Written by rjs, MarketWatch 666
This is a collection of interesting news articles about the environment and related topics published last week. This is usually a Tuesday evening regular post at GEI (but can be posted at other times). This week it is published early Wednesday AM.
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Note: Because of the high volume of news regarding the coronavirus outbreak, that news has been published separately:
- 18 Apr 2021 – Coronavirus Disease Weekly News 18April 2021
- 18 Apr 2021 – Coronavirus Economic Weekly News 18April 2021
New US cases of the coronavirus continued to inch higher this week, while deaths attributed to the virus continued to fall. New Covid infections during the week ending April 17th were 2.2% higher than during the week ending April 10th, and up 26.5% from the 7 days ending March 16th (a six month low), but still down 72.6% from the early January peak. US Covid deaths were down 2.5% from the prior week, and down 78.7% from the January peak, and almost at the lowest level since Covid deaths began rising in early July of last year. New infection increases have been centered in a handful of states, led by Michigan, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Florida, although all states in the Great Lakes region have been also seeing increases, including Ohio. Still, new cases are actually falling in the majority of US states.
Meanwhile, both new cases and deaths continue to surge in many other countries; we’ve been seeing a record high global average of about three-quarters of a million new cases daily this past week, with new cases during the week ending April 17th 13.7% higher than the prior week, and up by 108.2% from the week ending February 20th. This week’s Covid deaths were 6.5% higher than last week’s globally, and up 41.0% from the March low. India has accounted for more than a quarter of the new infections globally, whereas Brazil continues to account for nearly a quarter of the deaths. Other countries contributing to the current global rise in cases include Turkey, France, Iran and Germany, while Poland, Italy, Mexico and the Ukraine have been seeing major increases in Covid deaths.
Some of the COVID-19 graphics presented in the articles linked at the beginning of this post have been updated below.
Summary data graphics:
Below is a copy of today’s graph of new US cases from WorldOMeters so you can get a visuallization of what the growth and decline of this thing looks like (data through April 20):
New cases globally continue to increase. (See Johns Hopkins graph below.) This graphic shows the daily global new cases since the start of the pandemic up through 20 April.
Globally deaths are rising again. (See Johns Hopkins graph below.) This graphic shows the daily global deaths since the start of the pandemic up through 20 April.
Here’s the week’s environment and energy news:
Scientists identify severe asthma species, show air pollutant as likely contributor – For the first time, an analysis identifies non-atopic childhood asthma as more than a set of symptoms, but a distinct disease, driven by early exposure to Benzo[a]pyrene from fossil fuel combustion. Asthma afflicts more than 300 million people worldwide. The most severe manifestation, known as non-Th2, or non-atopic childhood asthma, represents the majority of the cases, greater than 85%, particularly in low-income countries, according to Hyunok Choi (https://health.lehigh.edu/faculty/choi-hyunok), an associate professor at the Lehigh University College of Health (https://health.lehigh.edu/). Yet, whether non-Th2 is a distinct disease (or endotype) or simply a unique set of symptoms (or phenotype) remains unknown. “Non-Th2 asthma is associated with very poor prognosis in children and great, life-long suffering due to the absence of effective therapies,” says Choi. “There is an urgent need to better understand its mechanistic origin to enable early diagnosis and to stop the progression of the disease before it becomes severe.” Studies show that nearly 50% of the children whose asthma is poorly controlled are expected to emerge as severe adult cases. Yet, a one-size-fits-all treatment approach, currently the norm for asthma, is ineffective and, says Choi, and partially responsible for asthma’s growing economic burden. “The primary reason for lack of therapeutic and preventive measures is that no etiologic, or causal, driver has ever been identified for the non-Th2 asthma,” says Choi. Now, for the first time, an epidemiological study, led by Choi, has shown that not only is non-Th2 a distinct disease, its likely inducer is early childhood exposure to airborne Benzo[a]pyrene, a byproduct of fossil fuel combustion. Choi and her colleagues are the first to demonstrate air pollution as a driver of the most challenging type of asthma, the severe subtype which is non-responsive to current therapies. Not only was elevated exposure to Benzo[a]pyrene associated with correspondingly elevated odds of non-Th2 asthma, it was also associated with depressed systemic oxidant levels. “Contrary to the current body of evidence supporting adult onset of non-atopic asthma, our data suggest for the first time that the lung function deficit and suppressed oxidative stress levels during early childhood are critical sentinel events preceding non-atopic asthma,” says Choi.
DDT exposure in grandmothers linked to obesity, earlier periods in granddaughters – In the first study to report on the health effects of exposure to a toxic environmental chemical over three human generations, a new study has found that granddaughters whose grandmothers were exposed to the pesticide DDT have higher rates of obesity and earlier first menstrual periods. This may increase the granddaughters’ risk for breast cancer as well as high blood pressure, diabetes and other cardiometabolic diseases. The research by the Public Health Institute’s Child Health and Development Studies (CHDS) and the University of California at Davis was published today in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. It suggests that effects from the pesticide DDT — despite being banned in the U.S. nearly 50 years ago — may contribute to the falling age of first periods and increases in obesity rates among young women today.The study found that the risk of obesity in young adult granddaughters was 2 to 3 times greater when their grandmothers (who were not overweight) had higher levels of o,p’-DDT (a contaminant of commercial DDT) in their blood during or just after pregnancy. Granddaughters were twice as likely to have earlier first menstrual periods when their grandmothers had higher o,p’-DDT blood levels. DDT and its related chemicals, including o,p’-DDT, are known to be endocrine disrupting chemicals, compounds that can alter and interfere with natural hormones that are essential for development.”We already know that it’s nearly impossible to avoid exposures to many common environmental chemicals that are endocrine disruptors. Now our study shows for the first time in people that environmental chemicals like DDT may also pose health threats to our grandchildren,” said Barbara Cohn, director of CHDS and senior author of the study. “In combination with our on-going studies of DDT effects in the grandmother’s and mother’s generations, our work suggests we should take precautionary action on the use of other endocrine disrupting chemicals, given their potential to affect generations to come in ways we cannot anticipate today.” The Child Health and Development Studies is a unique project that has followed 20,000 pregnant women and their families for more than 60 years. “These data suggest that the disruption of endocrine systems by DDT initiates in immature human eggs, decades before the eggs are fertilized,”
Water scarcity footprint reveals impacts of individual dietary choices in US – A lot of attention has been paid in recent years to the carbon footprint of the foods we eat, but much less is known about the implications of individual U.S. dietary choices on other environmental concerns, such as water scarcity. In a study scheduled for online publication April 15 in the journal Nature Food, researchers from the University of Michigan and Tulane University present a water scarcity footprint that measures the water-use impacts of U.S. diets, taking into account regional variations in water scarcity. Meat consumption is the top contributor to the water scarcity footprint of the average U.S. diet, accounting for 31% of the impacts, according to the study. And within the meat category, beef’s contribution is about six times higher than chicken’s. But other foods that require lots of water or that are mainly grown in U.S. regions where water is scarce–including certain fruits, nuts and vegetables–also have high water-scarcity footprints, the researchers say. “Beef is the largest dietary contributor to the water scarcity footprint, as it is for the carbon footprint,” “But the dominance of animal-based food is diminished somewhat in the water scarcity footprint, in part because the production of feed grains for animals is distributed throughout less water-scarce regions, whereas the production of vegetables, fruits and nuts is concentrated in water-scarce regions of the United States, namely the West Coast states and the arid Southwest.”
60 Million Americans Don’t Drink Their Tap Water – Here’s Why That’s a Public Health Problem – Imagine seeing a news report about lead contamination in drinking water in a community that looks like yours. It might make you think twice about whether to drink your tap water or serve it to your kids – especially if you also have experienced tap water problems in the past.In a new study, my colleagues Anisha Patel, Francesca Weaks and I estimate that approximately 61.4 million people in the U.S. did not drink their tap water as of 2017-2018. Our research, which was released in preprint format on April 8, 2021, and has not yet been peer reviewed, found that this number has grown sharply in the past several years.Other research has shown that about 2 million Americans don’t have access to clean water. Taking that into account, our findings suggest that about 59 million people have tap water access from either their municipality or private wells or cisterns, but don’t drink it. While some may have contaminated water, others may be avoiding water that’s actually safe. Water insecurity is an underrecognized but growing problem in the U.S. Tap water distrust is part of the problem. And it’s critical to understand what drives it, because people who don’t trust their tap water shift to more expensive and often less healthy options, like bottled water or sugary drinks. According to our research, there’s a growing epidemic of tap water distrust and disuse in the U.S. In a 2020 study, anthropologist Sera Young and I found that tap water avoidance was declining before the Flint water crisis that began in 2014. In 2015-2016, however, it started to increase again for children.Our new study found that in 2017-2018, the number of Americans who didn’t drink tap water increased at an alarmingly high rate, particularly for Black and Hispanic adults and children. We calculated that Black and Hispanic children and adults are two to three times more likely to report not drinking their tap water than members of white households. In 2017-2018, roughly 3 out of 10 Black adults and children and nearly 4 of 10 Hispanic adults and children didn’t drink their tap water. Approximately 2 of 10 Asian Americans didn’t drink from their tap, while only 1 of 10 white Americans didn’t drink their tap water. When children don’t drink any water on a given day, research shows that they consume twice as many calories from sugary drinks as children who drink water. Higher sugary drink consumption increases risk ofcavities, obesity and cardiometabolic diseases. Drinking tap water provides fluoride, which lowers the risk of cavities. Relying on water alternatives is also much more expensive than drinking tap water.
FDA warns not to drink this bottled water after reports of liver damage –Federal health officials are warning people not to drink Real Water brand alkaline water as the product may be linked to liver illness in five children in the Las Vegas-area.The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says it was notified of five cases of acute nonviral hepatitis resulting in acute liver failure in infants and young children that occurred in November 2020 in the Southern Nevada Health District. The patients from four different households were all hospitalized, but they have since recovered. Health authorities say they all consumed the brand of alkaline water, the only common link identified between all five cases to date. “We are advising consumers, restaurants and retailers to not consume, cook with, sell or serve ‘Real Water’ alkaline water until more information is known about the cause of the illnesses,” Frank Yiannas, deputy commissioner for food policy and response at the FDA, said in a statement. “We are working to determine how the alkaline water may be related to the illnesses. Although the investigation is ongoing, epidemiologic information currently indicates that this alkaline water product may be the cause of the illnesses,” Yiannas said. Additional people in the patient’s households also reported experiencing less severe symptoms such as fever, vomiting, nausea, fatigue and loss of appetite. Nonviral hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver that can cause cirrhosis, liver cancer, liver failure and death. The Las Vegas-based bottled water brand on Wednesday said it was proactively taking steps to stop selling and distributing the product throughout the U.S. until the issue is resolved.
