Opinion:
¶ “Mitigation And Adaptive Actions Are Working, But Climate Threats Continue To Intensify” • The Fifth National Climate Assessment shows a decline in US greenhouse gas emissions even as the population and GDP have grown. But even with ambitious climate action underway, every region of the US is having greater climate threats and impacts. [CleanTechnica]
Climate impact (Soliman Cifuentes, Unsplash)
World:
¶ “At Talks On Cutting Plastics, Plastics Credits Are On The Table. What Are They?” • Two groups that want reduced plastics production, Break Free From Plastic and the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, published a report highly critical of plastics credits, calling them a flawed tool that won’t help with worldwide pollution. [ABC News]
¶ “There Is A Silent Revolution Happening In Africa” • Africa is home to over 50 countries and more than 1.3 billion people. A lot of exciting things happen on the continent, and a lot of them just fly under the radar or don’t get a lot of attention. An example is an increasing number of electric scooters and bikes in Harare, Zimbabwe. [CleanTechnica]
Electric motorcycle (Ather Energy, Unsplash)
¶ “Ghana Waives Import Duties On Electric Vehicles For 8 Years Starting 2024” • Ghana’s Minister for Finance and Economic Planning presented the 2024 Budget Speech. In that speech, some great incentives for electric vehicles were announced. Two incentives were wavers of import duties for public transportation EVs and knocked-down EVs. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Hydrogen Aircraft Brings Low Emissions Flight To The Skies” • Australian Government funding is helping startup AMSL Aero to develop a new hydrogen-powered aircraft named Vertiia. The Sydney business received $5.43 million under the Australian Renewable Energy Agency’s Advancing Renewables Program after a prototype was developed. [energy.gov.au]
Vertiia by AMSL Aero (AMSL Aero image)
¶ “The Latest Tory Worry: China’s Grip On Solar Power” • The UK’s Hawkish Conservative MPs spooked by China’s influence in the UK have a new worry: solar power. China controls 80% of the global solar manufacturing market, including both finished solar panels and the raw materials needed to build them. But the UK wants to expand use of solar power. [POLITICO.eu]
¶ “UK Government Announces It Will Increase Maximum Price Paid For Renewable Power” • The UK Government announced it will increase the maximum price that renewable assets may be paid for power under the Contracts for Difference regime. The administrative strike price for the sixth CFD allocation round will rise by 30%. [Renewable Energy Magazine]
Offshore windfarm (Pete Godfrey, Unsplash)
¶ “Kyiv Blames Partial Shutdown At Zaporizhzhya NPP On Russian ‘Gross Incompetence’” • Incompetent actions taken by the Russian occupation administration led to a partial blackout at Zaporizhzhya NPP, Ukraine’s state nuclear operator Energoatom said on November 16. The Energoatom report was confirmed by information from the IAEA inspectors. [Yahoo News]
US:
¶ “Florida Flooding Closes Schools, Knocks Out Power” • More than 80,000 customers were without power in Florida Thursday morning after torrential rain and winds topping 65 mph. Parts of South Florida, near Key Largo, recorded more than a foot of rain in the past 24 hours. Miami saw a whopping 7.53 inches of rain, setting a new daily record. [ABC News]
Flooding in Florida (Wade Austin Ellis, Unsplash, cropped)
¶ “Fire Prone California Homeowners Left Behind As Insurance Companies Drop Coverage” • As climate change continues to cause disasters across the country, such companies as Farmers, Allstate, USAA, and State Farm have limited any new business in California. Many top home insurers in that state have increased premiums, some by nearly 10 times. [ABC News]
¶ “The 2024 Fuel Economy Guide Can Help You Choose Your Next Fuel-Efficient Vehicle” • To help make choosing a vehicle easier, the US DOE and EPA released the 2024 Fuel Economy Guide. Using it makes comparing vehicles easy, with detailed fuel economy and annual fuel cost estimates for model year 2024 light-duty vehicles for sale in the US. [CleanTechnica]
EV charging (myenergi, Unsplash)
¶ “Report Charts the Path to an American-Made Energy Storage Future” • The Solar Energy Industries Association has released a report addressing the barriers to building a robust energy storage manufacturing sector in the US, including cost competitiveness, access to raw materials, technical expertise, and the need for a large, diverse workforce. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “$3.5 Billion to Strengthen US Battery Manufacturing” • Two years after President Biden signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the US DOE announced up to $3.5 billion from the law to boost domestic production of advanced batteries and battery materials in the US. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law supports a policy of net-zero emissions by 2050. [CleanTechnica]
Battery storage (Z22, CC-BY-SA 4.0, cropped)
¶ “Jefferson County Commissioners Sign Tax Deal With Solar Power Company” • In Ohio, the Jefferson County commissioners signaled their approval of a 43-MW solar generation facility on a reclaimed strip mine in Steubenville, signing an agreement that will guarantee payments of at least $300,000 a year for the next 35 years. [The Herald Star]
¶ “100% Renewable Energy By 2035 Is Ambitious But LA Is On Track” • If you live in the City of Los Angeles, every time you turn on your AC or flip a light switch, the power you’re using comes from the LA Department of Water and Power. They plan to provide all of it without a drop of gas or an ounce of coal by 2035, just energy from renewables. [KCRW]
Have an acceptably ideal day.
geoharvey 