Month: October 2020

Politics and Policy

The Trump administration recently removed the chief scientist at NOAA, installed new political staff who have questioned accepted facts about climate change, and imposed stricter controls on communications at the agency, all apparently aimed at drastically changing the next National Climate Assessment.  Grist reported that DOE bottled up reports for more than 40 clean energy studies, according to emails and documents obtained by InvestigateWest, as well as interviews with more than a dozen current and former employees at DOE and its national labs.  Trump’s three energy and environmental agency heads have been frequently touring swing states in the final month ahead of the election, raising questions about whether the administration is improperly using government resources to boost his reelection bid.  A Saturday ruling from the U.S. Court of International Trade once again paused the Trump administration’s plans to extend tariffs to two-sided solar panels.  By coincidence, the effective date for the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement is Nov. 4, the day after the election.  If former Vice President Joe Biden wins, his administration can apply to rejoin and do so 30 days after the application is received.  Grist has an interactive “article” in which you can see if you can find a path to crafting a climate policy — no matter who wins the election.

The Zero Carbon Action Plan, developed by roughly 100 individuals from academia and think tanks, offers a possible road map for the U.S. to hit net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 under a new administration.  Evergreen Action, a group of former staffers of Washington Governor Jay Inslee (D) and Senator Elizabeth Warren (MA-D), have urged Biden to consider using U.S. financial regulation as a tool to fight climate change if he is elected.  Biden could also use Trump’s playbook to reverse his deregulatory moves on pollution and climate.  Biden’s pledge to rededicate the U.S. to combating climate change would mean a greater role for NASA’s Earth Science research, an area that has been squeezed by Trump.  Biden is leaning into climate change in the final days before the election, issuing new national ads attacking Trump’s science denial, even as Trump continues to hammer Biden’s position on the oil industry.  Thomas Kaplan of the New York Times reported on who is in Biden’s inner circle on climate change, while Alexander Kaufman discussed possible EPA heads at HuffPost.  A victory by Biden could nearly double the annual rate of solar deployment in the U.S., according to a new report by S&P Global Ratings.  E&E News discussed ways in which a Biden administration could set a date after which the sale of new gasoline or diesel powered cars could not be sold in the U.S.

Both Japan and South Korea have pledged to go carbon neutral by 2050, suggesting that some of Japan’s nuclear power plants will be reactivated.  Although hundreds of coal-fired power plants are still in planning worldwide, the announcements from Japan and South Korea, coupled with increasing numbers of banks being unwilling to finance new plants, suggest that an end to the global coal plant boom is no longer such a distant prospect.  Australian prime minister Scott Morrison has become isolated in his defense of coal and refusal to step up his climate ambition, as Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines change course.

In Canada, a Federal Court judge struck down a lawsuit brought by 15 young Canadians who argued the government was violating their charter rights.  As the effects of climate change become more severe, prominent research institutions and government agencies are focusing new money and attention on solar geoengineering, in the hopes of buying humanity more time to cut greenhouse gas emissions.  To address the growing threat of sea level rise to shoreline communities, officials in Virginia will promote science-based, cross-jurisdictional collaboration to mitigate flooding and increase communities’ resilience.

Climate and Climate Science

The Guardian revealed that scientists have found evidence that frozen methane deposits in the Arctic Ocean have started to be released over a large area of the continental slope off the East Siberian coast, although at Climate Feedback, four climate scientists analyzed the article and estimated its overall scientific credibility to be ‘low’, lacking important context.

The minimum volume of Arctic sea ice declined steadily until 2012, when the current record was set.  Now a paper in Environmental Research Letters has sought to explain why the minimum volume has not fallen below that record.  Scientists have found that the distribution of permafrost in the Alaskan subsurface is much more complicated than previously thought, suggesting that many regions may be more vulnerable to melting than had been thought.  Ice loss from the Greenland Ice Sheet has accelerated significantly over the past two decades, transforming the shape of the ice sheet edge and therefore coastal Greenland.  Melting of the Antarctic ice sheet is well underway and will be almost impossible to reverse, even if global emissions reduction targets are met.

Research suggests that lightning is an increasingly common cause of large wildfires, and that climate change may cause an increase in lightning strikes over the continental U.S. in coming decades.  Two wildfires are now burning in Southern California, enlarging rapidly and forcing evacuations of tens of thousands of people in Orange County.

At least six people died and more than 2.3 million customers were without power Thursday morning after Hurricane Zeta hit the U.S. Gulf Coast and rushed inland.  Typhoon Molave was the fourth tropical storm to hit Vietnam since October 11 and the ninth since the start of the year.

Even though the World Meteorological Organization has declared that a La Niña event is under way, heralding a colder and stormier winter than usual across the northern hemisphere, 2020 remains likely to be one of the warmest years on record.  New research published in Nature Food shows that corn is becoming more vulnerable to drought, a finding with major implications for annual yields given scientists’ predictions that climate change will intensify poor weather conditions.

Energy

Depressed in 2020 by the worldwide economic slowdown, global CO₂ emissions from power, transportation, industry, and buildings peaked in 2019 at 31.9 gigatons of CO₂ equivalent, according to an Oct. 27 report from BloombergNEF.

