
¶ “Russian Hackers Are Targeting Europe’s Renewable Energy Infrastructure” • A European wind power industry association says three cyberattacks on German wind farms may be linked to hackers sympathetic with Russia who aim to cause havoc on European renewable energy systems as Europe looks to cut its reliance on Russian fossil fuels. [Oil Price]
¶ “Safety warning at Europe’s largest nuclear plant held by Russian troops” • Safety at the largest nuclear power plant in Europe has been a “red light blinking” since Russia’s invasion, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency warned. He said the IAEA is struggling to get access to Zaporizhzhia plant, which is occupied by Russian troops. [Yahoo News]
Zaporizhzhia briefing, March 4 (IAEA Imagebank, CC-BY-SA 2.0)
US:
¶ “Southern Californians told to reduce outdoor watering in ‘unprecedented’ order amid historic drought” • Facing extreme drought conditions caused by a “changing climate,” Southern California officials are demanding businesses and residents in parts of Los Angeles, Ventura, and San Bernardino counties cut outdoor watering to one day a week. [CNN]
¶ “California Sets Standards For 100% EV Sales” • In just over a decade, all cars sold in California will be electric, based on new proposed standards from the state’s Air Resources Board. The proposed standards require about 35% of vehicles sold by car manufacturers to be EVs starting in model year 2026 and 100% in model year 2035. [CleanTechnica]
EV charging in California (Kindel Media, Pexels)
¶ “US DOE Launches $84 Million Enhanced Geothermal Energy Systems Program” • The DOE issued a request for information to support $84 million in geothermal systems pilot demonstration projects. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law authorizes the DOE to support four competitively selected pilot projects for different types of geology. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Purdue And Duke Energy To Explore Potential For SMR Nuclear Power Source For Campus” • Purdue University and Duke Energy plan to explore the feasibility of using advanced nuclear energy to meet the campus community’s long-term energy needs. They intend to study power produced through Small Modular Reactors. [Green Car Congress]
Have a wonderfully agreeable day.
geoharvey 
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