Science and Technology:
¶ “Tiny Creatures Are Losing Their Battle To Survive. Here’s What We Can Do To Save Them” • The Rufous hummingbird lost two-thirds of its population since 1970, according to the 2022 State of the Birds report. That is not the only species with such a decline. We can do things to help native species survive in an increasingly challenging world. [CNN]
Rufous hummingbird (Ryan Bushby, CC-BY-SA 2.5, cropped)
¶ “The World Just Failed Its Annual Health Checkup” • The WMO’s annual State of the Climate Report, published Friday ahead of Earth Day, paints a stark picture, showsing climate records being broken. “This is really a wake up call that climate change isn’t a future problem, it is a current problem. And we need to adapt as quickly as possible.” [CNN]
¶ “Condensed Matter Battery From CATL Targets Electric Airplanes” • CATL, the world’s largest EV lithium-ion battery maker, announced that it expects to start producing “condensed matter” semi-solid batteries this year. The company said the new batteries will have an energy density of 500 Wh/kg. Common EV batteries in use have 300 Wh/kg. [CleanTechnica]
CATL condensed battery (Image from CATL via CnEVPost)
World:
¶ “Ford F-150 Lightning Goes To Norway!” • Ford announced that the F-150 Lightning will be entering the most cutting-edge battery-EV market in the world, Norway. In response to massive consumer demand, a small number of Ford F-150 Lightning Lariat Launch Edition vehicles are now available for purchase by Norwegian customers. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “183 Electric Solaris Urbino Buses Are Now On The Streets Of Oslo!” • The bus fleet of Oslo has just received 183 articulated Solaris Urbino 18.75 electric buses. With completion of this order, Solaris has finished the largest electric bus order it has ever received. The contract, which was signed in January 2022, is worth €100 million. [CleanTechnica]
Solaris Urbino Bus (Solaris image)
¶ “TSMC And ARK Ink Renewable Power Purchase Contract” • Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co said it has signed a joint procurement contract with ARK Power Co to provide 1 TWh per year of solar energy for 20 years as part of TSMC’s broader efforts to reduce its carbon footprint together with companies in its supply chain. [Taipei Times]
¶ “Cornwall Makes Case For Celtic Sea Power Line” • Ahead of this year’s Celtic Sea seabed auction, industry leaders in Cornwall are calling for power lines from floating wind farms to be landed directly in the county. The Crown Estate’s auction, planned for later this summer, aims to unlock 4 GW of electricity by 2035, with potential for 24 GW. [reNews]
Coast of Cornwall (Scott Evans, Unsplash)
¶ “Octopus Energy Sets 20-GW Target For 2030” • Octopus Energy’s generation arm is targeting 20 GW of European green generation projects by 2030. The projects would be enough power for 15 million homes, boosting the continent’s energy security and reducing consumers’ bills. OE has opened seven European onshore wind farms since 2022. [reNews]
¶ “Putin ‘To Scrap Russia’s Largest Nuke-Powered Warship Peter The Great’ As He Can’t Afford Repairs” • Vladimir Putin is poised to send the flagship vessel of the Russian Navy, Peter the Great, to the scrapheap because repairs are too expensive. The guided missile cruiser is Russia’s largest nuclear-powered warship. Putin once boasted it had “virtually no equal.” [The Sun]
Peter the Great (Szilas, public domain)
US:
¶ “Biden Announces New Environmental Justice Initiatives” • US President Biden announced new environmental justice actions, including an executive order that the White House says will make environmental justice a central mission of federal agencies. It will create an Office of Environmental Justice inside the White House Council on Environmental Quality. [CNN]
¶ “The EPA Is Preparing Aggressive New Rules For Power Plant Pollution That Could Prompt Legal Challenges” • The Biden administration is planning to roll out aggressive new rules to regulate planet-warming pollution from natural gas power plants, three sources familiar with the plan and who have been briefed on the rules told CNN. [CNN]
Natural gas power plant (American Public Power Association)
¶ “The Bill That Could Connect California To Sun, Wind, And Savings Across The West” • A bill at the California Legislature could start the transition toward a fully integrated western power grid. It would boost renewable energy, deliver reliable electricity, and reduce the costs of dispatching clean electricity for the entire western region. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Biden-Harris Administration Recommends $562 Million To Make Communities Resilient To Climate Impacts” • VP Kamala Harris announced a recommendation by the Department of Commerce that $562 million in funding be made for projects so communities and the economy could be more resilient as the climate changes. [CleanTechnica]
Resilience (Karim MANJRA, Unsplash)
¶ “‘Big Melt’ Of Sierra Nevada Snow Will Begin This Weekend. Tulare Lake Flooding To Worsen” • As temperatures warm up over the coming days, weather experts predict that a record snowpack in the southern Sierra Nevada will see an accelerated pace of melting, potentially adding to flooding woes of the San Joaquin Valley of California. [AOL]
¶ “Renewable Energy Standard Bills Gain Little Traction” • One priority for Vermont climate advocates this session has been largely out of play: reforming the state’s Renewable Energy Standard. “The bottom line is, right now, Vermont’s energy policy is getting very little new renewable electricity built,” said VPIRG’s Ben Edgerly Walsh. [VTDigger]
Have an unqualifiedly dreamy day.
geoharvey 
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