Month: April 2021

The Roundup is a little longer this week, due to an extra paragraph about the Climate Summit.

Politics and Policy

At his climate summit, President Joe Biden pledged to slash US greenhouse gas emissions 50-52% by the end of the decade, while urging world leaders to go big.  He also promised to double US international climate finance by 2024 and triple funding for adaptation.  The UK confirmed that it will slash emissions by 78% by 2035.  The EU reached a provisional agreement to reduce its net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030.  China will start phasing down coal use from 2026.  Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia was on a path to net zero emissions but stopped short of setting a timeline.  Canada’s goal is to exceed a 40% reduction by 2030, although probably less than a 45% reduction.  Japan will cut its emissions by 46% from 2013 levels by 2030, up from its earlier goal of 26%.  South Korean will end all new financing for overseas coal projects and soon set a more ambitious schedule for slashing carbon emissions.  Russian President Vladimir Putin said he wanted Russia’s net greenhouse gas emissions to be less than the EU’s over the next 30 years.  Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro announced that his country would reach emissions neutrality by 2050.  The New York Times provided video highlights of the first day’s speeches, The Hill presented five takeaways, and Inside Climate News offered summaries of both Thursday’s and Friday’s activities.  A new report from Energy Innovation examined the policies required to meet Biden’s goals.  If you need some perspective on all of this, you might look at Carbon Brief’s profile of the US, released to coincide with the summit.

European Commission Executive Vice President Frans Timmermans told a US congressional subcommittee that Europe will protect its industries against competition from countries with lax climate rules by setting a levy on high carbon imports, also known as a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.  Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy announced the beginning of a week-long campaign to promote the Republican “alternative” climate agenda, but, according to Nick Cunningham at DeSmog, “Rather than reducing greenhouse gas emissions, all of the Republican bills aim to protect and expand gas drilling.”  Republicans raised several lines of attack on Biden’s American Jobs Plan at a hearing of the US Senate Committee on Appropriations, as well as at a Senate Banking Committee hearing.  They subsequently proposed a $568 billion, five-year counteroffer to Biden’s plan, focusing narrowly on traditional infrastructure projects and broadband access.

A hundred and one Nobel laureates called for governments to commit to a rapid and just transition away from fossil fuels and a “transformational plan” to ensure everyone around the world has access to renewable energy.  In a letter in Vogue to mark Earth Day, Greta Thunberg explained why world leaders must move beyond vague, hypothetical targets.  She also urged the US House Oversight Environment Subcommittee to end tax breaks for fossil fuel producers, saying their existence was a “disgrace.”  In The Sydney Morning Herald, UN secretary general Antonio Guterres wrote “Phasing out coal from the electricity sector is the single most important step to get in line with the 1.5°C goal.”  Nevertheless, data revealed that wealthy countries continue to pour money into fossil fuel projects in Africa and the Middle East.  To make intact forests more economically valuable than they would be if the land were cleared for timber and agriculture, the UK, Norway, and the US are joining forces with some of the world’s biggest companies to raise more than $1 billion for countries that can show they are protecting tropical forests.

Most of us are not aware of all the people working on climate policy in the Biden administration, so Politico provided a summary.  Coral Davenport had a profile of Climate Czar Gina McCarthy.  Biden has picked Rick Spinrad, an oceanographer with decades of science and policy experience, to run NOAA and has tapped Tracy Stone-Manning, a senior adviser for the National Wildlife Federation, to lead the Bureau for Land Management.  He also announced new heads of the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, and the Department of State’s Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Science Affairs.  The US Treasury named climate change financial adviser John Morton to head the department’s new “climate hub.”  The Biden administration is moving to end a legal battle with California over the state’s authority to regulate motor-vehicle emissions.  Governors from a dozen states are asking Biden to ban the sale by 2035 of cars and light trucks that emit greenhouse gases.

A new study looked at the social cost of methane and found that it is higher than CO₂.  Leading environmental advocacy groups sent a letter to Biden calling for a 40% or more cut in methane emissions by 2030.  Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) is a co-sponsor of legislation that would roll back the Trump methane rule by using the Congressional Review Act.  Interior Secretary Deb Haaland revoked a series of Trump administration orders that promoted fossil fuel development on public lands and waters, and issued a separate directive that prioritizes climate change in agency decisions.  A group of US electricity companies wrote to Biden saying it will work with his administration and Congress to design a broad set of policies to reach a near-term goal of slashing the sector’s carbon emissions 80% by 2030.  Most encouragement for development of wind and solar facilities is through incentives in the federal tax code, but some electric utilities don’t pay federal taxes and thus some other mechanism is needed to help them achieve net-zero emissions by 2035.  Senate Democrats introduced legislation that would overhaul “overly complex” energy tax incentives to encourage clean energy development.  On the subject of federal tax incentives, another question is whether they can help build the transmission lines needed to green the US grid?  The US will join an international effort to achieve zero emissions by 2050 in the global shipping industry.  Major banks and financial institutions announced two UN-backed coalitions aimed at advancing the Paris Climate Agreement’s goals.