Life expectancy lower near superfund sites — Living near a hazardous waste or Superfund site could cut your life short by about a year, reports Hanadi S. Rifai, John and Rebecca Moores Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Houston. The study, published in Nature Communications and based on evaluation of 65,226 census tracts from the 2018 Census, is the first nationwide review of all hazardous waste sites and not just the 1,300 sites on the national priority list managed by the federal government. The analysis shows a decrease of more than two months in life expectancy for those living near a Superfund site. When coupled with high disadvantage of sociodemographic factors like age, sex, marital status and income, the decrease could be nearly 15 months, according to the analysis. Prior studies confirmed that those living near hazardous waste sites generally have greater sociodemographic disadvantage and, as a result, poorer health. The average life expectancy in the U.S. is 78.7 years, and millions of children have been raised within less than a one-mile radius from a federally designated Superfund site. “We have ample evidence that contaminant releases from anthropogenic sources (e.g., petrochemicals or hazardous waste sites) could increase the mortality rate in fence-line communities,” reports Rifai. “Results showed a significant difference in life expectancy among census tracts with at least one Superfund site and their neighboring tracts with no sites.” Nationally there are thousands of so-called Superfund, or contaminated, sites that pose a risk to human health and the environment. These sites include manufacturing facilities, processing plants, landfills and mining sites where hazardous waste was dumped, left out in the open or poorly managed. Life expectancy is one of the most basic indicators of public health. Analysis revealed that out of 12,717 census tracts with at least one Superfund site, the adverse effect of this presence was more severe on the ones with higher sociodemographic disadvantage. For instance, the presence of a Superfund site in a census tract with smaller than median income ($52,580) could reduce life expectancy by as much as seven months.
Living Near a Toxic Waste Site Could Lower Life Expectancy by a Year, Study Finds – Thousands of Superfund sites exist around the U.S., with toxic substances left open, mismanaged and dumped. Despite the high levels of toxicity at these sites, nearly 21 million people live within a mile of one of them, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).Currently, more than 1,300 Superfund sites pose a serious health risk to nearby communities. Based on a new study, residents living close to these sites could also have a shorter life expectancy.Published in Nature Communications, the study, led by Hanadi S. Rifai, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Houston, and a team of researchers, found that living in nearby zip codes to Superfund sites resulted in a decreased life expectancy of more than two months, the University of Houston reported.”We have ample evidence that contaminant releases from anthropogenic sources (e.g., petrochemicals or hazardous waste sites) could increase the mortality rate in fence-line communities,” Rifai told the University of Houston. “Results showed a significant difference in life expectancy among census tracts with at least one Superfund site and their neighboring tracts with no sites.”The study pulled data from 65,000 census tracts – defined geographical regions – within the contiguous U.S.,The Guardian reported. With this data, researchers found that for communities that are socioeconomically challenged, this life expectancy could decrease by up to a year. “It was a bit surprising and concerning,” Rifai told The Guardian. “We weren’t sure [when we started] if the fact that you are socioeconomically challenged would make [the Superfund’s effects] worse.” The research team, for example, found that the presence of a Superfund site in a census tract with a median income of less than $52,580 could reduce life expectancy by seven months, the University of Houston reported. Many of these toxic sites were once used as manufacturing sites during the Second World War. Common toxic substances that are released from the sites into the air and surface water include lead, trichlorethylene, chromium, benzene and arsenic – all of which can lead to health impacts, such as neurological damage among children, The Union of Concerned Scientists wrote in a blog. “The EPA has claimed substantial recent progress in Superfund site cleanups, but, contrary to EPA leadership’s grandiose declarations, the backlog of unfunded Superfund cleanups is the largest it has been in the last 15 years,” the Union wrote. “When you add in flooding, there will be ancillary or secondary impacts that can potentially be exacerbated by a changing future climate,”. “The long-term effect of the flooding and repetitive exposure has an effect that can transcend generations.”
Biden budget proposes $1.4 billion for environmental justice | TheHill – The White House’s discretionary budget request released Friday includes over $1.4 billion for environmental justice initiatives, which the Biden administration has called a major priority. The budget proposal includes $936 million for the creation of an Accelerating Environmental and Economic Justice initiative within the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The initiative would include $100 million to create a community air quality monitoring and notification program to update data in areas with air pollution problems. “The FY 2022 discretionary request for EPA makes historic investments to tackle the climate crisis and to make sure that all communities, regardless of their zip code, have clean air, clean water, and safe places to live and work,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement Friday. “Today’s announcement recognizes that science is at the core of all that we do at the EPA and says loud and clear that the EPA is back and ready to work.” The proposal also includes more than $3.5 billion toward improving water infrastructure. Citing crises like the contamination of drinking water in Flint, Mich., the Biden administration has also called for the replacement of all lead pipes nationwide in its $2 trillion infrastructure package. The White House has also emphasized the job creation potential in its pitches for aggressive climate policy, and the budget request emphasizes its potential to alleviate rural poverty. “This includes more than $300 million in new investments in the next generation of agriculture and conservation, including support for private lands conservation, renewable energy grants and loans, and the creation of a Civilian Climate Corps to create a new pathway to good-paying jobs in rural America,” the request states. “The discretionary request also supports $6.5 billion in lending to support additional clean energy, energy storage, and transmission projects in rural communities, including communities of color.”
Skies Turn Black as Billions of Locusts Take Flight; Emergency Declared – Swarms of locusts are taking flight over portions of Africa, turning the afternoon sky dark, prompting authorities to issue state of emergency declarations there. Similar to an outbreak that happened there last spring, local officials say the clouds of hundreds of billions of locusts are harming the food supply of people there. Locusts are a collection of short-horned grasshoppers that go through a swarming phase. In great numbers, they can wipe-out crops, harming the food supply needed by people. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, locusts don’t attack humans or animals and there doesn’t seem to be evidence that they carry diseases that could harm humans. Nevertheless, because of their sheer number, it’s difficult to walk outside without getting locusts in your mouth, in your hair, and in your clothes.This week, Namibia appears to be hit hard. Local elected official Immanuel Shikongo told the newspaper “The Namibian” that many crops have been destroyed there this week. Beyond eating crops that humans eat, they’re also decimating grasses that grazing animals depend on for their feed. In his interview with the newspaper, he said, “I would like to urge our people to yell and burn tyres when they see locusts in their mahangu fields.” Local police have also been using their sirens to help spook the locusts away.Swarms of locusts impacted Angola earlier this month, Kenya in March, and Somalia in February, Experts believe that tropical cyclones that left portions of the continent wetter than usual in 2018 followed by warmer than usual temperatures in 2019 helped spawn the massive population of locusts that hit eastern Africa, portions of the Middle East, and southeastern Asia last year. In November of last year,
The first swarm of genetically modified mosquitos is about to hit the US –This spring, the biotechnology company Oxitec plans to release genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes in the Florida Keys. Oxitec says its technology will combat dengue fever, a potentially life-threatening disease, and other mosquito-borne viruses – such as Zika – mainly transmitted by the Aedes aegyptimosquito. While there have been more than 7,300 dengue cases reported in the US between 2010 and 2020, a majority are contracted in Asia and the Caribbean, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Florida, however, there were 41 travel-related cases in 2020, compared with 71 cases that were transmitted locally.Native mosquitoes in Florida are increasingly resistant to the most common form of control – insecticide – and scientists say they need new and better techniques to control the insects and the diseases they carry. “There aren’t any other tools that we have. Mosquito nets don’t work. Vaccines are under development but need to be fully efficacious,” says Michael Bonsall, a mathematical biologist at the University of Oxford, who is not affiliated with Oxitec but has collaborated with the company in the past, and who worked with the World Health Organization to produce a GM mosquito-testing framework. Bonsall and other scientists think a combination of approaches is essential to reducing the burden of diseases – and that, maybe, newer ideas like GM mosquitoes should be added to the mix. Oxitec’s mosquitoes, for instance, are genetically altered to pass what the company calls “self-limiting” genes to their offspring; when released GM males breed with wild female mosquitoes, the resulting generation does not survive into adulthood, reducing the overall population.
Scientists Create Early Embryos That Are Part Human, Part Monkey – For the first time, scientists have created embryos that are a mix of human and monkey cells.The embryos, described Thursday in the journal Cell, were created in part to try to find new ways to produce organs for people who need transplants, said the international team of scientists who collaborated in the work. But the research raises a variety of concerns.”My first question is: Why?” said Kirstin Matthews, a fellow for science and technology at Rice University’s Baker Institute. “I think the public is going to be concerned, and I am as well, that we’re just kind of pushing forward with science without having a proper conversation about what we should or should not do.”Still, the scientists who conducted the research, and some other bioethicists defended the experiment.”This is one of the major problems in medicine – organ transplantation,” said Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, a professor in the Gene Expression Laboratory of the Salk Institute for Biological Sciences in La Jolla, Calif., and a co-author of the Cell study. “The demand for that is much higher than the supply.”
Florida is full of invasive species. They’re coming for the rest of us. — Rest easy: You are safe from the Burmese python. The invasive constrictors show little interest in moving beyond the Florida Everglades, where they are eating their way through the food web. It’s no surprise that they get more attention than other invasive species – a snake that grows up to 20 feet long and can theoretically ingest a small human makes for good headlines. But the pythons are mostly limited to that South Florida sawgrass. Unless you live next door, you will not cross paths with one anytime soon. The same can’t necessarily be said, though, for some other scourges currently using Florida as a staging ground. Creatures like the tegu, a dog-size toothed lizard that is gaining a foothold in the woods of central Florida. Or the lionfish, an aquarium escapee with long, venomous spines. Or the Cuban tree frog, which has a nasty habit of eating native frog species. Or, herbaceously, the Brazilian peppertree, with its toxic and prolific berries. They’re all here, and thriving. And thanks to globalization effects and a changing climate, they’re all on the move. Call it Floridafication: A number of the state’s nastiest living attributes are rapidly migrating outward. The state’s unusual history and climate have made it a cushy incubator for all manner of ecological threats. But many of the phenomena that make Florida disturbingly unique, from reptiles to trees to whole landscape types, may not be unique to it for long. As the climate continues to shift, it will get harder and harder to think of the Sunshine State as a place apart, an ecological Other sealed off from the rest of the country by an imaginary wall of palm trees. So mock the place at your peril. Florida’s strange present may be coming for your state’s future. Florida is a good case study for the effects of globalization, in particular. Trade winds have been blowing across the peninsula for nearly half a millennium, starting with the founding of the Spanish city of St. Augustine and continuing with Miami’s present-day role as a hub for intercontinental trade. All that cargo coming and going has inevitably brought nonnative species: stowaways slithering in the holds of ships or sloshing around in the bilge water. Others have been brought here on purpose. Florida has long been home to a thriving captive wildlife industry (think of how Netflix’s “Tiger King” kept returning to the Sunshine State). This has contributed to its status as the place with the highest number of introduced animals in the United States. It’s a predictable problem: Smugglers bring exotic creatures here in cages, and hurricanes spring them free. Or else economic storms do the trick, as people acquire their prized animals during boom times and turn them loose after the bust. This is believed to be how the tegu was introduced to the wild in the mid-2000s: During a dip in the market, some down-on-their-luck wildlife importer drove to the woods outside Tampa and released a few of the big lizards. If that was where the story ended, it would be troubling enough. But as the Georgia Department of Natural Resources can attest, it wasn’t. The agency has had an all-points bulletin out for the tegu since 2018, fearing its ability to devour the eggs of tortoises, alligators and ground-nesting birds. Then, in August, South Carolina found its first tegu. With warmer weather on deck for these states, the tegu could permanently expand its fiefdom northward.
