Opinion:
¶ “Act Urgently On Food Security, Climate Change” • With each passing year, farmers find it more difficult to predict growing seasons, with unpredictable rainfall threatening both crops and livestock. The effects of climate change further extend to the oceans, where even fishermen say they find fewer fish. We must urgently find solutions. [The Standard]
Smallholder farmers in Kenya (McKay Savage, CC-BY-SA 2.0)
Science and Technology:
¶ “Ordinary Driving Adds Life To EV Batteries (It’s Official!)” • Estimating the lifespan of EV batteries is a tricky but essential task to make the sustainability case for EVs. Recent studies reveal that batteries last longer than expected when real-world driving conditions are applied, along with some recent improvements in battery technology. [CleanTechnica]
World:
¶ “Reviving Lakebeds Show The Value of Water Conservation” • Clean technology isn’t just about technologies like solar panels and batteries. Sometimes, reducing our negative impacts on the landscape is as simple as doing less of something or growing crops differently. When we take too much water from the earth, the impacts can be devastating. [CleanTechnica]
Great Salt Lake (Ccmdav, public domain)
¶ “Car & General Launches Dealership In Kitui For Tuk-Tuks And Motorcycles” • Car & General launched a dealership in Kitui, Kenya. Salaba Holdings will retail the company’s Piaggio three-wheelers and TVS motorcycles as well as offer service and parts. Kitui is 162 km east of Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi, and about 435 km from Mombasa. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “China-Greece Wind Power Collaboration Boosts Renewable Energy Transition” • According to the Greek government’s revised National Energy and Climate Plan, renewable energy is projected to account for 75% of electricity generation by 2030, increasing further to 95% by 2035. China has been remarkably helpful for Greece. [China Daily]
Wind turbines in northern Greece (Annatsach, CC-BY-SA 4.0)
¶ “Climate Barometer: How Renewable Energy Is Saving Irish Consumers Billions” • A study entitled “Good for your Pocket: How renewable energy helps Irish electricity consumers,” was published by Baringa Management Consulting. It found that scaling up renewable energy sources since 2000 has cut Irish spending on fossil fuels by €7.4 billion. [The Times]
¶ “The Middle East Is Bracing For A Solar Energy Boom” • With abundant sunlight available to produce vast amounts of clean energy, several countries across the Middle East are investing in giant solar power projects. From Oman and Saudi Arabia to the UAE and Qatar, the future of Middle East energy is appearing increasingly green. [OilPrice.com]
Solar panels in a desert (Dennis Schroeder, NREL, public domain)
US:
¶ “Southern California Is About To Get Soaked – The Good And The Potentially Bad” • The Los Angeles area is preparing for its first rain since wildfires first broke out weeks ago. That’s good news to help dampen the still-active fires and soils, but if it’s too much rain at once, it could bring its own set of significant issues, including a risk of debris flows. [ABC News]
¶ “As Schools In LA Reopen, Parents Worry About Harmful Ash From Wildfires” • Los Angeles school officials say staff are hard at work to make sure schools are clean and safe, and they are sure of their decision to open. But some parents feel the school is in a rush. Some urge officials to relocate temporarily, and others want to transfer students elsewhere. [ABC News]
Palisades fire from space (GOES-18, public domain)
¶ “Tesla, Ford, And Chevrolet Lead US EV Sales” • US electric vehicle sales increased 15% in the 4th quarter of 2024 over the 4th quarter of 2023. It was pretty good growth for the EV market. The Tesla Model Y and Tesla Model 3 continue to dominate US EV sales. Even if sales are down, no other models are catching them anytime soon. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “US Auto Industry In Turmoil After First Week Of Trump 2” • One of the Trump executive orders, titled “Terminate the Green New Deal,” goes after programs that support building out the US EV charging infrastructure. Now the American auto industry is faced with the new realities of Trump 2 as it tries to figure out where to go from here. [CleanTechnica]
GM EV and EVgo fast charging stall (Image from EVgo)
¶ “More Bright Green, Clean Energy For A Deep Red State” • When President Biden left office, he left a lot of federally funded cleantech factories and green energy projects, with funds going largely to Trump-voting states. Ironically, Trump plans to undo funding of those actories and projects in favor of fossil fuels. So, where does that leave Idaho? [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Nuclear Stocks Soar On Stargate AI Announcement” • Nuclear stocks are rising after President Donald Trump announced a $500 billion joint venture with Oracle Corp, OpenAI, and SoftBank to build AI infrastructure in the US. The companies pledged to commit $100 billion to start, and as much as $500 billion over the next four years. [OilPrice.com]
Have an incomparably enjoyable day.
geoharvey 
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