World:
¶ “Europe’s Fertilizer Crisis: Prices Surge Due To Iran War And Dependence On Russia” • The fertilizer market is facing a double crisis. The Iran war is driving up prices, as the Strait of Hormuz is blocked. At the same time it is becoming clear how dependent Europe still is on Russian supplies. Fertiliser markets are under pressure at the moment it is needed. [Euronews]
German tractor (Timur Valiev, Unsplash, cropped)
¶ “Brent Crude Oil Briefly Crosses $119 After Iran Hit Largest Qatari Energy Site” • The Iran war has seemingly escalated, with major oil and gas facilities being targeted by both sides. Brent crude oil traded briefly above $119 a barrel after Iran struck the largest energy site in Qatar after Israeli strikes against the Iranian South Pars gas field. [Euronews]
¶ “Europe And Japan Signal Readiness To Secure Hormuz As Tanker Traffic Resumes Selectively” • European nations and Japan have said they are ready to support efforts to improve security in the Strait of Hormuz, as the US-Israeli war with Iran continues to disrupt shipping, without a concrete military role being outlined. [Euronews]
USS Bataan in the Strait of Hormuz
(QM1 Thomas E. Dowling, US Navy, cropped)
¶ “Cadillac Is Entering Brazil With Three Electric SUVs” • South America is starting to electrify passenger vehicles. Battery EVs account for nearly 5% of Brazil’s auto sales, and plugin vehicles overall account for nearly 10%. They were below 1% not long ago. Chinese EVs are highly competitive, and they are opening up the market, led by BYD of course. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Commission To Revise ETS Within Days” • Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said the EU Executive is preparing four measures to update the emissions trading system, its primary driver of clean investment, and make it “more flexible” in light of global energy price spikes resulting from the conflict in the Middle East. [reNews]
Ursula von der Leyen (European Commission image)
¶ “GWEC Urges ‘Faster Wind Rollout After Crisis'” • The Global Wind Energy Council called on governments to put construction and grid connection of wind and renewable energy projects on a fast track after the Strait of Hormuz was closed. GWEC said a number of countries have announced plans to accelerate wind and renewable energy deployment. [reNews]
¶ “Work Begins On Solar Power Supply At Chernobyl” • Initial work has begun for installing solar panels which the operators of the Chernobyl plant site say will help meet energy needs if its external power is lost. The international tender for the 2-MW capacity solar power plant was won by Ukrainian company Solar Steel Construction. [World Nuclear News]
Solar panels (Mariana Proença, Unsplash)
¶ “Risks Of Nuclear Power Plant Disasters Are Overlooked Amid Fears Of Nuclear Weapons” • While we consider the dangers of nuclear weapons and their capacity to cause massive destruction, we often overlook the risks associated with what still passes for “peaceful” nuclear power. So let’s revisit a moment when that reality should have been clear. [Truthout]
US:
¶ “Dangerous, Unprecedented Heat Wave Hits The West” • A dozen cities recorded all-time record March temperatures on Wednesday, including 105°F in Palm Springs, California and 102°F in Phoenix, Arizona. Extreme heat is considered the deadliest weather hazard in the US, according to the Fifth National Climate Assessment. [ABC News]
Palm Springs (Patrick Pelster, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped)
¶ “States, Cities Sue EPA Over Repeal Of The ‘Endangerment’ Finding Central To Climate Fight” • Two dozen states, along with more than a dozen cities and counties, sued the EPA, challenging the Trump administration’s repeal of a scientific finding that had been the central basis for US action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change. [ABC News]
¶ “Pentagon Seeking $200 Billion More For Iran War, Official Says” • Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Pentagon will ask Congress for more money to cover the Iran war, as he wants to ensure current and future costs are covered “above and beyond.” A senior official confirmed that a $200 billion request was sent to the White House. [ABC News]
Abraham Lincoln Strike Group (MC1 Jesse Monford, USN, cropped)
¶ “Diesel at $5: Clean Transport Advocates Call on Truck Makers to Help Trucking Switch to Electric” • Truck makers must help the US trucking industry transition to electric trucks as diesel goes past $5 a gallon, with more affordable trucks and by ending opposition to regulations supporting the shift, industry experts and clean transport advocates say. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Trump Administration Considers Endangered Species Act Exemption” • Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced that the Endangered Species Committee will meet on March 31 to address a potential Endangered Species Act exemption related to oil and gas activities in the Gulf of Mexico. The existence of the Rice’s whale may be at stake. [CleanTechnica]
Rice’s whale (NOAA Fish Southeast, public domain)
¶ “Can Offshore Wind Win The Trump Disinformation War?” • The Trump administration would like you to think that offshore wind is a losing proposition, and, certainly, that regime has done everything in its power to stymie its progress. However, Vineyard Wind is another success story in the long disinformation battle against Trump and his fossil fuel allies. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Tesla In Talks With Chinese Firms To Buy $2.9 Billion Worth Of Solar Equipment, Sources Say” • Tesla is looking to buy equipment worth $2.9 billion for manufacturing solar panels and cells from Chinese suppliers including Suzhou Maxwell Technologies, as CEO Elon Musk aims to add 100 GW of solar capacity in the US. [CNBC]
Have a memorably cherished day.
geoharvey 