Concentration of CO2 in the Atmosphere
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Headline News:
- “Mammoths, Sloths, And Camels Are Hurting The Renewable Revolution” • The US needs new transmission lines but faces opposition. The most recent transmission line fiasco comes in the form of the Greenlink West project, which is to pass through an area famous for the fossils of wooly mammoths, giant sloths, and ancient American camels. [Oil Price]
- “NOAA: How Greenhouse Gas Pollution Amplified Global Warming In 2022” • Greenhouse gas pollution from human activity trapped 49% more heat in the atmosphere in 2022 than those same gases did in 1990, an annual NOAA report says. The biggest culprit in global warm is the carbon dioxide emitted when fuels are burned. [CleanTechnica]
- “Europe Is Trying To Ditch Planes For Trains. Here’s How That’s Going” • There’s definitely been progress in Europe for the move from planes to trains. Airlines including Dutch carrier KLM are entering into rail partnerships on certain routes, while countries like Austria and France are seeking to restrict internal routes where trains are available. [CNN]
- “Wind Energy Has A Waste Problem. New Technologies May Be A Step Closer To Solving It” • Wind turbine blades have been difficult to recycle, but Danish wind company Vestas announced a “breakthrough solution.” New Vestas technology would allow wind turbine blades to be recycled without needing to change their design or materials. [CNN]
- “Volvo Proves Anti-EV Trolls Wrong” • Volvo found a way to truly stick it to the trolls that attack EVs. Addressing emissions throughout the entire production process and lifespan of the Volvo EX30, the automaker has successfully reduced the vehicle’s total carbon footprint to under 30 tonnes over a driving distance of 200,000 kilometers. [CleanTechnica]
For more news, please visit geoharvey – Daily News about Energy and Climate Change.
Headline News:
- “Off-Grid Solar Brings Hope To Remote Villages” • Hundreds of millions of people live in communities without electricity. The International Energy Agency says almost 775 million people did not have access to electricity in 2022. Some of the largest of the populations are in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Solar power can bring some hope. [CleanTechnica]
- “SSE Unveils Plans To Invest £40 Billion In Clean Energy” • Scottish energy giant SSE promised to invest up to £40 billion ($49.3 billion) in green energy in the next decade after seeing its annual profits almost double. Jeremy Hunt, Chancellor of the Exchequer, said the pledge was a “further vote of confidence in the British economy.” [Energy Digital Magazine]
- “Blue Bird Opens New Production Facility For Electric School Bus Production” • Blue Bird unveiled its EV Build-up Center in Georgia. The company repurposed an almost 40,000 ft² facility to address the growing need for electric school buses. Blue Bird aims to increase its electric school bus production capacity from four vehicles to twenty per day. [CleanTechnica]
- “California’s Senate Approves Wave And Tidal Renewable Energy Bill” • The California State Senate has unanimously approved a bill that aims to put the state on the path to developing wave and tidal energy as a new source of renewable energy. This helps meet its carbon-free targets while bolstering the power grid. [Offshore Energy]
- “Russians Prepare Large-Scale Provocation At Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant” • Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence has reported that in the coming hours, Russia is preparing a large provocation to simulate an accident at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. Russia will announce an emergency leak of radioactive material and blame Ukraine for the incident. [Yahoo News]
For more news, please visit geoharvey – Daily News about Energy and Climate Change.
Headline News:
- “California Breaks Its Record For Renewable Electricity” • California has hit a new milestone in clean energy. In 2021, 37% of the state’s electricity was generated by renewable sources like solar and wind, according to numbers recently released by the California Energy Commission. This is more than double the 16% total of 2012. [The Brunswick News]
- “Electricity Prices In Finland Flipped Negative On A Huge Oversupply Of Hydroelectric Power” • Finland had an unusual problem on Wednesday: clean electricity that was so abundant it sent energy prices into the negative. The price drop was driven by an unexpected glut of renewable energy, with an added new nuclear power plant. [Business Insider]
- “Mike Cannon-Brookes Wins Control Of Mega Solar Project” • Billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes claimed control of the Sun Cable solar export project, winning a bidding war after falling out with his former project partner, Andrew Forrest. The project will still pursue its original goal of exporting solar power from the Australian outback to Singapore. [ABC]
- “Supreme Court Rolls Back Federal Safeguards For Wetlands Under Clean Water Act” • The Supreme Court cut back on the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate wetlands under the Clean Water Act, with a 5-4 majority continuing a trend in which the conservative-leaning court has narrowed the reach of environmental regulations. [CNN]
- “Ford Electric Cars To Have Best Fast Charging In USA With Tesla Supercharging” • Ford and Tesla announced that Ford’s EV coming to market that will include Tesla’s Supercharging port, starting in 2025. Before then, starting in early 2024, Ford will offer adapters for its EV owners so they will be able to use Tesla Superchargers. [CleanTechnica]
For more news, please visit geoharvey – Daily News about Energy and Climate Change.
