Climate Crisis

Climate Crisis: Meltwater is Creating Millions of Hairline Cracks in Greenland’s Ice Sheet, Destabilizing it with a form of Hydro-Fracking

(The Conversation) – Alun Hubbard, University of Tromsø | – I’m striding along the steep bank of a raging white-water torrent, and even though the canyon is only about the width of a highway, the river’s flow is greater than that of London’s Thames. The deafening roar and rumble of the cascading water is incredible […]

Batteries

China adds 62 Gigawatts of Solar Capacity in Just 5 Months, Compared to 10 Gigs in the US

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Carrie Xiao at PV Tech reports that in the first five months of 2023, China has installed 62.1 gigawatts of solar capacity at a cost of $13.6 billion. Year on year, it was a 140% expansion. Just to give you an idea of the magnitude of this advance, a typical […]

Climate Crisis

Right-to-Charge Laws bring promise of EVs to Apts., Condos and Rentals

The Conversation

Eleftheria Kontou, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | – (The Conversation) – More than 3.6 million electric cars are driving around the U.S., but if you live in an apartment, finding an available charger isn’t always easy. Grocery stores and shopping centers might have a few, but charging takes time and the spaces may be […]

Climate Crisis

Violently Melting Down: The Human Costs of Global Heating and of our Response to it

Tomdispatch

By Stan Cox | – ( Tomdispatch.com ) – Several times in recent weeks I’ve heard people suggest that Mother Nature has been speaking to us through that smoke endlessly drifting south from the still-raging Canadian wildfires. She’s saying that she wants the coal, oil, and gas left in the ground, but I fear her […]

Climate Crisis

Is Climate Change outpacing our Ability to predict extreme Heatwaves?

The Conversation

By Damien Irving, CSIRO and James Risbey, CSIRO | – When an extreme weather event happens somewhere in the world these days, it’s common to read quotes from climate scientists explaining this is exactly the kind of event we expect to see more often as climate change progresses. Such events are often devastating, but not […]

Climate Crisis

Climate Crisis: Iranian City, hottest in World on Thursday, hits Record for late Spring Heat, at 50.8 °C [123.44 °F]

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) The Iranian city of Zabol in the northern part of the Sistan and Baluchistan province won the global high temperature sweepstakes on June 22, according to the Spanish meteorological site OGIMET , coming in at 50.8 °C [123.44 °F]. It is the first time in 60 years that a city in […]

Antarctica

Fractured Foundations: how Antarctica’s ‘landfast’ Ice is Dwindling and why that’s bad News

The Conversation

By Alexander Fraser, University of Tasmania; Christine Weldrick, University of Tasmania; Laura Dalman, University of Tasmania; Matthew Corkill, University of Tasmania and Pat Wongpan, University of Tasmania | – There’s more to Antarctic ice than meets the eye. Sea ice is not a uniform crust overlying the salty Southern Ocean. Our new research is the […]

Climate Crisis

Europe’s largest Heat Pump to heat Cologne Homes using Rhine River Water

Clean Energy Wire

By Sören Amelang | – ( Clean Energy Wire ) – Cologne energy supplier RheinEnergie is planning Europe’s largest heat pump that will use energy contained in Rhine river water to heat homes in the city centre. “RheinEnergie has awarded the general planning contract for a large-scale heat pump in a capacity class that does […]

Batteries

The Real Project for a New American Century: Ford Receives $9.2 Billion Loan for EV Battery Plants to Counter China

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – David Shepardson at Reuters reports that Ford Motor Co. and its partner SK of South Korea have received a $9.2 billion loan for 3 battery plants in Kentucky and Tennessee from the Department of Energy under the loan program called Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM). It is the biggest single […]