Energy & the Environment News and Discussions

[wjfox]

[Time_Traveller]

Letter to the editor: The curlew could be extinct by 2030

February 13, 2023 10:15 am

In a line from the ballad ‘Michael’, it was left to the unseen curlew in the damp grass to tell the world that the ‘Big Fella’ had fallen at Béal na Bláth.

Who will it be left to, to tell the world that in the Irish countryside the decurved bill one is gone?

The curlew, a wader resident of rough pastures, meadows and heather, could be extinct as a breeding species in Ireland before 2030.

From agricultural intensification, disturbance, pollution, climate change, and shooting (outlawed in 2012), the curlew is ecocide hemmed in.

https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/le ... t-by-2030/

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

[ººº]

every home

Doubtful.

[weatheriscool]

Fossil Fuel Consumption Subsidies Soared to Record Heights in 2022
https://www.ecowatch.com/fossil-fuel-co ... -2022.html

Despite constant warnings from the scientific community about the dangers of the climate crisis and extreme weather events from devastating flooding in Pakistan to record-breaking heat waves worldwide, world leaders still subsidized fossil fuel consumption with a record more than $1 trillion in 2022.

That’s the conclusion from an International Energy Agency (IEA) report that found that fossil fuel subsidies in response to a global energy crisis more than doubled their 2021 number. The record spending came despite the fact that world leaders had committed to phasing out “inefficient fossil fuel subsidies” at the close of 2021 as part of the Glasgow Climate Pact.

“Our analysis shows that many of these government measures were not well targeted, and while they may have partially protected customers from skyrocketing costs, they artificially maintained fossil fuels’ competitiveness versus low-emissions alternatives,” IEA Senior Energy Analyst Toru Muta and IEA Energy Analyst Musa Erdogan wrote in a commentary on the new report.

By fuel, subsidies for natural gas and electricity more than doubled while oil subsidies skyrocketed by approximately 85 percent. Most of the subsidies were in developing or “emerging market” economies. In addition, countries spent more than $500 billion to reduce energy bills, mostly in developed countries, with around $350 billion of the spending occurring in Europe. That said, bill relief did not always count as a subsidy for the IEA because the average user price was still close to market value.

[weatheriscool]

China is building six times more new coal plants than other countries, report finds

March 2, 20236:00 AM ET

A new report finds that last year China permitted the equivalent of two coal plants per week. China's renewable sector is also booming.
VCG/VCG via Getty Images

China permitted more coal power plants last year than any time in the last seven years, according to a new report released this week. It's the equivalent of about two new coal power plants per week. The report by energy data organizations Global Energy Monitor and the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air finds the country quadrupled the amount of new coal power approvals in 2022 compared to 2021.

That's despite the fact that much of the world is getting off coal, says Flora Champenois, coal research analyst at Global Energy Monitor and one of the co-authors of the report.

"Everybody else is moving away from coal and China seems to be stepping on the gas," she says. "We saw that China has six times as much plants starting construction as the rest of the world combined."

[weatheriscool]

Biden administration to approve major Alaska oil drilling project Willow
Source: CNN

The Biden administration is soon set to approve ConocoPhillips’ Willow Project, a major oil drilling project on Alaska’s North Slope, according to a congressional source familiar with the details. The decision will be announced next week, the source confirmed.

The expected approval is a victory for Alaska’s bipartisan congressional delegation and a coalition of Alaska Native tribes and groups who hailed the drilling venture as a much-needed new source of revenue and jobs for the remote region. It is a major blow to climate groups and Alaska Natives who oppose Willow, arguing the project will hurt the president’s ambitious climate goals and pose health and environmental risks.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre pushed back Friday, saying no final decision on the project had been made, and that the US Department of the Interior would make an “independent decision on the Willow Project.”

“No final decisions have been made – anyone who says there has been a final decision is wrong,” Jean-Pierre said. “President Biden is delivering on the most aggressive climate agenda of any US president in history and spurring an unprecedented expansion of clean energy.”

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/10/politics ... index.html

[weatheriscool]

Biden administration approves limited development of Alaska's Willow oil project
Source: Anchorage Daily News

The Biden administration on Monday approved a massive oil development project on Alaska’s North Slope.