600 manatee deaths in Florida raise concerns over sustainable habitat – Environmentalists are increasingly concerned about the sustainability of Florida’s waterways after the deaths of more than 600 manatees so far this year, three times the average rate. Biologists with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation (FWC) Commission first started getting concerned in December when manatees began dying in the Indian River Lagoon Area, one of the most biodiverse estuaries in the Northern Hemisphere and home to nearly one-third of the nation’s manatee population. The following month, the agency noticed something else strange – a large portion of the manatees rescued from the Indian River Lagoon all the way down to the waters of Miami were found swimming sideways. According to Behavioral Ecologist and Senior Research Scientist Monica Ross, that usually indicates a manatee has made contact with a boat or other human-made object. But the manatees encountered by scientists were not injured, they were emaciated. “The number of deaths continued to rise and the number of rescues continued to rise,” said Ross. “Once it started to warm up the FWC started getting a lot more calls of animals that were orphaned calves. It’s presumed that some of these recovered carcasses are the moms, and now the calves are still sitting at these warm water sites, waiting for mom to show back up, and they’re starting to become skinny and emaciated. So they will be rescued.” As manatee deaths and rescues continued to spike, wildlife managers dug into the reasoning behind the unusual mortalities, and a federal investigation was triggered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) at the end of March, with more money and resources being directed to state agencies and environmental groups involved in rescues. As of April 2, a total of 613 manatees had died since the beginning of the year, nearly eclipsing the 637 manatees that died in all of 2020. If the current death rate continues, the state could surpass the record of 830 manatee deaths set in 2013. What biologists and wildlife managers have deduced is that the widespread manatee deaths have less to do with boating accidents and more to do with the worsening effects of climate change – specifically the higher frequency of algal blooms. Ross described algal blooms as a shade covering the sun, creating a barrier between the seagrasses that manatees need to feed on and the source of light the marine plants need to grow. “Any kind of submerged vegetation needs sunlight to survive – just like grass, or any kind of tree. When you have an algal bloom there are very tiny particles that, when there’s high concentration of them, basically act like a cloud. They’re shadowing what is underneath them so they aren’t able to get any light, so when you have the entire water column full of these tiny particles, then what is underneath just dies.” The decline in seagrass habitat is what’s causing manatees to starve, and biologists say that has led the animals to gather in larger numbers around artificial warm-water sites, like power plants, without enough food for all of them to survive.
Deadly virus in rabbits threatens to upend some Western ecosystems –Edie Harmon has hiked in the stark desert beauty of Imperial County’s Jacumba Wilderness since the 1970s, but in all that time, she said she never came across a dead black-tailed jackrabbit. That was until a hike on Feb. 28, when she caught a glimpse of a jackrabbit lying freshly dead in a wash. Curiously, there was no sign that it had been caught by a coyote, hit by a car or otherwise harmed. “We just hiked, and we just kept seeing dead jackrabbits,” recounted Harmon, a local environmental advocate. By the end of the day, she and a hiking partner had come across 23 dead jackrabbits. The culprit remains unknown, but she’s got a good guess – rabbit hemorrhagic disease. Caused by a deadly and highly contagious virus, the disease affects both wild and domestic populations of lagomorphs, which are a subset of species including hares, rabbits and pikas. Since March of last year, government labs have confirmed cases across the West, with the epicenter in the Southwest and Southern California.Without any reasonable method of distributing a vaccine to wild animals, the disease is expected to continue spreading. The numbers of confirmed cases are still relatively low – in the dozens – but entire food chains could take a hit if staple species of prey like jackrabbits decline.This virus is like “the rabbit version of Ebola,” according to Hayley Lanier, assistant curator for mammals at the Sam Noble Museum in Oklahoma and co-chair of the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s lagomorph specialist group. “This is a disease that has completely decimated rabbit populations in Spain.” The current North American outbreak, the first the continent has seen in wild and not only domesticated rabbits, has spread mainly across the West since cases were reported in pet rabbits in March 2020 in New Mexico. Since then, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has confirmed cases in Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, Arizona, Nevada and California. Separately, cases were also confirmed in New York and Florida. The illness is caused by rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus serotype 2, which persists for a long time in the environment and, according to Lanier, can withstand both dry as well as hot conditions. “Often, disease onset is rapid,” according to literature from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and infected animals suffer internal bleeding and liver damage before dying.
Airborne plastic pollution ‘spiraling around the globe’, study finds – Microplastic pollution is now “spiralling around the globe”, according to a study of airborne plastic particles.The researchers said human pollution has led to a global plastic cycle, akin to natural processes such as the carbon cycle, with plastic moving through the atmosphere, oceans and land. The result is the “plastification” of the planet, said one scientist.The analysis calls plastic pollution one of the most pressing environmental issues of the 21st century. It indicates that the billions of tonnes of plastic discarded into the oceans and land and being broken down into tiny pieces are being thrown back into the air by road traffic and winds over seas and farmland.People are already known to breathe, drink and eat microplastics and the other research suggests levels of pollution will continue to rise rapidly. The scientists said this “raises questions on the impact of accumulating plastics in the atmosphere on human health. The inhalation of particles can be irritating to lung tissue and lead to serious diseases.”Prof Natalie Mahowald, at Cornell University in the US and part of the research team, said: “What we’re seeing right now is the accumulation of mismanaged plastics just going up. Some people think it’s going to increase by tenfold [per decade].“But maybe we could solve this before it becomes a huge problem, if we manage our plastics better, before they accumulate in the environment and swirl around everywhere.” Microplastic particles in atmospheric dust – the result of traffic and wind whipping up particles already in the environment. Photograph: Janice Brahney/Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesShe said clearing up ocean plastic could help reduce the amount that gets thrown back up into the atmosphere, and that more biodegradable plastics could be part of the solution. The research, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, examined airborne microplastics, which have been far less studied than plastic in oceans and rivers. The team had more than 300 samples of airborne microplastics from 11 sites across the western US, the best dataset available globally. These were the basis for atmospheric modelling that estimated the contribution from different sources, the first such study to do so. Virtually none of the airborne microplastics came directly from plastic being discarded in cities and towns, the scientists found, but were the result of road traffic and winds across oceans and farmland whipping up plastic particles already in the environment. They found that roads were the dominant factor in the western US, linked to about 85% of the microplastics in the air. These are likely to include particles from tyres and brake pads on vehicles, and plastics from litter that had been ground down. The oceans were estimated to be the source of about 10% of the airborne plastics in western US, and soils 5%.
New Research Reveals How Airborne Microplastics Travel Around the World – Scientists consider plastic pollution one of the “most pressing environmental and social issues of the 21st century,” but so far, microplastic research has mostly focused on the impact on rivers and oceans. However, a new study from researchers at Cornell and Utah State University highlights the increasing threat of airborne microplastics “spiraling around the globe,” The Guardian reported. Plastic waste breaks down into smaller pieces until it becomes microscopic and gets swept up into the atmosphere, where it rides the jet stream and travels across continents, the Cornell Chronicle reported. Researchers discovered this has led to a global plastic cycle as microplastics permeate the environment, according to The Guardian. “We found a lot of legacy plastic pollution everywhere we looked; it travels in the atmosphere and it deposits all over the world,” Janice Brahney, lead author of the study and Utah State University assistant professor of natural resources, told the Cornell Chronicle. “This plastic is not new from this year. It’s from what we’ve already dumped into the environment over several decades.” In the study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers tested the most likely sources of more than 300 samples of airborne microplastics from 11 sites across the western U.S. To their surprise, the researchers found that almost none of the atmospheric microplastics came fromplastic waste in cities and towns. “It just didn’t work out that way,” Professor Natalie Mahowald from Cornell University, who was part of the research team, told The Guardian. It turns out that 84 percent of atmospheric microplastics came from roads, 11 percent from oceans and five percent from agricultural soil dust, the scientists wrote. “We did the modeling to find out the sources, not knowing what the sources might be,” Mahowald told the Cornell Chronicle. “It’s amazing that this much plastic is in the atmosphere at that level, and unfortunately accumulating in the oceans and on land and just recirculating and moving everywhere, including remote places.” The scientists say the level of plastic pollution is expected to increase, raising “questions on the impact of accumulating plastics in the atmosphere on human health. The inhalation of particles can be irritating to lung tissue and lead to serious diseases,” The Guardian reported. The study coincides with other recent reports by researchers, who confirmed the existence of microplastics in New Zealand and Moscow, where airborne plastics are turning up in remote parts of snowy Siberia. As plastic production increases every year, the scientists stressed that there remains “large uncertainties in the transport, deposition, and source attribution of microplastics,” and wrote that further research should be prioritized.
Beijing engulfed by third major dust storm in five weeks, China (video) China’s capital Beijing has seen its third major dust storm in five weeks on Thursday, April 15, 2021. The storm is expected to continue in the coming days, affecting central and eastern China, according to the Guaizihu Meteorological Station. Beijing’s air quality index surged to 324 as of 08:00 UTC (16:00 LT) on Thursday, mainly due to larger particles of dust, reported the municipal authorities. The situation worsened in the evening, with some parts of the city seeing an air quality index of more than 1 300, according to the Swiss IQAir. The dust particles originated from Mongolia, and are expected to engulf central and eastern China by Friday, April 16, the Guaizihu Meteorological Station warned. Compared to the two other similar events in March, the recent one has a higher wind speed, making the dust particles travel farther and faster. “I don’t feel good. We have had several dust storms this year,” said resident Gary Zi. “The air quality is much worse than in previous years. Breathing becomes difficult. Sand gets into your eyes and your nose.” In a proposal to the parliament, delegates from the Gansu region said more than half o the dust storms that descend on China every year come from abroad, particularly from southern Mongolia.
