Science and Technology:
¶ “How To Store More Carbon In Soil During Climate Change” • Researchers from Cornell University, Ohio State University, Technical University of Munich, and the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station are using synchrotron light to investigate how moisture affects soil carbon, which is important for healthy crops and fertile fields. [Phys.org]
Cropland (Jake Gard, Unsplash)
World:
¶ “Indian Floods Destroy Millions Of Homes And Dreams” • In Assam, unprecedented rainfall and flooding have left behind a trail of destruction, submerging villages, destroying crops, and wrecking homes. Authorities say that 32 of the state’s 35 districts have been affected, killing at least 45 people and displacing more than 4.7 million over the last week. [BBC]
¶ “Counting Down The Days Until Its Water Taps Run Dry” • The Eastern Cape region of South Africa suffered a severe multi-year drought between 2015 and 2020, which devastated the local economy, particularly its agricultural sector. It had just a brief reprieve before slipping back into drought in late 2021. One city expects to run out of water in two weeks. [CNN]
Gqeberha City Hall (Leo za1, CC-BY-SA 3.0)
¶ “Heaviest Rain In 60 Years Hits Southern China” • Almost half a million people have been affected by floods and landslides in the Chinese province of Guangdong, according to authorities, after parts of southern China were hit by the heaviest downpours in 60 years over the weekend. Flooding caused by the torrential rain has destroyed 1,729 houses. [CNN]
¶ “Floating City In The Maldives Begins To Take Shape” • A city is rising from the waters of the Indian Ocean. In a turquoise lagoon, just 10 minutes by boat from Male, the Maldivian capital, a floating city, big enough to house 20,000 people, is being constructed. Because it floats, it is not vulnerable to sea level rise from climate change. [CNN]
Floating city (Waterstudio.NL and Dutch Docklands)
¶ “Report: Shanghai Will Subsidize EV Purchases With 10,000 Yuan Per Unit For Rest Of 2022” • Shanghai will subsidize battery electric vehicle purchases within its borders with 10,000 yuan (about $1,500) per unit for the rest of 2022, Zero Hedge reports, citing Bloomberg as a source. The subsidy started in June and ends at the end of the year. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Contact’s Hamilton Power Plant Closing Next Year To Reduce Carbon Emissions” • New Zealand’s Contact Energy is closing its Hamilton power plant next year to reduce carbon emissions. The 44-MW gas-fired power station has been operating since 1999 and provides steam and electricity to a dairy factory, with surplus electricity directed back to the grid. [Stuff.co.nz]
Hamilton power plant (Supplied image)
¶ “Gas Export Tax Would Help To Fix Australia’s Energy Crisis, Says Dr Ken Henry” • The dire state of Australia’s domestic electricity market, and our lack of investment in renewables, has been a mess of our own making, former Treasury secretary Ken Henry has said. But a gas export windfall tax could help to fix things, he added. [ABC]
¶ “Why China Just Can’t Seem To Quit Coal” • China has the world’s largest renewable energy supply, but it is not shutting down its coal-burning plants. Dr Joanna Lewis, an associate professor of energy and environment at Georgetown University, sees the problem in China as a fear of economic instability if coal plants are closed. [Popular Science]
Coal mine in China (Artyom Korshunov, Unsplash)
US:
¶ “Boeing Unveils New 777 ‘ecoDemonstrator’ Test Jet” • US aircraft maker Boeing showed its new 2022 ecoDemonstrator plane. It is a converted, 20-year-old 777-200ER that will be tasked with testing new technologies aimed at making air travel more sustainable and safer. The ecoDemonstrator will reportedly go through a six-month series of tests. [CNN]
¶ “Cold Climate Heat Pumps Light Up Climate Fight” • To the extent that the local power grid relies on renewable energy, heat pumps take fossil energy out of the heating and cooling equation for centralized power plants. That explains why heat pumps are front and center in Biden administration efforts to decarbonize building energy systems. [CleanTechnica]
Please click on the image to enlarge it.
¶ “Ford Sets EV Sales Record, Again” • Ford sold 6,254 EVs last month. This puts its total sales at 222% above last May’s numbers, an amazing increase. Perhaps more importantly, Ford’s EV sales growth is now four times that of the whole EV market, which means the company is grabbing ground and market share from other manufacturers. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “PUC To Cut New Net Metering Compensation As ‘Costliest’ Renewable Program” • The Vermont Public Utility Commission issued its required update of the state’s net-metering program. Future systems that apply for permits on and after September 1, 2022, will see a small net decrease in compensation compared to existing systems. [Vermont Business Magazine]
Rutland solar home (GMP photo)
¶ “Seattle Offers Utility Pole EV Chargers To City Residents” • Seattle City Light, the utility company that services the city of Seattle and surrounding communities, announced a program to install EV chargers on utility poles, but with a twist. It allows city residents to request the installation of utility pole-mounted EV chargers near where they live. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “US Nuclear Industry Hopes To Double Electricity Output With New Reactors” • The US nuclear industry generats less electricity as reactors retire, but plant operators are hoping to nearly double their output over the next three decades, the industry’s trade association says. The massive scaling-up they envision hangs on small modular reactors. [Business Standard]
Have an especially enchanting day.
geoharvey 