The first electric school buses in Virginia will begin rolling down the road early next month, thanks to Dominion Energy’s Electric School Bus Program and Sonny Merryman, a school and commercial bus company.  On Nov. 12 Ford Motor Co. plans to unveil its zero emission all-electric E-Transit, a green version of the top-selling cargo van.  “I do see that there will be an electrified Ram pickup in the marketplace, and I would ask you just to stay tuned for a little while, and we’ll tell you exactly when that will be,” Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Mike Manley said in answering an analyst’s question on the topic.  Nikola, Toyota, Hyundai, and Daimler are among the companies pursuing hydrogen fuel cell trucks, replacing diesel rigs with quiet, zero-emission trucks.  By 2035 Airbus hopes to have a hydrogen-powered commercial airliner in the sky that will release zero CO₂ emissions in the atmosphere.

A new report from independent think tank RethinkX predicts that the combination of solar and wind energy with batteries could undercut and disrupt the existing global energy system with “the cheapest power available” over the next decade.  In the second part of his column this week, Dan Gearino reported that the average levelized cost of energy for PV solar farms is now $37 per megawatt-hour, while on-shore wind is $40, compared to $59 for a combined cycle natural gas plant.  The New York Times published an interesting article combining text with graphics to show how the electricity sources in each state have varied over the past 20 years.  Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina are teaming up to “cooperatively promote, develop, and expand offshore wind energy and the accompanying industry supply chain and workforce.”  MidAmerican Energy announced that after wind turbine blades broke off twice over the last two months, it is shutting down 46 of its similar turbines to check them for safety.  It is working with wind turbine manufacturer Vestas to understand the “root cause” of the blade failures.

ExxonMobil said on Thursday it could cut its global workforce by about 15% (approximately 14,000 jobs) including deep white-collar staff reductions in the U.S., as the COVID-19 pandemic batters energy demand and prices.  In addition, oil prices tumbled on Thursday, touching a five-month low and extending the previous day’s sharp decline.  Alberta, the heart of Canadian hydrocarbon extraction, has set a goal of a 45% drop in the industry’s methane footprint from its 160,000 active wells by 2025, but the province also contains almost 100,000 inactive wells that have not been decommissioned, but could be leaking.

Energy storage developer GlidePath Power Solutions will use a full life-cycle management platform for the batteries it employs, including recycling and repurposing as it seeks to “resolve the recycling and re-use case upfront, not down the track”.  GreenTech Media addressed the question of what “long-term energy storage” means.

Potpourri

On Friday, Grist launched a new podcast called “Temperature Check” about climate, race, and culture.  For those who have retirement accounts with TIAA, there is now a movement to get them to divest from fossil fuels.  National Geographic spoke with Greta Thunberg about how her activism has changed over the past year and how her message might survive an increasingly complex world.  At Chicago Review of Books, Amy Brady spoke with Kim Stanley Robinson, author of The Ministry for the Future.

Closing Thought

More than at any time in the past, young activists helped bring climate change onto the table in this year’s presidential election.

These news items have been compiled by Les Grady, member and former chair of the CAAV steering committee. He is a licensed professional engineer (retired) who taught environmental engineering at Purdue and Clemson Universities and engaged in private practice with CH2M Hill, the world’s largest environmental engineering consulting firm. Since his retirement in 2003 he has devoted much of his time to the study of climate science and the question of global warming and makes himself available to speak to groups about this subject. More here.

Politics and Policy

During their debate Thursday night, President Trump and former vice president Joe Biden laid out starkly different visions on whether the U.S. needs to transition away from fossil fuels to address climate change.  As might be expected, conservatives pummeled Biden for his position, accusing him of being callous with the economy in his proposals for tackling climate change.  Nevertheless, an article in Market Watch asserted that the U.S. will transition to a clean-energy mix regardless of who wins the White House, although the pace of that change will depend on the election’s outcome.  The Independent asked climate scientists, policy experts, and environmentalists for their takeaways from the climate change portion of the debate.  According to a national poll of likely voters conducted by The New York Times and Siena College, 66% support Biden’s $2 trillion climate plan while 26% oppose it.  If Biden wins, the question haunting climate activists is whether this time will be different from President Obama’s first term.  Automakers evidently think it will be because they are gearing up for tough new vehicle emissions rules and policies favoring electric vehicles if Biden wins.

GreenTech Media interviewed Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) about areas of agreement and disagreement among legislators on energy reform.  At The New Republic, Kate Aronoff explored the role that conservative West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin (D) might play in enacting energy and climate legislation should the Democrats take over the Senate.  A new report from the Brookings Institution assessed the greenhouse gas reduction pledges and commitments of the U.S.’s largest cities, tracked the emissions savings that could result from them, and evaluated whether the cities are meeting their goals.  Virginia Governor Ralph Northam pledged to power the states power grid with 30% renewable energy by 2030.  On Wednesday, offshore wind developers said that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management within the Department of the Interior will require additional funding to keep permitting on track for a number of projects.  Climate change isn’t Biden’s sole environmental concern.  His platform calls on the U.S. to set aside 30% of its lands and water for conservation by the end of the decade.

In a diatribe against U.S. climate policies, China’s Foreign Affairs Ministry blamed Trump’s “negative stance” and “retrogression on climate change” for undermining progress on the Paris climate accord.  EU environment ministers were set to agree this week to make the bloc’s pledge to be carbon neutral by 2050 legally binding, but the agriculture lobby and agriculturally dominant countries stand as a potential obstacle to the pledge.  Nevertheless, EU agriculture ministers agreed on Wednesday to set aside part of the farming policy budget for programs that protect the environment.  Coal played a very important part in Poland’s rise from the ashes of WWII, but pressures are mounting for the country to move on.  In an interesting coincidence, Yale Environment 360 published a retrospective about Poland and coal in the same week the country’s largest power company announced that it wants to become 100% renewable by 2050.  The French government stepped in to force a domestic company to delay signing a potential $7 billion deal with a U.S. liquefied natural gas company over concerns that its U.S. shale gas was too dirty.  After modelling a ‘green recovery’ plan against a ‘return-to-normal’ plan across the UK, Germany, Poland, the U.S., India, and globally, researchers from Cambridge Econometrics concluded that the impact of a green recovery strategy would be “consistently larger” than that delivered through a standard stimulus package.