$2.75 billion Red River diversion project approved – The path is now clear for the construction of the $2.75 billion Red River diversion project that intends to provide permanent, reliable flood protection to the Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area. A big administrative hurdle was cleared Wednesday with the approval of a permit from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The 30-plus-mile-long project has been stalled for years with legal battles between urban dwellers – who see the frequent flooding of the Red River as an ongoing threat to Fargo, the economic hub for the region – and farmers and rural residents to the south, whose farms soon could be flooded and lives disrupted during major flooding events. The massive project would, in the event of a severe flood threat, channel floodwaters from the north-flowing Red River and its five tributaries around Fargo. The 36-mile ditch would divert floodwaters away from developed areas, while a flood control dam would back floodwaters up into farmlands and prairie on both sides of the river to the south. The project spans some 30,000 acres and will protect a quarter million people – as well as $20 billion worth of property – from flooding. The Metro Flood Diversion Authority (MFDA) announced Wednesday that the DNR affirmed its decision to grant the dam safety and public waters work permit. That permit was originally issued in 2018, but opponents of the project appealed it, which halted construction of some elements of the project. “The permit allows us to work directly with affected Minnesota landowners and provide them with certainty of project impacts and property rights acquisition needs,” said Joel Paulsen, executive director of the MFDA. “Now, with the affirmation of the permit, our team is ready to act.” A settlement was reached in October that ended the court battle. The biggest part of the settlement was the establishment of a $75 million economic relief fund for two counties south of Fargo: Richland County, N.D., and Wilkin County, Minn. That fund will be used to compensate those counties for areas that will no longer be developable. In addition, the settlement included insuring farmers, landowners and business owners that could suffer losses during a severe flooding event. It also included flood-mitigation measures in several surrounding communities. The settlement ended years of drawn-out lawsuits and allowed the DNR to move forward with the permitting process. The Buffalo-Red River Watershed District is especially prone to flooding for several reasons. Because the Red River flows north, that means the northern stretches of the river are often still frozen in spring, so ice dams can build up. Plus the region lies in the area that some 13,000 years ago was Lake Agassiz. When the large glacial lake drained, it left behind a wide and perfectly flat swath of land. Because the area is so flat, floodwaters spread especially quickly. The 2009 Red River Flood nearly wiped out the metropolitan area. Due to a perfect storm of conditions – saturated and frozen ground, spring snowmelt and additional rain – the river crested at nearly 41 feet in Fargo. . “We came within inches of being totally wiped out.” The DNR permit requires the diversion authority to obtain property rights for land impacted by the project up to the probable maximum flood event. “That’s where the opposition was, people saying you’re going to be harming our farmland, putting water on it, slowing down planting in spring – just lots of opposition,”
Severe flooding damages more than 3 000 homes in Peru – (videos) Severe flooding has been affecting several provinces of Peru since late March 2021, according to the National Institute of Civil Defence (INDECI). More than 3 000 homes have been damaged, while evacuations are advised as many rivers have exceeded the danger mark.Since March 20, flooding has affected Yurimaguas, capital of Alto Amazonas Province. Local authorities reported damage to more than 3 000 homes as floodwaters rose up to 2.2 m (7.2 feet) in some areas.National Meteorology and Hydrology Service (SENAMHI) warned that several rivers, including the Maranon, Amazon, Napo, and Ucayali, have been flowing above the danger mark.Since then, the Huallaga River overflowed as well, flooding the areas of Santa Cruz on April 2. As a result, 248 homes have been affected, eight educational institutions, two bridges, and wide swaths of crops.The river eventually flooded parts of Teniente Cesar Lopez Rojas on April 5 and Lagunas on April 10, resulting in damage to roads, homes, and crops.In Requena Province, the Ucayali River overflowed, flooding several towns in the district of Mauia on April 10.During the same day, the Morona River burst its banks, sending floodwaters to the surrounding areas in the district of Morona. Material and property damage were reported. INDECI added that around 90 people have been evacuated after flash flooding in Pajarillo, province o Mariscal Caceres. Flooding occurred after heavy rains caused a local stream to overflow.On April 12, around 114 homes were damaged and 700 people were affected after the Amazon River overflowed, hitting the districts of Las Amasonas in Maynas Province.Authorities have recommended residents living near the rivers prepare for evacuation and make sure that they bring emergency supplies.
Historic freeze wreaks havoc on the majority of this year’s fruit harvest in France – Fruit growers and winemakers in France have reported that the majority of their harvest this year has been lost to the significant cold snap that spread through parts of Europe from Wednesday, April 7 to Friday, April 9, 2021. Many industry experts believe that the frost damage might be the worst since the 1990s.French farmers started counting the cost on Friday, April 9, after a deep cyclonic vortex from North Atlantic went down on northern Europe. Frosty conditions covered much of France, where many areas recorded their lowest April temperature on record. “No region has been spared– beets, rape, barley, vines fruit trees [have been lost]. All the different kinds of support must be activated urgently,” said the National Federation of Unions for Farmers (FNSEA). “Exceptional situations call for exceptional measures.” Farmers across the country had attempted to save their harvest by lighting fires and candles amid the frost. However, extreme cold conditions still ravaged about 90 percent of this year’s harvest, local winemakers and fruit growers reported to the FNSEA. “The winegrowers are devastated, downcast,” said Philippe Pellaton, president of the Inter-Rhone Association of winegrowers, adding that this year should see the smallest harvest of the Côtes du Rhône in the past 40 years. Around 80 to 90 percent of the nearly 68 000 ha (168 000) acres) making up the terroir have been ravaged to the frost. Many other industry experts said the frost damage may be the worst since the 1990s. “It’s a national phenomenon,” said Jerome Despey, a winemaker from the Herault region and the secretary-general of the FNSEA. “You can go back in history, there have been (freezing) episodes in 1991, 1997, 2003 but in my opinion, it’s beyond all of them.” Agriculture Minister Julien Denormandie assured that the government is “fully mobilized to provide the necessary support to affected farmers. Around 70 million euros from the country’s 100 billion euro COVID-19 recovery plan would go to the farmers so they can invest in protective equipment for their crops.
Moscow breaks 140-year temperature records amid days of unusually warm conditions, Russia – April temperatures in Moscow, Russia, have spiked to record levels not seen for at least 140 years as unusually warm conditions grip the city. On Tuesday, April 13, 2021, it registered 22.6 °C (73 °F), the highest temperature for that day since 1881. Such high temperatures usually occur during early June.Moscow has been seeing days of summerlike temperatures from Tuesday, and residents were enjoying the warm conditions after the city previously saw record-breaking snow in February.On Tuesday, Moscow set a temperature record with 22.6 °C (73 °F), the hottest April 13 in more than 140 years of meteorological observations, according to the Moscow Meteorological Bureau.On Wednesday, April 14, another temperature record was set as the mercury surged to 22 °C (71.6 °F), breaking the previous record o 20.8 °C (69.4 °F) set in 1962, according to Russia’s Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring. Such temperatures usually occur in the city during the beginning of June.”Temperatures across a large portion of western and central Russia have been running above normal since about April 11th,” said AccuWeather meteorologist Rob Richards. “A large area of high pressure has been in control of the weather which has led to the string of warm weather.” He further explained, “This is expected to continue through the weekend before temperatures slowly begin to trend closer to normal.” Cooler temperatures are expected in the coming week, with chances of rain occurring as high pressure moves out of the area.
Frozen Alaska sees records plummet as Arctic grip aims for Northwest –Low temperature records fell throughout parts of Alaska this past week, and the same intense cold has began to infiltrate the Pacific Northwest of the United States.The historic cold blast settling into Alaska at the end of the week sent temperatures plummeting far below zero, so cold, in fact, as to topple several long-standing records.Fairbanks dropped to a staggering 27 degrees below zero on Friday, smashing the century-old record of 16 below zero from 1911.Cities like McGrath and King Salmon also dropped below zero, and set new records.Even in cities like Anchorage, where the temperature didn’t drop below zero, the mercury in thermometers did fall just enough to still break the daily record from 1986.In many locations, AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperature were similar to the actual air temperature on Friday, but not everywhere. In Fairbanks, AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperature plummeted to 32 F below zero on Friday morning, and then down to 39 F below zero again early on Saturday morning. These brief, but frigid, drops in the AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperature were mainly due to a light breeze developing in the area.Prior to the cold outbreak, AccuWeather Meteorologist Renee Duff explained that April is usually the time where conditions improve across Alaska. “April is typically the time of year when Alaska is steadily climbing out of the Arctic’s icy grip, with average high temperatures rising 10-20 degrees Fahrenheit from the beginning of the month to the end in places such as Utqiaġvik (formerly Barrow), Fairbanks and Anchorage,” Duff said.High temperatures in Anchorage, Alaska, usually start April in the upper 30s, before reaching the lower 50s by the end of the month. Fairbanks rivals this spring warmup average by rising from the mid-30s in early April and ending up near the mid-50s by the last day of the month.The abnormal chill held over the region through Saturday night, but conditions began to climb back to average levels on Sunday.Milder conditions are on the way for Alaska this week, as the jet stream adjusts northward. After a high of just 20 degrees on Friday in Anchorage, and just 3 degrees in Fairbanks, afternoon high temperatures are forecast to soar back near 40 degrees on Monday, right around normal for mid-April.
‘Gorilla’ hail pounds north-central Texas, leaving properties damaged, U.S. – Parts of north-central Texas were pounded by what is described as a “gorilla” hail due to its remarkable size, with some as large as a grapefruit, on Monday, April 12, 2021. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), hail reportedly accumulated up to 76 cm (3 inches) on the ground. The storm caused havoc on properties, leaving many windows smashed and vehicles damaged.The National Weather Service received dozens of reports of large hail from a severe thunderstorm over parts of north-central Texas. The storm left smashed windshields and dented vehicles in its wake. NOAA said the “gorilla” hail was remarkable not only because of its size but also because it accumulated up to 76 mm (3 inches) on the ground, particularly in Llano, where the largest hail fell. The GOES-East satellite, on the evening of April 12, 2021, viewed a supercell thunderstorm bubble up in central Texas, part of several severe thunderstorms that produced hailstones up to the size of a grapefruit. Texas meteorologist Shel Winkley reported that the storm produced hail the size of a golf ball, teacup, tennis ball, and baseball, while NOAA reported hail as big as a grapefruit.The term ‘gorilla hail’ was coined by storm chaser Reed Timmer, who met the storm west of Llano. He shared footage of him driving through the storm with a broken windshield as he called it one of the ‘top 5 most intense hail cores’ he has encountered.
At least 2 killed, 7 injured as severe storms and tornadoes hit Gulf Coast, U.S. (videos) At least 2 people have been killed and 7 others injured after severe thunderstorms produced strong winds and at least 5 tornadoes across the Gulf Coast, U.S. on April 9, 2021. A 28-year-old man was killed and 7 others injured after an EF-3 tornado with estimated peak winds of 225 km/h (140 mph) touched down in Palmetto, Louisiana, destroying at least 6 homes and 2 trailers on Friday, April 9. In Shreveport, Louisiana, a 48-year-old man was killed after a tree fell onto his mobile home. The Caddo Sheriff’s Office said there were strong winds in the area when the incident occurred. Severe weather warnings of flooding, hail, and thunderstorms have also been issued in parts of Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Mississippi, affecting nearly 6 million residents. 5 tornadoes were confirmed on April 9 – 2 in Louisiana, 2 in Mississippi, and 1 in Arkansas. As of Saturday afternoon, April 10, more than 50 000 customers were without power across Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
Hundreds of wildfires rage in Wisconsin as state enters devastating season of blazes – Wisconsin is in a state of emergency due to one of the worst series of firestorms the state has seen in five years. On April 5, Gov. Tony Evers declared a state of emergency, authorizing the state’s national guard to help put out the flames, prevent further damage, and make recovery efforts. The firestorms have surpassed all of last year in terms of acreage damaged. Since January, 365 wildfires have ignited, burning more than 1,500 acres, and in April, 162 fires were started, The Guardian reported. According to Wisconsin’s department of natural resources, there are no reported fatalities so far, but the loss of 26 structures is significant, especially when it is unusually early in the spring for fires. With certain places having snowpack melted away and below-average precipitation, the fire season started two weeks in advance, cooperative area forest ranger Marc Sass said. Midwestern states like Minnesota and Wisconsin are usually wet and less likely to get wildfires like California, but the rural forestlands are more sensitive to dry conditions, which causes fires. “With nearly the entire state experiencing high or very-high fire risk, protecting Wisconsinites from the destructive dangers of wildfires is a top priority,” Evers said when he announced the order. “The ability of the Wisconsin department of natural resources to have all available resources ready to be quickly dispatched is a critical element in keeping fires small and achieving swift containment.” In the spring, 98 percent of wildfires are caused by humans who burn yard waste as well as the plants are either dead and dry. In addition to burning trash, heavy equipment and vehicles can also ignite. A spark from a lightning strike is responsible for a small percentage of wildfire. “Dry grasses and debris catch fire more easily, and strong, dry winds push the embers and make it spread more quickly,” a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Milwaukee, Rebecca Hansen, said.