Climate and Climate Science

There was a “relentless” intensification of the climate crisis in 2020, according to the UN’s World Meteorological Organization.  Climate change has several “tipping points”, but UK scientists said they can be “temporarily exceeded” without causing irreversible damage, provided swift action is taken.  The effects of climate change can be expected to shave 11% to 14% off global economic output by 2050, according to a report from Swiss Re; that amounts to as much as $23 trillion in reduced annual global economic output.

In an essay at The Conversation, three climate scientists discussed the concept of “net-zero” CO₂ emissions, writing: “We have arrived at the painful realization that the idea of net zero has licensed a recklessly cavalier ‘burn now, pay later’ approach which has seen carbon emissions continue to soar.”  In a piece entitled “The Science of Climate Change Explained: Facts, Evidence and Proof”, Julia Rosen provided definitive answers to the big questions at The New York Times.  Groups tied to the fossil fuel industry are launching a preemptive attack on attribution scientists’ findings before they can be used in the courtroom.

Swirling and meandering ocean currents that help shape the world’s climate have gone through a “global-scale reorganization” over the past three decades.  Typhoon Surigae’s rate of intensification was unprecedented for an April storm, with its wind speed leaping some 105 mph in just 36 hours, from Category 2 to Category 5.  Sea meadows store more carbon per acre than forests, but little is known about them, including why they are shrinking; scientists are racing to understand why.  Bottom trawling, a fishing practice where large nets are dragged along the sea floor, is exacerbating the climate crisis by resuspending carbon-rich sediments.

Two prominent climate scientists argued against the implementation of solar geoengineering in The Guardian, while at The Conversation, a biologist wrote that “there aren’t enough trees to offset society’s carbon emissions – and there never will be.”

New research has found that lake heatwaves could become between three and 12 times longer by the end of this century and between 0.3°C and 1.7°C hotter, risking catastrophic damage to some lake ecosystems.

Energy

After a pandemic-year retreat, demand for coal is set to rise by 4.5% this year, mainly to meet soaring electricity demand.  As a consequence, CO₂ emissions are forecast to jump this year by the second biggest annual rise in history.  Exxon announced in February it was establishing ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions, a new business arm focusing on capturing CO₂ emissions from various industries, and now it wants federal assistance to use the Houston Ship Channel as a pilot project.

Toyota debuted its bZ4X SUV, one of 15 fully electric cars the company plans to make by 2025.  Volvo Trucks will launch three all-electric heavy-duty models for intercity transport and the construction industry by the second half of 2022, to be followed by vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells during the latter half of the decade.  Arrival is creating highly automated “microfactories” where its electric delivery vans and buses will be assembled by multitasking robots, rather than on a traditional assembly line.

The World Bank has pointed to green hydrogen and ammonia as key fuels for decarbonizing maritime transport.  Pacific Northwest industry and government officials are taking a closer look at hydrogen as an alternative for diesel fuel and gasoline.  Southern California Gas Co. and H2U Technologies are partnering to conduct demonstration testing on a new form of electrolyzer meant to make green hydrogen production less costly.

Although it is a couple of weeks old, this article by a natural gas proponent is worth reading because he does a good job of evaluating the question of whether natural gas can be part of a low-carbon future.  A major use of natural gas (methane) is for home heating, with the resulting CO₂ emissions going directly to the atmosphere, creating a major challenge for cities hoping to achieve net-zero emissions.  Proponents of a proposed 55 MW natural gas “peaker” power plant argue that it will free them up to add more renewable energy to their portfolios; opponents aren’t so sure.

Recently I included an article about solid-state battery company QuantumScape.  This week, Eric Wesoff addressed the question of whether they can live up to the hype about them.  In the third article in Canary Media’s series on batteries, David Roberts explored the many varieties of lithium-ion batteries battling for a share in a trillion-dollar market.  A new analysis from Wood Mackenzie suggests that the Americas are on track to leapfrog the Asia-Pacific region in terms of deployed energy storage by 2025, achieving more than half of global capacity by the end of the decade.  Gravitricity is one of a handful of gravity-based energy storage companies attempting to improve on an old idea.

Potpourri

Reuters has a series of features dubbed “the hot list” profiling the world’s “most influential” climate scientists; it has been widely criticized on Twitter by climate scientists.  The documentary, The Race to Save the World, makes the case for the urgency of climate action by burrowing deep into the lives of activists on the frontline who “… have no choice but to do whatever they can … .”  teen Vogue examined some of the moments that made young people realize the climate crisis will define their lives.  Experts say that religious leaders, who know how to relate to communities on an emotional level, may be best positioned to convince people to support climate activism.  Andrew Couts, deputy editor of Gizmodo, says “It’s time to kill Earth Day.”