Jody Freeman, the Archibald Cox Professor of Law and director of the Environmental and Energy Law Program at Harvard Law School, examined the impact on environmental and climate law of Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s possible elevation to the Supreme Court.  Three years after Geoffrey Supran and Naomi Oreskes published research finding “a discrepancy between what ExxonMobil’s scientists and executives discussed about climate change privately and in academic circles and what it presented to the general public,” Vijay Swarup, Exxon’s vice president of research and development, published a comment in the same journal that seeks to rebut the research.  A key step in the progress of the National Climate Assessment—the solicitation for authors to work on the project—was delayed for months, but after public outcry, NASA restarted the process, publishing a Federal Register notice Thursday seeking authors.

Climate and Climate Science

The North Complex fire wiped out the town of Berry Creek, CA, in September.  A multimedia article in The Washington Post explained the contribution of climate change to that fire.  Northern California faces days of ‘critical’ fire risk as strong, dry winds will keep fire danger high this week and next.  The Cameron Peak Fire near Rocky Mountain National Park became the largest wildfire in Colorado history, growing to almost 207,000 acres this week, while the East Troublesome Fire forced closure of the park.  An NPR analysis found that most wildfire-prone states have no requirements for disclosing fire risk to someone who buys or rents a home; only California and Oregon do.

According to a new study, dust storms on the Great Plains have become more common and more intense in the past 20 years, because of more frequent droughts in the region and an expansion of croplands.  In 2003 my wife and I hiked into Canyon de Chelly, in the Navajo Nation in northeastern Arizona, on a trail that was worn into the sandstone from the many feet that had walked it over centuries.  Thus, it was especially painful to read about the impacts of the extreme drought that is occurring there.

Climate scientist Michael Oppenheimer published an important essay on the danger posed by multiple, simultaneous disasters in Foreign Affairs (note, you can read it for free just by signing up).

Hurricane Epsilon rapidly intensified Tuesday and Wednesday, unexpectedly becoming a major Category 3 hurricane and claiming two records as it cruised northwest over the open Atlantic.  For the first time since records began, the surface waters of the Laptev Sea in Siberia, the main nursery of Arctic sea ice, have yet to start freezing in late October.

“Global Safety Net” is the first global-scale analysis of land areas requiring protection to solve the twin crises of biodiversity and climate change.  Brianna Baker interviewed Eric Dinerstein, the wildlife scientist who led the project.

Energy

An aggressive push towards 100% renewable energy would save Americans as much as $321bn in energy costs, while also slashing planet-heating emissions, according to a new report from Rewiring America.  Corporate buyers of renewable energy will drive the development of 44 GW to 72 GW of new wind and solar projects in the U.S. over the next decade, according to a new report from IHS Markit.  If you are thinking of converting your home to all-electric, you might be interested in the experiences of Barry Cinnamon, CEO of Cinnamon Energy Systems.

Inside Climate News reviewed concerns about NuScale Power’s small modular nuclear reactors that have been approved for construction in Idaho.  As global warming climbs and humanity’s water consumption increases, nuclear and fossil-fueled power plants that rely on freshwater for cooling may not be able to perform at their peak capacity or could be forced to shut down temporarily.

Vox energy reporter David Roberts described the basics of geothermal energy and explained why its time may finally have come.  Another couple of educational pieces came this week from Greentech Media where Jason Deign explained the concept and applications of “virtual power plants” and floating wind turbines.

The extra cost of manufacturing battery electric cars versus their internal combustion engine equivalents will diminish to just $1,900 per car by 2022, and disappear completely by 2024, according to research by the investment bank UBS.  A large part of Dan Gearino’s column this week was devoted to EVs, prompted in part by GM’s introduction of the new electric Hummer.  An Associate and a Managing Director at RMI made the case for why the U.S. should assert EV leadership.

The International Maritime Organization agreed on Friday to require shipping to reduce its CO₂ emissions per unit of economic activity by 40% compared with 2008 levels in the next 10 years.  Green groups said this could still result in an increase in CO₂ emissions.

Potpourri

Michael Svoboda reviewed Kim Stanley Robinson’s new novel, The Ministry of the Future.  SueEllen Campbell provided readings to shed some light on the question of growth versus de-growth as solutions for the climate crisis.  Philip K. Verleger reviewed Daniel Yergin’s new book, The New Map: Energy, Climate, and the Clash of Nations.  What does a former Renaissance scholar have to teach us about how the media should talk about climate change?  Lizzie Widdicombe wanted to know, so she interviewed Genevieve Guenther for The New Yorker.  At Grist, Kate Yoder looked at the growing field of climate-fiction, paraphrasing social scientist Matthew Schneider-Mayerson: “In the near future, …, we may get to the point that any story that doesn’t touch on climate change might as well be considered either historical fiction or other-worldly fantasy.”