Fire burning underground can’t be extinguished. – The west has seen a rash of wildfires in recent years. Some caused by nature, others caused by humans. But geologists say one fire likely started by spontaneous combustion in Utah has been burning for decades and is showing no signs of dying out. If that’s not intriguing enough, the blaze is burning underground. In Kane County, a blazing hot area located north of western Lake Powell is dotted with heat-related places. Warm Creek, Burning Hills, Smoky Hollow, Blackburn Canyon, and Smoky Mountain are a few of the, ahem, hotspots. According to Utah Geological Survey (UGS) research conducted by Marshall Robinson, these place names actually signify underlying heat sources that have nothing to do with the air temperature. Smoky Mountain itself has actually been burning hot for hundreds, and maybe even thousands of years. This underground fire is known by geologists as the “Big Smokey Fire,” the Utah Geological Survey shares. It is burning, or at least smoldering, underground. Large fissures, or cracks in the ground feed oxygen to this underground fire allowing it to continue to burn all these years. “Expectations may be high to see the gaseous fumes from this fire venting from the cracks, but realize this is only possible when temperatures are near or below freezing,” as stated on the Utah Geological Survey’s website. Even when you can see the smoke or fumes, you can see a scene similar to a volcanic area, such as Yellowstone National Park. UGS says an underground coal seam, or seams, fuels the fire beneath Smoky Mountain. According to the Utah Geological Survey, spontaneous combustion or a lightning-sparked wildfire are the two probable candidates for the start of the Big Smokey Fire. The fire is still burning today, despite attempts to extinguish it. The Utah Geological Survey says on two separate attempts, once in 1967 and again in 1968, the U.S. Bureau of Mines tried to extinguish the Big Smokey Fire with water and other fire retardants. They even had bulldozers and excavators fill the cracks in the earth with rocks and dirt, hoping to smother it. As proof that the fire still burns, new cracks have popped up on the surface since attempts to extinguish it. Because the Smokey Mountain fire is a coal fire, it is a naturally occurring phenomenon. When coal begins burning, it often burns until there is none left, or the oxygen source is cut off.
Strong M6.0 earthquake leaves at least 8 people dead, 1 350 buildings damaged in Java, Indonesia – At least eight people were killed while around 1 350 buildings were damaged after a strong M6.0 earthquake struck near the south coast of Java, Indonesia, at 07:00 UTC on April 10, 2021.The epicenter was located 45 km (28 miles) SSW of Gongdanglegi Kulon (population 22 468), 45 km (28 miles) S of Sumberpucung (population 35 285), and 148 km (92 miles) S of Surabaya (population 2 374 658).The USGS reported a depth of 82.3 km (51.1 miles), while EMSC reported 84 km (52 miles).According to disaster agency spokesman Raditya Jati, eight people had lost their lives while multiple others had sustained injuries. One of the fatalities was a woman who was hit by falling rocks while riding a motorcycle in Lumajang District.Three of the victims were killed in Malang, while four bodies were retrieved from the rubble in Kali Uling.About 1 189 homes were damaged, along with 150 public facilities, including hospitals, government offices, and schools, Jati added. Several communities had been evacuated.”I had just finished praying and was changing my clothes when suddenly the quake struck. It was pretty strong and went for a long time. Everything was swaying,” Malang resident Ida Magfiroh told AFP. The earthquake came on the heels of tropical storm Seroja, which killed more than 200 people in the eastern portion of the archipelago and neighboring East Timor in early April.
Massive power outage following another explosive event at La Soufriere volcano, ash rising up to 16 km (52 000 feet) a.s.l., St. Vincent – The majority of St. Vincent and the Grenadines is without power and covered in ash on April 11, 2021, following another explosive event at La Soufriere volcano.Volcanic ash is rising up to 16 km (52 000 feet) above sea level and extending up to 3 000 km (1 850 miles), especially to the ENE but becomes rather diffuse, the Washington VAAC reported at 00:59 UTC on April 11. The National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) is urging residents with respiratory problems to take necessary precautions to remain safe and healthy and drivers to be careful on the roads which have become treacherous as a result of the ash flow from the volcano. Volcanic Hazard Map – The map only shows hazard zone on land. However, lahars and pyroclastic falls, flows and surges will also impact areas offshore to varying degrees, and as such, the hazard zones must be envisaged as extending some distance offshore.
New massive eruption at Soufriere St. Vincent, SO2 emissions spreading over two continents – A new high-level, major eruption took place at Soufriere St. Vincent volcano at 10:40 UTC on April 13, 2021. The SO2 emissions produced over the past 2 days are now spreading over two continents — South America and Africa. Extremely heavy ash is covering the island of St. Vincent, leaving the nation without electricity. The pattern of seismicity changed again, with the end of the episodes of high-amplitude tremor 2 to 8 hours apart, the University of West Indies Seismic Research Center (UWI-SRC) said early April 13, 2021. Three episodes of tremor have been recorded since 06:00 LT on April 13, 2 of them with lower-amplitude, and the third, at about 17:00 LT, was high-amplitude. The episodes continue to coincide with periods of enhanced venting or explosive activity. Observations indicate that pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) had descended several valleys on the southern and western flanks of the volcano and had reached the sea at Morne Ronde, Larikai, and Trois Loupes Bay. Extensive damage to vegetation was noted in an area extending from Larikai Bay to Turner Bay on the west coast. No other areas along the coast had been affected by PDCs but villages located on the eastern flank of the volcano had been affected by heavy ashfall. Explosions and accompanying ashfall, of similar or larger magnitude, are likely to continue to occur over the next few days with the chance of PDCs occurring, UWI-SRC warned just hours before another massive eruption at 10:40 UTC today: The images below show the impact of the ongoing eruption in the Red Zone on April 12: Volcanic Hazard Map – St. Vincent. The map only shows hazard zone on land. However, lahars and pyroclastic falls, flows and surges will also impact areas offshore to varying degrees, and as such, the hazard zones must be envisaged as extending some distance offshore. A massive explosion and new pyroclastic flows were produced at 08:15 UTC on April 12, with ash cloud reaching approximately 17 km (55 000 feet) above sea level. Imagery acquired by Sentinel 5P on April 12 showed SO2 emissions spreading over two continents: SO2 plume produced by La Soufriere volcano as seen by Sentinel 5P on April 12. Processed by Antonio Vecoli Extremely heavy ash has covered the island of St. Vincent since the explosive eruptions began on Friday, April 9, leaving the majority of St. Vincent and the Grenadines without power on April 11, 2021. New observations show changes to the summit crater with a possible smaller vent inside the new crater. The black/dark areas to the west (left) of the summit are the pyroclastic flow deposits from earlier explosive events.
Toxic Plume from Caribbean Volcano Wraps Around Earth; Arrives Over India — While the very visible ash exploding out of the erupting La Soufriere Volcano on St. Vincent in the Caribbean has led to countless heartbreaking photographs and videos shared online, satellites are tracking another hazard from the volcano as a potentially toxic plume rises from it and wraps around the Earth. Based on data captured by the Sentinel-5 Earth-observing satellite, the toxic plume of sulfur dioxide has made it all the way to India as of yesterday.The ADAM Platform has been sharing images reflecting the volume of sulfur dioxide (SO2) leaving the Caribbean volcano as it spreads over northern South America, the AtlanticOcean, Africa, and now Asia. Imagery shared yesterday shows a narrow band of concentrated SO2 emissions reaching as far away as India. The ADAM Platform is using data from the Sentinel 5-Precursor satellite, also known as Sentinel 5P, which was launched into space by the European Space Agency (ESA) in October 2017. As part of the European Commission’s Copernicus program, the Sentinel 5P was the first in the series dedicated to monitoring the Earth’s atmosphere. Using the state-of-the-art Tropomi instrument, it is able to collect data on a variety of gases in the atmosphere such as nitrogen dioxide, ozone, formaldehyde, sulfur dioxide, methane, carbon monoxide, and various aerosols.Sulfur dioxide affects human health when it is breathed in. It irritates the nose, throat, and airways to cause coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, or a tight feeling around the chest. The effects of sulfur dioxide are felt very quickly and most people would feel the worst symptoms in 10 or 15 minutes after breathing it in. Those most at risk of developing problems if they are exposed to sulfur dioxide are people with asthma or similar conditions. Extreme concentrations of sulfur dioxide can be deadly if inhaled. When combined with other substances additional hazards can be created; as an example, rain falling through a sulfur dioxide plume could produce an acid rainfall. Sulfur dioxide is invisible to the human eye, but when it reacts with other gases, aerosol particles can form to cause haze, and according to NASA in extreme widespread events, climate cooling.
The long reach of Mount Etna’s gas emissions – Recent eruptions at Europe’s most active volcano, Mt Etna, have led to a spike is sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions across the Mediterranean. Observations from the EU’s Sentinel-5P satellite have recorded plumes of the gas sweeping away from the volcano for thousands of kilometres. One such plume even arced over the Suez canal during its blockage last month. This had analysts at the Airbus space company incorrectly tying the SO2 to shipping – as reported by the BBC. The suggestion was that vessels waiting to make a passage through the waterway were raising the concentration of the gas in the atmosphere locally. This assessment has now been accepted as wrong and withdrawn. Etna’s emissions have a long reach when the mountain is in a big eruptive phase. Located on the east coast of Sicily, the 3,350m-high volcano has been in explosive form since February. It has been producing outpourings of lava as well as releasing large quantities of various gases. The winds have been taking the latter south and east along the North African coast, with a plume arriving over Egypt at the end of March – just as the Ever Given container became wedged in the Suez canal. This is what confounded Earth-observation specialists at the aerospace giant Airbus who wondered if the rise in sulphur in the region might be attributed to all the ships that were forced to park up at either end of the canal. The analysts now accept the volcano link is the most likely cause of the sulphur spike. SO2 is a byproduct of the type of heavy fuel oils burnt by ships’ engines. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is on a drive currently to limit emissions of the gas because of the deleterious effects it can have on the environment and human health. Sulphur emissions contribute to respiratory, cardiovascular and lung disease. When sulphur oxides combine with water in the atmosphere, they acidify rain which can damage crops, forests, and aquatic species. But while the shipping industry can do something about its emissions, there is nothing that can be done to control the eruptions of a volcano.
Effusive eruption continues at Piton de la Fournaise volcano, lava reaches Piton le Bonnet, Reunion – The effusive eruption at Piton de la Fournaise volcano, Reunion continues from a new eruptive fissure on the southern flank of Enclos depression. The eruption started at around 15:00 UTC on April 9, 2021, following several hours of intense seismicity. The Alert Level remains at 2-2.Volcanic tremor, indicating the intensity of the eruption, has been very fluctuating over the past 24 hours, OVPF reported in a bulletin released 02:45 UTC on April 13.Lava spattering continues at two main vents, producing mild lava fountains reaching a height of about 60 m (196 feet).According to HOTVOLC, the current estimated discharged rate of the lava flow continues at values between 8 and 30 m3 per second since the start of the eruption. Sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions traveled south and west on April 12, reaching 4 000 – 5 000 tonnes/day. From April 9 to 11, SO2 emissions were around 2 000 to 4 000 tonnes per day.
