Energy & the Environment News and Discussions

User avatar
raklian
Posts: 1747
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 4:46 pm
Location: North Carolina

Re: Energy & the Environment News and Discussions

Post by raklian »

This is precisely one of the reasons capitalism is not compatible with post-scarcity society. We will need to transition to a new economic paradigm that embraces cost-free abundance. In that society, resource allocation efficiency is the new "money." In other words, we get rewarded for being more efficient.
To know is essentially the same as not knowing. The only thing that occurs is the rearrangement of atoms in your brain.
weatheriscool
Posts: 12956
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 6:16 pm

Re: Energy & the Environment News and Discussions

Post by weatheriscool »

Global electric power demand returns to pre-pandemic levels

Carbon dioxide emissions rose above 2019 levels as electricity demand outpaced growth in renewables in the first half of this year, putting climate goals further out of reach

By Steven Mufson
Today at 8:15 a.m. EDT
Carbon dioxide emissions from the global electric power sector rebounded in the first half of 2021 to above pre-pandemic levels, according to an analysis, signaling that the world has failed to engineer a “green recovery” and shift decisively away from fossil fuels.

As electricity demand jumped from last year’s lows, the London-based think tank Ember found, it outpaced the growth of renewable energy. That pushed global electricity-related emissions 5 percent above where they stood before the coronavirus outbreak.

The new findings have major implications for the upcoming U.N. climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland, where negotiators hope to forge a pact to cut greenhouse gas emissions and keep the planet from warming more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) compared to preindustrial levels. They also suggest that a surge in electric vehicles, which President Biden and many other world leaders support, will tax the electricity grid as developers work to add wind and solar.

{snip}

The Energy Information Administration, part of the Energy Department, forecast that the U.S. economic recovery and a changing fuel mix would lead to a “significant increase in energy-related carbon dioxide emissions this year.” The EIA in its August short-term energy outlook said that after tumbling 11 percent in 2020, the U.S. power sector’s carbon dioxide emissions would increase by 7 percent this year and an additional 1 percent in 2022.

EIA acting administrator Steve Nalley said then that “despite significant growth in energy-related CO2 emissions as the U.S. economy opens up, we don’t see these emissions returning to pre-pandemic levels, at least in the short term.”

China’s economy is the only major economy to experience an increase in greenhouse gas emissions last year, according to the Ember report. Based on preliminary data, the group estimated that China’s greenhouse gas emissions increased by 1.7 percent in 2020.

{snip}

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate- ... te-change/
User avatar
caltrek
Posts: 6509
Joined: Mon May 17, 2021 1:17 pm

Re: Energy & the Environment News and Discussions

Post by caltrek »

Remember the Midwest Drought of 2012? This is How One Corn State Stacks Up Against the Current Drought in the West.
by Pam Dempsey
September 2, 2021

https://investigatemidwest.org/2021/09/ ... -the-west/

Introduction:
(Mid-West Center for Investigative Journalism) Ninety percent of the West is considered to be "in drought," according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, housed at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

As of Thursday, the monitor reported: "In addition to impacting fire conditions, the on-going drought in California continues to strain the state’s water resources. This is reflected in the reservoir levels of California’s two largest reservoirs, Lake Shasta and Lake Oroville, which are currently at 43% and 34% of historical averages, respectively. In the Southwest, Lake Powell is currently 31% full and Lake Mead is 35% full. The total Lower Colorado system is at 40% full, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, compared to 50% full at the same time last year."

Drought conditions in the Midwest in 2012 impacted water systems as well. As Investigate Midwest reported in 2017, the drought and its damage to Illinois' corn and soybean crops spurred a growth in irrigation systems.

“Agricultural irrigation increased in 2012,” wrote Jim Angel, Illinois state climatologist. “The combination of the drought and high commodity prices triggered a significant expansion of irrigation across Illinois that continued in 2013. There were several complaints of irrigation operations pumping hard enough to drop neighboring farms’ well levels.”

Below, here is what drought in Illinois looks like over time compared to California.
Image
(See article link above quote box for graph of California.)
Don't mourn, organize.

