#decarbonizing california

[republicdesigncompany]

CABEC 2023 Conference “Something to Crow About” Logo Design

CABEC (California Association of Building Energy Consultants) commissioned Republic Design Company for the design and implementation of the CABEC 2023 Conference “Something to Crow About” Logo Design.

CABEC (California Association of Building Energy Consultants) commissioned Republic Design Company for the design and implementation of the CABEC 2023 Conference “Something to Crow About” Logo Design. CABEC 2023 Conference “Something to Crow About” Logo Identity Design This years CABEC Conference is set to take place in Cambria, California at the beautiful Cambria Pines Lodge. This coastal city…

[reasonsforhope]

"In cities across the country, people of color, many of them low income, live in neighborhoods criss-crossed by major thoroughfares and highways.

The housing there is often cheaper — it’s not considered particularly desirable to wake up amid traffic fumes and fall asleep to the rumble of vehicles over asphalt.

But the price of living there is steep: Exhaust from all those cars and trucks leads to higher rates of childhood asthma, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and pulmonary ailments. Many people die younger than they otherwise would have, and the medical costs and time lost to illness contributes to their poverty.

Imagine if none of those cars and trucks emitted any fumes at all, running instead on an electric charge. That would make a staggering difference in the trajectory, quality, and length of millions of lives, particularly those of young people growing up near freeways and other sources of air pollution, according to a study from the American Lung Association.

The study, released [February 28, 2024], found that a widespread transition to EVs could avoid nearly 3 million asthma attacks and hundreds of infant deaths, in addition to millions of lower and upper respiratory ailments...

Prior research by the American Lung Association found that 120 million people in the U.S. breathe unhealthy air daily, and 72 million live near a major trucking route — though, Barret added, there’s no safe threshold for air pollution. It affects everyone.

Bipartisan efforts to strengthen clean air standards have already made a difference across the country. In California, which, under the Clean Air Act, can set state rules stronger than national standards, 100 percent of new cars sold there must be zero emission by 2035.

[Note: The article doesn't explain this, but that is actually a much bigger deal than just California. Basically, due to historically extra terrible pollution, California is the only state that's allowed to allowed to set stronger emissions rules than the US government sets. However, one of the rules in the Clean Air Act is that any other state can choose to follow California's standards instead of the US government's. And California by itself is the world's fifth largest economy - ahead of all but four countries. California has a lot of buying power. So, between those two things, when California sets stricter standards for cars, the effects ripple outward massively, far beyond the state's borders.]

Truck manufacturers are, according to the state’s Air Resources Board, already exceeding anticipated zero-emissions truck sales, putting them two years ahead of schedule...

Other states have begun to take action, too, often reaching across partisan lines to do so. Maryland, Colorado, New Mexico, and Rhode Island adopted zero-emissions standards as of the end of 2023.

The Biden administration is taking similar steps, though it has slowed its progress after automakers and United Auto Workers pressured the administration to relax some of its more stringent EV transition requirements.

While Barret finds efforts to support the electrification of passenger vehicles exciting, he said the greatest culprits are diesel trucks. “These are 5 to 10 percent of the vehicles on the road, but they’re generating the majority of smog-forming emissions of ozone and nitrogen,” Barret said...

Lately, there’s been significant progress on truck decarbonization. The Biden administration has made promises to ensure that 30 percent of all big rigs sold are electric by 2030...

Such measures, combined with an increase in public EV charging stations, vehicle tax credits, and other incentives, could change American highways, not to mention health, for good."

-via GoodGoodGood, February 28, 2024

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from Canary Media:

With their roaring diesel engines, tugboats push, pull and guide much larger vessels into port and out to sea. They are small but mighty — and incredibly dirty, spewing huge amounts of toxic exhaust and planet-warming emissions every year.

Now, however, the humble harbor craft is going electric.

America’s first fully battery-powered tugboat recently docked at the Port of San Diego, where officials are working to decarbonize not just tugs but also diesel cranes and trucks. The electric tug was built over three years at an Alabama shipyard, then moved through the Panama Canal before arriving in Southern California earlier this spring.

“We’re ecstatic,” Frank Urtasun, the port’s chairman, told Canary Media. ​“This electric tugboat is a real game-changer that I think will have ramifications across the country.”

The 82-foot-long vessel is set to begin operating within the coming weeks, as soon as the shoreside charging infrastructure is completed, according to Crowley. The Florida-based company owns and operates the electric boat — named ​“eWolf” in honor of Crowley’s first tug, the early 1900s Seawolf — and everything that’s needed to keep it running.

The eWolf is launching as ports and cities around the world are pushing to decarbonize their industrial waterfronts.

Globally, the cargo-shipping sector accounts for around 3 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions every year. While giant, oil-guzzling freighters tend to draw more public scrutiny for their large environmental impact, many thousands of smaller vessels and workboats are also major sources of both carbon emissions and local pollution.

In the U.S., state and regional policies are increasingly requiring operators to slash emissions from vessels, cranes, forklifts and other diesel-burning equipment. About 39 million people live in close proximity to ports, many of whom are lower-income residents and people of color.

An infusion of government funding has recently emerged to support those efforts. The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act includes $3 billion for zero-emission port equipment and infrastructure. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to announce the recipients of that funding later this year — along with the winners of a separate $115 million program under the 2022-2023 Diesel Emissions Reduction Act.

[plethoraworldatlas]

1. The ACC will train and employ 20,000 people in climate and clean energy jobs

The ACC will mobilize a new, diverse generation by training them in skills crucial to combating climate change—everything from installing solar panels to improving communities' natural disaster resilience to restoring critical ecosystems. And with a shortage of skilled clean energy workers, the ACC couldn’t come at a better time. We need more tradespeople, installing things like electric vehicle chargers and heat pumps, to decarbonize our economy. 

