Talking points on energy, environment and climate change.
Nuclear Energy
Nuclear Fusion "has the potential to produce nearly four million times more energy than traditional fossil fuel resources like gas, coal and oil."
International Atomic Energy Agency
Health and Climate Change
Renewable Energy
The U.S. must increase transmission capacity by about 57% by 2035, to 47,300 GW-miles, based on a scenario of moderate load and high clean energy deployment on the back of the inflation act and other enacted legislation, the Department of Energy (DOE) said in a draft National Transmission Needs Study published last month. Reuters
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“Right now, over 1,000 gigawatts worth of potential clean energy projects are waiting for approval — about the current size of the entire U.S. grid — and the primary reason for the bottleneck is the lack of transmission,” Bill Gates wrote in a recent blog post about transmission lines. NBC News
"Batteries are also becoming an integral part of the increasingly renewable-powered U.S. grid. Utility-scale energy storage hit a record 4.8 gigawatts deployed in 2022, up from 3.7 gigawatts in 2021, putting the U.S. in the lead globally for grid storage capacity." Canary Media
"Solarcycle expects to expand its capacity to recycle 1 million solar panels annually by the close of this year. A ​“vertically integrated, advanced recycling factory” will follow in 2024, expanding capacity to ​“millions of panels.” Canary Media
"The DOE says the U.S. will need an additional 200 gigawatts of advanced nuclear power to reach its climate goals, enough to power about 160 million homes." Grist
People of Climate Change
"52% of registered voters say global warming should be a high or very high priority for the president and Congress."
Yale Climate Change Communication
"65% of registered voters say developing sources of clean energy should be a high or very high priority for the president and Congress. Support for clean energy has been declining among Republicans since 2018."
Yale Climate Change Communication
Water and Oceans
"Currently, California treats and reuses approximately 728,000 acre-feet, or approximately 18 percent, of the yearly wastewater it produces."
Grist
Business and Climate Change
"The stigma of alternative wine containers, from kegs to cartons, has drained away. Perfectly portable, often beautifully designed cylindrical vessels are demystifying the rarefied world of wine. Cans are shaping up to be one of the most promising sustainable interventions in the industry".
The Guardian
"The concrete industry is responsible for 8% of global carbon emissions." Treehugger
Food and Agriculture
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"Plant-based proteins produce around 90 per cent fewer emissions than meat." EuroNews
"Nationally, agriculture is the source of roughly 10 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Environmental Protection Agency." Wisconsin Public Radio
"In the United States, agriculture accounts for more than a 10th of the country’s emissions but could produce as much as a third by 2050, according to a recent Environmental Working Group analysis Grist
Plastics and Recycling
"The U.S. is also a major global plastics producer and leads the world in the generation of plastic waste." Inside Climate News
"By 2050, the value of raw materials recoverable from solar panels could exceed $15 billion." Yale Environment 360
Weather and Climate
"Researchers at Northern Illinois University looked at data from the past 15 years, which compared different types of supercell storms. They concluded that these storms, which are precursors to tornadoes, will increase in frequency and intensity as the planet warms." Grist
Electric Cars
"The seven-day poll completed on Monday found 34% of all respondents would consider an EV, while 31% said no". Reuters
Boats, Planes and Travel
Policy and Politics
"In 2019, the last year that comprehensive global greenhouse gas emissions data was published, the U.S. ranked last among the world’s top 10 biggest emitters in progress toward its own self-imposed target."
Inside Climate News
