Climate Crisis

Lowest Solar bid in World History for new Abu Dhabi Facility, as expensive Coal, backed by Trump, declines further

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Abu Dhabi has accepted a historically low bid of 1.35 cents a kilowatt hour for a new giant 1.5 gigawatt solar farm, to be built at al-Dhafra by the largely government-owned French consortium Électricité de France (EDF) and China’s Jinko. The price is 44% less than was paid for the […]

Climate Crisis

The Beginning of the End for Oil? Energy in a Post-Pandemic World

Michael T. Klare

( Tomdispatch.com) – Energy analysts have long assumed that, given time, growing international concern over climate change would result in a vast restructuring of the global energy enterprise. The result: a greener, less climate-degrading system. In this future, fossil fuels would be overtaken by renewables, while oil, gas, and coal would be relegated to an […]

Climate Crisis

Skyrocketing Carbon Dioxide is Bad News, and, no, Trees won’t Save Us

The Conversation

By Sebastian Leuzinger | – If carbon dioxide levels were to double, how much increase in plant growth would this cause? How much of the world’s deserts would disappear due to plants’ increased drought tolerance in a high carbon dioxide environment? Compared to pre-industrial levels, the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere will […]

Climate Crisis

Even German Conservatives, Corporations make Green New Deal, Climate “Top Priority” after Pandemic

Julian Wettengel

By Julian Wettengel | – ( Clean Energy Wire ) – Top politicians from Germany and more than 60 large companies have warned that the climate crisis must continue to be a top priority, even as the world economies grapple with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Ahead of this week’s digital Petersberg Climate Dialogue, […]

Climate Crisis

With much of the planet on lockdown, Earth Day goes digital

Cronkite News Arizona PBS

By Madison Staten | – PHOENIX (Cronkite News) – The irony of indoor celebrations of a day dedicated to the outdoors is not lost on Hazel Chandler, 74. “It makes me really sad,” the Phoenix resident said when asked about this year’s celebration. “Fifty years ago in 1970, you know, I was part of the […]

Climate Crisis

US Oil “Technically Worthless,” and Coal Plants Shuttered, as a Tidal Wave of Bankruptcies Looms

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – May contracts for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil went as low as -$37.63 on Monday. So report Jillian Ambrose and Martin Farrer at The Guardian. The price, well below zero, was a first for the US oil market, and showed the conviction of traders that the economy would not […]

Climate Crisis

Is Covid-19 Killing the Coal Industry in Egypt and around the World? In the Meantime, Solar Shines

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Simon Nicholas at South Africa’s Business Live reports that the proposed huge new Hamrawein coal-fueled power plant in Egypt has been shelved. There are now no new coal plants planned in Egypt, which is pivoting toward renewables after years of mainly relying on fossil fuels. One cause for the demise […]

Climate Crisis

After Trillions invested in Security after 9/11, Coronavirus Shows we’re not Up to Security Threat of Climate Emergency

The Conversation

By Kate Guy | – How might a single threat, even one deemed unlikely, spiral into an evolving global crisis which challenges the foundations of global security, economic stability and democratic governance, all in the matter of a few weeks? My research on threats to national security, governance and geopolitics has focused on exactly this […]

Climate Crisis

Unless we Halt Trump’s War on the Environment, the next Pandemic is coming for Us

Foreign Policy in Focus

( Foreign Policy in Focus ) – Congress is already thinking about how to prevent the next pandemic. See how quickly Cory Booker (D-NJ) has teamed up with Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to write a letter calling for a global ban on “wet markets.” The current pandemic is reputed to have originated in a wet market […]