There’s an emphasis on building career pathways, not just jobs. To achieve this, the White House will partner with unions and is committed to providing members with the hard skills and transferable credentials that will allow them to find good-paying jobs or seek further training through apprenticeships and trade schools after their service. This includes potentially expanding access to scholarships and awards that would support post-secondary education and training or reduce student debt and streamlined pathways into civil service. The best part? No prior experience is required for most positions, and very few will require college degrees.

2. The ACC prioritizes equity and environmental justice

While the ACC draws upon the ambition of The New Deal and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps, it also learns from its fundamental flaws.

FDR’s Corps lacked diversity, perpetuated white supremacy, and almost entirely excluded women, but Biden’s Corps puts equity and environmental justice at its core. It prioritizes communities traditionally left behind, including energy communities, whose lives have been dominated and shaped by the fossil fuel industry, and disadvantaged communities, who disproportionately suffer from a combination of environmental, economic, and health burdens.

The ACC follows the same targets of the administration’s Justice40 goal, where 40 percent of the benefits must be directed towards disadvantaged communities.

3. The ACC employs an all-of-government approach

The ACC is built on a hub-and-spoke model with AmeriCorps at the center. The White House is launching a dedicated ACC recruitment website, where participants can learn about and apply for opportunities in their communities, and across the country, that span all spheres of the clean energy economy.

The administration is partnering AmeriCorps with at least five other federal agencies (Department of Labor, Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Department of Energy) to pool resources, coordinate recruitment, and fund corps members to work on specific projects that address the climate crisis.

Additionally, the administration will partner with at least 10 states. California, Colorado, Maine, Michigan, and Washington have already launched similar programs, while five more (Arizona, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Utah) are creating their own Corps.

[beardedmrbean]

At a Planning and Design Commission Meeting last week, associate city planner Laura Tuller disclosed that Sacramento will back off — at least for now — on enforcing what has been touted as a key policy in combating climate change.

“The city will not currently preclude mixed fuel development,” Tuller told the city council-appointed commission. during an update on the city’s building electrification strategy.

Her statement referred to enforcing an ordinance passed by the council that would, with some exceptions, ban natural gas hookups in new construction projects starting in 2023.

Methane from natural gas is a potent contributor to greenhouse gases and climate change. State and local leaders in California have identified what is called “building decarbonization” — relying on cleaner electric power — as a crucial way to achieve its zero carbon emissions goal by 2045.

Tuller explained that the decision to pause enforcement is the result of a recent court ruling. Other cities such as San Luis Obispo and Santa Cruz have made the same determination.

In April, The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the City of Berkeley’s building electrification ordinance in a lawsuit backed by the Sacramento-based California Restaurant Association. The court said that the city had stepped on the federal government’s role regulating energy markets.

The ruling has, for the moment, put a chill on what building decarbonization advocates say is a sensible movement. Prior to the Berkeley ruling, 76 cities from Los Angeles to Sacramento had passed electrification ordinances banning natural gas hookups in new construction. Sacramento leaders say they can’t enforce the gas ban until they see what happens with the City of Berkeley’s appeal of the decision.

State policymakers are similarly nervous about the implications of the Berkeley ruling.

A Sacramento Bee investigation earlier this month found that donations to CRA and its foundation from SoCalGas, the nation’s largest gas utility, soared after CRA launched its lawsuit.

Critics of SoCalGas as well as the California Public Advocate’s Office, which is an independent state watchdog arm of the California Public Utilities Commission, have accused SoCalGas of financially backing the Berkeley lawsuit with millions of dollars.

“It strains credibility to suggest that the utility did not fund research that supported the California Restaurant Association’s litigation,” the watchdog said in a filing this month.

The restaurant association has vigorously denied any coordination with Southern California Gas Co. on the lawsuit. The CRA said its motivation for the lawsuit was purely to protect new restaurants who prefer using gas, especially Chinese restaurants that prefer gas-powered woks.

SoCalGas has vehemently denied that it in any way funded the CRA’s lawsuit.

The recent Bee investigation noted that contributions to the CRA and its foundation from SoCalGas and its parent company Sempra grew from $174,594 in years 2015 to 2018 to $1.8 million from 2019 to 2022 — a tenfold increase.

The original Sacramento electrification ordinance passed in 2021 and went into effect, albeit briefly, on Jan. 1. Restaurants, however, were exempted until 2026. But through its role as members of a technical advisory panel advising the city, the CRA along with two allies connected to Chinese restaurants, argued the gas ban was culturally insensitive to the tradition of wok cooking.

Several Asian chefs that The Bee spoke to, including celebrity chef Martin Yan, pointed out that induction wok cooking is becoming more common in Asia, and that the industry needs to do its part to combat climate change. Many chefs believe cooking with electric-powered induction woks —although more expensive — is better than cooking with gas-powered woks, especially when environmental and health effects are considered.

At the technical advisory panel’s recommendation, in November 2022, the city council adopted “infeasibility waiver guidelines” that included a key clause;: If the business was found to make a legitimate claim that precluding them from using natural gas would “prohibit socio-cultural traditions that communities practice,” they could be exempted.

“I was shocked when I read that. It just felt like this secret gutting,” Rosie Yacoub an activist with the climate group 350 Sacramento told The Bee. She added, “What does that even mean? It seems like anyone could make that case.”

