Blog Archives

Trump Administration Finalizes Coal Plant Pollution Rollback

8/31/2020

The Trump administration finalized its weakening of a rule aimed at reducing polluted wastewater from coal-burning power plants that has contaminated streams, lakes and underground aquifers. The change will allow utilities to use cheaper technologies and take longer to comply with pollution reduction guidelines that are less stringent than what the agency originally adopted in 2015. It's the latest in a string of regulatory rollbacks for coal power under Trump — actions that have failed to turn around the industry's decline amid competition from cheap natural gas and renewable energy. - ABC News

Cliff Collapse Reveals 313-million-year-old Fossil Footprints in Grand Canyon

8/29/2020

Paleontological research has confirmed a series of recently discovered fossils tracks are the oldest recorded tracks of their kind to date within Grand Canyon National Park. In 2016, Norwegian geology professor, Allan Krill, was hiking with his students when he made a surprising discovery. Lying next to the trail, in plain view of the many hikers, was a boulder containing conspicuous fossil footprints. Krill was intrigued, and he sent a photo to his colleague, Stephen Rowland, a paleontologist at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. - National Park Service

How a Plan to Save the Power System Disappeared

8/29/2020

A federal lab found a way to modernize the grid, reduce reliance on coal, and save consumers billions. Then Trump appointees blocked it. - Atlantic

Amazon Deforestation Falls Where Land Is under Indigenous Control

8/29/2020

Indigenous people in the Brazilian Amazon with full ownership rights over their land saw a two-thirds decrease in the rate of deforestation on their land in the world's most important rainforest, a new study finds. - Scientific American

Mauritius: Anger and Questions as 17 Dead Dolphins Wash Ashore

8/29/2020

At least 17 dead dolphins have been found on the coast of Mauritius, prompting debates about whether a recent oil spill was to blame. Environmental campaigners say the deaths were either caused by the oil spill from a Japanese-owned ship or by authorities sinking part of the vessel. But the fisheries minister said "at first glance" the deaths appeared to be unconnected to the spill. He said at least two of the dolphins had shark bites.

Why Renewables Aren’t To Blame for California’s Blackouts

8/29/2020

Why renewables aren’t to blame for California’s blackouts It’s possible to meet the state’s growing energy needs with renewable power, experts say—but it’ll take some work. - National Geographic

Some Farm Animals Might Have a Sense About Impending Earthquakes

8/29/2020

Stabled animals seem to grow fidgety in the hours before an earthquake, whereas their free-range counterparts show no discernible difference in behavior. - EOS

Exxon Mobil Dropped from the Dow After Nearly a Century

8/25/2020

Energy giant Exxon Mobil joined the Dow 92 years ago as Standard Oil of New Jersey, and it's the oldest member of the index. Exxon's market value has sunk to $175 billion. The company has been plagued in part by claims that it deliberately concealed the damage that the oil it has long extracted and refined into gasoline was doing to the planet. - CBS News

Grizzly Creek Fire Threatens the Colorado & Water for the Entire West

8/21/2020

As the Grizzly Creek Fire rips through Glenwood Canyon, it endangers vital infrastructure for millions of westerners. Sediment and debris could foul the Colorado River for years to come. - Colorado Sun

Here's How Much the US could Save if 25% of Vehicles were Electric

8/21/2020

A chemistry-climate computer model used data from tailpipe emissions to see how they influence atmospheric chemistry, and then combined this data with another set from the EPA showing how air quality affects health. When the computers ran the calculations, the result was staggering: The US would save $17 billion a year. That's not a one-time savings, but an annual figure. - CNET

Stroke Deaths Rise, Life Expectancy Falls with Polluted Air

8/21/2020

Regions with a high level of fine-grained air pollutants have shorter life expectancies and an increased rate of death from a stroke, according to new research. The study, which surveyed counties across the United States, also found a link between poor air quality and higher levels of poverty and reduced access to affordable healthcare. - EOS

The First Undeniable Climate Change Deaths

8/21/2020

Just the beginning. - EOS

Farmers Can Fight Climate Change, Make Agriculture More Sustainable

8/18/2020

Climate change is forcing farmers to make adjustments to ensure their crops can withstand evolving weather conditions. At the same time, many aspects of agriculture from tilling to raising livestock contribute to increased levels of carbon in the atmosphere, which exacerbates global warming. But there's a movement afoot that not only could improve the business of farming but also help fields pull more carbon out of the atmosphere. It's called regenerative farming, and it emphasizes taking steps to cultivate stronger, healthier soil. - CBC

Trump Administration Completes Climate Dismantling with Methane Rollback

8/18/2020

EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced the final rollback of Obama-era methane rules, marking the culmination of a 3 ½-year struggle by the Trump administration to undo emissions rules established at the end of President Obama's second term. That removal came despite their being supported by a significant segment of the oil and gas industry. - Scientific American

Incredible Map of Pangea With Modern-Day Borders

8/18/2020

This map by Massimo Pietrobon is a look back to when all land on the planet was arranged into a supercontinent called Pangea. Pietrobon’s map is unique in that it overlays the approximate borders of present day countries to help us understand how Pangea broke apart to form the world that we know today. - Visual Capitalist