Closing Thought

Although I missed it earlier this month when it was released, I’m including Pope Francis’ latest encyclical, titled “Fratelli Tutti” (We are all brothers and sisters), which contains ten ideas about caring for our common home and the importance of rethinking the way we connect with each other.  The Pope has also produced a TED talk that makes the point in much sharper terms.

These news items have been compiled by Les Grady, member and former chair of the CAAV steering committee. He is a licensed professional engineer (retired) who taught environmental engineering at Purdue and Clemson Universities and engaged in private practice with CH2M Hill, the world’s largest environmental engineering consulting firm. Since his retirement in 2003 he has devoted much of his time to the study of climate science and the question of global warming and makes himself available to speak to groups about this subject. More here.

Politics and Policy

A proclamation released by the White House last weekend would increase tariffs on imported solar cells and modules in the final year of the tariffs and eliminate an exemption for two-sided solar panels.  While the Trump administration has tried to revive the coal industry, the German government set an exit date and made a plan to help coal communities survive, thereby providing lessons the U.S. could benefit from.  President Trump signed an executive order initiating the formation of the “United States One Trillion Trees Interagency Council.”  Several conservative climate groups have attempted to wrench the issue of climate change from the hands of the Democrats and shore up climate concern on the right, in part because of the impact of The Green New Deal and the fact that Americans are now nearly four times more likely to say they’re alarmed about the climate crisis than to be dismissive of it.  Vox’s Umair Irfan asked the Biden campaign six key questions about his climate change plans while GreenTech Media asked clean-energy experts and advocates what’s most likely to get done in the first 100 days of a Biden presidency.  Politico asserted that Biden and some Congressional Democrats want to use trade agreements to combat global warming, breaking from decades of U.S. trade policy that largely ignored climate change.

President Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court, Amy Coney Barrett, said late during her confirmation hearing Tuesday that while she has read up on the issue of climate change, she did not have “firm views” on the subject.  However, her efforts to play it safe created perhaps the most tangible backlash of her hearings.  FERC issued a proposed policy statement on Thursday saying the panel has the authority and willingness to consider potential grid operators’ requests to incorporate a carbon tax into their rate structures.  DOE has awarded $80 million each to X-energy and TerraPower, with the potential for billions more in federal funding as they strive to build their smaller scale, more flexible advanced nuclear reactor designs by 2027.

According to recent research on adaptation to sea level rise in coastal communities, shoreline armoring is more common in areas that have low racial diversity and higher home values, household incomes, and population densities, whereas measures based around home buyout programs correlate with high racial diversity and low home values, household incomes, and population densities.  A paper published Monday at the National Bureau of Economic Research reported a decline in sales of houses in low-lying coastal areas of Florida beginning in 2013, followed a few years later by a drop in prices compared with houses in safer areas.  New research compiled by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac showed housing markets are beginning to respond to damages from climate change-fueled floods, storms, and disasters.  An executive board member of the Australian insurance regulators said in a speech that the cost of pre-emptive action to avoid the impact of disasters exacerbated by the climate crisis was far cheaper than dealing with the aftermath.

A new paper in the journal Science found that the world could get on track to avert catastrophic climate change by investing 10% of the planned $12 trillion in pandemic recovery packages to reducing dependence on fossil fuels.  JPMorgan Chase aims to support its clients in expanding investment in clean energy and work towards net zero-emissions by 2050, while HSBC will target net zero carbon emissions across its entire customer base.  A group of China’s top climate researchers released a plan whereby the country could meet the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.  A proposal by leading maritime nations to curb the shipping industry’s carbon footprint falls far short of both the International Maritime Organization and Paris Agreement climate goals, shipping experts have warned.

Climate and Climate Science

New research published in Nature showed that a holistic, global approach to healing ecosystems would be a big step in stopping the twin threats of extreme climate disruption and biodiversity loss.  Research published in Environmental Research Letters reported that protecting intact peatlands and restoring degraded ones are crucial steps if the world is to counter climate change.

Research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that recent Atlantic warming is “unparalleled” in the past three millennia.  In addition, scientists have taken hourly temperature measurements in the deep (4762 to 15,600 ft) Atlantic over a ten year period, documenting heat buildup there.  With oceans absorbing more than 90% of global warming, marine heatwaves are becoming hotter, larger, and longer lasting, with major ecological consequences.  Meanwhile, in the Southern Hemisphere, half the corals on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef have died over the past 25 years, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

This year, roughly a quarter of the vast Pantanal wetland in Brazil, one of the most biodiverse places on Earth, burned in wildfires worsened by climate change.  Furthermore, almost half the land belonging to Indigenous people was among that burned.  According to ProPublica’s climate maps project, with climate change, California’s summer and fall fire seasons are growing longer and melding into each other, overlapping in time and space.  In northern Colorado, the Cameron Peak wildfire is officially the largest ever observed in the state.  Fires are becoming more frequent on Mt. Kilimanjaro, impacting the plant and animal species there.

Extreme weather events have increased dramatically in the past 20 years, taking a heavy human and economic toll worldwide, and are likely to wreak further havoc, the UN said in a report.  Also, the UN humanitarian chief warned that daunting problems in Africa’s Sahel region are getting worse and the region “is very close to a tipping point,” with climate change among the factors contributing to the situation.  Gloria Dickey reported in The Guardian that the Arctic is unravelling faster than anyone could once have predicted.  A study published in Science Advances showed that only a few degrees of warming in the Arctic is enough to abruptly activate large-scale permafrost thawing, which can release greenhouse gases at a massive scale.