At a City Council meeting on Tuesday, Mayor Darrel Steinberg and City Council member Katie Valenzuela said that The Bee investigation raised questions about the city’s conflict of interest policy for advisory groups like the technically advisory panel, though stopped short of any specific suggestions for reforming the process.

Charlie Spatz, research manager at the Energy and Policy Institute, said that the conflict of interest issue raised thorny questions.

“The question here is whether the utility money was motivating or influencing the restaurant association’s engagement with the city council,” he said. “There’s nothing wrong with restaurants engaging in electrification policy, but it’s important to remember that gas utilities are spreading disinformation to restaurants with the goal of blocking electrification policy.

“It’s a bad faith campaign designed to drive unfounded fear in the restaurant industry and it only serves the interests of gas utilities.”

That disinformation, Spatz and others note, centers on what they believe are dubious studies that try to undermine research such as that performed by Stanford University that concludes gas cooking can be harmful without proper ventilation.

There are signs that even if the Berkeley decision is not overturned, market conditions at least in Sacramento, which has through SMUD some of the lowest electric rates in California, are pushing new construction to be all-electric.

A tool that the city links to called Xerohome appears to typically show cost savings in utility bills of $600-$1,100 annually when homeowners opt for modern all-electric appliances.

Brian Hanly, President of Next Generation Capital, says his company has increasingly opted for all-electric developments in Sacramento, including the 21-unit development, Icon @14C, which was completed in 2020.

“We were a bit afraid of the consumer response in the beginning,” Hanly told The Bee. He added, “It’s above my pay grade to understand the environmental ramifications between natural gas and electric, but we’ve had a positive experience.”

[indepwom101]

🇱🇺 Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume of Luxembourg

Thursday, May 11, 2023

“From 8 to 12 May, H.R.H. the Hereditary Grand Duke is chairing a working visit to California in the cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles. Led by Franz Fayot, Minister of the Economy, the visit is following up on the mission conducted in New York and Boston last year, with the aim of strengthening the important economic relationship between Luxembourg and the United States. With a total trade volume of nearly EUR 23.85 billion in 2021, the United States is Luxembourg's second-largest trading partner after the European Union. In California, the aim of the Luxembourg delegation is to develop new innovative partnerships in space and technology areas.

Prince Guillaume and Franz Fayot visited high-profile schools and companies in the Silicon Valley, such as Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability (Sustainability in space), NVIDIA (Artificial Intelligence), WeRide (Autonomous driving using AI), nZero (24/7 carbon management solution), and Fifth Wall (a venture capital firm specialized in decarbonizing real estate). In San Francisco, they met with the Lieutenant Governor of California, Eleni Kounalakis.”

[quotesfrommyreading]

The U.S. remains the world’s R&D factory, but when it comes to building, we are plainly going backwards. We’ve lost out on industrial opportunities by running Bush’s playbook so strictly. But there are other problems, too. Since the early 2000s, the U.S. has closed more nuclear-power plants than we’ve opened. Our ability to decarbonize the grid is held back by environmental regulations that ironically constrict the construction of solar- and wind-energy farms. It’s been roughly 50 years since Asia and Europe built their first high-speed rail systems, but the U.S. is almost comically incapable of pulling train construction into the 21st century. (A 2008 plan to build a high-speed rail line in California has seen estimated costs more than triple and deployment delayed by a decade, and it’s still uncertain if it can be completed as planned.)

“New ideas are getting harder to use,” the futurist and economist Eli Dourado told me. If the U.S. wanted to unleash geothermal power, we could simplify geothermal permitting. If we wanted to build the next generation of advanced nuclear reactors, we could deregulate advanced nuclear reactors. These measures would not require inventing anything new. But they would stimulate progress by making it easier to bring our best ideas into the light.

The United States once believed in partnerships among the government, private industry, and the people to advance material progress. The Lincoln administration helped build the railroads. The New Deal helped electrify rural America. Dwight Eisenhower signed the Price-Anderson Act, which guaranteed government funds and limited liability for nuclear-energy firms in case of serious accidents, facilitating the construction of nuclear-power plants. John F. Kennedy’s space ambitions made NASA a major consumer of early microchips, which helped reduce their price by a factor of 30 in a matter of years, accelerating the software revolution.

“And then, around 1980, we basically stopped building,” Jesse Jenkins, who researches energy policy at Princeton, told me. In the past 40 years, he said, the U.S. has applied several different brakes to our capacity to build what’s already been invented. Under Ronald Reagan, the legacy of successful public-private partnerships was ignored in favor of the simplistic diagnosis that the government was to blame for every major problem. In the ’70s, liberals encouraged the government to pass new environmental regulations to halt pollution and prevent builders from running roughshod over low-income neighborhoods. And then middle-class Americans used these new rules to slow down the construction of new housing, clean-energy projects—just about everything. These reactions were partly understandable; for example, air and water pollution in the ’70s were deadly crises. But “when you combine these big shifts, you basically stop building anything,” Jenkins said.

  —  Why the Age of American Progress Ended

[rabbitcruiser]

Global Wind Day

Global Wind Day is celebrated on June 15 every year. It’s an international event to raise awareness regarding the importance of wind energy and the power it holds to change the world, improve energy systems, and decarbonize economies. Investing in wind energy means spending less money on fossil fuel imports, resulting in a smaller carbon footprint and minimized CO2 for cleaner air on our planet. On this day, we learn not just about how wind power leads to a greener planet, but also about job creation and employment opportunities for many people.