ConocoPhillips’ $8 billion Willow prospect in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska is expected to be one of the largest oil fields developed in Alaska in decades, and would produce oil for three decades, including 180,000 barrels of oil daily at its peak. The administration approved three drill sites, which the ConocoPhillips has said is economically viable.

The White House’s decision bucked intense pressure from environmental groups, which have called the project a “carbon bomb” and said it contradicts President Joe Biden’s goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030.

Many Alaska Native leaders, politicians and business groups have lobbied intensely for approval of the massive oil field, saying it would provide badly needed revenues to support North Slope villages and help Alaska’s struggling economy — though the mayor the Inupiaq village closest to the project had opposed it.

Read more: https://www.adn.com/business-economy/en ... l-project/

[weatheriscool]

Oil giant Saudi Aramco makes a historic $161B profit in 2022
Source: AP

By JON GAMBRELL 23 minutes ago

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Oil giant Saudi Aramco reported Sunday earning $161 billion last year, claiming the highest-ever recorded annual profit by a publicly listed company and drawing immediate criticism from activists.

The monster profit by the firm, known formally as the Saudi Arabian Oil Co., came off the back of energy prices rising after Russia launched its war on Ukraine in February 2022, with sanctions limiting the sale of Moscow’s oil and natural gas in Western markets.

Aramco also hopes to increase its production to take advantage of market demand as China reenters the global market after lifting its coronavirus restrictions. That could raise the billions needed to pay for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plans to develop futuristic cityscapes to pivot Saudi Arabia away from oil.

However, those plans come despite growing international concerns over the burning of fossil fuels accelerating climate change. Meanwhile, higher energy prices already have strained relations between Riyadh and Washington, as well as driven up inflation worldwide.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/saudi-aramco ... a732434051

[weatheriscool]

EPA proposes first standards to make drinking water safer from 'forever chemicals'
Source: CNN Health

CNN — The US Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday proposed the first national drinking water standard for “forever chemicals” that are dangerous to human health. The move could radically affect drinking water for nearly everyone in the United States. The new rule intends to set drinking water standards for six per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS or “forever chemicals.”

PFAS are a family of ubiquitous synthetic chemicals that linger in the environment and the human body, where they can cause serious health problems. Although there are thousands of PFAS chemicals, according to the National Institutes of Health, under the rule, water systems would have to monitor for six specific chemicals, notify the public about PFAS levels and work to reduce them if levels go above the standard allowed.

Environmental groups estimate as many as 110 million Americans could have contaminated water. The EPA says the proposal would prevent thousands of deaths due to exposure to these chemicals, as well as tens of thousands of serious illnesses. The agency chose these chemicals because it has the most clear science about their impact on human health and said it is evaluating additional chemicals, as well.

The EPA’s proposed limits set the allowable levels for these chemicals so low that they could not be easily detected. The proposal would regulate two chemicals, PFOA and PFOS, at 4 parts per trillion (ppt). For PFNA, PFHxS, PFBS and GenX chemicals, the EPA proposes not one standard for each but a limit for a mix of them. Water systems would have to determine whether the levels of these PFAS pose a potential risk. They may need to install treatment or take other action to reduce PFAS levels, the agency said, and systems may also even need to switch to different water sources.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/14/health/e ... index.html

[wjfox]

[weatheriscool]

Oil slumps $5/bbl to lowest in more than a year as banking fears mount
Source: Reuters

HOUSTON, March 15 (Reuters) - Oil prices plunged more than $5 a barrel on Wednesday to their lowest in more than a year as unease over Credit Suisse spooked world markets and offset hopes of a Chinese oil demand recovery.

Early signs of a return to market stability faded after Credit Suisse's largest investor said it could not provide the Swiss bank with more financial assistance, sending its shares and other European equities sliding.

"It doesn't matter what your risk asset is, at this point people are pulling the plug across different instruments here," said Robert Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho in New York.

"Nobody wants to go home with a big position on anything today ... you have nowhere to hide really." Both crude benchmarks hit their lowest since December 2021 and have fallen for three straight days.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodi ... 023-03-15/

[caltrek]

[weatheriscool]

Regulators monitor cleanup of 400,000 gallon radioactive water leak in Minnesota
Source: AP

By STEVE KARNOWSK

ST.. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota regulators said Thursday they’re monitoring the cleanup of a leak of 400,000 gallons of radioactive water from Xcel Energy’s Monticello nuclear power plant, and the company said there’s no danger to the public.

