Opinion:
¶ “Fossil Fuels: Can Humanity Really Kick Its Addiction?” • The unprecedented productivity of the industrial world means most of us enjoy prosperity and health our grandparents would find astonishing. Our hunting and gathering ancestors got by on the equivalent of 277 kWh of energy a year. The average American uses 50 times that now. [BBC]
Lighting America (NASA, Unsplash)
¶ “1.8 Million Barrels Of Oil A Day Avoided From EVs” • BNEF estimates that EVs currently prevent 112 million metric tons of CO₂ emissions per year. Shockingly, almost twice as many barrels of oil are not burnt each day because of electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers than because of electric passenger cars, trucks, and SUVs! [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Four East African Countries Are Going For Nuclear Power – Why This Is A Bad Idea” • East Africa has the fastest growing population in Africa, and this leads to a higher electricity demand. It is in many ways tempting for these countries to pursue a nuclear power plant build. But there are several risks of choosing the nuclear path.[Tech Xplore]
Nuclear plant (Jametlene Reskp, Unsplash)
Science and Technology:
¶ “Floating Offshore Wind Turbines Keep Getting Weirder (And That’s A Good Thing)” • Floating offshore wind turbines can be located in waters too deep for conventional turbines. US startup T-Omega Wind has come up with a novel floating turbine design that could open the door for new wind farms, while cutting costs to the bone. [CleanTechnica]
COP28:
¶ “Extinction Rebellion Climate Activists Dye Venice’s Grand Canal Green In COP 28 Protest” • Climate activists in Extinction Rebellion claimed responsibility for dumping a chemical dye into its historical Grand Canal and turning it fluorescent green under a protest banner that read: “While the government speaks, we hang by a thread.”[CNN]
Grand Canal (Christian Holzinger, Unsplash)
¶ “Coalition Opposes Australia Tripling Renewable Energy, Backs Nuclear Power Pledge At COP28” • The federal Coalition has declared at the Cop28 climate summit that it will back a global pledge to triple nuclear energy if the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, becomes prime minister, but will not support Australia tripling its renewable energy. [The Guardian]
¶ “We Really Could Triple Renewables By 2030, But It Won’t Be A Breeze” • In the past week almost 120 global leaders have pledged to triple the world’s renewable energy capacity before 2030. That is an “ambitious yet achievable goal”, according to the International Energy Agency. Nevertheless, it is not going to be an easy goal. [The Guardian]
Renewable energy (Mark König, Unsplash)
World:
¶ “Sales Of Gas-Powered Sports Cars Surge Before Automakers Go Electric” • It took less than six weeks for French automaker Bugatti to sell all 99 units of the Mistral, a $5 million roadster built with a hell-raising 16-cylinder engine. Maybe it was the allure of an open-top hypercar. Or maybe it was the news that Bugatti is going electric. [ABC News]
¶ “Bear Attacks In Japan Are At A Record High. Climate Change And An Aging Population Are Making The Problem Worse” • In Japan, experts say bears are increasingly venturing out of their traditional habitats and into urban areas in search of food. Some suggest this is because climate change is interfering with some of the animals’ traditional sources of food. [CNN]
Bear (Zdeněk Macháček, Unsplash)
¶ “EV Sales Growing Faster Than Expected” • Electric vehicle sales continue to grow faster than most people expected, even faster than professional analysts in the field expected, and very surprisingly, they have grown much faster than oil companies forecasted. That’s one of the big takeaways from BNEF’s latest Zero-Emission Vehicles Factbook. [CleanTechnica]
US:
¶ “Massachusetts Decides To Move Away From Natural Gas For Residential Use” • Massachusetts is the first US state to begin phasing out natural gas as a residential heating source. Also, the state’s Department of Public Utilities rejected arguments from utilities and the gas industry that proposed the use of “renewable natural gas” and hydrogen. [CleanTechnica]
Massachusetts home (todd kent, Unsplash)
¶ “Ford And Resideo Partner To Show How EVs And Homes Can Work Together” • Ford and Resideo Technologies unveiled their joint project, the “EV-Home Power Partnership.” This simulation initiative will look at vehicle-to-home energy management. The companies will explore the potential of EV batteries to help with home energy usage. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “New York City Makes 8,500 Acres Of Parking Lots Eligible For Solar Canopy Development” • The New York City council passed a zoning initiative it calls the “City of Yes for Carbon Neutrality.” It says the initiative will move the city toward more equitable and sustainable living landmark legislation that relaxes restrictions on solar developments. [CleanTechnica]
Have an altogether admirable day.
geoharvey 