Taal volcano (Luzon, Philiippines): SO2 emissions rapidly increased -update 14 April 2021 – The seismic activity of the volcano continues at elevated levels. The seismic instrument recorded 383 volcano-tectonic earthquakes over the past 24 hours including 238 periods of the elevated amplitude volcanic tremor that lasted 1-12 minutes.This indicates elevated fluid movements of gas, water and possibly magma under the surface. In addition, sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions increased rapidly to a 1886 tonnes/day on 12 April as emissions of steam-laden plumes rose approx. 300 meters above the fumarolic vents. For comparison, SO2 emissions reached to a 799 tonnes/day on 9 April.The Main Crater Lake temperature reached to a 71.8°C with a pH of 1.59 on 4 March caused by volcanic gas reaching the shallow hydrothermal system that feeds into the lake accompanied by degassing.The ground deformation parameters from electronic tilt continues at low but stable levels that began in January
USGS Raises Volcano Alert Level to WARNING; Color Code RED — After a day of exhibiting unrest, satellite data has confirmed the presence of a plume of ash at the Semisopochnoi Volcano, prompting the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) to elevate the previous color code / alert level from ORANGE / WATCH to RED / WARNING. A continuous cloud of ash now extends more than 200 miles from the volcano and is as high as 20,000 feet above sea level. Of the 169 potentially active volcanoes the USGS monitors in the United States, Semisopochnoi now bears the highest color code / alert level of all, including Kilauea Volcano which has continued to erupt on the Big Island of Hawaii since December 2020.Based on its location on the globe at 179°46′ East, Semisopochnoi is the easternmost land location in the United States and North America, located just 9.7 miles west of the 180th Meridian in Alaska. Semisopochnoi is part of the Aleutian Islands, a chain of 14 large volcanic islands and 55 smaller other islands. These islands, with their 57 volcanoes, make the northernmost part of the Pacific Ring of Fire.The Ring of Fire is a region around the rim of the Pacific Ocean where many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur. Caused by plate tectonics, lithospheric plates under and around the Pacific Ocean move, collide, and/or are destroyed, creating the seismic activity the Ring of Fire is famous for. Volcanoes in this portion of the Ring of Fire are monitored by the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO), which is a joint program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAFGI), and the State of Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys (ADGGS). The AVO is similar to the Hawaii Volcano Observatory (HVO) which monitors Hawaii’s three active volcanoes: Kilauea, Mauna Loa, and Hualalai. In the case of AVO, they monitor Cleveland, Semisopochnoi, and Veniaminof; while Semisopochnoi is now under a warning, Cleveland is under an Advisory while Veniaminof is under a Watch.
Detecting significant thermal unrest years before volcanic eruption – Scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the University of Alaska (UA) have developed a new method that may lead to earlier predictions of volcanic eruptions. There are telltale warning signs that a volcano is likely to erupt in the future, such as an increase in seismic activity, changes in gas emissions, and sudden ground deformation. However, forecasting such eruptions is difficult, because no two volcanoes behave exactly in the same way. To make things worst, just a small number of the world’s 1 500+ active volcanoes have monitoring systems in place. Using satellite data, scientists at JPL and UA came up with a new method that brings us a step closer to predicting volcanic eruptions years in advance. “The new methodology is based on a subtle but significant increase in heat emissions over large areas of a volcano in the years leading up to its eruption,” said lead author Tarsilo Girona. “It allows us to see that a volcano has reawakened, often well before any of the other signs have appeared.” The team studied more than 16 years of radiant heat data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometers (MODIS) instruments aboard NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites for several types of volcanoes that exploded in the last 20 years. Despite the differences among the volcanoes, the results were the same– in the years leading up to an eruption, the radiant surface temperature over the majority of the volcanoes increased by 1 °C (1.8 °F) from its normal state. However, it decreased after each eruption. “We’re not talking about hotspots here but, rather, the warming of large areas of the volcanoes,” co-author Paul Lundgren said. “So it is likely related to fundamental processes happening at depth.” Particularly, scientists believe that the thermal increase may result from the interaction between hydrothermal systems and magma reservoirs. When magma rises through a volcano, the gases diffuse to the surface and can give off heat. Similarly, this degassing can promote the up-flow of underground water and hydrothermal circulation, which can heat up soil temperature. Scientists say other processes may also cause it– while their understanding of volcano behavior is evolving, it remains limited.
Underwater Robot Detects More Warm Water Beneath Antarctica’s Doomsday Glacier – Scientists have maneuvered an underwater robot beneath Antarctica’s “doomsday glacier” for the first time, and the resulting data is not reassuring. Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier is referred to as the doomsday glacier because every year it contributes four percent to global sea level rise and acts as a stopper for the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. If the glacier were to collapse and take the sheet with it, that would raise global sea levels by around 10 feet. Now, a study published in Science Advances on April 9 warns that there is more warm water circling below the glacier than previously believed, making that collapse more likely.”Our observations show warm water impinging from all sides on pinning points critical to ice-shelf stability, a scenario that may lead to unpinning and retreat,” the study authors wrote. Pinning points are areas where the ice connects with the bedrock that provides stability, Earther explained.The new paper is based on a 2019 expedition where an autonomous submarine named Ran explored the area beneath the glacier in order to measure the strength, salinity, oxygen content and temperature of theocean currents that move beneath it, the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration explained in a press release.”These were the first measurements ever performed beneath the ice front of Thwaites glacier,” Anna Wåhlin, lead author and University of Gothenburg oceanography professor, explained in the press release. “Global sea level is affected by how much ice there is on land, and the biggest uncertainty in the forecasts is the future evolution of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.”This isn’t the first instance revealing the presence of warm water beneath the glacier. In January 2020, researchers drilled a bore hole through the glacier and recorded temperature readings of more than two degrees Celsius above freezing, EcoWatch reported at the time.However, Ran’s measurements were taken earlier and allow scientists to understand the warmer water’s movement in more detail. Scientists now know that water as warm as 1.05 degrees Celsius is circulating around the glacier’s vulnerable pinning points. “The worry is that this water is coming into direct contact with the underside of the ice shelf at the point where the ice tongue and shallow seafloor meet,” Alastair Graham, study co-author and University of Southern Florida associate professor of geological oceanography, told Earther. “This is the last stronghold for Thwaites and once it unpins from the sea bed at its very front, there is nothing else for the ice shelf to hold onto. That warm water is also likely mixing in and around the grounding line, deep into the cavity, and that means the glacier is also being attacked at its feet where it is resting on solid rock.”
Scientists Warn 4°C World Would Unleash ‘Unimaginable Amounts of Water’ as Ice Shelves Collapse – A new study is shedding light on just how much ice could be lost around Antarctica if the international community fails to urgently rein in planet-heating emissions, bolstering arguments for bolder climate policies.The study, published Thursday in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, found that over a third of the area of all Antarctic ice shelves – including 67% of area on the Antarctic Peninsula – could be at risk of collapsing if global temperatures soar to 4°C above pre-industrial levels.An ice shelf, as NASA explains, “is a thick, floating slab of ice that forms where a glacier or ice flows down a coastline.” They are found only in Antarctica, Greenland, Canada, and the Russian Arctic – and play a key role in limiting sea level rise.”Ice shelves are important buffers preventing glaciers on land from flowing freely into the ocean and contributing to sea level rise,” explained Ella Gilbert, the study’s lead author, in a statement. “When they collapse, it’s like a giant cork being removed from a bottle, allowing unimaginable amounts of water from glaciers to pour into the sea.””We know that when melted ice accumulates on the surface of ice shelves, it can make them fracture and collapse spectacularly,” added Gilbert, a research scientist at the University of Reading. “Previous research has given us the bigger picture in terms of predicting Antarctic ice shelf decline, but our new study uses the latest modelling techniques to fill in the finer detail and provide more precise projections.” “At 1.5°C, just 14% of Antarctica’s ice shelf area would be at risk,” Gilbert noted in The Conversation. Gilbert said Thursday that the findings of their new study “highlight the importance of limiting global temperature increases as set out in the Paris agreement if we are to avoid the worst consequences of climate change, including sea level rise.” “If temperatures continue to rise at current rates,” she said, “we may lose more Antarctic ice shelves in the coming decades.” The researchers warn that Larsen C – the largest remaining ice shelf on the Antarctic peninsula – as well as the Shackleton, Pine Island, and Wilkins ice shelves are most at risk under 4°C of warming because of their geography and runoff predictions.
World Will Exceed 1.5 Degrees Celsius in the 2030s, Australian Report Predicts – A new report promoting urgent climate action in Australia has stirred debate for claiming that global temperatures will rise past 1.5 degrees Celsius in the next decade.Australia’s Climate Council released the report on Thursday. The council is an independent organization of climate scientists and experts on health, renewable energy and policy who work to inform the Australian public on the climate crisis. But their latest claim is causing controversy.”Multiple lines of evidence show that limiting global warming to 1.5°C above the preindustrial level, without significant overshoot and subsequent drawdown, is now out of reach due to past inaction,” Dr. Kevin Trenberth of the National Center for Atmospheric Research and Prof. Christopher Field of the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment wrote in the foreword. “The science is telling us that global average temperature rise will likely exceed 1.5°C during the 2030s, and that long-term stabilization at warming at or below 1.5°C will be extremely challenging.”The report is titled “Aim high, go fast: Why emissions need to plummet this decade,” and as the name suggests, it is ultimately concerned with urging more robust climate action on the part of the Australian government. The report calls for the country to reduce emissions by 75 percent by 2030 and reach net zero by 2035 in order to achieve the long-term goals of the Paris agreement, which means limiting warming to well below two degrees Celsius.”The world achieving net zero by 2050 is at least a decade too late and carries a strong risk of irreversible global climate disruption at levels inconsistent with maintaining well-functioning human societies,” the authors wrote. The report further argues that global temperatures are likely to exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius in the 2030s based on existing temperature increases; locked-in warming from emissions that have already occurred; evidence from past climate changes and the percentage of the carbon budget that has already been used.
School students strike in New Zealand over inaction on climate change – Thousands of school students walked out of classes to protest throughout New Zealand on April 9 against government inaction on climate change. They were supported by many university students and workers. More than 1,000 people marched through Queen Street in Auckland, about 4,000 rallied outside parliament in Wellington, and thousands more attended events in Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton, New Plymouth, Tauranga, Rotorua and other towns. It was the first nationwide action led by School Strike 4 Climate (SS4C) since 2019, when hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders joined international protests involving millions of people. The global movement has been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic over the past year There are many studies warning that man-made global warming is leading to a catastrophe. In March, a report by the Australian Academy of Science stated that “the planet is well on the path to devastating climate change” and it was “now virtually impossible” to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.The scientists called for a “rapid transition to net zero greenhouse gas emissions” to keep the temperature increase “well below” 2°C. Without such action, they predicted a “global mean surface temperature increase of approximately 3°C or more by mid to late century,” leading to mass extinctions and large areas becoming uninhabitable.Governments are neither willing nor capable of taking the measures needed, which would cut across the profit interests of the handful of companies responsible for most of the world’s pollution. The Biden administration is instead using the climate crisis as a justification for military spending in preparation for war against China and Russia. New Zealand’s Green Party, which is part of the Labour-led coalition government, has similarly used climate change as a pretext for supporting multi-billion dollar upgrades to the army, navy and air force.
