Drought

Not Since Charlemagne: Megadrought in US Southwest, boosted by Human CO2 emissions, is worst since 800 AD

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The megadrought in the US West has produced drier conditions as of the past year than any seen in over 1,200 years, according to a just-published article in Nature Climate Change by scientists A. Park Williams, Benjamin I. Cook and Jason E. Smerdon of UCLA. The length and intensity of […]

Climate Crisis

We need to cut Carbon, not fall for the Scam of Trying to Capture it

The Conversation

By Jason MacLean | – When the federal government released the budget in April 2021, it proposed creating a new tax credit for private firms that make investments in carbon capture, utilization and sequestration projects. But in January, shortly after the consultation period closed, more than 400 Canadian climate scientists, academics and energy system modellers […]

Climate Crisis

From War on Terror to War on Climate Change: US Army to seek Green Electricity by 2030

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The US military has been worried deeply for over a decade about the impact of the climate emergency on its bases and operational readiness. The Department of the Army has just released its first Climate Strategy for dealing with what Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin calls an “existential crisis.” The […]

Batteries

Biden’s Moonshot: Announces Green Race with China for Electric Vehicle Dominance as MSM Misses Story

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – President Biden admitted on Tuesday that, regarding electric vehicles, “China has been the — leading that race up to now. But this is about to change . . .” The president of the United States announced a Green Race with Beijing for dominance of the electric vehicle manufacturing sector, in […]

China

China is meeting its Climate Targets, but Earth needs Beijing to be more Ambitious

The Conversation

By Phillip Stalley | – When it comes to climate change, no nation is more important than China. It consumes more coal than the rest of the world combined, and it is the leading emitter of greenhouse gases, accounting for nearly 30% of global emissions. Unless China takes rapid steps to control its greenhouse gas […]

Climate Crisis

New flood maps show US damage rising 26% in next 30 years due to climate change alone, and the inequity is stark

The Conversation

By Oliver Wing, Carolyn Kousky, Jeremy Porter, and Paul Bates | – Climate change is raising flood risks in neighborhoods across the U.S. much faster than many people realize. Over the next three decades, the cost of flood damage is on pace to rise 26% due to climate change alone, an analysis of our new […]

Batteries

Climate Hope: Record $920 bn. was invested in Low-Carbon Tech in 2021

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – BloombergNEF reports that in 2021, a record-breaking $920 billion was invested globally in low-carbon technology, just short of $1 trillion. The report says that $755 billion was spent to implement low-carbon technologies, with $366 billion going into renewable energy and $273 billion into electrifying transportation. That $273 billion put into […]

Climate Crisis

The Climate Emergency is Already Here: Deaths in Heat Waves are Increasing even in the Cool North

The Conversation

By Chloe Brimicombe | – When you take age out of the equation, temperature-related deaths are on the decline in England and Wales. That’s according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). But more people are going to hospital, compared with 20 years ago. It turns out, that’s not the only […]

Batteries

The Best Battery is Nature’s Own: How Pumped Hydro is the Future of Renewables

The Conversation

By Andrew Blakers,Bin Lu, and Matthew Stocks | – To cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in half within a decade, the Biden administration’s goal, the U.S. is going to need a lot more solar and wind power generation, and lots of cheap energy storage. Wind and solar power vary over the course of a day, […]