EDITOR'S CHOICE

The World Finally Agrees to Cut Emissions the Easy Way: Limit Methane Emssions

02 Dec 2023 | Synopsis

"Today day is Methane Day at COP28 in Dubai...Biden administration finalized the strongest-ever federal regulations in the U.S. covering the methane that leaks from existing oil and gas wells...Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan...joined a global pledge to reduce methane emissions by 30%...Nearly 50 oil and gas companies signed onto a 'decarbonization charter"...China also recently released a methane action plan..."

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A California Lake Has Enough Lithium To Power 375 Million EVs

02 Dec 2023 | Synopsis

"Researchers from the Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory say the reserve can support the production of 3,400 kilotons of lithium...California Energy Commission...gave a $6 million grant to Berkshire Hathaway Energy, as well as a $1.46 million grant to Controlled Thermal Resources a few years back to develop extraction techniques...Companies are working toward a direct lithium extraction technology that can extract the brine and separate lithium from other metals."

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The Iceberg Cometh: It's The Size Of Oahu, And It's Moving Into The Open Ocean

01 Dec 2023 | Synopsis

"The largest iceberg in the world, A-23a, is on the move into open ocean!" [announced] British Antarctic Survey...It's a trillion tons of ice...Iceberg A-23a measures 40 by 32 nautical miles...For comparison, Hawaii's island of Oahu is 44 miles long and 30 miles across.

"...the more important thing for people to be aware of is that Antarctica in other places is losing ice very rapidly...that actually is a much more serious problem."

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Why Climate Advocates Demand a 'Just Transition' Away From Fossil Fuels

01 Dec 2023 | Synopsis

"At its core, just transition is the idea that as the world's economy decarbonizes, it needs to do so in a way that ensures workers, communities and countries that are reliant on fossil fuels are not left behind.

"...a just transition is also about addressing the past harms those communities have faced by making sure they are included in the transition to clean energy...We could say that we are in transition to figuring out a just transition."

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At COP28, Cities Will Show Us the Way

01 Dec 2023 | Synopsis

"For the first time, the United Nations Climate Change Conference will allow mayors and governors to engage directly with national and international leaders

"Local leaders around the world are proving that when we join our strengths, pool our resources, and come together in a genuine spirit of partnership, local and national governments can achieve great progress and help safeguard the future." -- Michael R Bloomberg and Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr

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A Devil's Bargain Comes Due, Threatening the Planet

01 Dec 2023 | Synopsis

"With so much opportunity to deploy renewable energy technologies that cut pollution, create jobs and save money for consumers, why is global progress so elusive?"

"The answer lies in the devil's bargain reached at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. Despite delivering the world's first agreement set on stabilizing the world's climate, the Rio agreement rejected any fossil fuel curbs."

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The UN Climate Summit Scandal That Was Bound To Happen

01 Dec 2023 | Synopsis

"...leaked documents obtained from a whistleblower...purportedly show...controversial president of the 28th Conference of Parties... planned to leverage his role as head of the summit to broker oil and gas deals...and boost fossil fuel exports from the United Arab Emirates

"... fossil fuel interests have long maintained an outsize presence at the talks. Oil, gas and coal companies have been among the biggest sponsors of previous conferences."

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Electric Vehicles Are Less Reliable Than Conventional Cars, Finds Most Recent CR Survey

30 Nov 2023 | Synopsis

"Hybrids are the most reliable cars and PHEVs the least reliable in CR's most recent survey...on average, EVs from the past three model years had 79 percent more problems than conventional cars...some of the most common problems EV owners report are issues with electric drive motors, charging, and EV batteries

"...Tesla's Model 3 and Model Y are now the sweet spot in the automotive industry when it comes to building electric cars..."

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Range Anxiety? What A New Study Found

30 Nov 2023 | Synopsis

"Prediction of electrical use and environmental benefit base their calculations on vehicle miles traveled.

"Models that assume equal substitution between BEV and CV usage are implicitly assuming an optimistic scenario that is inconsistent with historical usage."

"...the study suggests that the majority of early BEV adopters owning more than one vehicle may choose to drive their BEV less, using their second conventional vehicle for distance"

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Electric Vehicle Batteries May Have A New Source Material - Used Tires

30 Nov 2023 | Synopsis

"T-Phite is putting used car tires through a process called pyrolysis...putting the tires under extreme heat so that they break down into smaller molecules...become three primary byproducts – pyrolytic oil, steel and carbon black...contains graphite material essential to providing an electric pathway within batteries for energy to surge.

"In the U.S. alone, roughly 250 million tires are left for scrap every year..."

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