The planet just recorded its hottest September since at least 1880, according to three temperature-tracking agencies.  Furthermore, 2020 is likely to be the hottest year when a La Niña event was present in the tropical Pacific Ocean.  On Wednesday, the temperature in Phoenix climbed to at least 100°F for the 144th time in 2020 (out of 288 days), surpassing 143 days in 1989 for the most instances on record.  Nearly half of the continental U.S. is gripped by drought, government forecasters said, and conditions are expected to worsen this winter across much of the Southwest and South.

Energy

According to the International Energy Agency’s “World Energy Outlook 2020”, the world’s best solar power schemes now offer the “cheapest … electricity in history” with the technology cheaper than coal and gas in most major countries.  In an update of its 2018 analysis, The Economics of Electrifying Buildings, RMI found that in every city they analyzed, a new all-electric, single-family home is less expensive than a new mixed-fuel home that relies on gas for cooking, space heating, and water heating.

The industry that operates America’s hydroelectric dams and several environmental groups announced an agreement to work together to get more clean energy from hydropower while reducing the environmental harm from dams.  Pumped storage has the ability to provide around-the-clock reliability for renewable energy projects, but is notoriously difficult to site.  Lithium-ion batteries now dominate energy storage at renewable energy installations, but competitors such as other battery types and nonchemical approaches could be better for intermediate-term storage, while hydrogen may be the answer for seasonal storage.  DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and the Dutch Government have issued a statement of intent for a hydrogen technology collaboration.  Japan plans to create a commercial hydrogen fuel supply chain by around 2030.

Sales of EVs in Europe are growing at such a pace that the continent looks increasingly likely to outpace China in the near future.  Arrival, a UK-based EV startup backed by Hyundai and Kia that’s preparing to make electric delivery trucks for UPS, is building a factory in South Carolina that will be able to make as many as 1,000 battery-powered buses per year.

According to satellite imagery analyzed by Paris-based private data firm Kayrros, so far this year the global number of methane hot spots has soared by 32%, while methane leaks in Algeria, Russia, and Turkmenistan have grown by more than 40%.  A study published in AGU Advances found that the warming associated with such leaks negates the benefits of shifting electricity production from coal-fired power plants to gas-fired plants.  The EU is considering binding standards to limit methane leaks throughout the natural gas supply chain, but some question whether they go far enough.

Dominion Energy announced on Wednesday that its two turbine, 12 MW, $300 million, Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind pilot project has successfully completed reliability testing and is ready to begin feeding electricity into Virginia’s power grid.  The CEO of MHI Vestas Offshore Wind said that the company is developing a new wind turbine that will rival those by competitors Siemens Gamesa and General Electric.  Mitsubishi Corp. continues to explore the possibility of building an offshore wind project in Lake Erie to deliver power for New York state.

Potpourri

The Atlantic is launching “Planet”, a new section devoted to climate change, along with “The Weekly Planet”, a new newsletter.  A recent survey found that nearly 80% of adults in Virginia expressed interest in reading about how climate change is affecting their communities.  In reviewing the documentary “I Am Greta”, BBC News chief environment correspondent wrote: “What Grossman has made is a coming of age movie wrapped up in a super-hero flick.  This is the story of how a troubled and lonely child discovers her hidden powers and uses them to change the course of the world.”  At The Daily Climate, Peter Dykstra proposed his list of missteps by the film industry when making eco-films.  Emily Atkin interviewed Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine Wilkinson, the editors of All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis.  Guardian environment correspondent Fiona Harvey recalled all of the successes of the environmental movement, arguing that it can also win the fight against the climate crisis.

Closing Thought

Here is an encouraging story from the intersection of philanthropy and technology, demonstrating how a unique type of foundation is helping new technologies bridge the chasm between invention and use.

These news items have been compiled by Les Grady, member and former chair of the CAAV steering committee. He is a licensed professional engineer (retired) who taught environmental engineering at Purdue and Clemson Universities and engaged in private practice with CH2M Hill, the world’s largest environmental engineering consulting firm. Since his retirement in 2003 he has devoted much of his time to the study of climate science and the question of global warming and makes himself available to speak to groups about this subject. More here.

Politics and Policy

The Editorial Board of the New York Times (NYT) has endorsed former Vice-President Joe Biden for president.  Biden’s transition team is considering appointing a climate and energy “czar” to help direct sweeping changes across federal agencies if he wins next month’s election.  A Biden administration would also take aim at the Trump administration’s rollbacks of many major environmental protections, but because of complexities in the rulemaking process, undoing just some of them could take years.  During the only vice-presidential debate, Vice President Mike Pence repeatedly falsely asserted that a Biden administration plans to ban fracking and adopt the Green New Deal.  Consequently, Dino Grandoni of the Washington Post compared Biden’s climate plan to the Green New Deal, as did David Roberts of Vox.  The U.S. Supreme Court has decided to consider a case that will determine how much leeway appeals courts get in deciding the best venue for climate lawsuits brought by states and cities.  NPR’s Jeff Brady examined how Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett is likely to impact climate action if confirmed.

The Trump administration is behind schedule in putting out a call for scientists to produce the Fifth National Climate Assessment.  A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia appeared divided Thursday on President Trump’s effort to repeal his predecessor’s regulations on planet-warming emissions from the power sector and replace them with far weaker controls.  Marianne Lavelle summarized some of the arguments presented.  A federal court on Thursday struck down an Obama-era regulation targeting methane leaks from drilling on public lands, arguing that it went beyond the reach of the BLM, which promulgated the rule.  When it comes to acting on climate change, a new study suggests that people don’t like to feel that their freedom of choice is being threatened and would prefer ‘upstream’ solutions that target the producers rather than consumers of carbon-intensive goods.