U.S. energy-related CO2 emissions declined by 11% in 2020 – Based on data in EIA’s Monthly Energy Review, energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions decreased by 11% in the United States in 2020 primarily because of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions. U.S. energy-related CO2 emissions fell in every end-use sector for the first time since 2012. Within the U.S. power sector, emissions from coal declined the most, at 19%. Natural gas-related CO2 rose by 3%. In 2020, as fossil fuel generation declined, generation from renewables continued to grow. Generation from wind and solar together increased by 17% in 2020. This shift in the United States toward renewable generation sources helped to lower the carbon emissions per unit of electricity generated, also known as carbon intensity. In our end-use sector CO2 emissions series, emissions from the power sector are distributed to each sector based on the sector’s share of total electricity consumption.
- Transportation: Energy-related CO2 emissions fell by 15% in the transportation sector in 2020, largely because of less travel. Because of pandemic restrictions, working from home and online meetings frequently replaced commuting and in-person meetings. Both domestic and international air travel fell as well. Petroleum typically accounts for the majority of CO2 emissions in the transportation sector, and it saw a 15% decrease in emissions relative to 2019. Emissions from natural gas used in transportation fell by 1%.
- Commercial: CO2 emissions associated with energy use fell by 12% in the commercial sector in 2020. Part of this drop in emissions was due to pandemic restrictions. Because electricity is a large source of energy for the commercial sector, the declining carbon intensity of electric power also contributed to declining CO2 emissions from commercial activity. Emissions from commercial electricity use fell by 13%. Commercial petroleum and natural gas emissions fell by 13% and 11%, respectively.
- Industrial: Energy-related CO2 emissions fell by 8% in the industrial sector in 2020. Most of this decline came from a slowing of manufacturing operations because of responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Emissions from coal fell by 15%, from electricity by 15%, from petroleum by 8%, and from natural gas by 2%.
- Residential: CO2 emissions associated with energy use in the residential sector declined by 6% in 2020. Much of the reduction in residential emissions stemmed from declining carbon intensity in the power sector as opposed to declining energy consumption. Although the number of people working from home increased during the pandemic, 2020 also had relatively mild winter weather. These opposing consumption effects led to only a 1% decrease in residential energy consumption. Residential petroleum emissions fell by 11%, natural gas by 7%, and electricity by 5%.
Despite Pandemic Shutdowns, CO2 Now at Levels Unseen in 3.6 Million Years – U.S. government scientists warned Wednesday that despite temporary drops in planet-heating emissions due to shutdowns triggered by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, “levels of the two most important anthropogenic greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide and methane, continued their unrelenting rise in 2020.” The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) also said that the global surface average for carbon dioxide (CO2) last year was 412.5 parts per million (PPM), among the highest rates of increase ever documented since the federal agency started keeping records over six decades ago. At the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii, the annual mean was 414.4 ppm in 2020. The figures likely would have been higher if the pandemic hadn’t happened, according to Pieter Tans, senior scientist at NOAA’s Global Monitoring Lab (GML), which measures carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide from observatories in Alaska, American Samoa, Hawaii, and the South Pole. “The economic recession was estimated to have reduced carbon emissions by about 7%during 2020,” the agency explained. “Without the economic slowdown, the 2020 increase would have been the highest on record.” According to NOAA, “Carbon dioxide levels are now higher than at anytime in the past 3.6 million years.” NOAA’s 2020 findings came after activists and experts responded with alarm to the concentration of atmospheric CO2 surging past 420 PPM for the first time in recorded history over the weekend. Youth climate leader Greta Thunberg of the Fridays for Future movement said that if that data from Hawaii is confirmed, “it is truly groundbreaking to say the least.” Colm Sweeney, assistant deputy director of the GML, echoed campaigners’ calls for climate action that followed the latest reading. “Human activity is driving climate change,” Sweeney said. “If we want to mitigate the worst impacts, it’s going to take a deliberate focus on reducing fossil fuels emissions to near zero – and even then we’ll need to look for ways to further remove greenhouse gasses from the atmosphere.” However, it’s not just energy policies that need an overhaul. NOAA found that last year saw “a significant jump in the atmospheric burden of methane, which is far less abundant but 28 times more potent than CO2 at trapping heat over a 100-year time frame.” Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), tweeted that the”worrying new data” from NOAA demonstrate that climate action “cannot be put on the back burner any longer.” Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego released similar findings Wednesday, saying their measurements showed atmospheric CO2 levels to be 417.4 PPM at their monitoring station in Hawaii. Scripps noted that this puts atmospheric CO2 levels 50% higher than they were just prior to the industrial revolution.
World’s 5% ‘Polluter Elite’ Responsible for 37% of Global Emissions Growth, Study Concludes – As world leaders prepare for this November’s United Nations Climate Conference in Scotland, a new report from the Cambridge Sustainability Commission reveals that the world’s wealthiest 5% were responsible for well over a third of all global emissions growth between 1990 and 2015.The report, Changing Our Ways: Behavior Change and the Climate Crisis, found that nearly half the growth in absolute global emissions was caused by the world’s richest 10%, with the most affluent 5% alone contributing 37%.”In the year when the UK hosts COP26, and while the government continues to reward some of Britain’s biggest polluters through tax credits, the commission report shows why this is precisely the wrong way to meet the UK’s climate targets,” the report’s introduction states.The authors of the report urge United Kingdom policymakers to focus on this so-called “polluter elite” in an effort to persuade wealthy people to adopt more sustainable behavior, while providing “affordable, available low-carbon alternatives to poorer households.”Introduction to the Cambridge Commission report on Scaling Behaviour Change, with Peter Newell – YouTubeThe report found that the “polluter elite” must make “dramatic” lifestyle changes in order to meet the UK’s goal – based on the Paris climate agreement’s preferential objective – of limiting global heating to 1.5°C, compared with pre-industrial levels.In addition to highlighting previous recommendations – including reducing meat consumption, reducing food waste, and switching to electric vehicles and solar power – the report recommends that policymakers take the following steps:
- Implement frequent flyer levies;
- Enact bans on selling and promoting SUVs and other high polluting vehicles;
- Reverse the UK’s recent move to cut green grants for homes and electric cars; and
- Build just transitions by supporting electric public transport and community energy schemes.
“We have got to cut over-consumption and the best place to start is over-consumption among the polluting elites who contribute by far more than their share of carbon emissions,” Peter Newell, a Sussex University professor and lead author of the report, told the BBC. “These are people who fly most, drive the biggest cars most, and live in the biggest homes which they can easily afford to heat, so they tend not to worry if they’re well insulated or not,” said Newell. “They’re also the sort of people who could really afford good insulation and solar panels if they wanted to.”
Executives Call for Deep Emission Cuts to Combat Climate Change – The New York Times – More than 300 businesses, including Google, McDonalds and Walmart, are pushing the Biden administration to nearly double the United States’ target for cuts to planet-warming emissions ahead of an April 22 global summit on climate change. In a letter to President Biden released on Tuesday morning, chief executive officers from some of the nation’s largest companies will call on the administration to set a new Paris Agreement goal of slashing the nation’s carbon dioxide, methane and other planet-warming emissions at least 50 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. That is roughly what most major environmental groups want, and the corporate executives called the target “ambitious and attainable.” Former President Donald J. Trump pulled the United States out of the Paris Agreement, eradicating emissions reduction targets set by the Obama administration that many environmentalists had seen as too weak. President Obama had pledged to cut national emissions 26 percent to 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025. With Mr. Biden promising to tackle climate change intensely, climate change activists are watching to see how much more ambitious his targets will be than those set when he was vice president. Mr. Biden, who returned the United States to the Paris Agreement on Inauguration Day, has said the United States will announce fresh targets for the Paris Agreement on or before a virtual summit of world leaders he is hosting around Earth Day next week. According to two administration officials familiar with the deliberations, the target is expected to be a range that will include a 50 percent reduction in emissions. Organizers of the business letter said they hoped such a message coming from the private sector – including electric utilities like Exelon and Pacific Gas & Electric, as well as dozens of companies based in Republican districts – would resonate strongly with Congress. Other signatories include Target, Verizon and Altria Group, the parent company of the tobacco giant Philip Morris USA, which was once considered a firm ally of the Republican Party, and Philip Morris International. and Philip Morris, the tobacco giant once considered a firm ally of the Republican Party. The effort also underscores the delicate path corporate leaders are treading in the post-Trump era. Their decisions to break with Republicans on issues like voting rights and racial justice have rankled their traditional allies in the G.O.P. Pressing the Biden administration to aggressively combat climate change could further alienate Republicans, who have long fought emissions regulations as “job killers” that would make American business less competitive.
Energy bosses to Congress: Price carbon — Wednesday, April 14, 2021 — Executives from oil companies, utilities and some of the world’s biggest companies are meeting with senators and staff this week to push a carbon-fee-and-dividend proposal.
Debate heats up over role of carbon offsets in Biden’s ‘net-zero’ goal Environmentalists are debating how carbon offsets should fit into President Biden’s goal of putting the country on track to reach “net-zero” emissions by 2050. The administration soon will offer its first clues on how it plans to achieve that goal with the release of an updated U.S. plan for meeting Paris agreement commitments. The report, known as the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), will spell out the country’s new interim emissions targets. Proponents of using carbon offsets argue that they’re necessary for reaching net-zero targets and that anything that ultimately removes carbon from the air is a good thing. Opponents counter that offsets essentially punt emissions reductions down the road, and they point to evidence showing the approach is not always effective. The administration is slated to announce its new NDC ahead of a climate summit with world leaders on Earth Day. Biden is expected to set a goal that goes beyond former President Obama’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 26-28 percent before 2025 when compared to 2005 levels. Environmentalists who support offsets say that they would like to see an NDC that’s focused on emissions reductions, but that the Biden administration could include offsets in addition. “It shouldn’t be an either-or. We need to both find these emissions reductions where we can around the world and the U.S. needs to be much more ambitious about the internal emissions reductions,” said Nat Keohane, the Environmental Defense Fund’s senior vice president for climate. The Environmental Defense Fund is calling for an NDC of at least 50 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. If the U.S. were to commit to using offsets in addition to those reductions, Keohane said, “that would be even better for the atmosphere.” Carbon offsets allow countries, companies and individuals to pay for an activity like planting trees that removes some quantity of the greenhouse gas from the air and receive a tradeable credit for the amount of greenhouse gases this removes. Supporters argue that using offsets can be cheaper than reducing industrial emissions. An analysis by the Environmental Defense Fund found that global emissions trading could lower the cost of meeting Paris agreement pledges by between 59 and 79 percent. Frances Seymour, a senior fellow at the World Resources Institute, said reductions and offsets should go hand in hand. “In the past there was a sense that whether it was countries or companies could offset some of their emissions with cheaper emissions … that offsetting of some emissions through the use of offsets would allow the same level of reductions to be achieved at a lower cost or a higher level of reductions could be achieved at the same cost,” Seymour said. But in light of recent indications of where the climate is headed, she said, “we need to be doing everything.” Environmentalists say Biden’s commitment to net-zero implies at least some degree of offsetting, because unless the country has no emissions, the subtractions to reach zero will have to come from somewhere. “When you talk about net-zero, a lot of people forget the net, and the net is really all about how you’ll ultimately compensate for emissions with removals of one type or another, and we think of offsets of really being that way of balance to the system,” said Dirk Forrister, president of the International Emissions Trading Association.
