Green Energy

Sunday, December 27, 2020

Headline News:

“The Resistance: In The President’s Relentless War On Climate Science, They Fought Back” • The scientists’ efforts were often unseen and sometimes unsuccessful. But over four years, they mounted a guerilla defense that kept pressure on the Trump Administration. Here is a story about how they fought back, keeping science alive. [InsideClimate News]

NREL wind turbines, 2008 (Hustvedt, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

“It May Be Too Late To Save The World’s Largest Lake From Climate Change” • The largest inland body of water on Earth, the Caspian Sea, is declining precipitously, a study published in Communications Earth & Environment says. Scientists warn it will fall 9 to 18 meters (30 to 59 feet) by the end of the century, if emissions continue to rise. [ScienceAlert]
“Manmade Microplastics Found In Human Placenta For First Time” • Raman microspectroscopy detected microplastics in a study of human placentas. The researchers analyzed placentas from six healthy women after they gave birth and found 12 microplastic fragments in four of them, ranging from 5 to 10 micrometers in size. [CleanTechnica]
“Elon Musk’s 3 Core Tesla Messages This Year, From Numerous Public And Private Statements” • Tesla CEO Elon Musk has tweeted more than 3,000 times this year. We at CleanTechnica follow his tweets closely, and by analyzing them collected three core messages from Elon this year. They focus on the team, engineering, and manufacture. [CleanTechnica]
“In 2018, The California AG Created An Environmental Justice Bureau. It’s Become A Trendsetter” • Attorney General Xavier Becerra launched the Environmental Justice Bureau within the Environmental Division of his office in February 2018. It has been so effective in the short time since that it is being copied in other states. [InsideClimate News]

Headline News:

“Cambridge To Post Warning Stickers On Gas Pumps” • Home to Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts is ground zero for the tree-hugger crowd in the US. So it should surprise no one that it will put warning labels on the gas pumps. Similar warning labels are already found in Sweden, but Cambridge will be the first US city to have them. [CleanTechnica]

Warning label (Courtesy of City of Cambridge)

“It’s Time For Pollution-Free Vehicles And Fuels” • President-Elect Biden has laid out a bold commitment to address our climate crisis with a goal of net-zero emissions, economy-wide, by no later than 2050. For the transportation sector, this would entail a rapid shift to zero-emission vehicles and other cleaner mobility options. [CleanTechnica]
“Japan Lays Out Plan To Steer Economy Away From Carbon By 2050” • Japan’s trade ministry has released a roadmap to guide Japan’s economy away from fossil fuels. It will foster the growth of green energy industries to bring within reach the elimination of net CO₂ emissions by 2050, as promised by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. [The Japan Times]
“Japan To Eliminate Petrol Vehicles By Mid-2030s” • The Japanese government announced that petrol vehicles would be phased out over the next 15 years as part reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Japan will reduce battery costs by 50% to make cars more attractive, and it will incentivize offshore wind farms to power them. [Euro Weekly News]
“Renewable Energy Proposals Could Get Cold Reception In 2021 NH Legislature” • Renewable energy advocates say they expect to be playing defense on perennial policy debates in New Hampshire’s Republican-led state Legislature. Lawmakers of both parties have signaled they’ll file bills on issues like net metering, but with opposing intentions. [NHPR]