The European Parliament has voted in favor of a legally binding target for the EU to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 60% by 2030 (relative to 1990 levels), which is more ambitious than the emissions cut proposed by the European Commission and may be difficult to get ratified by the member nations.  China’s goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2060 would require investments of more than $5 trillion, according to consultancy Wood Mackenzie.  Although any explicit reference to net zero carbon emissions was vehemently opposed at the Paris Climate Talks in 2015, more than a third of global emissions are now covered by net zero targets, demonstrating how quickly things can change, even with the U.S. opting out.

Investigative reporting by ProPublica revealed how the Virginia legislature succumbed to intensive lobbying by Dominion Energy, in spite of pledges to trim its power.  The Virginia Manufacturers Association is suing Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality and State Air Pollution Control Board over the state’s revision of regulations that will allow it to join a regional cap-and-trade market for carbon.  The Sierra Club and seven other environmental groups filed petitions late Monday asking the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to stay recently issued permits allowing the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) to burrow under streams and wetlands until the court can hear their challenge of the authorizations.  The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday adopted the county’s first “Climate Action Plan”.  A legal principle embraced by Virginia that strictly curtails local powers is hampering cities from making progress on clean energy goals, according to a report from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.  An expanding wood pellet market in the Southeast has fallen short of climate and job goals, instead bringing air pollution, noise, and reduced biodiversity in majority Black communities.

Climate and Climate Science

September was the warmest on record globally, according to the weather service Copernicus.  In interviews with CBS News, both James Hansen and Michael Mann stressed that the worst effects of climate change don’t have to happen, but humans’ actions in the near future will determine if they do.  Emissions of nitrous oxide, a climate super-pollutant hundreds of times more potent than CO₂, have increased by 30% since 1980, according to a new paper in the journal Nature.

As of October 7th, 16 billion-dollar weather/climate disasters have impacted the U.S., tying the annual records that occurred in 2011 and 2017, with three months left to go.  As hurricane Delta bore down on the U.S. Gulf Coast, it was the latest in a recent flurry of rapidly intensifying Atlantic hurricanes that scientists largely blame on global warming.  As of Tuesday morning, the August Complex Fire in the northern part of California had burned at least a million acres, while the total area burned set a new record twice as large as the old one, set 2018.

Although I have put several articles recently about the Thwaites and Pine Island glaciers in West Antarctica, this article from Yale Climate Connections does an excellent job of summarizing recent research there.  Reuters had a very interesting and informative infographic and article about permafrost and its possible impacts in a warming world.

Because of the climate crisis, much of the Amazon could be on the verge of losing its distinct nature and switching from a closed canopy rainforest to an open savannah with far fewer trees.  The total area of Brazilian Amazon rainforest that has been degraded — through selective logging, understory fire, destruction of forest edges, and fragmentation — is larger than the total deforested area.

A top Trump official released a polar bear study by government scientists last Friday that highlights the endangered animals’ vulnerability to climate change and the fact that proposed oil drilling in Alaska would probably encroach on their habitat, causing more stress.

Energy

JPMorgan Chase & Co will support its clients in expanding investment in clean energy and work towards net zero-emissions by 2050.  Europe’s top oil companies are still not aligned with UN-backed targets to combat climate change, even after outlining ambitious plans to slash carbon emissions and pivot to renewable energy.  U.S. oil firms are doubling down on efforts to extract oil and gas, while pursuing technologies to capture and store carbon emissions.  Leaked documents revealed that ExxonMobil’s growth strategy will increase its annual carbon emissions by 17% between 2017 and 2025.  Within one week of each other, Ameren and Entergy pledged to cut CO₂ emissions to nothing by 2050.  The American public is facing a potential bill of $280 billion for the cleanup of 2.6 million unplugged oil and gas wells (not including an estimated 1.2 million undocumented orphan wells).

As Ford Motor Co., General Motors, and Volkswagen have unveiled new electric cars, they have admitted that electric models will in some ways be superior to models using internal combustion engines.  Toyota and Hino Trucks are developing their first Class 8 hydrogen fuel-cell electric truck for the North American market.  Developing a lithium industry using brine from California’s Salton Sea could help set up a multi-billion dollar domestic supply chain for electric vehicle batteries.

A new report concludes that the U.S. needs a massive green hydrogen industry to decarbonize its electricity, transportation, and industrial sectors, as well as major investments and policy changes to enable it to grow to its full potential.  Three analysts at Rocky Mountain Institute looked at the role hydrogen might play in powering gas turbines during periods when wind and solar production were low in a decarbonized economy.

Daniel Yergin, a long-time student of energy and energy policy, wrote about the impacts of COVID-19 on “the sprint away from fossil fuels”.  The Guardian’s Oliver Milman reviewed the status of carbon capture and utilization or storage.  A clutch of wave power developers is hoping to shake off the technology’s “forever-round-the-corner” reputation with commercial-scale arrays that could be in the water next year.  Linking floating solar panels with hydropower could generate anywhere from 16% to 40% of the world’s electricity, according to a new study by researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy has just released its 2020 “Clean Energy Scorecard” for U.S. cities.  The organization that develops model building codes adopted by most cities and states in the U.S. met this week, pitting officials trying to go greener against real estate developers and the natural gas industry.

