Opinion:
¶ “Red States, Do You Know That You’ve Benefited More From Climate Funding Than Blue States?” • Four-fifths of all the clean energy investments under the Inflation Reduction Act have gone to districts held by House Republicans, but every one of them voted last spring to repeal the incentives that encouraged those investments. [CleanTechnica]
Sign at project (Retrieved from Twitter)
Science and Technology:
¶ “Recycling Revival: Creative Problem-Solving For EV Battery Recycling” • Automated disassembly batteries is safer than simply shredding them, and it improves the quality and value of extracted materials such as copper and aluminum. “We like to talk about recovering the value instead of recycling,” said ORNL researcher Jonathan Harter. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Microalgae Vs Mercury” • In the search for ways to fight the methylmercury in global waterways, scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory discovered that some phytoplankton, forms of microalgae, are good at degrading the potent neurotoxin. The mechanism can be used to improve the prediction and accuracy of mercury-cycling models. [CleanTechnica]
Chlorella vulgaris (ORNL, US DOE)
World:
¶ “July Hit A Crucial Warming Threshold That Scientists Have Warned The World Should Stay Under” • The world got its first preview last month of what summer will be like at 1.5 degrees of global warming – a threshold that scientists warn the planet should stay under, yet one that it has flown increasingly close to in recent years. [CNN]
¶ “Amazon Nations Fall Short Of Agreement On A Goal To End Deforestation” • The eight countries that share the Amazon basin have fallen short of an agreed goal to end deforestation. At their first summit in fourteen years, they issued a joint declaration that created an alliance to combat deforestation, but it left the details of actions up to individual countries. [BBC]
Deforested area of Brazil (Ibama, CC-BY-SA 2.0)
¶ “New Zealand Is Partnering With Blackrock In Aim To Reach 100% Renewable Electricity” • New Zealand’s government said it will partner with US investment giant BlackRock in its aim to become one of the first nations to have its electricity grid run entirely from renewable energy. It is helping BlackRock launch a $1.2 billion investment fund. [PBS]
¶ “Why Renewable Energy Has The Potential To Power The Philippines’ Future” • The Philippines is facing the threat of an energy crisis. One sources of natural gas supplies a third of the power used by Luzon. It is expected to run dry by 2027, and the pressure is on the archipelagic nation to shift its reliance to renewable sources of energy. [Eco-Business]
Rural Luzon (AR, Unsplash, cropped)
¶ “China Accused Of ‘Hypocrisy’ As Japan Is Set To Release Fukushima Wastewater” • China has criticized Japan’s plans to release radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, and it imposed restrictions on Japanese seafood imports. But nuclear plants across the world, including China, dump tritium into the sea constantly. [VOA News]
¶ “Queensland Halfway To Achieving 2030 Renewable Energy Target” • Queensland is on track to beat its renewable energy target of 50% renewable energy by 2030. With the Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan in full swing, it’s expected the Sunshine State will connect a further 682 MW of new clean generation before the end of 2023. [pv magazine Australia]
Queensland (Carole Mackinney, Free Art License, cropped)
US:
¶ “NREL Workshop Hosts Experts To Envision Tomorrow’s Sustainable Mobility Systems” • Which energy-efficient mobility strategies will get us to the finish line in time? That question was the focus of a two-day workshop hosted by NREL, where thought leaders from industry, government, and academia discussed the challenges and opportunities. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “GM Unveils New Vehicle-To-Home EV Charging, But What About The Bolt?” • Bidirectional EV charging provides electricity ratepayers with more flexibility to coordinate their power needs at home with time-of-day discounts. It can mean that a vehicle can be used as an emergency home generator. GM is releasing it. But where is the Chevy Bolt? [CleanTechnica]
Bidirectional EV charging (Courtesy of GM, via email)
¶ “San Diego Launches Instant Permit Program For Residential Solar Projects” • San Diego launched an instant permit program for residential solar projects. The program, which is mandated by a state bill, allows residents to apply for solar and battery storage building permits for their home online and instantly receive approved paperwork. [FOX 5 San Diego]
¶ “This Group Of Former Coal Workers Just Did Something That’s Never Been Done Before In The US” • The first unionized fossil fuel workers are switching to offshore wind. New York’s Ravenswood Generating Station generates 2,480 MW, 20% of New York City’s electricity, using oil and natural gas. The plant is to replace 1,400 MW with offshore wind. [Yahoo News]
Ravenswood Generating Station (Taraqur Rahman, Unsplash)
¶ “US May Phase In Hydrogen Tax Credit In A Bid To Balance Industry, Activists” • John Podesta, a top climate adviser to President Biden, signaled the administration could phase in some requirements for a valuable new hydrogen tax credit in a bid to nurture an industry critical to decarbonizing industrial operations. [The Portland Press Herald]
¶ “Governor Newsom Announces New Strategy To Develop A Hydrogen Economy Of The Future” • Governor Gavin Newsom directed his Office of Business and Economic Development to develop California’s Hydrogen Market Development Strategy, with an all-of-government approach to building up a clean, renewable hydrogen market. [Gavin Newsom]
Have a generously empowered day.
geoharvey 