Opinion:
¶ “What’s A Fair Tax On EV Drivers? It’s Debatable, But Texas Is Definitely Gouging Us” • Road construction and maintenance is largely funded by gasoline taxes, so a car that uses no gasoline is not paying its fair share of costs. In Texas, a one-time $400 fee when an EV is purchased plus an annual $200 fee going forward covers this – and then some. [CleanTechnica]
Road work (Robert Linder, Unsplash, cropped)
Science and Technology:
¶ “Songbirds In The Hot Seat As Climate Change Impacts Alarm Calls” • An international study predicted that high temperatures caused by climate change will impact the ability of the common songbirds great tits (Parus major) to sound the alarm and scare off predators, potentially impacting the species future. The birds are sensitive to heat. [The University of Western Australia]
¶ “The Race Is On To Tap A Source Of Clean Energy Beneath Our Feet” • Hot, dry rocks lie below the surface everywhere on the planet. And by using advanced drilling techniques developed by the oil and gas industry, some experts think it’s possible to tap that larger store of heat and create geothermal energy almost anywhere. [The Japan Times]
Monkey in a hot spring (Steven Diaz, Unsplash)
World:
¶ “Kia Announces Efforts To Clean Up Oceans And Better Inform The Public About EVs” • Recent press releases from Kia tell two stories of the company’s environmental work. Kia is supporting efforts to remove plastics and other garbage from the ocean, and has an upcoming event it’s attending to help educate the public about EVs. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Fisker Expands In Canada And Three European Countries, Showing It Understands The Truck Market” • Three different stories about Fisker give us a look into the company’s plans for global expansion, and we also see that the company “gets it” when it comes to the Alaska truck (which should be a good seller in the States). [CleanTechnica]
Fisker Ocean Force E (Fisker image)
¶ “Government Greenlights Plans To Build A Massive, $700 Million ‘Water Battery’ That Will Help Prevent Power Outages” • The energy company Drax Group has the Scottish government’s go-ahead to build a £500 million ($634 million) “water battery.” The pumped storage hydro plant is part of a plan to strengthen the UK’s power grid. [Yahoo News]
¶ “Newfoundland Picks Four Wind Projects To Power Hydrogen Plants” • Canada’s gusty Atlantic province of Newfoundland and Labrador selected four companies to develop wind farms to supply power for new hydrogen plants, conditional on further approvals. They would help Canada fulfill a pledge to supply green hydrogen to Germany by 2025. [Reuters]
Houses in Newfoundland (Erik Mclean, Unsplash)
US:
¶ “Deadly Tropical Storm Idalia Floods Parts Of South Carolina After Pummeling Florida” • Idalia weakened to a tropical storm as it dumped heavy rain, unleashed strong winds and knocked out power in parts of southern Georgia and the Carolinas, just hours after pummeling Florida’s west coast and inundating communities there with floodwater. [CNN]
¶ “The Ways Hurricane Idalia Made History” • Hurricane Idalia made history, proving to be a once-in-a-lifetime storm for parts of Florida. After rapid intensification over warm Gulf waters, it was the most powerful hurricane to make landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region in more than 125 years. And it set records for storm surge from Tampa to the Big Bend. [CNN]
Flooding from Hurricane Idalia (Andrew Heneen, CC-BY-SA 4.0)
¶ “TEMPO Instrument Captures Its First Images Of Air Pollution Over Greater North America” • The first images, collected once per hour over a six-hour time window August 2, give a preview of TEMPO’s ability to track nitrogen dioxide on an hourly basis in geographic areas as small as four square miles, about the size of the National Mall in Washington, DC. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Hope In Michigan: One Policy, Big Impact” • The Michigan legislature appears to be pursuing a clean energy standard that requires 60% of utility electricity be from renewable or nuclear energy by 2030, and 100% by 2035. This is more ambitious than what was first proposed, and Governor Gretchen Whitmer said she will support that effort. [CleanTechnica]
Marquette, Michigan (Gary Meulemans, Unsplash)
¶ “Motiv Power Systems Introduces New Electric Truck Series” • California-based Motiv Power Systems introduced the its Argo Series electric trucks. They can be used for various applications, such as shuttle buses, box trucks, step vans, and refrigerated vehicles. Motiv Power Systems CEO Tim Krauskopf provided some insights. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Alliant Energy Reports Over 50% Of Energy From Renewable Sources” • Alliant Energy, the third-largest windpower operator in the US, increased production by 25% from 2021 levels. Its Iowa utility increased the share of renewable energy to its customers by double digits, raising the percentage of renewable energy for retail customers to 52.7%. [Corridor Business Journal]
Iowa wind turbines (Drew Hays, Unsplash)
¶ “Hochul Inks Indian Point Bill But Radiological Waste Debate Rages On” • The owners of the shuttered Indian Point nuclear plant planned to dump a million gallons of radiological water into the Hudson River. State Senator Pete Harckham introduced a bill to make such a discharge illegal. Now the bill is passed, and Governor Hochul has signed it into law. [Yahoo News]
¶ “Xcel Energy Seeks License Extension For Monticello Nuclear Plant” • The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission granted Xcel Energy approval to extend operations of the Monticello nuclear plant through 2040, increasing the storage of spent nuclear fuel at the site. The utility is also asking the NRC to extend the plant’s license. [Power Engineering]
Have a reassuringly fulfilling day.
geoharvey 