-Joe Hill
weatheriscool
Posts: 12956
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 6:16 pm

Re: Energy & the Environment News and Discussions

Post by weatheriscool »

Cleanup boats on scene of large Gulf oil spill following Ida
Source: Associated Press

By MICHAEL BIESECKER 46 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard said Saturday that cleanup crews are responding to a sizable oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico following Hurricane Ida.

The spill, which is ongoing, appears to be coming from a source underwater at an offshore drilling lease about two miles (three kilometers) south of Port Fourchon, Louisiana. The reported location is near the site of a miles-long brown and black oil slick visible in aerial photos first published Wednesday by The Associated Press.

So far, the growing spill appears to have remained out to sea and has not impacted the Louisiana shoreline. There is not yet any estimate for how much oil was in the water, but recent satellite images reviewed by AP on Saturday appeared to show the slick drifting more than a dozen miles (more than 19 kilometers) eastward along the Gulf coast.

Coast Guard spokesman Lt. John Edwards said response teams are monitoring reports and satellite imagery to determine the scope of the discharge. He said the source of the pollution is located in Bay Marchand, Block 4, and is believed to be crude oil from an undersea pipeline owned by Talos Energy.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/business-env ... 0eb9ac4a9c
weatheriscool
Posts: 12956
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 6:16 pm

Re: Energy & the Environment News and Discussions

Post by weatheriscool »

Ford plant spilled 1,400 gallons of gas into city sewers, forcing evacuations and production halt
Source: USA Today

A fuel leak at the Ford Motor Co.'s assembly plant in Flat Rock, Michigan has resulted in some residents evacuating the town and the automaker shutting down production of the Ford Mustang.

Ford has plugged the leak, which released about 1,400 gallons of gasoline, said Jill Greenberg, a spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.

The Dearborn, Michigan automaker has also pledged $1 million to benefit Flat Rock residents affected by the leak, identified by Ford on Wednesday, which sent benzene-containing vapors into the sanitary sewer systems.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Wayne County Chief Executive Officer Warren Evans declared states of emergency for Monroe and Wayne counties, as the vapors were detected at manhole covers and in some homes at flammable levels.
Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ford- ... ar-AAOcklV
weatheriscool
Posts: 12956
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 6:16 pm

Re: Energy & the Environment News and Discussions

Post by weatheriscool »

Report: Solar could power 40% of US electricity by 2035
https://techxplore.com/news/2021-09-sol ... icity.html
by Matthew Daly
Solar energy has the potential to supply up to 40% of the nation's electricity within 15 years—a 10-fold increase over current solar output, but one that would require massive changes in U.S. policy and billions of dollars in federal investment to modernize the nation's electric grid, a new federal report says.

The report by the Energy Department's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy says the United States would need to quadruple its annual solar capacity—and continue to increase it year by year—as it shifts to a renewable-dominant grid in order to address the existential threat posed by climate change.

The report released Wednesday is not intended as a policy statement or administration goal, officials said. Instead, it is "designed to guide and inspire the next decade of solar innovation by helping us answer questions like: How fast does solar need to increase capacity and to what level?'' said Becca Jones-Albertus, director of the Energy Department's solar energy technologies office.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement that the study "illuminates the fact that solar, our cheapest and fastest-growing source of clean energy, could produce enough electricity to power all of the homes in the U.S. by 2035 and employ as many as 1.5 million people in the process."
weatheriscool
Posts: 12956
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 6:16 pm

Re: Energy & the Environment News and Discussions

Post by weatheriscool »

EPA to protect Alaska's Bristol Bay, blocking major gold mine
Source: Washington Post
The Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday it would restore protections for Alaska’s Bristol Bay, blocking the construction of a massive and controversial gold mine near the world’s largest sockeye salmon run. The policy shift, indicated in a court filing Thursday in response to a lawsuit filed by the mine’s opponents, deals a serious blow to a project that has been in the works for more than a decade and would have transformed southwest Alaska’s landscape.

