Opinion:
¶ “Those Denying Climate Crisis Ignore that Moderate Climate Migration Is Freaking Them Out” • Sadly, climate disruption is going to get worse and worse in coming years. More and more people will desperately leave their homes due to drought, floods, bigger and more damaging hurricanes, and crop disruption. How are we going to deal with that? [CleanTechnica]
Temperature anomaly (Courtesy of Earth Observatory, NASA)
¶ “Arizona Needs All The Power It Can Find” • This month, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs and New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham called for more interstate cooperation to ensure a robust and flexible power grid. When one area is experiencing extreme heat or a plant failure, other areas can quickly support the increased need. [The Arizona Republic]
Science and Technology:
¶ “New Silicon EV Battery From CalTech Spinoff Is The Best Thing Ever” • Sienza Energy, a spinoff from CalTech, has come up with a silicon EV battery that does away with cobalt, a mineral that is baggage-laden but once thought essential for EV energy storage. The secret is a nanoscale structure that delivers on cost, performance, and safety. [CleanTechnica]
Nanostructure (Courtesy of Sienza Energy)
World:
¶ “Wildfires Rage In Western Turkey For A Third Straight Day, Exacerbated By Windy And Dry Weather” • Wildfires raged across western Turkey for a third straight day, worsened by high winds and warm temperatures, authorities said. Over 130 fires broke out across the country in the past week, though most have been brought under control. [ABC News]
¶ “EVs Are Starting To Overtake Gas-Powered Cars In A Place That’s Surprising” • There are around 100,000 EVs in Ethiopia, and the government estimates the number will quadruple at least by 2032. That’s largely because the national government took the extraordinary step earlier this year of banning the import of all gas-powered passenger vehicles. [CNN]
Adis Ababba (Hawi Getachew, Unsplash)
¶ “Commbank Follows Super Funds In Curbing Investment In Fossil Fuels” • Commonwealth Bank will no longer lend to fossil fuel companies without emissions plans that are genuine. “Until today’s announcement, I would have considered these as ‘just words.’ But it appears that the bank is prepared to put its money where its mouth is.” [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Twenty Years Of Policy Initiatives By China Have Created A Manufacturing And Technology Colossus” • A recent article in the New York Times shines a light on how China has been able to dominate battery and electric car production. Beijing’s challenge to US technological leadership can be seen in China’s classrooms and corporate budgets. [CleanTechnica]
Shanghai (Denys Nevozhai, Unsplash, cropped)
¶ “Masdar To Help Power Up Egypt With 200-MW Wind Project” • Egypt has partnered with a consortium led by Infinity Power and the UAE’s Masdar to build a 200-MW wind power plant in the Gulf of Suez. The consortium, comprising Egypt’s Infinity Group and UAE-based Masdar, will develop, finance, and operate the onshore wind project. [Gulf Business]
¶ “Supreme Court Grants India’s States Power To Tax Mining Operations, Retrospectively From 2005” • A full bench of India’s Supreme Court has ruled the states have the right to levy taxes on mining operations. The court made the ruling retrospective from 2005, opening up a Pandora’s box of fresh costs for mining companies. [The New Indian Express]
Coal mine in West Bengal (Choti hussain, CC-BY-SA 4.0)
¶ “Safety Deteriorating At Ukraine Nuclear Plant After Nearby Drone Strike, UN Watchdog Says” • The UN’s nuclear watchdog warned the safety situation at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant was “deteriorating” following a nearby drone strike. The plant, which was seized by Russia’s forces early in the war, has come under repeated attacks. [MSN]
US:
¶ “Drought In US West Has Cost Hydropower Industry Billions In Losses” • Two decades of persistent drought in the West has limited the amount of electricity hydropower dams can generate, costing the industry and the region billions in revenue. Drought cost the sector about 300 million MWh of power generation between 2003 and 2020. [CleanTechnica]
Lake Oroville on October 28, 2021 (Andrew Innerarity, CDWR)
¶ “One hundred Attendees Treated For Heat-Related Illness, Ten Hospitalized At Colorado Air Show” • At least ten people were hospitalized and a hundred others were treated for heat-related illness at a sold-out airshow in Colorado on Saturday, officials said. Some 30,000 people were expected to attend the two-day Pikes Peak Air Show in 96°F heat. [ABC News]
¶ “Senator Markey Says It Makes No Sense To Cede Our Clean Energy Future To China” • Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) has promoted US climate action for much of his long career. Part of that work is to keep track of renewable energy projects, wherever they be. “Economically, it makes no sense to just cede the future to China,” Markey argues. [CleanTechnica]
Senator Ed Markey (Karen Smith Murphy, CC-BY-ND 2.0)
¶ “California Legislative Committee Gives Green Light To EV Battery Recycling Bill” • Proposed legislation in California to ensure the responsible recycling of batteries once EVs retire was approved by the Assembly Committee on Appropriations. Senate Bill 615 would require EV makers to make sure that the batteries are ultimately recycled. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Federal Funds To Help Fuel ‘Next-Gen’ Wyoming Nuclear Plant” • TerraPower aims to have the $4 billion project operating by 2030. This project and others are getting federal boosts from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, which provide billions of dollars for clean-energy projects with various incentives. [Kiowa County Press]
Have a quietly celebratory day.
geoharvey 