Energy & the Environment News and Discussions

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[Time_Traveller]

Ex-Google boss warns Sir Keir Starmer UK will fail to meet 2030 clean energy goal without fixing regulation

Monday 14 October 2024 13:33, UK

Google's former boss has warned Sir Keir Starmer he will fail to meet his 2030 clean energy goal unless he fixes UK regulations.

Eric Schmidt, Google's former chief executive officer, said he believes Sir Keir can speed up regulation bureaucracy to ensure the government reaches its goal of decarbonising electricity by 2030.

But he said regulation is currently "killing you".

Speaking to Sir Keir at the International Investment Summit in London, Mr Schmidt said: "Democracies, especially something as old as this one, have so many ways in which people can say no.

"I'd much rather - and I think the business community would much rather - have a single person who can say yes or no...and then they can move on.

https://news.sky.com/story/ex-google-bo ... n-13233339

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Chalcogenide perovskite film generates electricity when squeezed or stressed
https://techxplore.com/news/2024-10-cha ... essed.html
by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Imagine tires that charge a vehicle as it drives, streetlights powered by the rumble of traffic, or skyscrapers that generate electricity as the buildings naturally sway and shudder.

These energy innovations could be possible thanks to researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute that are developing environmentally friendly materials that produce electricity when compressed or exposed to vibrations.

In a recent study published in the journal Nature Communications, the team developed a polymer film infused with a special chalcogenide perovskite compound that produces electricity when squeezed or stressed, a phenomenon known as the piezoelectric effect.

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[Time_Traveller]

Global water crisis leaves half of world food production at risk in next 25 years

Wed 16 Oct 2024 23.01 BST

More than half the world’s food production will be at risk of failure within the next 25 years as a rapidly accelerating water crisis grips the planet, unless urgent action is taken to conserve water resources and end the destruction of the ecosystems on which our fresh water depends, experts have warned in a landmark review.

Half the world’s population already faces water scarcity, and that number is set to rise as the climate crisis worsens, according to a report from the Global Commission on the Economics of Water published on Thursday.

Demand for fresh water will outstrip supply by 40% by the end of the decade, because the world’s water systems are being put under “unprecedented stress”, the report found.

The commission found that governments and experts have vastly underestimated the amount of water needed for people to have decent lives. While 50 to 100 litres a day are required for each person’s health and hygiene, in fact people require about 4,000 litres a day in order to have adequate nutrition and a dignified life. For most regions, that volume cannot be achieved locally, so people are dependent on trade – in food, clothing and consumer goods – to meet their needs.

Some countries benefit more than others from “green water”, which is soil moisture that is necessary for food production, as opposed to “blue water” from rivers and lakes. The report found that water moves around the world in “atmospheric rivers” which transport moisture from one region to another.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... on-at-risk

[Time_Traveller]

Faster grid hook-ups planned for some green energy projects

7 hours ago



Wind and solar farms that are ready to be built would be allowed to jump the queue for a connection to the UK’s electricity system under government plans.

All energy schemes which need a connection to the National Grid are currently in a single queue which operates on a "first-come-first-served" basis.

Some projects face waiting times stretching long into the next decade to get connected.

The government wants to speed up projects that will help it meet its goal of decarbonising power generation in the UK by 2030.

Some industry sources say it would be a welcome move but others warn that there is a “real risk” of legal challenges from projects which lose out.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly4kwep3kwo

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[caltrek]

Candidates’ Support for Fracking Infuriates These Rural Pennsylvanians
by Oliver Milman
October 22, 2024

Introduction:

(Mother Jones) Fracking has burst back on to the national stage in the presidential election contest for the must-win swing state of Pennsylvania. But for one town in this state that saw its water become mud-brown, undrinkable and even flammable 15 years ago, the specter of fracking never went away.

Residents in Dimock, a rural town of around 1,200 people in northeast Pennsylvania, have been locked in a lengthy battle to remediate their water supply, which was ruined in 2009 after the drilling of dozens of wells to access a hotspot called the “Saudi Arabia of gas” found deep underneath their homes.

The company behind the drilling, Texas-based Coterra, was barred from the area for years for its role in poisoning the private water wells Dimock relies upon and, in a landmark later move in 2020, was charged with multiple crimes. But it has now been ushered back into the area following a deal struck by the state’s Democratic leadership.

The restarting of drilling around Dimock late last year comes as Donald Trump and Kamala Harris clamor to cast themselves to Pennsylvania voters as supporters of fracking—or hydraulic fracturing, whereby water, sand, and chemicals are injected deep underground to extract embedded oil and gas.
“If she won the election, fracking in Pennsylvania will end on day one,” Trump said of Harris, who previously supported a ban, during the duo’s televised debate last month. The former president has run a barrage of ads in the state accusing Harris of wanting to shut down the fracking industry. But during the same debate, Harris insisted “I will not ban fracking,” and boasted of new fracking leases granted during Joe Biden’s administration.