Headline News:
- “Ask A Scientist: Calling Out The Companies Responsible For Western Wildfires” • The US wildfire season used to last about four months. These days, it stretches six to eight months, the US Forest Service says, and in some places it’s now a year-round affair. Just seven companies accounted for a whopping 18.7% of total emissions. [CleanTechnica]
 Hand crew from Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Navajo Region
returning to fire camp (Photo by Bureau of Indian Affairs)
- “Why You Should Care About Warmer-Than-Average Ocean Temperatures” • Humanity’s carbon pollution has the potential to turn oceans into a global warming “time bomb.” Ocean temperatures have spiked: NOAA data collection indicates ocean temperatures are probably the highest they’ve been in more than 100,000 years. [CleanTechnica]
- “France Bans Short-Haul Flights To Cut Carbon Emissions” • France has banned domestic short-haul flights where train alternatives exist, in a bid to cut carbon emissions. The law came into force two years after lawmakers had voted to end routes where the same journey could be made by train in under two-and-a-half hours. [BBC]
- “Ford Signs Battery Materials Deal, Hints At Fixed Pricing Strategy” • There’s a torrent of news about Ford Motor Company this week, so let’s get you caught up on recent developments. For a start, Ford announced a long-term contract with EnergySource Minerals to purchase the lithium it needs to manufacture EV batteries. [CleanTechnica]
- “Duke Energy Florida Celebrates A Renewable Energy Landmark” • Duke Energy Florida celebrated their milestone of surpassing 1 GW of renewable energy at an event for Duke Energy’s solar program. The Clean Energy Connection allows customers to subscribe to solar power without having to install their own equipment. [WCJB]
For more news, please visit geoharvey – Daily News about Energy and Climate Change.
Headline News:
- “South Africa Load-Shedding: The Roots Of Eskom’s Power Problem” • South Africa is heading into winter with the prospect of power cuts lasting up to sixteen hours a day. The roots of the problem lie in poor management, corruption, sabotage, and gangs willing to kill anyone who threatened to clean up the coal industry or move towards renewable energy. [BBC]
 Power outage (Claudio Schwarz, Unsplash)
- “Global Temperature Rise Could See Billions Live In Places Where Human Life Doesn’t Flourish, Study Says” • If the current pace of global warming goes unchecked, it will push billions of people outside the “climate niche,” the temperatures where humans can flourish, according to a study published in the journal Nature Sustainability. [CNN]
- “Prieto Introduces Battery That Charges In Three Minutes” • Prieto, a startup based in Fort Collins, Colorado, has unveiled a prototype of a battery it says works in a range from -30°F to above 100°F. What is even more exciting about Prieto is that its 3D batteries can be fully charged from 0 to 100% in just three minutes and are nonflammable. [CleanTechnica]
- “House Votes To Revoke Tougher EPA Emissions Regulation For Trucks” • The House voted Tuesday to rescind a Biden administration emissions regulation for heavy-duty trucks. The Senate voted to overturn the rule in April, so it will now be sent to President Joe Biden’s desk. The White House has said the president will veto it. [CNN]
- “New York’s Skyscrapers Are Causing It To Sink – What Can Be Done About It?” • The ground under New York City is sinking partly due to the sheer mass of all its buildings. But New York is not the only coastal city to be suffering this fate. And at the same time, sea levels are rising at the same time to meet these concrete jungles. Can they be saved? [BBC]
For more news, please visit geoharvey – Daily News about Energy and Climate Change.