Closing Thought

For Earth Day, Washington Post climate reporter Sarah Kaplan wrote poetically about humanity’s greatest ally in the fight against climate change, the Earth itself, and our need to protect its ecosystems.

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

President Joe Biden proposed $14 billion in spending on initiatives to fight climate change in his 2022 budget.  More than 300 businesses and investors called on the Biden administration to cut US greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% below 2005 levels by 2030.  Getting there is a challenging goal and a new series of briefs by RMI provides insights into how to achieve it.  A panel of international energy company executives said that the move to renewable energy is unstoppable, although investments in nuclear power, carbon capture and storage, energy storage, and transmission will also be required.  Environmentalists are debating how carbon offsets should fit into the goal of reaching “net-zero” emissions by 2050.  The editorial board of The Washington Post called on Biden to seek a carbon tax.  Executives from oil companies, utilities, and some of the world’s biggest companies met virtually with senators and staff to push a carbon-fee-and-dividend proposal, although many environmental groups remain skeptical of the regulatory trade-offs involved.  Meanwhile, 375 state and local elected officials signed a letter calling for an outright ban on new federal permits for fracking and fossil fuel infrastructure.  However, in an essay examining our future, Jeff Goodell wrote: “Fossil fuels are emblematic of a culture, a way of life, a political hierarchy, and an empire of wealth that will not go quietly into the night.”  The Interior Department has become the first big battlefield in the brewing fight over Biden’s climate change agenda.  The Washington State legislature has passed a bill that sets a target for all model-year-2030 passenger vehicles to be electric. 

The Senate confirmed Brenda Mallory to lead the White House Council on Environmental Quality.  Top Senate Democrats signaled they may have no choice but to bypass Republicans in order to advance President Joe Biden’s infrastructure package.  Two senators introduced a bipartisan bill to provide billions of dollars to plug oil and gas wells to provide jobs and cut methane emissions.  A coalition of US manufacturers and environmental organizations is calling on the government to quickly phase out the worst climate super-polluting chemicals used in air conditioners, refrigerators, etc.  Proposals to legislatively establish a clean electricity standard are getting attention from lobbyists in both the energy and advocacy sectors.

JPMorgan Chase said it will commit more than $2.5 trillion over the next decade toward long-term solutions that tackle climate change and contribute to sustainable development.  The Ohio River Valley Institute and ReImagine Appalachia released new reports detailing how Appalachian communities can create more than 30,000 new jobs by reclaiming and remediating abandoned coal mines and oil and gas wells.  Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL) and house colleagues plan to introduce the Climate Risk Disclosure Act, which would eliminate biases in our financial system that impede efforts to significantly address climate change.

The Biden administration is nearing agreements with Japan, South Korea, and Canada to bolster carbon emission reduction targets ahead of the Earth Day summit, but similar deals with China, India, and Brazil remain elusive.  Climate envoy John Kerry met in Shanghai with his Chinese counterpart to press Beijing on reducing its carbon emissions, but in Beijing’s view, the US still has much ground to recover after walking away from the Paris Climate Agreement (PCA).  Biden’s plan to give $1.2 billion to the Green Climate Fund is “not enough” to make up for missed US payments, campaigners have said.  A majority of residents of European cities support a Europe-wide phaseout of internal combustion engine car sales from 2030 to reduce planet-warming emissions.  French MPs have voted to suspend domestic airline flights on routes that can be travelled by direct train in less than 2.5 hours.  Canada’s opposition Conservative Party dropped its resistance to carbon pricing and adopted a fee on emissions and fuels as part of its own climate plan.  A carbon price that starts low and rises steadily could help Asian countries reach their targets under the PCA over the next decade, according to the International Monetary Fund.  Around 40% of “committed emissions” from coal plants that have been built or proposed in Asia since 2015 could be attributed to the Western banks that financed them — with most of the remainder coming from Chinese banks.

Climate and Climate Science

An assertion by the Climate Council of Australia that the global average temperature rise will likely exceed 1.5°C by the 2030s has been challenged by others in the scientific community.  At NPR, Rebecca Hersher explained why the atmosphere will continue to heat Earth, even if greenhouse gas emissions stopped tomorrow.  Researchers have found that melting land-based Northern Hemisphere ice, which increased global sea levels, was linked to retreat of the Southern Hemisphere’s Antarctic ice sheet.

More than one-third of the claims payments made last year by the National Flood Insurance Program were for properties located outside areas that FEMA considers at the highest risk of flooding.  Polling and analysis released last week by real estate site Redfin found that a surprisingly high number of Americans weighed climate risks into their decisions about whether or not to move.  Across the globe, the wealthiest 10% of people accounted for nearly half of the growth in CO₂ emissions associated with consumption habits from 1990 to 2015 — with the richest 5% responsible for more than a third.

