Opinion:
¶ “‘We Are Damned Fools’: James Hansen” • On June 23, 1988, NASA scientist James Hansen told the US Senate the greenhouse effect had been detected, indicating that the climate was in fact changing. His was largely ignored. He has been stalked, vilified, denounced as a lunatic, and arrested for attempting to speak the truth about climate change. [CleanTechnica]
Senator Inhofe in denial (C-Span, public domain)
¶ “Heatwave Shows Biden’s Better Grid Initiative Is Woefully Underfunded” • The blistering heat wave in the US is severely straining the country’s electrical grids. As temperatures soar in the West, air conditioning units are working overtime, drawing far more energy from the grid than usual. And the nation’s power grids are antiquated. [Oil Price]
¶ “House Republicans Want To Plant Trees To Combat Climate Change, But Will It Work?” • As most of the US contends with extreme heat, wildfire smoke, or flash flooding, and a growing number of Americans say climate change has “made things worse” in their lives, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has an answer: Plant trees. [Yahoo News]
Planting a tree (Leiliane Dutra, Pexels)
¶ “The Big Problem With Small Nuclear Reactors” • Gigawatt water-cooled reactors are seen as obsolete by many observers. Newbuilt, these behemoths generate electricity at up to nine times the cost of large solar and onshore wind facilities. They can take well over a decade to build. But small modular reactors may not offer any improvement. [Undark Magazine]
Science and Technology:
¶ “Long-Lost Greenland Ice Core Suggests Disastrous Sea Level Rise Potential” • An ice core taken from beneath Greenland’s ice sheet decades ago shows that a large part of the country was ice-free around 400,000 years ago, when temperatures were similar to those the world is approaching now, a report says. The report’s implications are alarming. [CNN]
Greenland melting (Paul Bright, Unsplash)
¶ “2024 Will Probably Be Hotter Than This Year Because Of El Niño, NASA Scientists Say” • As millions bake under a relentless heat wave in the South and Southwest US, and as temperatures soar around the Northern Hemisphere, NASA scientists warned that we haven’t seen the worst of El Niño and next year will likely be even warmer for the planet. [CNN]
¶ “Better EV Batteries Start On Factory Floor With New ‘Dry Manufacturing’ Method” • The latest development in EV battery technology comes from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which is part of the US DOE’s sprawling network of research facilities, in a public-private partnership with the US energy storage firm Navitas Systems. [CleanTechnica]
New method for making EV batteries (Navitas Systems via ORNL)
World:
¶ “Solar Startup Yellow Raises $14 Million To Scale Up In Africa” • Yellow has been financing solar energy and digital devices like smartphones in Malawi since it was founded in 2018. It’s about to enter some new markets thanks to a new fundraising round. The company just raised $14 million in a series B fundraising round led by Convergence Partners. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “100 Million 2-Wheel Electric Vehicles In 2027?” • A report by Rethink Energy says post-Covid pandemic electric 2-wheeler sales are recovering globally. Since 2021, there has been marginal growth in the sector, with a move towards electrification. But they expect that by 2027, over 100 million electric 2-wheelers will be on the roads globally. [CleanTechnica]
Swapping batteries (Courtesy of Bikebank and Gogoro)
¶ “ESB And Bord Na Móna To Build Major Solar Power Farm In Kildare” • Voltalia, a major French renewables company, will build a 108-MW solar farm in Kildare on behalf of the ESB and Bord Na Móna. It marks the first large solar project in a joint venture between the two bodies, as the Irish State increasingly looks to develop solar power. [Independent.ie]
US:
¶ “Fervo Completes Geothermal Energy Testing” • Fervo Energy, based in Houston, uses horizontal drilling techniques developed by the oil and gas industry to unlock geothermal resources in places where tapping underground sources of heat to generate electricity has never been possible. Fervo says a test at a full-scale pilot facility was successful. [CleanTechnica]
Geothermal well (Fervo Energy Image)
¶ “Strong Clean Vehicle Standards Can Deliver $44 Billion In Health, Economic, And Climate Benefits To New Mexicans ” • New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham recently took action to give New Mexicans more EV options. A report shows that if her plan is fully adopted, New Mexicans could get up to $44 billion in benefits through 2050. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Unlocking The Potential Of Commercial Rooftop Solar” • RMI says in a report that US real estate investment trusts control 38.5 billion square feet of rooftops on commercial buildings, parking lots, and garages that are suitable for solar panels. If fully utilized, they could produce about 10% of all electricity generated in the country. [CleanTechnica]
Target solar roof (Courtesy of Target)
¶ “Coal-Fired Electricity Is Falling Below Solar In NC” • Coal was used in 37% of electricity generation in 2015 in North Carolina. In the first quarter of 2023, it was down to 7%, while solar was up to 8%. A North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association officer said, “Based on this data, we’d expect to see solar generation regularly surpass coal generation starting this year.” [WFAE]
¶ “Texas Regulators Go Easy On The Gas Fines” • Two-thirds of Texans lost their power in the deadly winter storm of 2021, as natural gas lines and infrastructure froze. But new rules targeting poorly weatherized lines have so far resulted in only $30,500 in fines against gas companies. That’s raising concerns about the next big freeze. [Politico]
Have a breathtakingly inspiring day.
geoharvey 