Potpourri

Terra Nostra, a 30-minute multimedia symphony about climate change is now available on-line.  At Yale Climate Connections, Spencer Weart reviewed Climate Change and the Nation State: The Case for Nationalism in a Warming World by Anatol Lieven.  In The New Yorker, Elizabeth Kolbert published an excerpt from her afterward to a new compendium entitled The Fragile Earth: Writing from The New Yorker on Climate Change.  Advertisements on Facebook denying the reality of the climate crisis or the need for action were viewed by at least 8 million people in the U.S. in the first half of 2020.  An increasing number of psychologists believe the trauma that is a consequence of climate breakdown is also one of the biggest obstacles in the struggle to take action against rising greenhouse gas emissions.  The Yale and George Mason Universities’ programs on climate change communication have released a new report entitled “Climate Change in the Minds of U.S. News Audiences”.  Members of the Rockefeller family are leveraging their fortune and network of wealthy friends to pressure major U.S. banks to stop investing in fossil fuels.

Closing Thought

As some of you know, I am an engineer by nature and by training.  Consequently, the article that most boosted my optimism this week was one about Aaswath Raman and his team at UCLA, who have developed a passive cooling system that can help reduce energy use in a warming world.

These news items have been compiled by Les Grady, member and former chair of the CAAV steering committee. He is a licensed professional engineer (retired) who taught environmental engineering at Purdue and Clemson Universities and engaged in private practice with CH2M Hill, the world’s largest environmental engineering consulting firm. Since his retirement in 2003 he has devoted much of his time to the study of climate science and the question of global warming and makes himself available to speak to groups about this subject. More here.

Thanks to Joy Loving for compiling these news items while Les Grady is away this week!

Politics and Policy

The New York Times (NYT) Climate Forward covered climate in the 1^st presidential debate and Inside Climate News speculated about how a Justice Amy Coney Barrett would rule on EPA and other climate actions.  There are questions about what listeners learned from the Trump-Biden exchanges.  Capital & Main fact-checked both candidates’ claims; so did Grist.  The American Conservation Council touted its role in pushing for including climate questions in the debate.  Grist addressed whether US farmers will support Trump.  CNBC described “How Biden’s $1.7 trillion climate plan would change America after Trump’s Big Oil presidency”.  Financial Advisor explains how renewable energy investors will fare “under Biden versus Trump”.  A Gizmoto climate reporter said “much worse” will follow the end of climate denial because of risks to our democracy and our social order and policies favoring continued use of fossil fuels. Michael Mann said Trump’s reelection would be “game over” for addressing the climate crisis.

EPA will release a final rule on lead testing of water that “rejected top medical and scientific experts who urged … [requiring] the replacement of … [6 to 10M] lead service lines, an expensive but effective way to avoid crises like” Flint MI’s.  EPA finalized rules “allowing some major polluters to follow weaker emissions standards” and “estimated … the changes will result in up to 1,258 tons per year of additional emissions of hazardous air pollutants.”  US Geological Survey’s Director “refused to make public the study, by his own scientists, of the number of female polar bears that den and give birth on land near the southern Beaufort Sea”—the location the Trump administration okayed for oil and natural-gas development.

A Trump appointee to the SEC warned big business understands climate risks and should be required to disclose them.  The insurance industry is making it more expensive to insure high-risk homes; some are excluding climate-related natural disasters and dropping high-risk properties from coverage.  Fast Company made the case for a green climate bank, suggesting it “could spur private investment in clean energy and create millions of jobs—paving the way for a low-carbon future post-COVID-19”.  ”Germany’s DW Akademie presented several “big ideas” for “saving the planet.  A group of law students issued a climate scorecard for law firms that specialize in representing polluters.  Of 100 top firms, four scored ‘A’, 41 ‘D,’ and 26 ‘F’.  SCOTUS has agreed to hear lawsuits against major oil companies, “but that may not be a win for environmental groups looking to hold Big Oil accountable.”

“New plans from Ameren and Entergy show the trend to renewables [among large US utilities] is accelerating because coal just can’t compete.”  Rocky Mountain Institute reported “Clean Energy Is Canceling Gas Plants”.  Coal giant Arch Resources Inc. announced it dropped “coal” from its name; it is curtailing production.  The US government used emergency pandemic aid to purchase $355+M in bonds issued by oil and gas industry companies. Some believe the investments amount to a bailout.

A federal judge removed the acting director of the Bureau of Land Management following MT’s lawsuit, finding he “was illegally serving in his role through a series of temporary orders.”  “Tribes, archaeologists are working to identify sites in Greater Chaco for protections from oil and gas” leasing the Trump administration approved.  A one-year moratorium expired September 30.

Ahead of a major UN biodiversity summit, leaders of over 60 countries—not including the US, China, or Brazil—“promised to put wildlife and climate at [the] heart of post-Covid recovery plans.”  Rolling Stone asked and answered:  “Will We Be Able to Reverse Trump’s Climate Damage?”

Global consultant Accenture said cities with goals of 100% renewable energy by 2050 may find those goals difficult, or impossible, to meet.  Despite AZ’s climate-change-related droughts, fires, and heat, its legislature has pulled back from its focus and actions of 15 years ago; its cities and counties are stepping up.  Grist explored the likelihood of China’s meeting its net-zero goal by 2060.