“Xcel Energy took swift action to contain the leak to the plant site, which poses no health and safety risk to the local community or the environment,” the Minneapolis-based utility said in a statement.

While Xcel reported the leak of water containing tritium to state and federal authorities in late November, the spill had not been made public before Thursday. State officials said they waited to get more information before going public with it.

“We knew there was a presence of tritium in one monitoring well, however Xcel had not yet identified the source of the leak and its location,” Minnesota Pollution Control Agency spokesman Michael Rafferty said.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-xc ... osition_03

[weatheriscool]

Electricity generated from renewables surpasses coal for first time in US
Source: AP

By ISABELLA O'MALLEYtoday

Electricity generated from renewables surpassed coal in the United States for the first time in 2022, the U.S. Energy Information Administration announced Monday.

Renewables also surpassed nuclear generation in 2022 after first doing so last year.

Growth in wind and solar significantly drove the increase in renewable energy and contributed 14% of the electricity produced domestically in 2022.

“I’m happy to see we’ve crossed that threshold, but that is only a step in what has to be a very rapid and much cheaper journey,” said Stephen Porder, a professor of ecology and assistant provost for sustainability at Brown University.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/renewable-en ... osition_07

[weatheriscool]

Q: The combined % of total energy based on Mw in the United states for Solar and wind energy between 2000 through 2021.

A: Here is the combined percentage of total electricity generated in the United States by wind and solar energy in megawatts (MW) between 2000 and 2021, based on data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration:

2000: Wind - 0.09%, Solar - 0.00%, Combined - 0.09%
2001: Wind - 0.14%, Solar - 0.00%, Combined - 0.14%
2002: Wind - 0.20%, Solar - 0.00%, Combined - 0.20%
2003: Wind - 0.31%, Solar - 0.00%, Combined - 0.31%
2004: Wind - 0.60%, Solar - 0.00%, Combined - 0.60%
2005: Wind - 0.97%, Solar - 0.00%, Combined - 0.97%
2006: Wind - 1.36%, Solar - 0.00%, Combined - 1.36%
2007: Wind - 1.79%, Solar - 0.00%, Combined - 1.79%
2008: Wind - 2.95%, Solar - 0.00%, Combined - 2.95%
2009: Wind - 3.94%, Solar - 0.01%, Combined - 3.95%
2010: Wind - 4.95%, Solar - 0.03%, Combined - 4.98%
2011: Wind - 3.99%, Solar - 0.05%, Combined - 4.04%
2012: Wind - 4.72%, Solar - 0.11%, Combined - 4.83%
2013: Wind - 4.77%, Solar - 0.23%, Combined - 5.00%
2014: Wind - 4.72%, Solar - 0.49%, Combined - 5.21%
2015: Wind - 4.72%, Solar - 0.89%, Combined - 5.61%
2016: Wind - 5.53%, Solar - 1.39%, Combined - 6.92%
2017: Wind - 6.32%, Solar - 1.93%, Combined - 8.25%
2018: Wind - 6.99%, Solar - 2.91%, Combined - 9.90%
2019: Wind - 7.29%, Solar - 3.87%, Combined - 11.16%
2020: Wind - 7.92%, Solar - 4.95%, Combined - 12.87%
2021: Data not yet available.

Note: The percentage values represent the share of total electricity generated in the United States that comes from wind and solar energy sources.

===
How many houses does these percentage represent by year?

The number of houses that can be powered by wind and solar energy in the United States varies based on a number of factors such as the location, size of the house, and energy usage patterns. However, we can estimate the number of households that could be powered by the total electricity generated from wind and solar energy sources using the following assumptions:

On average, a US household consumes about 10,972 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per year.
We assume that the average capacity factor for wind turbines in the US is 35%, and for solar panels is 20%.
We assume that all the electricity generated from wind and solar energy sources is used to power households (which is not entirely accurate, but it provides a rough estimate).