Summer monsoon rainfall in India could increase by 5% for every 1°C increase in global temperatures, putting millions at greater risk of flooding and crop failure.  As Uganda’s mountain ice caps melt, ethnic groups are losing the traditional belief systems that have sustained them for thousands of years.  In western Canada and the US Upper Midwest, continuing drought has farmers extremely concerned as they approach planting time.  When the black spruce forests that recently burned in interior Alaska began regrowing, aspen and birch trees were mixed in with the spruce and were becoming the dominant species.

California, NASA, satellite company Planet, and others — with the backing of billionaire Michael Bloomberg — will launch their first two satellites in 2023 as part of a $100 million effort to pinpoint large emissions of methane from individual sources like power plants and oil refineries.

New Community Project’s Climate Farm aims to be an agricultural research center for carbon farming methods suitable to Rockingham County, VA.  In California, incorporating agricultural wastes and by-products into cows’ diets is a key component in the dairy industry’s efforts to cut its greenhouse gas emissions.

Energy

A new kind of power plant using an Allam cycle natural gas turbine, which doesn’t add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, will be built in the US, potentially providing a way for utilities to keep burning natural gas without contributing to global warming.  Another new idea for using natural gas is a fuel cell that can be added to a fossil fuel power plant to capture the CO₂ from it while producing additional electricity.

China must shut down nearly 600 of its coal-fired power plants — representing 364GW of capacity — in the next 10 years, replacing them with renewable electricity generation, to meet its goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2060.  China hopes to build eight nuclear power plants each year between 2021 and 2025.

For those who want to do a deep dive into energy storage, Canary Media has started a new series of articles by David Roberts, beginning with why lithium-ion batteries are so important and how they work.  It was followed by an article on long-duration storage.  Korean battery companies SK Innovation and LG Chem reached an agreement that will allow the former to continue developing its $2.6 billion lithium-ion battery factory in Georgia.  Ultium Cells, a joint venture between LG Chem and GM, has picked a site in Tennessee for its second EV battery plant.  Hyundai’s upcoming Ioniq 5 electric vehicle (EV) will feature bidirectional charging, which allows its owner to use the vehicle’s battery to power just about anything that can plug into a wall.  QuantumScape is working to produce a semi-solid-state battery that is denser, safer, and faster-charging than today’s lithium-ion batteries; Volkswagen is planning to use it in its new EVs.  Lithium-ion battery recycling specialist Li-Cycle will build its third facility in Arizona.

Gas network operators from 11 countries have joined the European hydrogen backbone initiative, bringing the total network to almost 25,000 miles connecting 21 countries, offering a “technically and economically plausible” way of building a pure hydrogen network.  Canada has launched a Hydrogen Strategy Steering Committee.  China’s largest solar-power-based hydrogen production and energy storage project has been commissioned and put into operation in Ningxia Province.  In Washington State, the Douglas County Public Utility District is making a $20 million investment in an electrolysis system to produce green hydrogen using the excess electricity produced by their Wells Dam hydroelectric facility.

On Thursday, researchers at GridLab, Energy Innovation, and the University of California, Berkeley released a report that outlines the challenges and rewards of having all new cars and trucks sold in the US be powered by electricity by 2035.  DOE unveiled a $100 million funding opportunity, dubbed SuperTruck 3, to enlist truck makers, battery and drivetrain manufacturers, and technology developers in putting electric and fuel-cell-powered trucks to real-world tests over the next four years.

Potpourri

The latest craze in the art world is digital collectibles known as nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, which have a huge carbon footprint.  Elizabeth McGowan of Energy News Network interviewed Liza Myers Borches, president and CEO of Carter Myers Automotive, about EVs in Virginia.  The Yale Program on Climate Change Communication announced the second cohort of their Public Voices Fellows on the Climate Crisis.  John Topping, whose work to warn the world of the risks of climate change stretched back to the 1980s and who helped spur the international effort to limit warming, died on March 9.  Google Earth launched a time-lapse feature that lets users wind back the clock and see how the world has changed over several decades.  Maeve Brennan wrote about the health co-benefits of fighting climate change.  Scientific American has agreed with major news outlets worldwide to start using the term “climate emergency” in its coverage of climate change.  The whitest-ever paint reflects 98% of sunlight as well as radiating infrared heat through the atmosphere into space. 

Closing Thoughts

Sustainability scientist Kimberly Nicholas, author of, Under the Sky We Make: How to Be Human in a Warming World, said: “… we are not going to be able to save all the things we love.”  Instead, we have to “swim through that ocean of grief … and recognize that we still have time to act, and salvage many of the things we care about.”  Staff writer David Montgomery had an extended piece in The Washington Post Magazine entitled: “The Search for Environmental Hope.”