Pebble Limited Partnership, the U.S. subsidiary of Canada’s Northern Dynasty Minerals, argued its proposed mine had the potential to be one of the most important metal-producing projects of the 21st century. But a coalition of Alaska Natives, environmentalists, fishing operators and recreational anglers — including some prominent Republicans like Donald Trump Jr. — countered that it was too risky to start a hardrock mine at the headwaters of a fishery teeming with sockeye, coho, chum, and pink salmon that has provided generations with a vital food source and lured fishing enthusiasts from around the globe.

In the filing, EPA said it plans to invoke its powers under the Clean Water Act to ensure the region’s waters are not filled in or contaminated by material from the proposed open-pit mining site. “It is essential to the livelihood and the community well-being of many Alaskan tribes. And it is also one of the most productive salmon fisheries in North America,” Radhika Fox, head of the EPA’s Office of Water, said in an interview Thursday.

Bristol Bay, she added, “is a unique resource that needs unique protection.” EPA’s move does not ensure the area’s permanent protection, and could be reversed by a subsequent administration. But coming on the heels of a series of setbacks the project suffered last fall, it could hamper the company’s ability to raise capital going forward.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate- ... gold-mine/
User avatar
wjfox
Site Admin
Posts: 8732
Joined: Sat May 15, 2021 6:09 pm
Location: London, UK
Contact:

Re: Energy & the Environment News and Discussions

Post by wjfox »

U.S. House panel passes reconciliation bill protecting Arctic reserve from drilling

September 10, 2021

The House Natural Resources Committee late on Thursday passed legislation that will go into a wider budget reconciliation package that includes restoring protections for a pristine Arctic wildlife refuge from oil and gas drilling.

https://www.reuters.com/business/enviro ... 021-09-10/
User avatar
wjfox
Site Admin
Posts: 8732
Joined: Sat May 15, 2021 6:09 pm
Location: London, UK
Contact:

Re: Energy & the Environment News and Discussions

Post by wjfox »

Record number of environmental activists murdered

11 hours ago

A record number of activists working to protect the environment and land rights were murdered last year, according to a report by a campaign group.

227 people were killed around the world in 2020, the highest number recorded for a second consecutive year, the report from Global Witness said.

Almost a third of the murders were reportedly linked to resource exploitation - logging, mining, large-scale agribusiness, hydroelectric dams and other infrastructure.

The report called the victims "environmental defenders" killed for protecting natural resources that need to be preserved, including forests, water supplies and oceans.

Since the Paris Agreement on climate change was signed in 2015, the organisation says on average four activists have been killed each week.

It said this "shocking figure" was likely to be an underestimate because of growing restrictions on journalists and other civic freedoms.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-58508001


Image
Credit: Instituto Socioambiental Handout
User avatar
caltrek
Posts: 6509
Joined: Mon May 17, 2021 1:17 pm

Re: Energy & the Environment News and Discussions

Post by caltrek »

California Lawmakers Go All-in for Offshore Wind
by Nick Cahill
September 10, 2021

https://www.courthousenews.com/californ ... hore-wind/

Introduction:
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Courthouse News) — An armada of wind farms is planned for the California coast under new legislation intended to spur an offshore wind energy revolution in the Golden State.

Touted as the perfect complement to solar energy, lawmakers believe offshore wind will reduce reliance on fossil fuels and provide badly needed new jobs at a time when California is dealing with electricity shortages and massive unemployment. In unanimous fashion, the Assembly approved a proposal late Thursday that commits the state to building the infrastructure and securing permits needed to bring the offshore wind industry fully online by 2045.

“We don't have that many opportunities to work on matters that will have an impact long after we're gone, but this is one of them," said the bill’s author, Assemblymember David Chiu. “With offshore wind, we can counter the threat of climate change, meet our clean energy goals, and create thousands of new good-paying jobs in the process.”

California’s outdated electrical grid has faltered in recent years in the face of summer heat waves, prompting doubts as to whether the state can meet its ambitious goal of a fully green grid by 2045 and keep the lights on for 40 million residents. Though California is already a prodigious producer of solar power, experts say the state must continue to diversify its clean energy portfolio as it continues to shutter its dirtiest power plants.
Image
In this Aug. 15, 2016 file photo, three of Deepwater Wind's turbines stand in the water off Block Island, R.I.
AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File
Don't mourn, organize.

-Joe Hill
Post Reply