History of Global Wind Day

The history of wind energy as a power source traces back thousands of years. As early as 5,000 B.C., Egyptians had already been using wind power to propel their boats on the Nile River. This was improved upon by the Chinese in 200 B.C. as they invented wind-powered water pumps. Furthermore, people from the Middle East and Persia discovered windmills with woven-reed blades to grind grain with more speed and less manpower, which eventually led to more efficient food production.

It wasn’t until the 1st century A.D. that Heron of Alexandria created the windwheel. According to historians, this was the first recorded wind-driven wheel to power a machine. It included a small windmill that powered a piston that forces air through the organ pipes. According to records, it made a sound like that of a flute.

In the Middle Ages, windmills became a popular device in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq. They were used to pump water and grind sugarcane, which eventually boosted their grist milling industry. This technology was ultimately brought to Northwestern Europe in 1180 and became a popular tool to grind flour — a system that still exists up to date.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, colonists brought windmills to the United States. Homesteaders and ranchers installed thousands of water pumps and small wind-electric generations in Western America.

The possibilities of wind power were further explored due to oil shortages in the 1970s. This forced everyone to find an alternative source of energy to generate electricity. Due to this scarcity, the U.S. federal government installed thousands of wind turbines in California to encourage the use of renewable energy sources. By 2020, the U.S. share of electricity generation via wind power grew to 8.4% — a huge spike compared to the 1990s 1%.

Global Wind Day timeline

1st Century A.D. The First Wind-Powered Machine

Greek engineer Heron of Alexandria discovers the first wind-driven wheel that powers a machine.

1180s Vertical Windmills

Northwestern Europe uses vertical windmills to grind flour.

1900s 2,500 Windmills Reaches 30 Megawatts

About 2,500 windmills in Denmark produce a combined power of 30 megawatts used to grind grains and pump water.

1970s Global Oil Shortage

The global oil shortage leads people to explore wind energy in a more advanced manner to be an alternative to electricity.

1980s Wind Turbines in California

The U.S. Federal Government installs thousands of wind turbines in California in support of renewable energy sources.

Global Wind Day FAQs

What are the types of wind energy?

The three main types of wind energy are utility-scale wind, offshore wind, and distributed wind.

What are four manufacturers in the world that uses wind turbines?

Vestas (Denmark), Siemens Gamesa (Spain), Goldwind (China), and General Electric (U.S.)

Which country uses the most wind power?

China uses the most wind power, generating approximately 236,402 megawatts in 2019 alone.

How to Observe Global Wind Day

Fly a kite outside

Attend seminars about wind energy

Take it to social media

This may sound like a simple activity, but flying a kite outside is an effective way to explain to your kids how wind energy works. Discuss how wind power propels the kite to stay afloat in the air. It’s also a great bonding activity that’s both fun and educational.

In an era where the climate crisis is peaking, wind energy is the future. Attend seminars on Global Wind Day to learn about the benefits and new technologies of wind energy as an alternative power source. Educating yourself is key.

Raise awareness about wind energy and its benefits on social media. Share scholarly articles or Global Wind Day event pages to your newsfeed. Use the hashtag #GlobalWindEnergy and keep your friends and family in the loop about one of the most pivotal solutions to decarbonizing the planet.

5 Interesting Facts About Wind Energy

The wind industry solves employment problems

The first modern turbine

Commercial turbines are powerful

The largest wind turbine

It doesn’t need water

The wind industry employs 650,000 people in different capacities around the world.

The first modern turbine was built in Vermont, U.S.

One commercial wind turbine can provide power to 600 homes.

The largest wind turbine was created in Hawaii, which stands 20 stories tall and each blade is as long as a football field.

Wind energy is the only power source that doesn’t need water.

Why Global Wind Day is Important

It’s for the good of the planet

It raises awareness

Wind energy is cost-effective

With the rise of global warming and other crises, wind energy is one solution to help lessen pollutants. Its long-term effects are advantageous to the new generation and to the generations that will come after.

People need to be proactive in highlighting the benefits of wind energy so that companies, governments, and other industries will adopt this technology as an alternative power source. The only way to make them proactive is to raise awareness. Education is key.

Global Wind Day helps us support the cost-effectiveness of wind energy. It’s one of the lowest-priced energy sources known today, which could potentially lower federal taxes.

Source

[newstfionline]

Tuesday, June 4 2024

Faith-Based Groups That Assist Migrants Become Targets of Extremists (NYT) A man posing as a pest exterminator tried to gain access to a San Diego hotel that operates as a shelter for migrant families. The next day, a woman showed up claiming to be an immigrant in need of help. Workers at the shelter, run by Catholic Charities, turned away both impostors. Three days later, menacing calls began pouring in to the staff. Voice mail left for the chief executive called him “scum” and “not really Christian.” A woman left another staff member an expletive-laced message about Catholics. She claimed that the nonprofit was flying migrants all over the country and profiting from an illegal operation. For decades, Catholic Charities and other faith-based organizations have played a crucial role helping federal authorities and local governments manage influxes of migrants. But after President Biden took office in 2021 promising a more humane approach to migration, these faith-based groups have increasingly become the subjects of conspiracy theories and targets for far-right activists and Republican members of Congress, who accuse them of promoting an invasion to displace white Americans and engaging in child trafficking and migrant smuggling. The organizations say those claims are baseless.

After Pipes Burst in Atlanta, Many Residents Lose Water, Then Patience (NYT) A series of water main breaks in Atlanta caused widespread disruption on Saturday, as outages and severely reduced water pressure forced some businesses to close and infuriated residents who criticized city officials for failing to provide timely updates. Reports of interrupted service began on Friday after corroded water pipes burst near downtown. The disruptions continued into Saturday. Residents across a swath of the city were under a boil-water notice, which advised them to use bottled water or boil tap water. The outages forced businesses to close or limit their services, and some hospitals had to divert patients and cancel certain procedures. Residents in many neighborhoods—as well as guests in downtown hotels—had to get by using bottled water or what little came dripping out of their faucets. Many seethed over a lack of information.

