World:
¶ “Climate Solutions That Can Spread Fast? Scientists Outline A Strategy To Tip The System” • An international research group has a new method to identify “positive tipping points,” when small shifts in behaviour, technology or policy could lead to sweeping, self-sustaining climate progress. Their proposed plan is described in Sustainability Science. [Euronews]
Helping hand (Neil Thomas, Unsplash)
¶ “Wildfires Rage Across Southern Europe Amid Record Heat” • Firefighters battle wildfires across southern Europe as extreme heat grips the region with record temperatures. In the Aude region of southern France, approximately 1,400 firefighters were deployed on Saturday to prevent the country’s largest wildfire in decades from reigniting. [Euronews]
¶ “Lyft And Apollo Go to Go After Europe” • Baidu, the parent company of Apollo Go, has done a pretty good job of expanding its robotaxi services in China and beyond in recent years. Apollo Go keeps rolling out robotaxis into new markets. Now, Apollo Go will reportedly launch robotaxi services in Europe in 2026 via the Lyft network. [CleanTechnica]
Apollo Go robotaxi (Apollo Go image)
¶ “Ireland In Need Of Wind And Solar Farms As Coal-Burning Era Ends” • Ireland’s 40-year-long era of using coal to generate electricity came to an end in June, when ESB announced it had ceased burning coal at its Moneypoint power station in County Clare. That was six months ahead of schedule. Renewable energy is growing, but much more is needed. [RTE.ie]
¶ “China’s EVs: Racing From 50% To 80% New Sales In Record Time” • In 2025, battery electric and plug-in hybrid cars will account for roughly half of all new sales in China, a level the central government had not expected to see until the mid-2030s. One question now is how quickly China will move through the remaining adoption thresholds. [CleanTechnica]
EV by BYD (Tiago Ferreira, Unsplash)
¶ “Report finds staggering statistics about performance of newly commissioned energy projects” • A July report by IRENA clearly underscores the cost-effectiveness of renewable energy projects. There were 582 GW added, and onshore wind projects were 53% cheaper than the lowest-priced fossil-fuel alternatives. Solar projects were 41% cheaper. [The Cool Down]
¶ “BYD EV Struck By Lightning Holds Up Fine ” • A BYD electric car was recently struck by lightning, three times, while it was in motion. There was driver in the car at the time. The good news is that the driver and the car were fine, with only minimal damage. A mechanic inspected the battery, motor, and electronic contols and found nothing wrong. [CleanTechnica]
BYD EV lightning strike (Image via CleanTechnica)
¶ “Iraq Targets 12,000 MW Of Renewable Energy Output By 2030” • Iraq aims to produce 12 GW from renewable sources, including solar, wind, and waste-to-energy, between 2025 and 2030, according to Mueyed Hassan Radhi, head of renewable energy system designs at the Scientific Research Authority of the Ministry of Higher Education. [964media]
¶ “High Temperatures To Affect Nuclear Power Production In South West France” • High water temperatures are expected to affect electricity production on the Garonne river, from August 12, particularly at the 2.6-GW Golfech nuclear plant, nuclear operator EDF said in a notice. The high temperatures are also expected to affect other plants. [MSN]
Golfech nuclear plant (John Seb Barber, CC BY 2.0)
US:
¶ “Meet The Native American Tribe That Beat The Trump Administration In Court” • Less than two months ago, the Miccosukee first heard rumors that the largely abandoned airport on the outskirts of their reservation was being made into the detention complex called “Alligator Alcatraz.” For now, at least, they have brought it to a stop. [ABC News]
¶ “New Study Shows How Climate Change Is Driving Wildfire Season To Start Earlier In California” • Fire season is expanding in California, with an earlier start to wildfire activity in most of the state. In parts of the northern mountains, the season is now starting more than 10 weeks earlier than it did in the 1990s, a study shows. [PBS]
Wildfire in California (BLM image via Wikimedia Commons)
¶ “Tesla Dissolves Its Dojo Supercomputer Team Amid A Talent Exodus” • Tesla is dissolving the team that was developing its Dojo supercomputer, according to Bloomberg. The change marks a notable shift away from using in-house technology to train the AI models powering Tesla’s self-driving features and its Optimus humanoid robot. [MSN]
¶ “Northwestern University Study Finds Grid Congestion Is Key Obstacle To EV Emissions Reduction” • Even with sufficient renewable energy, simply switching from cars powered by fossil fuels to EVs won’t be enough to fight climate change unless the US also upgrades its transmission grid, according to a study from Northwestern University. [Green Car Congress]
Have a luminously lovely day.
geoharvey 
Leave a comment