geoharvey

Opinion:

¶ “Problem Joe Manchin Highlighted Is Crucial For America’s Future” • It took just days for Senate Democrats to introduce and approve $370 billion of climate-change spending, part of the Inflation Reduction Act. But clearing the necessary red tape to spend a cent of that money on building some climate-related projects will take years. [CNN]

Wind farm (Thomas Galler, Unsplash)

¶ “Comparing The US And China On Climate, Economy, And Other Outcomes Should Be Deeply Humbling For America” • China has a sixth of the GDP per capita of the US at present, but, China is buying 6 times as many EVs as the US annually right now. China has 25,000 miles of high speed rail track. The US has none. Those two are just starters. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “World’s Largest Ice Sheet Crumbling Faster Than Previously Thought, Satellite Imagery Shows” • Antarctica’s coastal glaciers are shedding icebergs more rapidly than nature can replenish the crumbling ice, doubling previous estimates of losses from the world’s largest ice sheet over the past 25 years, a satellite analysis published in the journal Nature shows. [CNN]

Aurora over ice (Lightscape, Unsplash)

¶ “Arctic Is Warming Four Times Faster Than The Rest Of The Planet, New Research Shows” • As sea ice vanishes, Greenland melts and wildfires scorch the planet’s northernmost forests, new research confirms what scientists are sounding alarms about: the Arctic has warmed much faster than the rest of the world in the past several decades. [CNN]

¶ “France Firefighters Battle ‘Monster’ Wildfire Near Bordeaux” • More than 1,000 firefighters are battling a “monster” wildfire in south-western France. According to officials, it has destroyed about 7,400 hectares (18,286 acres) of forest already. The blaze about 30 km (19 miles) south-east of Bordeaux has gutted some homes and forced 10,000 residents to flee. [BBC]

Bordeaux vineyard (David Mazeau, Unsplash)

¶ “UN Alarm As Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant Shelled Again” • More shelling of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was reported. Ukraine and Russia blame each other for the attack. Both sides said there were 10 hits on the office and fire station of the power plant. UN Secretary General António Guterres said the shelling could “lead to disaster.” [BBC]

¶ “Goodbye, Diesel. Hello, Solar” • How do you make a difference and a profit in Australia’s dairy industry? The answer is shining in your face. Dairy farmers John and Rochelle Pekin have made the move from relying on a fragile grid and a smelly backup diesel generator to solar + batteries. Goodbye, diesel. Hello, solar and batteries. [CleanTechnica]

Australian beeves (Josh Withers, Unsplash)

¶ “In The Netherlands, 22% Of New Car Sales Now Electric!” • In the context of a continually falling overall auto market, down 18% year over year in July, the Dutch plugin vehicle market grew, even if only by slightly. Most of the growth of plugin cars is due to pure electrics (22% of all new vehicle sales), which grew 13% year over year last month. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Burning Imported Wood In Drax Power Plant ‘Doesn’t Make Sense’, Says Kwarteng” • The importing of wood to burn in Drax power station “is not sustainable” and “doesn’t make any sense”, the business and energy secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, told a private meeting of MPs this week. Scientists have held this position for a long time. [The Guardian]

Drax power plant (Martin Sepion, Unsplash)

¶ “Copenhagen Energy Unveils 3-GW Midtown Offshore Wind Farm” • Copenhagen Energy has submitted proposals for a 3-GW offshore wind project off the coast of Western Australia. The project would comprise up to 200 turbines and six substations from 10 to 70 km off Kalbarri, the developer said, covering a 700 square-kilometer area. [reNews]

US:

¶ “Aptera Reveals Gamma (Near-Production) Vehicle Interior” • A social media post by Aptera shows the great progress it is making toward its production vehicle. Not only is Aptera in the last phase before its production design, but they’ve kitted the EV out with a complete interior and exterior, something it didn’t do with the last phase of production. [CleanTechnica]

Aptera (Aptera)

¶ “Home Solar+Storage Will Get A Boost From The Recent Climate Bill, Claims Bloomberg” • EV tax credits get much of the attention in reports on the Inflation Reduction Act, largely due to controversies in how they’re structured. But the new law also offers a 30% federal tax credit for solar systems on homes, with no cap. That’s a big deal. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “NREL Releases Extensive Databases Of Local Ordinances On Solar And Wind Siting” • As the US targets 100% clean electricity by 2035 and a net-zero carbon economy by 2050, local siting constraints have become a critical topic. Now, data on state and local wind energy and solar power ordinances have been made publicly available in one place. [CleanTechnica]

Wind turbines (Yeon Choi, Unsplash)

¶ “Massachusetts Commits To Offshore Wind Procurement Reforms” • Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker has signed a clean energy bill that will reform the state’s process for offshore wind procurement. The bill, passed by the legislature on 31 July, codifies Massachusetts’ commitment to procure 5.6 GW by 2030, enough to power two million homes. [reNews]

¶ “Governor Newsom Announces Water Strategy For A Hotter, Drier California” • Hotter and drier weather conditions spurred by climate change could reduce California’s water supply 10% by 2040. Governor Gavin Newsom announced California’s latest actions to increase water supply and adapt to more extreme weather patterns. [Gavin Newsom]

Have a delightfully comfy day.

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