US Coal Power Generation Plummets 30% in 2020, EIA Says

8/18/2020

U.S. coal power generation plunged by 30% in the 1st half of 2020 off an already-depressed base, shoved out by natural gas and renewables amid low energy prices linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new figures from the EIA. Since peaking in '07, U.S. coal consumption has been on the decline, but the decline has been getting steeper and 2020 looks set to be an unprecedentedly terrible year for the sector. - GTM

A Third of the U.S. Faces Drought

8/18/2020

As the United States moves into the last weeks of climatological summer, one-third of the country is experiencing at least a moderate level of drought. Much of the West is approaching severe drought, and New England has been unusually dry and hot. An estimated 53 million people are living in drought-affected areas. - NASA Earth Observatory

Xcel Energy Unveils Plan to Serve 1.5 Million EVs by 2030

8/13/2020

Xcel is planning to deliver 100% carbon-free electricity by 2050. By 2030, the utility expects customers will pay $700 less per year to drive an EV than to fuel a gas-powered car. The utility expects 20% of all vehicles in territories it serves to be replaced by EVs within the next decade, to operate at the equivalent of $1/gallon of gasoline. - Utility Dive Link

Europe is Going All In on Hydrogen Power. Why Isn’t the US?

8/13/2020

“Hydrogen is probably the most promising” way to cut industrial emissions, said Kobad Bhavnagri, head of special projects at BloombergNEF, an independent research firm focusing on clean energy. “It’s the most versatile and the most scalable solution to getting to zero emissions.” - Grist Link

Sea-Ice Free Arctic During the Last Interglacial Supports Fast Future Loss

8/13/2020

Arctic sea ice could disappear entirely by 2035. This should be alarming.

Trump's Methane Rollback That Big Oil Doesn't Want

8/13/2020

Despite opposition from the oil and gas industry it aims to help, the Trump administration is rolling back an Obama-era rule designed to reduce climate-warming methane emissions. Methane, the main ingredient in natural gas, when released before it burns, say from a leaky valve at a drilling site, is far more potent than carbon dioxide. The oil and gas industry is the largest source of methane emissions in the United States. - NPR Link

India’s Food Bowl Heads Toward Desertification

8/13/2020

Water-guzzling rice consumes more water than Punjab can recharge. If current irrigation rates continue, the state will empty its groundwater reserves within 20 years. - AGU EOS Link

Plummeting Renewable Energy, Battery Prices Mean China Could Hit 62% Clean Power & Cut Costs 11% By 2030

8/13/2020

If cost trends for renewables continue, 62% of China’s electricity could come from non-fossil sources by 2030 at a cost that is 11% lower than achieved through a business-as-usual approach. Further, China’s power sector could cut half of its 2015 carbon emissions at a cost about 6% lower compared to business-as-usual conditions. - Nature Communications Link

E.P.A. to Lift Obama-Era Controls on Methane, a Potent Greenhouse Gas

8/13/2020

The rollback of the methane rule is the latest move in the Trump administration’s ongoing effort to weaken environmental standards, which has continued unabated during the coronavirus pandemic. - NY Times Link

Agrivoltaics Propel Significant Reductions in Solar Maintenance Costs

8/13/2020

Siting agricultural uses, like grazing sheep, with solar arrays can reduce landscaping costs and win project acceptance. - Utility Dive Link

<<Previous

Trump Administration Finalizes Coal Plant Pollution Rollback

Cliff Collapse Reveals 313-million-year-old Fossil Footprints in Grand Canyon

How a Plan to Save the Power System Disappeared

Amazon Deforestation Falls Where Land Is under Indigenous Control

Mauritius: Anger and Questions as 17 Dead Dolphins Wash Ashore

Why Renewables Aren’t To Blame for California’s Blackouts

Some Farm Animals Might Have a Sense About Impending Earthquakes

Exxon Mobil Dropped from the Dow After Nearly a Century

Grizzly Creek Fire Threatens the Colorado & Water for the Entire West

Here's How Much the US could Save if 25% of Vehicles were Electric

Stroke Deaths Rise, Life Expectancy Falls with Polluted Air

The First Undeniable Climate Change Deaths

Farmers Can Fight Climate Change, Make Agriculture More Sustainable

Trump Administration Completes Climate Dismantling with Methane Rollback

Incredible Map of Pangea With Modern-Day Borders

US Coal Power Generation Plummets 30% in 2020, EIA Says

A Third of the U.S. Faces Drought

Xcel Energy Unveils Plan to Serve 1.5 Million EVs by 2030

Europe is Going All In on Hydrogen Power. Why Isn’t the US?

Sea-Ice Free Arctic During the Last Interglacial Supports Fast Future Loss

Trump's Methane Rollback That Big Oil Doesn't Want

India’s Food Bowl Heads Toward Desertification

Plummeting Renewable Energy, Battery Prices Mean China Could Hit 62% Clean Power & Cut Costs 11% By 2030

E.P.A. to Lift Obama-Era Controls on Methane, a Potent Greenhouse Gas

Agrivoltaics Propel Significant Reductions in Solar Maintenance Costs

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