Headline News:
- “The Great Electricity Transmission Debate – How Much Is Enough?” • Jigar Shah’s estimate is that the US needs 950 GW of clean energy and 225 GW of storage to clean up its electricity sector. Over 1,200 GW of clean energy and 650 GW of storage have already been proposed. The problem is how to connect the generating capacity to the grid. [CleanTechnica]
 Transmission lines (Matthew Henry, Unsplash)
- “Number World’s Farms To Halve By 2100” • University of Colorado-Boulder research shows that the number of farms globally will shrink in half as the size of the average existing farms doubles by the end of the 21st century, posing significant risks to the world’s food systems. The study was published in the journal Nature Sustainability. [CleanTechnica]
- “Global Loss Of Wildlife Is ‘Significantly More Alarming’ Than Previously Thought, A Study Shows” • The global loss of wildlife is “significantly more alarming” than previously thought, a study shows. Researchers at School of Biological Sciences at Queen’s University Belfast found 48% the 70,000 species studied are seeing rapid population declines. [CNN]
- “Economic Damage From Next El Niño To Total $3 Trillion” • Two researchers at Dartmouth College have published a report in the journal Science which predicts that the economic impact of the next El Niño weather event (expected to occur this year) will be $3 trillion through 2029, compared to what the same period would be without such an event. [CleanTechnica]
- “Chinese Solar Exports Soar” • China’s solar exports grew 64% to $52bn in 2022 despite global trade tensions, according to latest analysis from Wood Mackenzie. China’s exports were mainly dominated by modules in 2022 – Europe remained the country’s top solar module export market with 56% share, according to Wood Mackenzie findings. [reNews]
For more news, please visit geoharvey – Daily News about Energy and Climate Change.
On Thursday, June 8, all members of the Sharon Community are invited to a community gathering to discuss ideas for the future of Sharon from 5:30-8 p.m. at the Sharon Elementary School. A no cost community dinner and childcare will be provided to all who attend.
During the evening, Sharon community members will review, discuss, and vote to prioritize ideas for action gathered from previous town conversations and plans. Through a voting process, participants will turn a list of action ideas into priorities to implement. Community members will then sign up to join local task force groups to move each priority forward.
“Sharon has so many volunteers, nonprofits, committee members, neighbors and individuals who do good work and make our community a great place to live,” says resident Dee Gish. “This conversation, and those that follow, will help improve communication and collaboration to further build and strengthen our community. Every voice, idea and contribution is important – you are welcome, valued and needed.”
The community dinner will be catered by Four Corners Kitchen and Cookadoodle Pizza. Childcare will be provided by the Sharon Academy high school students. Transportation will be provided upon request by calling Suzanne Jones in advance for arrangements at 802-763-2813.
“We have been so impressed by the commitment and resourcefulness of this community, and this gathering will help reinvigorate the connections between people and initiatives in Sharon,” says the Vermont Council on Rural Development’s Climate Economy Program Manager Laura Cavin Bailey. “The ideas and outcomes from this conversation will help prioritize next steps for Sharon to take on together.”
The process will be facilitated by the Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) who was invited by the Sharon Energy Committee. VCRD is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to the advancement of Vermont communities. In the past 20 years, VCRD has worked with over 87 communities throughout Vermont to bring residents together through their facilitated and structured process to share ideas and move toward common solutions, including in Sharon in 2019 as part of the “Our 4-Town Future” Community Visit process.
This process is part of the Climate Economy Resilient Communities program made possible by VLITE, the Sharon Energy Committee grant funding, and other generous partners. For more information, visit vtrural.org, contact VCRD at 802-223-6091, or email Laura Cavin Bailey at laura@vtrural.org.
Vermont Council on Rural Development
The Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the support of the locally-defined progress of Vermont’s rural communities. VCRD is a dynamic partnership of federal, state, local, nonprofit and private partners. Actively non-partisan with an established reputation for community-based facilitation, VCRD is uniquely positioned to sponsor and coordinate collaborative efforts across governmental and organizational categories concerned with policy questions of rural import. The organization has successfully completed 87 community visits, resulting in locally defined projects like new childcare centers, wastewater infrastructure, downtown redevelopments, and much more.
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Headline News:
- “Solar-Panel “Clustering” Coming To Scores Of Army Homes On Hawaii” • Lendlease Communities operates nearly 8,000 homes on Oahu, providing housing for military families through a partnership with the US Army. They are addressing local electric rates of 44¢/kWh with solar arrays that serve clusters of four to six homes. [CleanTechnica]
 Island of Palms, Hawaii (Courtesy of Lendlease Communities)
- “Spain’s Renewable Energy Powered The Entire Country For A 9-Hour Work Day” • Spain is among a handful of countries that lead the world in the push toward renewable energy. Last week it reached a new milestone. Energy generated from wind, sun, and water met the needs of mainland Spain from 10 am to 7 pm on Tuesday, El Pais reported. [Yahoo Sport UK]
- “TotalEnergies’ Spanish PV Projects Pass EIA Test” • The Spanish Ministry of Energy Transition and Autonomous Communities gave TotalEnergies a favourable Environmental Impact Assessment for an estimated 3 GW of installed solar PV capacity. The first projects are expected to be coming on stream in early 2024. [reNews]
- “Australia’s Renewable Superpower Ambitions Could Be Turbo-Charged By Biden Compact” • The new US-Australia Climate, Critical Minerals, and Clean Energy Transformation Compact agreed on by US President Biden and Australian Prime Minister Albanese provides a landmark policy statement of strategic intent. [Renew Economy]
- “The Homeowner Basics Of Financing Solar PV Power For Residential Real Estate” • The Inflation Reduction Act, as well as other incentives have made residential solar energy systems more attractive for homeowners. Last year, the growth of residential solar in the US boomed, as residential solar projects grew by a “staggering” 40%. [CNBC]
For more news, please visit geoharvey – Daily News about Energy and Climate Change.
