World:
¶ “Xi Says China Will Follow Its Own Carbon Reduction Path As US Climate Envoy Kerry Meets Top Officials In Beijing” • China will follow its own path to cut carbon emissions, leader Xi Jinping vowed, as US climate envoy John Kerry called for faster action to confront the climate crisis. China’s goals are a carbon peak by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. [CNN]
China’s wall (Hanson Lu, Unsplash)
¶ “Fake Twitter Profiles, Wikipedia Editing And PR Battles: Inside The Push To Greenwash The COP28 Climate Summit” • The optics of a major oil-producing country organizing the world’s most important climate conference, and appointing the CEO of an oil company to lead it, are not lost on anyone – including, it seems, the hosts: the UAE. [CNN]
¶ “Floodwaters Reach Iconic Taj Mahal As Northern India Reels From Massive Deluge” • The Yamuna River reached its highest level on record. The devastating floods causing havoc across northern India have reached the iconic Taj Mahal. Experts warn it could become a regular occurrence as the climate crisis brings ever more extreme weather. [CNN]
Taj Mahal (Tharun Kumar U, Unsplash)
¶ “Nearly All Major Italian Cities On Red Heat Alert” • Red alerts for extreme heat are in place in most of Italy’s main cities as a heatwave intensifies in Europe. Temperatures are expected to peak on Wednesday, with 23 cities on high alert, from Trieste in the north-east to Messina in the south-west. The heat threatens everybody, not just vulnerable groups. [BBC]
¶ “Europe Heatwaves: Wildfires Rage In Greece As Temperatures Soar” • Large swathes of southern Europe continue to swelter in record heat as wildfires rage across the continent. Temperatures hit a high of 46.3°C (115.3°F) in Sicily, and crews battled fires in Greece and the Swiss Alps. Also, China saw record heat and flooding from Typhoon Talim. [BBC]
Flooding in Fuzhou, Fujian province (Fuzhou Fire Department)
¶ “COP 28 Agenda – Phase Down Of Fossil Fuel Inevitable And Essential” • The COP 28 Climate Summit is scheduled for next November in Dubai. The president of the conference is Sultan Al Jaber, who just happens to be the head of Adnoc, the national oil company of the UAE, of which Dubai is a part. Yes, that is how it’s happening, and no, it’s not a joke. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Rio Tinto Produces Metals Critical To The REVolution” • The Australian mining companies are global leaders in the search for critical minerals and materials to enable the green industrial revolution. At a local level, Queensland is encouraging miners to prepare for the time when coal is no longer their main product. Rio Tinto is a good example. [CleanTechnica]
Ore with copper, cobalt, and nickel (Paul-Alain Hunt, Unsplash)
¶ “China Begins Blanket Radiation Testing On Seafood Imports From Japan” • China has begun blanket radiation testing on seafood imports from Japan, sources familiar with the bilateral relationship said Tuesday, a move seen as pressuring Tokyo’s plan to release treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea. [Kyodo News]
US:
¶ “NTSB Investigation Of Pennsylvania Candy Factory Explosion Reveals Natural Gas Was Leaking From Two Service Lines” • An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board into an explosion at a Pennsylvania candy factory that left seven dead in March revealed that natural gas was leaking from two service lines, a preliminary report says. [CNN]
Fractured line from the candy factory (NTSB image)
¶ “US Heatwave Sees Hospitals Use Body-Bag Ice Treatment” • An unrelenting heatwave continues in much of the southern US, leaving more than 90 million Americans under a heat advisory. Phoenix saw 110°F (43°C) for the nineteenth straight day, setting a record. Officials said hospitals are using body bags filled with ice to cool down some overheated patients. [BBC]
¶ “Number Of EV Charging Points In USA Nearly Doubled In Three Years” • EV owners know that most charging is done at home, and if you have workplace charging, that can also cover nearly all of a person’s charging needs. For others, the good news is that charging stations are being installed daily. The market is responding just as it should. [CleanTechnica]
Charging station (Sophie Jonas, Unsplash)
¶ “C-Crete, A Cement-Free Concrete, Debuts In Seattle” • C-Crete Technologies has a new process that provides a sustainable alternative to Portland cement, emitting almost no CO₂ when it’s made, and it actually absorbs CO₂ from the air over time. It was used for the first time in a commercial building foundation in Seattle, C-Crete said. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Extreme Heat Drives Texas Power Demand To Yet Another Record” • Power demand in Texas is once again setting records as extreme heat drives homes and businesses to crank up the air conditioning, and the outlook for more searing temperatures means the state’s grid will continue to be tested. Power use set its ninth record in just three weeks. [Yahoo Finance]
Houston (Vlad Busuioc, Unsplash, cropped)
¶ “Utah’s Community Renewable Energy Program Is Projected To Come To Fruition In 2024” • The Salt Lake City Council unanimously passed a resolution committing the city to the Utah Community Renewable Energy Program. Coordinated by Rocky Mountain Power, the program aims to help communities meet a net-100% renewable energy goal by 2030. [KUER]
¶ “Center To Help Communities Tackle Renewable Energy Projects” • The Graham Sustainability Institute is launching the Center for EmPowering Communities to help communities in Michigan tackle the planning and zoning challenges related to developing renewable energy projects such as wind and solar installations. [The University Record]
Have a certainly safe day.
geoharvey 
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