Read more here: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2 ... mination/

[Time_Traveller]

‘Toothless’ watchdog could be scrapped under Labour plans to fix sewage crisis

October 22, 2024 10:00 pm

The watchdog for the water industry could be abolished under Labour’s plans to fix the sewage crisis and the dire state of Britain’s rivers, lakes and seas.

An independent review into the water sector has been launched in a move that could lead to the economic regulator Ofwat, which has been criticised as “dithering” and “toothless”, being scrapped entirely.

While the UK and Welsh governments’ Independent Commission will not report back its findings until 2025, i understands ministers are placing no limitations on the fate of the regulators, meaning they could face the axe.


The commission marks a victory for i’s Save Britain’s Rivers campaign, which has called on ministers to overhaul the regulation of water companies.

Environment Secretary Steve Reed paid “tribute to i’s tireless campaigning for clean rivers” and said the review “is a huge win for the paper”.
The watchdog for the water industry could be abolished under Labour’s plans to fix the sewage crisis and the dire state of Britain’s rivers, lakes and seas.

An independent review into the water sector has been launched in a move that could lead to the economic regulator Ofwat, which has been criticised as “dithering” and “toothless”, being scrapped entirely.

While the UK and Welsh governments’ Independent Commission will not report back its findings until 2025, i understands ministers are placing no limitations on the fate of the regulators, meaning they could face the axe.

The commission marks a victory for i’s Save Britain’s Rivers campaign, which has called on ministers to overhaul the regulation of water companies.

Environment Secretary Steve Reed paid “tribute to i’s tireless campaigning for clean rivers” and said the review “is a huge win for the paper”.

https://inews.co.uk/news/watchdog-scrap ... ge-3338519

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[firestar464]

Generative AI could generate millions of tons of e-waste by decade's end, study finds

https://techxplore.com/news/2024-10-gen ... -tons.html

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Chemists find easier way to produce biodiesel from waste oil
https://phys.org/news/2024-11-chemists- ... l-oil.html
by Jasmin Galvan, University of California - Santa Cruz

UC Santa Cruz chemists have discovered a new way to produce biodiesel from waste oil that both simplifies the process and requires relatively mild heat. This discovery has the potential to make the alternative fuel source much more appealing to the massive industrial sectors that are the backbone of the nation's economy.

In 2022, the U.S. transportation sector alone used about 3 million barrels of diesel per day, accounting for about 75% of total consumption of the fuel in this country. That same year, diesel use accounted for about 10% of total energy-related CO2 emissions in the United States, according to the federal Energy Information Administration.

While some companies have turned towards electric vehicles to reduce their carbon footprint, the vast majority of fleets still run on diesel—in part, because biodiesel production is difficult, energy intensive, and so, has slowed adoption. Of all the energy sources used by the U.S. transportation sector in 2022, biofuels accounted for just 6%.

In their study, published on October 3 in the journal Energy & Fuels, lead author Kevin Lofgren details a new way to turn used vegetable oil into biodiesel that involves sodium tetramethoxyborate (NaB(OMe)4). This chemical, used to make the active ingredient that reacts with oil to make biodiesel, is considered unique because it allows the biofuel to be easily separated from the byproducts of production—by simply pouring them off.

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[Time_Traveller]

Four global policies could eliminate more than 90% of plastic waste and 30% of linked carbon emissions by 2050

November 14, 2024

A new study released in Science today determines that just four policies can reduce mismanaged plastic waste -- plastic that isn't recycled or properly disposed of and ends up as pollution -- by 91% and plastic-related greenhouse gasses by one-third. The policies are: mandate new products be made with 40% post-consumer recycled plastic; cap new plastic production at 2020 levels; invest significantly in plastic waste management -- such as landfills and waste collection services; and implement a small fee on plastic packaging. This policy package also delivers climate benefits, reducing emissions equivalent to taking 300 million gasoline-powered vehicles off the road for one year.

The study, "Pathways to reduce global plastic waste mismanagement and greenhouse gas emissions by 2050," by researchers at the University of California Berkeley and the University of California Santa Barbara, comes in advance of negotiations in Busan, Republic of Korea (November 25-December 1), where delegates from more than 190 countries are expected to iron out the final details of the world's first legally binding treaty on plastic pollution.

"This is it. These upcoming negotiations in Busan are our one chance to come together as a planet and fix this problem," said Dr. Douglas McCauley, Professor at UC Santa Barbara, Adjunct Professor at UC Berkeley. "One of the most exciting discoveries in this research is that it is actually possible to nearly end plastic pollution with this Treaty. I'm cautiously optimistic, but we can't squander this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

If no action is taken in Busan, annual plastic consumption will rise 37% between 2020 and 2050, and plastic pollution will nearly double across the same period.

"This study demonstrates how far we have come in not just quantifying the manifold problems surrounding plastics, but also in identifying and evaluating potential solutions," said Dr. Roland Geyer, Professor of Industrial Ecology, Bren School of Environmental Science & Management at UC Santa Barbara. "I am very proud of what our team was able to achieve in time for the final round of negotiations for the Global Plastics Treaty."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2 ... 161138.htm

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