After light breakfast fare and informal networking, we are eager to launch the day with remarks from climate champion Bill McKibben! Bill’s global leadership on climate action has been unparalleled. And, with deep roots in Vermont, Bill will offer his unique insight on where things stand when it comes to tackling the climate crisis, the opportunity and obligation to make swift progress and the powerful role of community leaders like you to help make change. We hope you’re as excited as we are that he’ll be joining us – and we hope to see you there.
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After Bill’s framing remarks, we will then transition to a panel focused on funding an equitable clean energy transition. There are unprecedented federal funds available to do this work, and we are grateful to tap into a panel of experts – Bonnie Waninger of the Vermont League of Cities & Towns, Jen Myers of the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity, and Callie Fishburn of the Bennington County Regional Commission – to outline those opportunities for us all.
Then, we’ll dive into a series of small group discussions on a wide range of topics we’ve heard are of interest to many of you to cross-pollinate ideas amongst community energy leaders and resource providers on priority clean energy and climate solutions. While enjoying a tasty lunch, you’ll have the opportunity to enter a raffle to win an e-bike and an energy-efficient window air conditioning unit – FREE!
These are challenging times with many challenging issues to address. We will need all of us! We anticipate this day will offer a great mix of timely information, inspiration, and essential networking and relationship-building opportunities. We hope you can join us on June 3rd – and we hope you’ll spread the word to fellow community energy leaders and climate-action allies to attend as well.
Thanks for all that you do,
Sarah Bayer and Johanna Miller
PS: Please register today if you plan to attend! Space is limited but we haven’t yet maxed it out. And, we want as many people as possible to benefit from the expert resource providers, the collaboration opportunities and the opportunity to potentially head home with the promise of a new e-bike, efficient air conditioning unit, handfuls of Lake Champlain chocolate and more! We hope to see you there… and thanks for spreading the word.
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Headline News:
- “Can ‘Enhanced Rock Weathering’ Help Combat Climate Change?” • UN scientists are now clear that reducing greenhouse gas emissions alone won’t be enough to stop dangerous levels of warming. They say there will need to be some CO₂ removal, actively drawing it down from the atmosphere. ‘Enhanced rock weathering’ could help cool the planet. [BBC]
- “Gotion Introduces LMFP Battery With Energy Density Of 240 Wh/Kg” • Volkswagen battery supplier Gotion has revealed a new lithium-manganese-iron-phosphate battery it says can go 1000 km. A press release says the Astroinno L600 LMFP cell’s weight energy density is 240 Wh/kg. Gotion is planning to build a $2.3 billion battery factory in Michigan. [CleanTechnica]
- “Time To Pay The Piper – The Cost Of Cleaning Up After Fossil Fuel Companies” • Marco Grasso and Richard Heede authored a report published by One Earth that quantifies how much each of the 21 top fossil fuel companies in the world should pay to clean up the environmental mess they have made. The total comes to $209 billion a year. [CleanTechnica]
- “As The West Surges Toward Electric Cars, Here’s Where The Unwanted Gas Guzzlers Go” • As wealthy countries set aggressive goals to move consumers towards EVs to cut carbon emissions, gas-powered cars won’t necessarily go away. A stream of used cars is heading to West African ports, and it is only expected to increase with the West’s shift to EVs. [CNN]
- “Three US Funding Pools Every Industrial Project Developer Should Know About” • Heavy industry represents 30% of US CO₂ emissions. While decarbonizing industry is difficult, two exciting developments are taking place in the US that will help speed progress. One is industries grouping in “clean industrial hubs.” The other is tax incentives. [CleanTechnica]
For more news, please visit geoharvey – Daily News about Energy and Climate Change.
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