Science and Technology:
¶ “MethaneSAT Will Pinpoint Methane Pollution In Real Time” • MethaneSAT, a satellite brought into being by a collaboration between dozens of scientists, researchers, and private companies, is in orbit, peering down at the Earth as it circles fifteen times a day. MethaneSAT is designed to identify the sources that leak polluting methane gas. [CleanTechnica]
MethaneSAT (Environmental Defense Fund image)
¶ “Geoengineering Rears Its Ugly Head” • Luke Iseman and Andrew Song want to save the Earth from becoming so hot humans can’t survive on it any longer. They formed a company called Make Sunsets to fill weather balloons with helium and sulfur dioxide, stuff volcanoes spew out, for geoengineering by stratospheric aerosol injection. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Dutton’s Nuclear Push A ‘Dumb Idea’ And Decades Too Late” • Peter Dutton wants to make Australia a nuclear powerhouse, but it may be decades too late to achieve that, an expert says. The Coalition’s new energy vision was outlined in an article in The Australian, where opposition energy spokesman Ted O’Brien said reactors of all sizes were of interes. [Crikey]
Nuclear danger sign (Kilian Karger, Unsplash)
World:
¶ “Mexico City Drought Causes Rainwater Catchment Basin To Catch Fire And Burn For A Day” • Mexico City’s drought and water shortage is so bad that one of its rainwater catchment basins caught fire, scorching 75 acres (30 hectares) of dried-up vegetation. The El Cristo basin is meant to hold excess water from storm drains. [ABC News]
¶ “UN Warns Of Climate Impact On Farms, Rural Households Run By Women In Poor Countries” • A report by the Food and Agriculture Organization, “The Unjust Climate,” found that rural households headed by women lose on average 8% more of their income during heat waves and 3% more during floods than those headed by men. [ABC News]
Women farming in Kenya (McKay Savage, CC-BY-SA 2.0, cropped)
¶ “Top Selling Electric Vehicles in the World, January 2024” • The Tesla Model Y is #1 again in the world EV market. Registrations were up 63% year over year in January, to over a million units. China’s market was the main driver of growth of plugin sales, though it was greatest in Thailand (+239% YOY), Turkey (+219%), and Brazil (+263%). [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Canadian Lithium Project Gets Mitsubishi Investment” • Mitsubishi Corp is partnering with Frontier Lithium on a lithium mine in Ontario. Part of this partnership is that it’s an effort to avoid challenges sourcing lithium from China. For its cars to be eligible for the full US EV tax credit, Mitsubishi can’t use EV battery minerals from China. [CleanTechnica]
Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV 2023 (Courtesy of Mitsubishi)
¶ “Clean Power Sends CO₂ Growth Back To Great Depression-Era Levels” • The world’s carbon dioxide emissions are rising at their slowest rate since the Great Depression thanks to a boom in clean energy, new figures show. The use of clean technology avoided vast quantities of CO₂ being produced, says the International Energy Agency. [The National]
¶ “Rad Power Bikes Reinforces Its Product Line For The Next Generation And Introduces Two New Models” • Rad Power Bikes introduced a host of foundational upgrades that improve the safety and quality of its bikes, including a new UL-certified Safe Shield battery, hydraulic brakes, turn signals, and brighter headlights. [CleanTechnica]
Rad Power Bikes Radster (Courtesy of Rad Power Bikes)
¶ “High-Risk Alert: Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant Danger Level At 7-8, Says Energoatom Head” • As the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant remains under occupation since March 4, 2022, Petro Kotin, head of Energoatom, Ukraine’s state nuclear company, raised the alarm over the escalating danger, marking it at 7-8 on a ten-point scale. [BNN Breaking]
US:
¶ “New Dodge Charger Flips The Script On Electric Vehicles” • Dodge introduced two new all-electric versions of its classic gas-guzzling Charger muscle car. The new Dodge Charger Daytona Scat Pack and Daytona R/T are billed as the first EVs to take on the challenging aspects of muscle car fandom including noise, noise, and more noise. [CleanTechnica] (What‽)
Dodge Charger Daytona models (Courtesy of Stellantis)
¶ “Yotta Energy Is Disrupting Energy Storage With Its Modular Rooftop Storage Solution” • The core of Yotta’s technology is a compact sealed lithium iron phosphate energy storage system that is designed not to need any external coolant and nests directly under a rooftop solar panel, allowing an integrated installation at the panel. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “US Adds Record-Breaking 32 GW Of Solar In 2023” • The US installed a record-breaking 32 GW of solar in 2023, during the first full year of the Inflation Reduction Act. The utility-scale sector added 22.5 GW of new capacity, while nearly 800,000 Americans added solar to their homes, according to the US Solar Market Insight 2023 Year-in-Review. [reNews]
Solar farm (EDF Renewables image)
¶ “Solar Hits A Renewable Energy Milestone Not Seen Since WWII” • Solar accounted for most of the capacity the nation added to its electric grids last year. That feat marks the first time since World War II, when hydropower was booming, that a renewable power source has comprised more than half of the nation’s energy additions. [Grist]
¶ “Blocking Renewable Energy Is A Top State Legislative Priority For Network Of Pro-Fossil Fuels Think Tanks” • The State Policy Network announced on its website last month that it will focus on working with state lawmakers to prevent states from adopting wind and solar power in 2024. SPN’s donors include fossil fuel interests. [Energy and Policy Institute]
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