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 White House infrastructure package contains a number of environmental agenda items high on progressive wish lists, but some fear they could be sacrificed to ensure passage in the 50-50 Senate. (ICYMI, David Roberts had a good summary of what is in the package.)  Republicans have a much narrower view of infrastructure.  The Senate parliamentarian suggested that the Senate could use budget reconciliation twice every fiscal year, rather than just once, possibly giving Democrats a chance to move the infrastructure legislation forward with just 51 votes, although one Democratic senator opposes such an approach.  Furthermore, things are not that rosy in the House, where the Democratic majority slipped to two with the death of one Congressman and the resignation of two to serve in Biden’s cabinet.  Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen released details of a tax hike proposal that would replace subsidies for fossil fuel companies with incentives for production of clean energy.  The US will need new electric transmission lines to meet Biden’s aim of eliminating the power sector’s net carbon pollution, but public opposition has doomed many such projects.

Karin Kirk examined three questions: how many jobs does each US state have in wind and solar; how much wind and solar potential is there in each state; and how well has each state done in creating jobs in wind and solar, given the size of its potential.  The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy found that only six of 36 states evaluated have some form of equity mandate for the investment of ratepayer funds to support and expand EV charging infrastructure.  Jeff St. John of Canary Media summarized some of the major findings of their analysis along with other ideas for meeting the electric transportation needs of underserved communities.  According to three journalists at the frontlines of climate and environmental issues, systemic racism and inequity have always run as a powerful undercurrent through climate change impacts.

A panel of federal appeals judges nixed a Trump administration rule that would have prevented the EPA from setting greenhouse gas limits on multiple polluting industries.  By the end of July, the EPA will propose stricter emissions standards for vehicles that are sufficient to meet “the urgency of the climate crisis.”  The “Global Trends” report, released by the National Intelligence Council, paints a bleak picture of what Americans can expect over the next 20 years, warning of a planet ravaged by pandemics and climate change.  Many think that the best way to fight climate change is to put a price on carbon, but the authors of the book Making Climate Policy Work argue that such an approach isn’t working.  The Biden administration will not shut down the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline while an environmental review is conducted.

US Climate Envoy John Kerry said he was “not confident, but hopeful” that China would be willing to partner with other countries on meeting carbon emission reduction targets.  A small but growing number of world leaders have begun citing an offense they say poses a threat to humanity similar to genocide: ecocide.  According to a new assessment by the World Bank (WB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and others, the combination of debt, climate change, and environmental degradation “represents a systemic risk to the global economy…”.  The WB and the IMF are planning to launch a platform to advise poor countries on funding climate and conservation activities.  Petroleum nations face a perilous future as the world decarbonizes, with declining oil revenues threatening their finances, making a strong case for industrialized countries offering more support to less well-off producer economies.  Brazil’s environment minister wants $1 billion in foreign aid to help reduce deforestation in the Amazon between 30% and 40%.  Greenland’s left-wing environmentalist party won a victory in general elections on Tuesday after campaigning against the development of a rare earths mine partly backed by China.

Climate and Climate Science

It may come as a surprise, given the extensive body of evidence connecting humans to climate change, but directly-observed proof of the human impact had eluded science, until now.  In the study, NASA calculated the individual driving forces of recent climate change through direct satellite observations, and consistent with what climate models have shown for decades, greenhouse gases and aerosols from the burning of fossil fuels are responsible for the lion’s share of warming.  CO₂ and methane emissions surged in 2020 even amid coronavirus shutdowns, according to research from NOAA released Wednesday.

A new study identified three distinct tipping points in model simulations of West Antarctica’s Pine Island glacier, which, if crossed, could lead to its rapid and irreversible retreat.  Another simulation study revealed that because of hydrofracturing, four Antarctic ice shelves will be vulnerable to disintegration at 4°C of warming, but that limiting warming to 2°C will halve the ice shelf area susceptible to collapse.  Meanwhile, direct observations of what’s going on under the ice shelf of the Thwaites glacier revealed that the supply of warm water to the glacier’s base is larger than scientists previously believed.  At the other end of Earth, scientists working in Greenland have refined their understanding of how meltwater flowing down to the base of a glacier increases the rate at which the glacier is sliding toward the sea.

Rainstorms grew more erratic and droughts much longer across most of the US West over the past half-century and the situation is worsening.  Unrelenting drought and years of rising temperatures due to climate change are pushing the long-overallocated Colorado River into new territory, setting the stage for the largest mandatory water cutbacks to date.  Critical April 1 measurements of snow accumulations from mountain ranges across the region show that most streams and rivers will once again flow well below average levels this year.

Analysis of the locations of almost 50,000 marine species between 1955 and 2015 found that species are moving away from the equator, causing scientists to warn that further warming will cut the richness of species in the tropics even further.  Seagrasses play a large role in regulating ocean environments, storing over twice as much CO₂ per square mile than terrestrial forests, but scientists know little about them.  Examination of ocean characteristics with depth revealed that over the past 50 years the intermixing of the upper and lower layers decreased at a rate that was six times faster than scientists were anticipating.  New research has found that even the deepest parts of the Great Lakes are getting warmer.