Climate and Climate Science

New CA wildfires erupted, damaging Santa Rosa, displacing many and killing several.  “The emerging field of climate attribution helps explain the wildfires and hurricanes of 2020.”  San Francisco Bay area air quality, already bad from CA wildfires, could worsen.  Southeastern WY forest wildfires destroyed 50 structures and are expected to continue burning for a while.  Satellite data revealed the Amazon rainforest has experienced huge losses from 2020 fires and drought, “with a 61% rise in hotspots over September 2019”.  Two scientists warned about what continuing such losses will mean, as part of a NYT series, The Amazon Has Seen Our Future.

The EPA’s relaxation of the Clean Water Act’s protections put many bodies of water and waterways in danger.  A popular NC lake may be a casualty because of coal ash detritus, despite a 50-year-old agreement between NC and Duke Energy protecting nearby wetlands but not the lake. NC’s Dept of Environmental Quality is investigating collapse of structures built over a coal ash deposit. 

Global warming puts forests and trees at risk of changed distribution and forest cover loss.  An international report from 210 scientists in 42 countries said the natural world may lose 40% of plant species; the race is on to identify species now unknown that may be sources of “food, medicines and biofuels”. Gaps in food insecurity will continue to widen as climate crisis effects increase, though results will vary by country and region.

Scientists reported nighttime temperatures are increasing faster than those in daytime, affecting species active at night.  Ironically, China’s cleanup of coal plants could increase warming because their reduced sulfur dioxide emissions had previously reflected sunlight away from Earth; continued efforts could mean +.01°C by 2100.  Climate change is the #1 environmental concern, but worries about plastic’s ubiquity in our world continue.  Climate change effects include risks to superfund toxic waste sites, like those in NJ and TX.  A recent study warned about the ubiquity of “forever chemicals” and the difficulty regulators have in identifying and regulating them.

“While climate change was among the least-cited reasons [in a recent survey] for those who do not currently have children (behind financial, political and career concerns, among others),” a quarter of respondents said it influenced their decision to remain childless.

New scientific research concluded:  “By 2100 … [Greenland’s] ice sheet will shrink to [its] size … during the last time the world was hotter than today.”  By 2070 Australia’s inland rivers and waterways will be unrecognizable—thanks in part to changes in their physical structures from the effects of global warming. A recent study found “Mixing of the planet’s ocean waters is slowing down, speeding up global warming”.  Another study revealed the deep ocean off British Columbia is losing oxygen and becoming more acidic at an alarming rate.

Energy

Sierra Club asked and answered:  When hurricanes strike from the Gulf, “what happens to the offshore pipelines, deep-sea platforms, and underwater wellheads?”  One hurricane, 6 years ago, still causes massive pollution.  Big Springs TX-area residents are worried about effects on their water from a recent oil spill.

Xcel Energy wants to raise its TX customers’ electric bills because of falling natural gas prices but said a new wind farm will reduce them in early 2021.  Dominion Energy WV wants to charge customers a higher base rate for natural gas service, a rate consistent with increases of other WV gas utilities over the last decade.

Southern Company, GA Power’s corporate parent, “announced plans to convert 50 percent of its system fleet vehicles across the auto/SUV/minivan, forklift and ATV/cart/miscellaneous segments by 2030.”  Three House members—2 Democrats and 1 Republican—introduced the “Community Health and Clean Transit Act, [which] would provide zero-interest loans to help finance the purchase of zero-emission buses.”  Sierra Club reported that the DC Metro system is lagging behind other transit systems in upgrading to electric buses.

Tampa Electric Co wants to install 200 charging stations at “workplaces, retail businesses and government buildings.”  Dominion Energy announced rebates for charging stations “for multi-family communities, workplaces, transit bus depots and fast-charging locations….  A rebate program for the company’s residential customers will launch in Virginia in early 2021.”

Solar and wind power made the news:  Utility-scale project growth in several states; renewable energy supplied the majority of new power plant capacity in Q220; Duke Energy’s first floating solar array will be at NC’s Fort Bragg; TX is becoming a big player in the solar arena; a federal 10-year moratorium on “all offshore energy leasing, including conventional and renewable energy, beginning on July 1, 2022”.  The moratorium includes FL, SC, and NC, but not VA.

Recent Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP)-related actions/activities have included: legal challenges to re-issued stream crossing permits; and MVP won’t tell VA Health Dept about its Covid-19 plan.

The Dept of Energy awarded WVU engineers $3M to develop a process “to mitigate the emissions of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere … [from] natural gas flaring and harness the gas into high-value solid carbon and hydrogen for fuel.”  Canadian scientists are studying whether “blue carbon” in salt marshes and peatlands can mitigate sea level rise and be a carbon sink; they’re flooding marshes to find out.

Scientists created a “super-enzyme that degrades plastic bottles six times faster than before … and could be used for recycling within a year or two.”

Potpourri

Doug Tallamy: “A Guide to Restoring the Little Things that Run the World”

Sir David Attenborough:  Now on Instagram.  His 1^st-time video broke records for fastest accumulation of 1M followers.

“A major supermarket chain in Denmark lets customers know the carbon footprint of their groceries”.

Take the latest Washington Post Climate Quiz to learn what you know about climate effects, actions and events.

On NPR, OR Governor: “Confronting Reality of Longer and Hotter Fire Seasons”

Forbes video:  Covid-19’s effect on bird song.

Closing Thought

“Looking at the skies, it makes you feel like you’ve traveled somewhere even when you haven’t.” 

Compiled by Joy Loving for Les Grady
CAAV Steering Committee