Temperatures expected to sizzle in the West and south Texas this week (NBC News) Temperatures are expected to climb across parts of southern Texas, as well as California and the desert Southwest this week, where around 22 million people are under heat alerts in the first significant heat event of the season. Across Texas, high heat combined with high humidity will lead to temperatures that feel as hot as 115 degrees. Abilene, San Antonio and Brownsville are cities that could set record highs and see dangerous humidity. Texas can also expect severe storms this week, including a couple of reports of 6-inch hailstones in the Panhandle.

Expect the cost of your airfare to continue to rise (AP) The cost of your next flight is likely to go up. That’s the word from the International Air Transport Association, which held its annual meeting Monday in Dubai, home to the long-haul carrier Emirates. While carriers recover from the groundings worldwide from the coronavirus pandemic, industry leaders told journalists that there are several costs likely to push those ticket prices ever higher. Part of that comes from worldwide inflation, an ongoing problem since the pandemic started. Jet fuel costs, roughly a third of all airline expenses, remain high. Meanwhile, a global push for the aviation industry to decarbonize has more carriers fighting for the little amount of so-called sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, available in the market. Also pressuring the industry is a pandemic hangover in aircraft production as well, they say. Carriers now keep older planes that burn more fuel flying longer. There also aren’t enough new aircraft to expand routes and increase supply to bring down overall prices.

Mexican officials again criticize volunteer searcher after she finds more bodies (AP) A Mexican volunteer searcher criticized in the past by the government has found more human remains in Mexico City and officials have attacked her for it—again. The existence of clandestine body dumping grounds is sensitive for Mexico’s ruling Morena party. Morena claims the kind of violence that plagues other parts of the country has been successfully combatted in the capital. But volunteer searcher Ceci Flores, who has spent years searching for her two missing sons, says that’s because officials haven’t bothered to look for bodies. It’s a common complaint by relatives of missing people in many parts of Mexico, where drug cartels and kidnap gangs use shallow pits to dispose of the bodies of their victims. On Thursday, Flores posted a video showing what appeared to be human femurs and craniums in the tall dry grass of a hillside on the city’s east side. She suggested there were at least three bodies, and noted there could be more on the hillside. Flores has sparred with the government before, accusing officials of ignoring the plight of Mexico’s more than 100,000 missing people.

A mass parachute jump over Normandy kicks off commemorations for the 80th anniversary of D-Day (AP) Parachutists jumping from World War II-era planes hurled themselves Sunday into now peaceful Normandy skies where war once raged, heralding a week of ceremonies for the fast-disappearing generation of Allied troops who fought from D-Day beaches 80 years ago to Adolf Hitler’s fall, helping free Europe of his tyranny. All along the Normandy coastline—where then-young soldiers from across the United States, Britain, Canada and other Allied nations waded ashore through hails of fire on five beaches on June 6, 1944—French officials, grateful Normandy survivors and other admirers are saying “merci” but also goodbye. The ever-dwindling number of veterans in their late nineties and older who are coming back to remember fallen friends and their history-changing exploits are the last.

France’s far right may win big in the EU elections (AP) French far-right leader Marine Le Pen isn’t on the ballot at the weekend’s European Parliament election, but she’s likely to emerge as one of its biggest winners. Polls expect her National Rally party to be the top vote-getter in France, trouncing President Emmanuel Macron’s moderate pro-business party. And across Europe, the anti-immigration, nationalist ideas Le Pen has long championed are gaining ground. The June 6-9 elections in all 27 EU countries will shift the makeup of the European Parliament and policy-making in the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, likely toward the right and far right. That could have lasting impact on the EU—and boost Le Pen’s chances of winning France’s presidency in 2027, a long-time dream.

Rhubarb Has Conquered Germany (NYT) In the past month, millions of people have found themselves stumbling through the contorted and catchy syllables of a song about, of all things, a woman named Barbara and some rhubarb-loving barbarians who drink beer while getting their beards barbered. In German. Or more rightly: Rhabarberbarbarabarbarbarenbartbarbierbier. The hyper-compound words of the popular German tongue twister about Barbara, her “bombastic” rhubarb cake and her hirsute customers shot to inexplicable and extreme popularity this spring, a few months after a pair of comedic musical content creators from Berlin posted a rap version late last year. Their silly ditty has more than 47 million views on TikTok; for a brief moment on some online streaming charts, Barbara beat out Beyoncé. Beyoncé. It turns out Germans do have a sense of humor.

Sri Lanka closes schools as floods and mudslides leave 10 dead and 6 others missing (AP) Sri Lanka closed schools on Monday as heavy rain triggered floods and mudslides in many parts of the island nation, leaving at least 10 people dead and six others missing, officials said. Heavy downpours have wreaked havoc in many parts of the country since Sunday, flooding homes, fields and roads, and forcing authorities to cut electricity as a precaution. Sri Lanka has been grappling with severe weather conditions since mid-May caused by heavy monsoon rains. Earlier, strong winds downed trees in many areas, killing nine people.