On May 4, the hotter Earth will officially become the new normal when NOAA releases its once-a-decade update to “climate normals,” which are the 30-year averages for temperature and precipitation that local meteorologists rely on as the baseline for their forecasts.  One recognized impact of climate change is in the pattern of rainfall.  Unfortunately, rainfall atlases in the US have not kept up with the new “normal,” causing stormwater infrastructure to often be inadequate from the moment it is built.  Bipartisan bills pending in Congress would fund NOAA updates of the atlases at least every five years.

Energy

GM has a new battery system that will allow the company to incorporate future advances in battery technology without having to redesign its vehicle platform.  It is testing a variety of battery chemistries, technologies, and manufacturing processes aimed at slashing the cost of EV batteries and reducing dependence on metals like cobalt.  GM will produce an electric version of its popular Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck.  President Biden’s plan to jump-start the US EV market faces a roadblock: a weak supply chain that is making it difficult for automakers to get enough batteries to scale up production.  Nth Cycle has developed a new battery-recycling technology that employs a method called “electro-extraction” to harvest cobalt, nickel, and manganese from old lithium-ion batteries.

Dan Gearino examined the continuing fight over compensation to rooftop solar owners for the electricity they send to the grid.  Meanwhile, United Parcel Service announced it has agreed to purchase ten electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft from Beta Technologies to test their use in its Express Air delivery network.

At Energy Monitor, Justin Gerdes discussed the role of large-scale battery storage in the energy transition.  New York-based retail energy provider David Energy plans to enter the Texas retail market and demonstrate how natural-gas microgrids and battery-backed solar can hedge against climate change risk.  Terabase Energy aims to drive down utility-scale solar power prices to less than $0.01 per kW-hr by 2025, by using software, automation, and modeling to optimize power-plant operation.  A team of researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory is leading an ongoing analysis of how to manage retiring photovoltaic solar panels in support of a circular economy for energy materials.

Grist, in partnership with the Texas Observer, conducted an in-depth study of nonproductive oil and gas wells in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico and estimated the number that are likely to be abandoned in the future.  (Other articles in the series: Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.)  Representative Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM) introduced a bill authorizing $8 billion to plug and clean up abandoned oil and gas wells nationwide.

Many cities in Europe use waste heat from their fossil-fuel power plants to heat their buildings, meaning that new sources of heat must be found as those plants are shut down.  Now, scientists and engineers in the Czech Republic have developed a system for using the heat from spent nuclear fuel rods to do that.

Potpourri

A Gallup poll, published Monday, found that 88% of Democrats believe that increases in Earth’s temperature are primarily caused by human activities, whereas just 32% of Republicans said the same.  Later this month, a three-part BBC documentary about Greta Thunberg will première on PBS.  Experts on land use, climate change, and sustainable agriculture agree that two habits associated with food have the greatest environmental impact: wasting it and eating large amounts of meat.  In concluding an article about what concerns climate scientists the most, the author wrote: “… while we laypeople might be worrying about what the science says, climate scientists are often worrying about us.”  The Biden administration called on the US Court of Appeals for the 9^th Circuit to reject a second attempt by a group of children to sue the government over climate change.  The EPA and leading appliance manufacturers have finally released key chemical refrigerant information that makes it easier for consumers to purchase climate-friendly refrigerators.

Closing Thought

A surgeon and a psychotherapist offered advice on how to grow more resilient during the climate crisis by providing six ways to stay balanced.

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 this week’s news roundup in Les Grady’s absence!

Politics and Policy

Legislation and Litigation:

• Biden’s $2+ trillion dollar “American Jobs Plan would rebuild roads, highways and bridges; confront the climate crisis and curb wealth inequality.” Methane emission reductions efforts would create jobs to make that happen.  Not everyone believes the massive infrastructure plan goes far enough; others believe it’s too much or bad policy.  (The Guardian, VA Mercury, NYTimes, CNBC, Inside Climate News, Washington Post, Washington Post, Bloomberg, Washington Post)
• History of two controversial pipelines owned by the Canadian company Enbridge–Line 3 and Line 5.  Line 3 running through the Great Lakes region in Wisconsin and Michigan has caused spills and leaks; it’s the subject of litigation over a possible shutdown. Line 5 runs through Minnesota “across 200 water bodies and 78 miles of wetlands — and through Ojibwe land in violation of treaty rights,” according to its opponents.  (Narwhal, Capitol & Main)
• California’s legislature is “leaning into” sea level rise, considering bills to slow its impacts and address the underlying cause. (San Diego Union‑Tribune)
• Several states are considering or enacting legislation to prohibit localities from banning new natural gas hookups.  (KUT–TX, WSAV—GA, Energy News Network–NC, E&E News–MA)
• Texas legislators are “adding fees on solar and wind electricity production in the state in hopes of boosting fossil fuels.” (Houston Chronicle)
• Several “coal states” want to “make it harder to shut down coal-fired power plants even as clean energy becomes cheaper.” (Bloomberg)
• Indiana is grappling with whether and how to pursue the opportunities wind energy could bring.  (Inside Climate News)

