Opinion:
¶ “Barbie Versus Oppenheimer: Two Diametrically Opposed Universes That Remind Us Of Two Existential Threats” • For the Greenpeace community, these two films echo past and present campaigns against very real existential threats: Barbie reveals the problems of deforestation and plastic pollution; Oppenheimer puts a focus on nuclear annihilation. [Greenpeace]
Einstein and Oppenheimer (US Defense Threat Reduction Agency)
Science and Technology:
¶ “There’s A Heatwave In The Sea And Scientists Are Worried” • The month of June and the first few days of July were hotter than any in recorded history, according to the World Meteorological Organization. Residents in the south of the US, southern Europe, and elsewhere have been enduring sweltering temperatures. But records are also being broken in the water. [BBC]
World:
¶ “China Is Drilling Some Of The World’s Deepest Holes In Hunt For Natural Resources” • Chinese engineers broke ground in the Sichuan Basin on a super-deep borehole to burrow far into the Earth’s crust, as the country steps up its search for natural resources. The hole will eventually reach 10,520 meters (34,514 feet) into the ground. [CNN]
Sichuan (Ourima, public domain)
¶ “Climate Records Tumble, Leaving Earth In Uncharted Territory” • A series of climate records for temperature, ocean heat, and Antarctic sea ice have alarmed some scientists who say their speed and timing is “unprecedented.” Studies are under way, but scientists already fear some of the worst-case scenarios are unfolding. [BBC]
¶ “Europe Heatwave: Temperatures To Soar In Greece As Fires Still Burn” • Greece is bracing for more intense heat over the weekend, with meteorologists warning that temperatures could climb as high as 45°C (113°F). It could turn into Greece’s hottest July weekend in 50 years. Meanwhile, firefighters are continuing to battle dozens of wildfires. [BBC]
Wildfire in Greece (Lotus R, CC-BY-SA 2.0)
¶ “Colombia’s Largest EV Seller Announces Alliance With CATL” • In Colombia, a set of quite specific circumstances ended up with the largest EV distributor being Auteco, a local motorcycle company. This year, Auteco created a business line devoted to EVs. Auteco’s EV line struck a deal with CATL to service all EVs with CATL batteries. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Self-Driving Truck Company Completes Successful Road Test In China” • The autonomous trucking company TuSimple has completed various entirely autonomous test drives on public roads in China. The company claims that this is actually the first time such a self-driving truck test was done without a human inside the truck. [CleanTechnica]
TuSimple Self Driving Truck
¶ “ACWA Power Inks MOU For 10 GW Of Wind Project in Egypt” • Global power developer ACWA Power signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Egyptian New and Renewable Energy Authority to develop 10 GW of windpower. Under the MOU, about 3,000 sq km of land near the city of Sohag will be alloted to ACWA for development. [Energy Capital & Power]
¶ “African Solar Panels Are Cost-Competitive With China” • Africa has only 1% of the world’s solar capacity, and about 600 million African people lack access to energy. But a report finds that solar module manufacturing in some African countries is “already cost competitive with equivalent manufacturing in China.” [Oil Price]
Solar array (Sungrow EMEA, Unsplash)
US:
¶ “Heat Can Kill On The Job, And These Workers Are Dying” • From California to Florida, a record heat wave has caused dozens of deaths, filled some hospitals, and prompted governments to warn to avoid long exposure to heat. OSHO is charged to protect workers, but it can do little or nothing if a boss orders workers to toil in the searing summer sun. [CNN]
¶ “Inflation, Interest Rates And Whales: Why Offshore Wind Projects Are On The Rocks” • The offshore wind energy is a hot-button issue, but the US only has seven turbines out at sea. Two larger farms expected to be completed this year, but for years, delays prevented the fledgling US offshore wind industry from taking off, and it’s still hitting snags. [CNN]
Offshore windpower (Jesse De Meulenaere, Unsplash)
¶ “New Jersey Sues Over New York City’s Congestion Pricing Plan” • New Jersey is suing to stop New York City’s landmark congestion price plan to charge drivers entering downtown Manhattan. New Jersey filed a lawsuit in federal court Friday against the US Department of Transportation, which gave final approval for New York City’s plan. [CNN]
¶ “Canoo Transporting NASA Astronauts” • Canoo delivered three Crew Transportation Vehicles to the Kennedy Space Center. Canoo said that the vehicles were intended to transport astronauts for Artemis lunar missions. It wrote, “The CTVs are engineered to carry fully suited astronauts, flight support crew, and equipment to the launch pad.” [CleanTechnica]
Canoo Crew Transportation Vehicle
¶ “Biden Unlocks Wind Power In Gulf Of Mexico” • Federal regulators announced the first sale of Gulf of Mexico offshore wind leases, opening sites off the coast of Texas. They could potentially power nearly 1.3 million homes. The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will auction off the lease sites on August 29. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “RWE Inks 300 MW Of PPAs For Dominion Energy Virginia’s Solar Power Supply” • RWE partnered with Dominion Energy Virginia, signing eight long-term Power Purchase Agreements for seven solar projects. Their combined capacity exceeds 300 MW. Dominion Energy remains committed to achieving net-zero GHG emissions by 2050. [SolarQuarter]
Have a wholly unproblematical day.
geoharvey 