Young men flee Myanmar in panic after struggling military starts draft (Washington Post) Six pickup trucks jammed with migrants from Myanmar sped through a border town in western Thailand just after dawn. Lin Soe, 18, was in the second truck, part of an exodus of boys and men fleeing Myanmar because its military junta had begun conscripting soldiers in the face of mounting rebel successes. Tens of thousands of young people have been fleeing Myanmar every month since the junta in February announced that for the first time it was instituting a draft, according to migration researchers and aid groups. Stung by a string of battlefield losses to pro-democracy insurgents and ethnic rebel groups, the military is now looking to add as many as 60,000 soldiers within a year. The decision, say security analysts, reflects mounting anxiety within the military, which is confronting its biggest challenge since it ousted a democratically elected government three years ago and triggered a civil war.

South Korea plans to nullify peace deal to punish North Korea over trash-carrying balloon launches (AP) South Korea announced Monday it’ll suspend a rapprochement deal with North Korea to punish it over its launches of trash-carrying balloons, even after the North said it would halt its balloon campaign. Over several days, North Korea flew hundreds of balloons to drop trash and manure on South Korea in an angry reaction against previous South Korean civilian leafleting campaigns. On Sunday, South Korea said it would take “unbearable” retaliatory steps in response, before North Korea abruptly announced it would stop flying balloons across the border. On Monday, South Korea’s presidential national security council said it has decided to suspend a 2018 inter-Korean agreement aimed at easing frontline animosities, until mutual trust between the two Koreas is restored, according to the presidential office. The security council said the suspension would allow South Korea to resume military drills near the border with North Korea and take effective, immediate responses to provocations by North Korea.

Nigeria strike: ‘My monthly pay won't buy a bag of rice’ (BBC) As an indefinite general strike begins in Nigeria, one worker tells the BBC that it’s impossible to survive on what the government is proposing as a minimum wage because it is not enough to buy a bag of rice. The strike has led to power cuts across much of the country as workers have shut down the national grid. Security guard Mallam Magaji Garba says he needs 50kg of rice, which costs 75,000 naira ($56; £44), to feed his family each month, before taking other expenses into account. The minimum monthly wage is currently 30,000 naira (£18; $22). Schools, offices and hospitals across the country have been closed because of the strikes. The walkout has caused disruption at the country’s busiest airport, Murtala Muhammed International in Lagos, with passengers saying they have been left stranded outside the domestic terminal.

In the pandemic, we were told to keep 6 feet apart. There’s no science to support that. (Washington Post) The nation’s top mental health official had spent months asking for evidence behind the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s social distancing guidelines, warning that keeping Americans physically apart during the coronavirus pandemic would harm patients, businesses, and overall health and wellness. Now, Elinore McCance-Katz, the Trump administration’s assistant secretary for mental health and substance use, was urging the CDC to justify its recommendation that Americans stay six feet apart to avoid contracting covid-19—or get rid of it. “It sort of just appeared, that six feet is going to be the distance,” Fauci testified to Congress in a January closed-door hearing, according to a transcribed interview released Friday. Fauci characterized the recommendation as “an empiric decision that wasn’t based on data.” The U.S. distancing measure was particularly stringent, as other countries adopted shorter distances; the World Health Organization set a distance of one meter, or slightly more than three feet, which experts concluded was roughly as effective as the six-foot mark at deterring infections, and would have allowed schools to reopen more rapidly. The six-foot rule was “probably the single most costly intervention the CDC recommended that was consistently applied throughout the pandemic,” Scott Gottlieb, former Food and Drug Administration commissioner, wrote.

[jcmarchi]

William Green named director of MIT Energy Initiative

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/william-green-named-director-of-mit-energy-initiative/

William Green named director of MIT Energy Initiative

MIT professor William H. Green has been named director of the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI).

In appointing Green, then-MIT Vice President for Research Maria Zuber highlighted his expertise in chemical kinetics — the understanding of the rates of chemical reactions — and the work of his research team in reaction kinetics, quantum chemistry, numerical methods, and fuel chemistry, as well as his work performing techno-economic assessments of proposed fuel and vehicle changes and biofuel production options.

“Bill has been an active participant in MITEI; his broad view of energy science and technology will be a major asset and will position him well to contribute to the success of MIT’s exciting new Climate Project,” Zuber wrote in a letter announcing the appointment, which went into effect April 1. 

Green is the Hoyt C. Hottel Professor of Chemical Engineering and previously served as the executive officer of the MIT Department of Chemical Engineering from 2012 to 2015. He sees MITEI’s role today as bringing together the voices of engineering, science, industry, and policy to quickly drive the global energy transition.

“MITEI has a very important role in fostering the energy and climate innovations happening at MIT and in building broader consensus, first in the engineering community and then ultimately to start the conversations that will lead to public acceptance and societal consensus,” says Green.

Achieving consensus much more quickly is essential, says Green, who noted that it was during the 1992 Rio Summit that globally we recognized the problem of greenhouse gas emissions, yet almost a quarter-century passed before the Paris Agreement came into force. Eight years after the Paris Agreement, there is still disagreement over how to address this challenge in most sectors of the economy, and much work to be done to translate the Paris pledges into reality.

“Many people feel we’re collectively too slow in dealing with the climate problem,” he says. “It’s very important to keep helping the research community be more effective and faster to provide the solutions that society needs, but we also need to work on being faster at reaching consensus around the good solutions we do have, and supporting them so they’ll actually be economically attractive so that investors can feel safe to invest in them, and to change regulations to make them feasible, when needed.”

With experience in industry, policy, and academia, Green is well positioned to facilitate this acceleration. “I can see the situation from the point of view of a scientist, from the point of view of an engineer, from the point of view of the big companies, from the point of view of a startup company, and from the point of view of a parent concerned about the effects of climate change on the world my children are inheriting,” he says.