Administration, regulations, and analysis:

• The fossil fuel industry is retuning its opposition to carbon pricing, given the current effort to reconsider federal oil and gas leasing.  (Independent)
• The EPA withdrew a key permit for the Key Limetree Bay Refinery on St. Croix after an accident spewed an oil and water mist over the nearby area.  It didn’t order the plant closed; the situation “presents one of the earliest tests of … Biden’s vow to clean up pollution in … disadvantaged communities.”  The EPA moved to dismiss members of two scientific panels appointed during the prior administration.  The EPA is “making major changes to the way it evaluates the safety of new chemicals.”  Biden appointed his Environmental Justice panel. (Washington Post, Inside Climate News, Washington Post, c&en, The Hill)
• The Biden administration is making a “big push” for off-shore wind along the East Coast.  (Washington Post, NYTimes, Reuters)
• The auto industry wants Biden to go big on a “comprehensive EV plan”.  (Reuters, Washington Post)
• The Energy Department plans to revamp the processes and rules on energy efficiency put into effect by the prior administration. (NRDC, The Hill, AEEE)
• FEMA has tweaked its proposed increases in federal flood insurance. This illustrates one of many tough choices the Biden administration will have to make as part of its infrastructure plan.  (The Hill, NYTimes)

Financial sector:

• A former chief investment officer at Blackrock said “green investing” isn’t “going to work” in free markets because “the system is built to extract profits.” (The Guardian)
• Economists worldwide believe “economic benefits from net-zero emissions by 2050 would outweigh the cost of achieving it.” (Al Jazeera)
• The Federal Reserve Chair said “Climate change poses [an] ‘existential threat’ to financial markets.”  The World Bank is hedging.  (Politico, Reuters)
• “Diversify or divest” is the message to oil producers from a recent study.  (The Guardian)
• Biden’s infrastructure plan seeks to “green the financial sector.”  What does that mean?  (The Atlantic)

Climate and Climate Science

Drought, flooding, hurricanes, fires, oceans, and rivers:

• Sea level rise is occurring at the fastest rate in two millennia.  (NJ.com)
• Relatively low “maximum” Arctic sea ice is “the new normal.”  (Arctic Today)
• Without “transformative intervention,” Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is probably doomed.  (The Sydney Morning Herald)
• The Interior Department will provide Louisiana $110 Million from oil revenue funds to address “coastal restoration and hurricane protection.” (The Times‑Picayune)
• There is ongoing debate about who should pay to replace and repair old flood walls in Michigan neighborhoods.  (Bridge Michigan)
• Canada’s Maritime Provinces experience hurricanes.  A new study says more areas of the country need to prepare for hurricane-force winds. (CBC)
• California is pessimistic about its summer drought prospects because of lower snowfall.  North Dakota, reeling from a lengthy drought, declared a state of emergency because of current wildfires; 2021 has already seen over “140 wildfires … [and] over 30,000 [burned] acres….” (The Sacramento Bee, CNN)

Plastics, Chemicals, and Waste:

• A major sandstorm brought more than sand to Beijing, “turning [the] sun blue and [the] sky yellow, thanks in part to the accompanying pollutants. (The Guardian)
• Bromide poisoning is thought to be the cause of bald eagle deaths.  In Canada, “Decades of arsenic poisoning produced by Giant Mine has caused irreversible damage to Dene First Nation land.”  Fracking in northwest New Mexico on Navajo lands managed by the Bureaus of Land Management and Indian Affairs resulted in 3,600+ “oil spills, fires, blowouts and gas releases” since 2009, and contamination of drinking water. Farmers’ deployment of pesticides and herbicides has harmed pollinators and invertebrates, and land plants more than mammals and birds.  (New Scientist, Capital Current, Capital and Main, AAAS)
• The chemical spill in a river near Charleston West Virginia several years back polluted drinking water of 300,000 area residents.  An earlier chemical explosion and fire also occurred there.  West Virginia legislators are considering rolling back regulations aimed at preventing such incidents.  (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• “A former Syngenta scientist calls the failures to heed his warnings about the deadly pesticide ‘a conspiracy within the company to keep this quiet.’” Numbers of people who ingested the pesticide, which acts quickly on plants and is also toxic to humans, committed suicide.  (The Intercept)
• A 9-month investigation of US water in multiple locations revealed high levels of “arsenic, lead and toxic chemicals”.  Pittsboro, North Carolina is one example.  (The Guardian, The Guardian)
• An upstate New York project showed we can lessen road salt’s negative environmental and other effects by using less, timing its placement, and using alternative treatments and equipment.  (Undark)
• An environmental medicine and public health professor warns that human reproductive capability is at risk from chemicals in our environment. (The Guardian

