Energy & the Environment News and Discussions

[firestar464]

Brookfield and Microsoft Collaborating to Deliver Over 10.5 GW of New Renewable Power Capacity Globally

https://bep.brookfield.com/press-releas ... able-power

[Time_Traveller]

Tourist numbers turning Lake Windermere green, researchers say

Tuesday 7 May 2024 13:39, UK



The flood of tourists to the Lake District is turning Lake Windermere green by driving algal blooms, according to new research.

The study - funded by the UK Space Agency - is believed to be the first to examine the impact of visitor numbers on the ecology of the lake in Cumbria.

Algal blooms are fuelled by high levels of nutrients - which can come from sewage - and high temperatures.

They can make the water toxic or starve wildlife of oxygen.

The Save Windermere campaign group, which helped organise the study, said it showed a "direct correlation" between the number of visitors and algal blooms.

https://news.sky.com/story/tourist-numb ... y-13130945

[weatheriscool]

[Time_Traveller]

Australia backs gas beyond 2050 despite climate fears

9 May 2024, 04:49 BST



Australia has announced it will ramp up its extraction and use of gas until "2050 and beyond", despite global calls to phase out fossil fuels.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's government says the move is needed to shore up domestic energy supply while supporting a transition to net zero.

But critics argue the move is a rejection of science, pointing to the International Energy Agency (IEA) call for "huge declines in the use of coal, oil and gas" to reach climate targets.

Australia - one of the world's largest exporters of liquefied natural gas - has also said the policy is based on "its commitment to being a reliable trading partner".

Released on Thursday, the strategy outlines the government's plans to work with industry and state leaders to increase both the production and exploration of the fossil fuel.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjq5gky4e5no

[weatheriscool]

[weatheriscool]

[weatheriscool]

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[weatheriscool]

U.S. to end coal leasing in nation's largest coal-producing region The Biden administration's decision ends new leasing

Source: Washington Post

U.S. to end coal leasing in nation’s largest coal-producing region

The Biden administration’s decision ends new leasing in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming and Montana following years of lawsuits.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate- ... n-climate/

[weatheriscool]

Ukrainian drone strikes knock out 14% of Russian refining capacity - Pentagon

The loss of capacity led to a 20%-30% increase in domestic gasoline prices by mid-March and prompted a halt in exports to focus on domestic demand.

https://x.com/nexta_tv/status/1791847751212208382

[weatheriscool]

Assaad Razzouk
@AssaadRazzouk
Good climate news this week
1 China: New EVs hit 44% of sales in April
2 EU: we're cutting trucks' emissions 90% by 2040
3 India: coal below 50% for 1st time since 1960s
4 US: New grid rules to speed energy transition
5 Court: Germany must amend bad climate plan
6 Philippines extends zero tariffs on EVs
7 Russian activists sue over weak climate policy
https://x.com/AssaadRazzouk/status/1792184345555521988

[Time_Traveller]

Russia could rip up decades-old treaty and claim oil-rich Antarctic land, expert warns

Wed, 15 May 2024 at 7:17 pm BST

Recent surveys of Antarctic water carried out by Russia could be a prelude to Moscow attempting to stake a claim to a piece of the continent for itself and drilling it for oil and gas, a professor in geopolitics has warned.

Professor Klaus Dodds, from Royal Holloway College, issued the warning after a Russian ship discovered huge reserves in Antarctica roughly 10 times the North Sea’s entire 50-year output. Moscow insists that the Akademik Alexander Karpinsky vessel was only there to carry out scientific research, but Dodds tells Yahoo News UK he believes the ship was potentially "prospecting" for resources to mine.

For over 60 years, the continent has been kept a conflict-free, environmentally protected and politically neutral zone where scientific research can flourish thanks to the largely successful Antarctic Treaty. However, fearing that Russia could be using scientific research as a cover for a land grab, Dodds says that the "norms, values and rules" of the agreement "cannot be taken for granted".

"They are being actively stress tested and we need to prepare for the possibility that peace and collaboration will become harder," he says.

"If we conclude that Russia is 'prospecting' rather than carrying out 'scientific research' we need to call that out and risk the breakdown of consensus. Failure to act will create further precedents and will not help preserve the effective functioning of the Antarctic Treaty."

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/russia-antart ... 26866.html

[firestar464]

7 Russian activists sue over weak climate policy

won't do nothing

[wjfox]

...
US: New grid rules to speed energy transition

More on that here:

[firestar464]

‘The Falling Sky' Review: The Yanomami People Deliver an Apocalyptic Warning in Scorching Resistance Doc

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/movies/review ... r-BB1mFmWZ

[weatheriscool]

https://x.com/johnrhanger/status/1792889651889410141

USA will add 1200 GW of solar, wind & storage by 2035 forecasts Bloomberg NEF.

That's 3.6X more than current solar, wind & storage capacity of ~335 GW!

Solar up from 144 to 881 GW
Wind up from 150 to 349 GW
Storage up from 42 to 263 GW

https://x.com/johnrhanger/status/179288 ... 41/photo/1

[wjfox]

California exceeds 100% of energy demand with renewables over a record 30 days [Update]

May 21 2024

In a major clean energy benchmark, wind, solar, and hydro exceeded 100% of demand on California’s main grid for 69 of the past 75 days.

May 21 update: Stanford University professor of civil and environmental engineering Mark Z. Jacobson continues to track California’s renewables performance – and it’s still exciting. In an update today on Twitter (X), Jacobson reports that California has now exceeded 100% of energy demand with renewables over a record 45 days straight, and 69 out of 75:




https://electrek.co/2024/05/21/renewabl ... d-30-days/

[weatheriscool]

Solar and wind were 99.19% of USA's Q1 2024 new, utility-scale generating capacity!

Q1 2024 utility-scale generation from FERC data:

Solar 86.79% (6,497 MW)
Wind 12.40% (928 MW).
Gas 0.65% (49 MW)
Oil added 5 MW, Biomass 3 MW, Hydro 1 MW

https://x.com/johnrhanger/status/1793249731583295671

[firestar464]

This Paint Could Clean Both Itself and the Air

https://www.scientificamerican.com/arti ... m-the-air/

[firestar464]

'Fossilizing' cracks in infrastructure creates sealing that can even survive earthquakes

https://techxplore.com/news/2024-05-fos ... uakes.html