Green also intends to extend MITEI’s engagement with a broader range of countries, industries, and economic sectors as MITEI focuses on decarbonization and accelerating the much-needed energy transition worldwide.

Green received a PhD in physical chemistry from the University of California at Berkeley and a BA in chemistry from Swarthmore College. He joined MIT in 1997. He is the recipient of the AIChE’s R.H. Wilhelm Award in Chemical Reaction Engineering and is an inaugural Fellow of the Combustion Institute.

He succeeds Robert Stoner, who served as interim director of MITEI beginning in July 2023, when longtime director Robert C. Armstrong retired after serving in the role for a decade.

[reasonsforhope]

One of the scariest things people say is “this very hot summer is going to be the coolest one for the rest of our lives.” How true is that? It really freaks me out when I hear that. How do we deal with this??

Honestly, I think at a certain point, with stuff like this, you just have to go "Hmm. Sure hope not!!" and go back to doing what you can to improve things in your little corner of the world.

As for how true it is...honestly, no one can really say, because we still understand laughably little about weather modeling, especially in the long term. Oh, sure, we understand miles more than we did a couple decades ago, but honestly, no one truly knows what the next few decades are going to look like - and ANY absolutes should be taken with a grain of salt

Will things in general get hotter? Yeah, obviously, and that sucks. But it's also worth remembering:

Renewable energy and decarbonization are progressing exponentially, and a lot of scientists have said that if you'd told them five years ago where we'd end up by now, they would never have believed you

Carbon capture - both natural and chemical - has a lot of really interesting potential that will almost certainly allow us to someday start to cool the planet back down

Nothing is universal. You know how everyone's having a ridiculously hot summer? I'm not. I'm in Southern California and we had one of the most mild and overcast Junes I've ever seen. I don't think it's gotten above 105 at all where I live this year, which is ridic at the end of July, and I live in one of the hotter area of SoCal. (Honestly this has been a really nice break after spending the past 8 years being the ones on fire)

We're gonna get a lot better at adapting to the heat, and a lot of the solutions are really low tech. Traditional technology and architecture is a big one, but also literally things as simple as "tear up a bunch of asphalt" and "put ultrawhite paint on rooftops and roads and playgrounds" will each cool things down by 10 degrees or more

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from Yale Environment 360:

Can metals that naturally occur in seawater be mined, and can they be mined sustainably? A company in Oakland, California, says yes. And not only is it extracting magnesium from ocean water — and from waste brine generated by industry — it is doing it in a carbon-neutral way. Magrathea Metals has produced small amounts of magnesium in pilot projects, and with financial support from the U.S. Defense Department, it is building a larger-scale facility to produce hundreds of tons of the metal over two to four years. By 2028, it says it plans to be operating a facility that will annually produce more than 10,000 tons.

Magnesium is far lighter and stronger than steel, and it’s critical to the aircraft, automobile, steel, and defense industries, which is why the government has bankrolled the venture. Right now, China produces about 85 percent of the world’s magnesium in a dirty, carbon-intensive process. Finding a way to produce magnesium domestically using renewable energy, then, is not only an economic and environmental issue, it’s a strategic one. “With a flick of a finger, China could shut down steelmaking in the U.S. by ending the export of magnesium,” said Alex Grant, Magrathea’s CEO and an expert in the field of decarbonizing the production of metals.

“China uses a lot of coal and a lot of labor,” Grant continued. “We don’t use any coal and [use] a much lower quantity of labor.” The method is low cost in part because the company can use wind and solar energy during off-peak hours, when it is cheapest. As a result, Grant estimates their metal will cost about half that of traditional producers working with ore.

Magrathea — named after a planet in the hit novel The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy — buys waste brines, often from desalination plants, and allows the water to evaporate, leaving behind magnesium chloride salts. Next, it passes an electrical current through the salts to separate them from the molten magnesium, which is then cast into ingots or machine components.

While humans have long coaxed minerals and chemicals from seawater — sea salt has been extracted from ocean water for millennia — researchers around the world are now broadening their scope as the demand for lithium, cobalt, and other metals used in battery technology has ramped up. Companies are scrambling to find new deposits in unlikely places, both to avoid orebody mining and to reduce pollution. The next frontier for critical minerals and chemicals appears to be salty water, or brine.

Brines come from a number of sources: much new research focuses on the potential for extracting metals from briny wastes generated by industry, including coal-fired power plants that discharge waste into tailings ponds; wastewater pumped out of oil and gas wells — called produced water; wastewater from hard-rock mining; and desalination plants.

Large-scale brine mining could have negative environmental impacts — some waste will need to be disposed of, for example. But because no large-scale operations currently exist, potential impacts are unknown. Still, the process is expected to have numerous positive effects, chief among them that it will produce valuable metals without the massive land disturbance and creation of acid-mine drainage and other pollution associated with hard-rock mining.

According to the Brine Miners, a research center at Oregon State University, there are roughly 18,000 desalination plants, globally, taking in 23 trillion gallons of ocean water a year and either forcing it through semipermeable membranes — in a process called reverse osmosis — or using other methods to separate water molecules from impurities. Every day, the plants produce more than 37 billion gallons of brine — enough to fill 50,000 Olympic-size swimming pools. That solution contains large amounts of copper, zinc, magnesium, and other valuable metals.

[heatpumpca385]

Heat Pump Installation San Jose CA

Harnessing Sustainable Energy: Heat Pump Installation in San Jose, CA

Introduction: In the heart of Silicon Valley, where innovation and sustainability intertwine, San Jose, California, stands as a beacon of progress. As the demand for energy-efficient solutions continues to surge, heat pumps emerge as a frontrunner in the quest for sustainable living. With its moderate climate and a community committed to environmental stewardship, San Jose provides an ideal setting for the adoption of heat pump technology. In this article, we delve into the intricacies of heat pump installation in San Jose, exploring its benefits, considerations, and the role it plays in shaping a greener future for the city.