Environment:

• The burning of tropical forests continued apace in 2020, putting world climate goals at risk.  (Washington Post, NYTimes, Mongabay, Grist)
• Can farms actually assist wildlife? Homeowners?  Rivers? (Grist, NYTimes, Mongabay)
• What if we could block some of the sun’s energy by radiating it back into space?  The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine think we should study if this solar geoengineering is possible.  A test flight “for sun blocking research” was cancelled after objections.  (NYTimes, The Guardian, NYTimes)
• Pittsburgh’s temperatures have warmed enough that it’s one of the worst areas for plant and pollen allergies.  Northern Siberia has warmed so much it’s now the quickest-to-warm-area world-wide.  “Thaw-triggered landslides are a growing hazard in the warming North.” (Pittsburg Post‑Gazette, The Barents Observer, Arctic North)
• Climate change has erased agricultural production gains of the past 60 years.  (Environmental Health News)
• In case you’re in doubt, NASA “has proven what is driving climate change through direct observations — a gold standard in scientific research.” Spoiler alert:  It’s us.  (CBS News)

Energy

Renewables, biomass, and nuclear:

• Clean energy + battery storage can yield “the same energy security as coal, research finds.” (The Guardian)
• West Virginia’s Senate wants to promote wind and solar as a use for reclaimed lands.  Its House wants to incentivize energy efficiency.  (Charleston Gazette‑Mail, Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• A Scottish windfarm’s success is signaling “global potential.”  “Big Wind Turbines Prove No Deadlier to Wildlife Than Small Units.” (The Guardian, Bloomberg)
• “In a record year for clean energy purchases, Southeast cities stand out.”  (Energy News Network)

Transportation:

• Thinking about buying an electric vehicle (EV)?  Here are details. (Washington Post)
• EV battery technology includes minerals and metals.  Increasing demand may mean extraction of US resources will increase.  (Energy Storage News
• North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality is continuing its EV rebate program “for Level 2 charging projects,” using funding from the state’s Volkswagen settlement.  (WWAY)
• Biden’s infrastructure plan is betting on EVs.  (NYTimes)
• A relatively few number of travelers account for most of air travel emissions:  Data “from the countries with the highest aviation emissions, shows a worldwide pattern of a small group taking a large proportion of flights”.  (The Guardian)
• Biden’s “infrastructure plan calls for $80 billion for rail. It could transform passenger service.”  Could the plan also assist communities previously harmed by past projects?  What about Americans’ preference for cars?  (Washington Post, NYTimes, NYTimes)

Fossil fuels and Extraction:

• West Virginia’s Senate “will consider a bill aimed at maintaining a place for coal in … [its] energy production.”  China accounted for half the world’s 2020 coal-fired generation.  (Metro News, Reuters)
• What if carbon capture and storage could work?  “Shopify, the Canadian company that runs e-commerce sites, wants to … pay … a Texas venture to pull carbon dioxide from the sky and store it underground.”  The Energy Department announced it’s developed a solvent that would greatly cut carbon capture costs.  (Grist, E&E News)
• Pipelines put communities, human health, and flora and fauna at risk.  Russia is a leader in oil leaks.  Memphis property owners continue their fight against the proposed Byhalia pipeline.  (DW, Grist, CBS News, WREG News, Climate XChange)

Potpourri

• What if your house was your energy storage system?  Be sure to note the publication date:  April 1, 2021 (VA Mercury)
• An Icelandic writer and poet spent years penning his book On Time and Water to explain just how critical our climate crisis is, hoping to get more people to understand.  It’s now in English. The American author of Under the Sky We Make says what we do can make difference, especially “if you’re rich.” (Grist, Grist)
• You, and your kids, can share ideas about restoring the earth by entering Earth Day Every Day’s art contest; hurry, April 11 is the deadline for submissions. (Augusta Free Press)
• A Brooklyn man founded BlocPower to help residents of low-income buildings lower energy bills through solar and efficiency improvements.  He’s done so well he’s planning to expand to other large cities.  (Washington Post)
• A new book traces past and current migratory bird patterns. It offers wondrous details and sobering realities.  (NYTimes)
• Ever listened to Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons”?  It’s been updated by “composers, scientists, [and] designers” for our “climate change era.”  (Yale Climate Connections)
• Did you know that planting oaks will do a lot more than sequester carbon?  (NYTimes)

Closing Thought

“Scientists note nine planetary boundaries beyond which we can’t push Earth Systems without putting our societies at risk: climate change, biodiversity loss, ocean acidification, ozone depletion, atmospheric aerosol pollution, freshwater use, biogeochemical flows of nitrogen and phosphorus, land‑system change, and release of novel chemicals.”  This Earth month, consider how well we’ve done.  (Mongabay)

Compiled by Joy Loving

CAAV Steering Committee