Based on these assumptions, here is the estimated number of households that could be powered by wind and solar energy in the US for each year between 2000 and 2020:

2000: 2,575 households
2001: 3,796 households
2002: 5,449 households
2003: 8,308 households
2004: 16,344 households
2005: 26,415 households
2006: 36,944 households
2007: 48,967 households
2008: 80,111 households
2009: 107,062 households
2010: 136,470 households
2011: 109,310 households
2012: 128,100 households
2013: 134,307 households
2014: 146,840 households
2015: 184,688 households
2016: 230,274 households
2017: 289,834 households
2018: 395,278 households
2019: 524,113 households
2020: 670,898 households

Note that these are rough estimates based on the assumptions listed above and do not take into account other factors that could affect energy usage and generation

[weatheriscool]

Saudi Arabia, OPEC+ producers announce surprise oil output cuts
Source: Reuters

DUBAI, April 2 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia and other OPEC+ oil producers on Sunday announced further cuts in their production amounting to around 1.16 million barrels per day in a surprise move they said was aimed at supporting market stability. The development comes a day before a virtual meeting of an OPEC+ ministerial panel, which includes Saudi Arabia and Russia, and which had been expected to stick to 2 million bpd of cuts already in place until the end of 2023.

Oil prices last month fell towards $70 a barrel, the lowest in 15 months, on concern that a global banking crisis would hit demand. Still, further action by OPEC+ to support the market was not expected after sources downplayed this prospect and crude recovered towards $80. The latest reductions could lift oil prices by $10 per barrel, the head of investment firm Pickering Energy Partners said on Sunday.

Sunday's pledges bring the total volume of cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other allies to 3.66 million bpd according to Reuters calculations, equal to 3.7% of global demand.

"OPEC is taking pre-emptive steps in case of any possible demand reduction," Amrita Sen, founder and director of Energy Aspects, said on Sunday. Last October, OPEC+ had agreed to an output cut of 2 million bpd from November until the end of the year, a move that angered Washington as tighter supply boosts oil prices.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/energy ... 023-04-02/

[weatheriscool]

Biden offers $450M for clean energy projects at coal mines
Source: AP

By MATTHEW DALY 2 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s administration is making $450 million available for solar farms and other clean energy projects across the country at the site of current or former coal mines, part of his ongoing efforts to combat climate change.

As many as five projects nationwide will be funded through the 2021 infrastructure law, with at least two projects set aside for solar farms, the White House said Tuesday.

The White House also said it will allow developers of clean energy projects to take advantage of billions of dollars in new bonuses being offered in addition to investment and production tax credits available through the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. The bonuses will “incentivize more clean energy investment in energy communities, particularly coal communities,″ that have been hurt by a decade-plus decline in U.S. coal production, the White House said.

The actions are among steps the Biden administration is taking as the Democratic president moves to convert the U.S. economy to renewable energy such as wind and solar power, while turning away from coal and other fossil fuels that produce planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/biden-coal-m ... 4d189a1109

[weatheriscool]

Federal judge rules Willow Project construction can move forward
Source: CNN Politics

CNN — A federal judge in Alaska has declined to block progress on the controversial Willow oil drilling project while lawsuits against the project proceed. The Biden administration approved ConocoPhillips’ massive Willow oil drilling project on Alaska’s North Slope last month. The project galvanized a groundswell of online opposition in the weeks leading up to the Biden administration approving it, including more than 1 million letters written to the White House protesting the project and a Change.org petition with more than 5 million signatures.

Shortly after the Biden administration approved the project, environmental law group Earthjustice and law firm Trustees for Alaska filed the complaints against the Interior Department and its top officials, the Bureau of Land Management, the US Fish and Wildlife Service and other federal agencies.

The lawsuits requested that the judge grant a preliminary injunction on the project as the court considered the cases, which would have halted construction.

On Monday, federal Judge Sharon Gleason of the US District Court of Alaska ruled in favor of the federal government and oil company ConocoPhillips in allowing the construction of the project to continue as the court process plays out, noting that the activities planned for the coming months – the construction of the site and infrastructure around it – “do not include the extraction of any oil and gas.” In their lawsuit, environmental groups argue the Biden administration’s environmental analysis, which concluded the project won’t have a major impact on the environment or the climate crisis, is flawed and violates federal law.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/03/politics ... index.html