geoharvey

Opinion: 

¶ “Batteries Included, Thanks To Tesla” • Bloomberg New Energy Finance believes that the energy storage decade has arrived. BNEF forecasts there will be 1 TWh of batteries installed around the world by 2030. This may prove to be a conservative estimate in the light of some of the comments Elon Musk made recently in a Ted talk. [CleanTechnica]

Tesla Megapack (Tesla image)

¶ “Point vs Counterpoint: Tesla’s CEO Should Focus On Tesla And Ignore Twitter” • During a week in which Tesla reported another record quarter and smashed Wall Street estimates for revenue and profit, CEO Elon Musk has been derided for his attempts to take over Twitter. Is the criticism valid? Here we examine points and counterpoints. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Marching Under A Radioactive Cloud” • It was May 1, 1986, and one of the biggest holidays in the Soviet year, a celebration of workers and peasants. Of course, the Kremlin never passed up an opportunity to hold a parade, even in the middle of the worst nuclear disaster in history, so what was happening at Chernobyl had no effect on celebrations. [CNN]

Abandoned amusement (Dasha Urvachova, Unsplash)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Planet-Warming Emissions From Cow Burps Have Been Seen From Space” • Methane emissions in cow burps have been observed from space. The emissions were detected by GHGSat’s high-resolution satellites in February, the company said. In April GHGSat analysis confirmed that the emissions came from a cattle feedlot in California. [CNN]

¶ “Tri-Cities Scientists “Magically” Mining Metals From Water” • Scientists at the DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are working with industry to test an approach that uses magnetic nanoparticles surrounded by an adsorbent shell to capture critical materials, such as lithium, from various water sources, possibly including seawater. [CleanTechnica]

Wave (Silas Baisch, Unsplash)

¶ “Climate Change May Increase Risk Of New Infectious Diseases” • Climate change will result in thousands of new viruses spread among animal species by 2070, and that’s likely to increase the risk of emerging infectious diseases jumping from animals to humans, according to a study. This is especially true for Africa and Asia. [Sentinel-Tribune]

World:

¶ “Will Gigafactory Berlin–Brandenburg Give Tesla An Unfair Advantage In Europe?” • Tesla could take back EV market share in Europe overall with its new Gigafactory Berlin, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. Many people believe that once production ramps up, Tesla could have an unfair advantage in the European auto market. [CleanTechnica]

Elon Musk at Gigafactory Berlin (SEC image via Unsplash)

¶ “Electric Car Sales Soar Despite Ballooning Battery Costs” • According to estimates from EV-Volumes.com, global EV sales soared by nearly 120% in the first quarter of this year. Tesla delivered a record 310,000 EVs in the first quarter, despite the fact that the company implemented several price increases in 2021, and another in March 2022. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Climate Change Storm Threatens Kenya’s Tea Production” • Kenya’s tea production is likely to drop significantly within the next decade because of climate change, threatening the country’s foreign earnings from the crop. A senior researcher at the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization’s Tea Research Institute voiced concerns on the issue. [KBC]

Picking tea leaves in Kenya (CIAT, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “Russia’s Rosatom Is Trying To Take Complete Control Of The Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, IAEA Says” • A group of eight Rosatom specialists had been sent to the Zaporizhzhya plant to demand “daily reports on confidential issues.” The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that the plant’s personnel is working “under immense pressure.” [Yahoo News]

¶ “France’s Nuclear Shutdown Hits 50% Of Reactors Amid EU Energy Crisis” • Energy supplier Electricité de France said some 28 of the country’s 56 reactors were shut down due to routine maintenance or defects. The latest shutdown forced EDF to buy electricity from the European grid “to compensate the lack of production of our nuclear plants.” [Press TV]

Saint-Laurent nuclear plant (T.A.F.K.A.S., CC-BY-SA 3.0)

US:

¶ “Largest US Grid Operator Puts 1,200 Mostly Solar Projects On Hold For 2 Years” • The largest US electrical grid operator has approved a new process for adding power plants to the grid system it manages, including a two-year pause on reviewing some 1,200 projects, mostly solar power, that are part of a controversial backlog. [Courier-Journal]

¶ “Geothermal Company Looks To Augustine As A Source Of Renewable Energy” • An Alaska company could start prospecting for energy on the active volcano on Augustine Island, in Cook Inlet. The state of Alaska is considering leasing land to GeoAlaska LLC so it can see if Augustine could potentially be a good site for a geothermal project. [KDLL]

Augustine Island (ML Coombs, US Geological Survey)

¶ “Climate Change And Health” • Dr Sedden Savage, a doctor at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire, has already found three fully embedded ticks on her this spring. The early start to tick season is becoming the norm in northern New England. Anyone who likes to spend time outdoors should be concerned about Lyme disease. [Rutland Herald]

¶ “USDA Invests In Renewable Energy Infrastructure For Three Wyoming Small Businesses” • State Director Glenn Pauley announced that the US Department of Agriculture is investing over $38,000 in Wyoming renewable energy infrastructure for three small businesses. They are among 165 projects to receive funding for clean energy or safe water. [The Fence Post]

Have a fulfillingly elated day.

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