Science and Technology:
¶ “Greenland And Antarctic Ice Sheets Are Melting Rapidly And Driving Sea Level Rise, New Satellite Data Finds” • Combining data from fifty satellite surveys of Antarctica and Greenland, spanning the years 1992 to 2020, scientists of the Ice Sheet Mass Balance Inter-comparison Exercise found a six-fold increase in ice sheet melting over the past thirty years. [CNN]
Icebergs (Muhammad Nasir, Unsplash)
¶ “Scientists Isolate Microbes That Eat Carbon Dioxide” • In the warm waters of an Italian volcano, scientists found microbes that gobble up carbon dioxide “astonishingly quickly,” they told The Guardian. Now they are hoping to put those microbes to work absorbing carbon dioxide as an efficient way of removing it from the atmosphere. [CleanTechnica]
World:
¶ “Climate Change Is Fueling Deadly Heat Waves In India And Putting The Country’s Development At Risk, Study Says” • Heat waves have already critically impacted India, leading to power outages, increased air pollution, and accelerated glacial melt in the north of India, University of Cambridge scientists said in the study published in the journal PLOS Climate. [CNN]
Weather in Maharashtra (JakilDedhia, CC-BY-SA 4.0)
¶ “The World’s Biggest Banks Are Still Pouring Money Into Fossil Fuels” • Banks provided $673 billion to finance the fossil fuel industry last year, even as oil and gas companies made $4 trillion in profits, according to the annual Banking on Climate Chaos report, authored by nonprofits that include The Rainforest Action Network and the Sierra Club. [CNN]
¶ “President Joe Biden Pledges $500 Million To Curb Amazon Deforestation” • US President Joe Biden pledged a $500 million investment to the Amazon Fund. The amount is enough to make the US one of the world’s largest donors to the international conservation program to protect the Amazon rainforest from deforestation. [CNN]
Amazon rainforest (Arnie Chou, Pexels)
¶ “Tesla Passes Mercedes And Toyota As Most Valuable Auto Brand” • While Tesla is dominating deliveries and production of EVs in recent years, it’s also becoming more valuable as a brand. New research from one firm has named Tesla the world’s most valuable automotive brand, surpassing two key household names, Mercedes and Toyota. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Siemens Gamesa Greens Tower Steel” • Siemens Gamesa has launched the GreenerTower, a wind turbine tower made of more sustainable steel. The GreenerTower has already closed its first order, as RWE and Siemens Gamesa have agreed to introduce 36 of the units at the 1-GW Thor offshore wind power project in Denmark. [reNews]
Offshore wind turbine (Siemens Gamesa image)
¶ “Does India Have Enough Insurance Coverage For A Nuclear Disaster?” • India has barely half the insurance amount it needs in the event of a nuclear disaster, raising concerns among experts about a lack of oversight. There is a critical shortfall in funds that will be needed to compensate victims and pay for cleanup in case of a nuclear disaster. [Al Jazeera]
US:
¶ “Frito-Lay Expedites 2040 Net-Zero Emissions Goal, Buys Over 700 Electric Delivery Vehicles” • By the end of 2023, Frito-Lay will have over 700 electric delivery vehicles in the US, the company announced in honor of Earth Month. The use of the EVs is anticipated to reduce emissions by 7,052 metric tons of greenhouse gases each year. [CleanTechnica]
Electric delivery vehicle (Courtesy of Frito-Lay North America)
¶ “Hyundai CRADLE And Itselectric Will Partner To Deploy Curbside EV Chargers In New York City” • To demonstrate curbside EV charging for cities, itselectric, a Brooklyn-based EV curbside charging startup, entered into a strategic partnership with Hyundai CRADLE and the New York City Economic Development Corporation. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “San Jose Chooses A Network Of Autonomous PRTs For Airport Connector Route” • The city of San Jose granted authorization to develop a network of autonomous cars that will travel on their own dedicated narrow 5.5-foot-wide paths. The system will start with 4-person electric pods transporting passengers between San Jose’s airport and two city areas. [CleanTechnica]
Glydways electric pod (Photo provided by Glydways)
¶ “Bechtel Nixes $1 Billion Power Plant After Years Of Permitting Battles” • Renovo Energy Center, an energy company owned by Bechtel Development Co, nixed a $1 billion combined-cycle generating project in central Pennsylvania. The proposed plant drew opposition over air quality issues, and the developer said it could not see a way forward. [Utility Dive]
¶ “Avangrid’s $1 Billion Power-Line Project Prevails In Maine Court” • A Maine jury granted a reprieve to Avangrid’s proposed $1 billion transmission line that would carry renewable energy from Canada to New England. Maine residents voted to halt the project in 2021, after Avangrid had received permits, spent $450 million, and begun construction. [Hartford Courant]
Transmission lines (Egg thing, Pexels)
¶ “Goal Of Using 100% Renewable Electricity Reached” • With the new Yahara Solar Project, Dane County, Oregon, reached the milestone of 100% renewable electricity use at county facilities. The 33,000 solar panels at the 90-acre solar farm site will reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those produced by more than 5,000 cars. [Oregon Observer]
¶ “Nuclear Fusion Will Not Be Regulated The Same Way As Nuclear Fission – A Big Win For The Fusion Industry” • The NRC, the top regulatory agency for nuclear materials safety in the US, voted unanimously to regulate the burgeoning fusion industry differently than the nuclear fission industry. Fusion startups are celebrating that as a major win. [CNBC]
Have a relatively magnificent day.
geoharvey 
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