Understanding Heat Pumps: Before diving into the specifics of heat pump installation, it's crucial to grasp the fundamentals of this innovative technology. Unlike traditional heating and cooling systems that rely on burning fossil fuels, heat pumps operate by transferring heat from one location to another. Whether it's extracting warmth from the air, ground, or water sources, heat pumps leverage the natural heat exchange process to regulate indoor temperatures efficiently.

Benefits of Heat Pump Installation:

Energy Efficiency: One of the most significant advantages of heat pumps is their remarkable energy efficiency. By harnessing renewable heat sources, such as ambient air or geothermal energy, heat pumps can deliver substantial energy savings compared to conventional HVAC systems. In a city like San Jose, where residents prioritize sustainability and reducing carbon footprints, this aspect holds tremendous appeal.

Cost Savings: Beyond environmental benefits, heat pump installation can translate into tangible cost savings for homeowners. With rising utility expenses, especially in regions prone to extreme weather fluctuations, the efficient operation of heat pumps can lead to lower monthly bills over time. Additionally, various rebates and incentives offered by government agencies and utility companies further sweeten the deal, making the initial investment more accessible and attractive.

Year-Round Comfort: San Jose boasts a Mediterranean climate characterized by mild winters and warm summers, making it an ideal candidate for heat pump adoption. Unlike traditional heating systems that struggle to adjust to changing weather patterns, heat pumps offer versatile heating and cooling capabilities, ensuring year-round comfort regardless of external conditions. This versatility not only enhances indoor comfort but also reduces the need for separate heating and cooling systems, simplifying maintenance and reducing overall HVAC-related expenses.

Environmental Impact: As a city committed to sustainability and combating climate change, San Jose recognizes the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. By transitioning to heat pump technology, residents can significantly decrease their carbon footprint and contribute to the city's broader environmental goals. With the California Energy Commission's ambitious targets for decarbonizing buildings, heat pumps play a crucial role in achieving these objectives, paving the way for a cleaner, greener future.

Quiet Operation: In densely populated urban areas like San Jose, noise pollution can be a concern, especially with traditional HVAC systems. Heat pumps, however, operate quietly, making them an ideal choice for residential neighborhoods where peace and tranquility are valued. Whether installed indoors or outdoors, modern heat pump units are designed to minimize noise disruptions, ensuring a harmonious living environment for residents.

Considerations for Heat Pump Installation: While the benefits of heat pump installation in San Jose are undeniable, several factors must be considered to ensure optimal performance and longevity:

Sizing: Proper sizing is critical to the efficiency and effectiveness of a heat pump system. An undersized unit may struggle to meet heating or cooling demands, resulting in reduced comfort and increased energy consumption. Conversely, an oversized unit may cycle on and off frequently, leading to premature wear and tear. A professional HVAC contractor can conduct a thorough assessment of the property to determine the appropriate size and capacity required for optimal performance.

Installation Location: The location of the heat pump unit can impact its efficiency, longevity, and aesthetic appeal. Outdoor units should be placed in an area with adequate airflow and minimal obstructions to ensure proper ventilation and heat exchange. Additionally, considerations such as landscaping, noise ordinances, and accessibility should be taken into account during the installation process.

Ductwork: In homes with existing ductwork, integrating a heat pump system may require modifications or upgrades to ensure compatibility and optimal airflow. Properly sealed and insulated ducts are essential for maximizing energy efficiency and indoor air quality. For homes without ductwork, ductless mini-split systems offer a convenient alternative, allowing for targeted heating and cooling in specific areas of the home without the need for extensive duct installation.

Maintenance: Like any HVAC system, regular maintenance is key to prolonging the lifespan and efficiency of a heat pump. Routine tasks such as filter replacement, coil cleaning, and system inspections should be performed by a qualified technician to identify and address any issues before they escalate. By investing in preventive maintenance, homeowners can avoid costly repairs and ensure uninterrupted comfort throughout the year.

Conclusion: As San Jose continues to lead the charge in technological innovation and environmental sustainability, the adoption of heat pump technology emerges as a cornerstone of the city's green initiatives. By harnessing renewable energy sources and leveraging cutting-edge engineering, heat pumps offer a compelling solution for reducing energy consumption, lowering utility costs, and mitigating climate impact. With proper installation, maintenance, and support from qualified professionals, residents can enjoy year-round comfort while contributing to a more sustainable future for generations to come.

[tsmom1219]

Public Policy Barriers to Carbon Capture and Storage in California

Download the paper. Many industries in California are difficult to decarbonize, making carbon capture and storage (CCS) essential to reach net zero. California has committed to deliver an enormous 100 thousand tons per year of carbon storage by 2045. Despite much interest in carbon sequestration, there are currently no active geologic carbon capture and storage (GCCS) projects and one direct air…

[indoorverticalfarmingnews]

CalNext Collaborates With Energy Resources Integration, MicroClimates & GLASE To Explore Smart Controls In CEA

Key Takeaways: CalNEXT Initiative Launch: CalNEXT has partnered with Energy Resources Integration (ERI) to explore electric technologies in agriculture, aiming for a decarbonized future in California. Focus on Smart Controls: The project emphasizes the integration of lighting, HVAC, and irrigation control systems, intending to develop a technology roadmap and identify utility rebate programs for…