Politicians Are Considering Paying Farmers to Store Carbon. But Some Environmental and Agriculture Groups Say It’s Greenwashing – A coalition of environmental, agriculture and justice groups is attempting to drum up opposition to legislation that aims to help farmers store carbon in the soil, a practice that’s become a key piece of the Biden administration’s strategy on climate change.In a letter sent to members of Congress this week, the groups urge lawmakers to vote against the Growing Climate Solutions Act, a bill first introduced last year that would help create a voluntary carbon market, in which polluting companies would offset their emissions by paying farmers to conserve soil in ways that store carbon or to take measures to reduce emissions on their farms.The concept has become politically popular, gaining favor with both Democrats and Republicans, even those skeptical of the science on climate change. Then-candidate Joe Biden discussed soil carbon on the campaign trail and vowed to make American agriculture reach net-zero emissions. His administration has called agriculture “a linchpin” in its plan to tackle climate change.The reduction of emissions from agriculture is likely to be a component of the United State’s pledge to reduce overall emissions under the Paris climate agreement, which will be unveiled next week.Soil has the potential, in theory, to trap carbon in the soil, keeping it out of the atmosphere where it contributes to warming. If farmers employ certain practices – for example, avoiding tilling the soil, planting carbon-fixing crops or using feed additives that reduce methane emissions from cows – they can help keep carbon in the soil, or cut the emission they produce. These practices would generate a “credit” that a company like a utility could buy to offset its own polluting emissions.
Experts Lay Out Their Case Against Carbon Pricing – With the clock running and the world’s economies headed in the wrong direction, climate policy experts see an urgent need to quickly throw out approaches that do not work and accelerate the ones that do. In the months leading up to the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties in Glasgow running from November 1 to 12, 2021, Yale Climate Connections is looking at ideas put forward in a new book: “Making Climate Policy Work” and elsewhere. To keep average global temperatures from rising no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels, net emissions by 2100 must decline by about 45% from 2010 levels by 2030 and reach net zero by about 2050, according to a new report by the UN. To limit warming to below 2 degrees Celsius, CO2 emissions must decrease by about 25% below 2010 levels by 2030 and reach net zero by about 2070.Current pledges under the 2015 Paris Agreement “fall far short of what is required, demonstrating the need for Parties to further strengthen their mitigation commitments” to avoid catastrophic climate change in this century, the report stated. Even if parties to the agreement follow through with their latest plans to cut emissions, the globe will be on a path to cut greenhouse gas emissions only 0.5% below 2010 levels by the end of this decade. Market-based schemes like cap-and-trade agreements and carbon offsets have largely failed to deliver on the promise that policy makers once saw in them, according to a new book by carbon policy experts Danny Cullenward, a Stanford Law School lecturer and policy director at CarbonPlan, and David G. Victor, co-director of the Deep Decarbonization Initiative and a professor at the University of California-San Diego. The authors analyze the reasons those “magic wand” approaches have failed and lay out a suggested course correction in their 2020 book, “Making Climate Policy Work.”The book says the most effective way to cut emissions quickly enough to avoid climate disaster is for governments to adopt policies and regulations targeting specific sectors such as electricity generation. The authors recently summarizedthe ideas from the book in a wide-ranging, three-part interview with David Roberts of the clean energy newsletter Volts.The biggest reason for the disappointing results of carbon pricing schemes like cap-and-trade, they argue, is that policy makers aggregated industries and jurisdictions. This made it easier for a wide variety of opponents to aggregate to fight the policies, resulting in a “lowest common denominator” system that fails to lower emissions as much as intended.“By linking all the sectors together, in effect you are linking the politics together,” Victor told Roberts in the Volts interview. “And then the whole program becomes connected to the sea anchor of the least ambitious politics.”The authors also see problems with carbon offsets, which allow polluters to pay someone else to take action that “offsets” their pollution, such as planting trees or rehabilitating forests. A major flaw: This approach makes it hard to ensure that what polluters are paying for is actually happening, or that the steps are really offsetting the pollution. “Everyone imagines that there’s this vast army of people working on this problem, insuring that there’s a good outcome, but in practice you see understaffed regulators – very few people paying close attention to this who have no financial interests,” Cullenward said.
Biden’s Paris Goal: Pressure Builds for a 50 Percent Greenhouse Gas Cut by 2030 – The United States is back in the Paris climate accord, but the depth of its commitment will become clear only in the next two weeks, when President Joe Biden unveils the details of the nation’s pledge for reducing greenhouse gas pollution.President Barack Obama pledged that the United States would cut emissions 26 to 28 percent by 2025, a goal the nation is not quite on track to meet. But environmental advocates are pushing for Biden to set a goal of at least a 50 percent cut in U.S. emissions by 2030, based on a slew of recent studies, including research by the United Nations and the National Academies of Science, showing that a 50 percent target is both necessary and achievable. On Tuesday, a coalition of hundreds of businesses, including Walmart, Apple, Microsoft, Verizon and Unilever, sent a letter to the White House, joining in the call for a 50 percent goal.Only by doubling the original U.S. commitment under the Paris accord, they argue in the letter, will the world’s largest economy and historic contributor to carbon pollution be in a position to persuade other nations to join in the action necessary to hold global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius.“To restore the standing of the U.S. as a global leader, we need to address the climate crisis at the scale and pace it demands,” said the letter from the We Mean Business coalition, organized by the investor activist group Ceres.Scientists and economists have charted a number of different paths that would allow the U.S. to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half in less than a decade, but all of them entail dramatic changes. At least half of new passenger vehicles purchased in 2030 would be electric. Coal-fired electricity would essentially become a thing of the past and carbon capture and storage plants would become common at the remaining fossil fuel plants, which would be mostly natural gas-fired. Millions of buildings would be retrofitted to use less energy. Critics of the idea warn that there are plenty of obstacles in the real world that could complicate an overhaul of the energy system like the one envisioned by academics.
Seeking Cooperation on Climate, U.S. Faces Friction With China – The New York Times — The United States and China do not agree on much nowadays, but on climate change both countries are publicly pledging to do more to fight global warming. The problem will be working together on it. On Thursday, President Biden’s climate envoy, John Kerry, met in Shanghai with his counterpart to press China on reducing its carbon emissions, at a time when an emboldened Communist Party leadership has become increasingly dismissive of American demands. In Beijing’s view, the United States still has much ground to recover after walking away from the Paris climate agreement, the 2015 accord to address the catastrophic effects of warming. Mr. Biden’s commitments to now make climate change a top priority are, to officials in Beijing, merely catching up to China after its leader, Xi Jinping, last year pledged to accelerate the country’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions. “The U.S. has neither the moral standing nor the real power to issue orders to China over climate issues,” the Global Times, a Chinese newspaper that often echoes official thinking in brashly nationalist tones, said in an article on Wednesday before Mr. Kerry’s visit. A main purpose of Mr. Kerry’s travels to China and elsewhere has been to rally support for Mr. Biden’s virtual climate summit of dozens of world leaders next week. Mr. Xi has not yet accepted the invitation, but he will join a similar conference on Friday with President Emmanuel Macron of France and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany. It was a pointed reminder that China no longer sees the United States as so central to its international priorities.There are other challenges, too, that could derail even basic coordination between the two countries, starting with the sharp deterioration of relations that began under President Donald J. Trump and shows no sign of improving.The intensifying rivalry over technology could spill into climate policy, where innovations in energy, batteries, vehicles and carbon storage offer solutions for reducing emissions. Already, American lawmakers are demanding that the United States block Chinese products from being used in the infrastructure projects that Mr. Biden has proposed.“If there is a serious lack of basic trust, strategic and political, between China and the U.S., that will inevitably hold back deepening cooperation in the specialized sphere of climate change,” Zou Ji, the president of Energy Foundation China, who has advised Chinese climate negotiators, wrote recently in a Chinese foreign policy journal.Cooperation between the United States, the worst emitter of greenhouse gases historically, and China, the worst in the world today, could spur greater efforts from other countries. Chinaaccounts for 28 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions; the United States, in second place, emits 14 percent of the global total.Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and other American officials have said they are prepared to cooperate with the Chinese government on issues like climate, even as they confront it on others, including the crackdowns in Hong Kong and Xinjiang and the menacing military operations against Taiwan and in the South China Sea.It is not clear that Mr. Xi’s government is prepared to compartmentalize in the same way. Officials have indicated that the souring of relations has spoiled the entire range of issues between the two countries.“Chinese-U.S. climate cooperation still faces many internal and external constraints and difficulties,” said a study released this week by the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies.“The United States government regards China as its biggest strategic competitive rival,” the report added, warning that the tensions “exacerbated the difficulties of collective action in global climate governance.”
The urge to complicate and climatize trade policy — As part of its emerging plan to act to address climate change, the Biden administration is considering a novel and unproven trade barrier called acarbon border adjustment. Rather than imposing a tariff based on the value of a product, a carbon border adjustment would be levied based on the amount of carbon emissions used to produce it. Around the world policymakers sense growing urgency in the broader population to take visible action to avoid the worst costs of climate change. Yet, without a template for international coordination, action at the national level may not achieve ambitious climate goals. Bold climate action may also leave the nation exposed to economic risks. That combination is not appealing to any policymaker. Border carbon adjustments purport to avoid some of the domestic costs. At essence, the idea is to mirror a domestic emissions fee or standard, levying imported products based on the embodied emissions that have escaped domestic mitigation efforts. The putative goal is to avoid “leakage,” or a rebound in emissions beyond the borders of a first-mover. It is even conceivable that the import creates more emissions than the avoided domestic production. Not only does the domestic producer lose its market, but the environmental objective is undermined as well. This is meant to level the playing field for the domestic and foreign producers, so that they have to pay the same costs for emissions. The idea that trade policy can be used to shunt costs off onto foreigners often proves more complicated than it seems at first blush. This was a central claim of advocates for the Trump tariffs, though the evidence suggests that the world is more complicated. As it turns out, the consumer often winds up paying a greater share of the cost in the form of higher prices – and may buy less as a result. A real risk is that these new tariffs devolve into a new form of protectionism. This would be a short slide down a slippery slope for the “worker-centric” trade policy advocated by the Biden administration. It’s too bad that the workers will end up picking up the bill after their shift ends and they head to the store.
POLITICS: White House says climate summit isn’t for deal-making — Thursday, April 15, 2021 — President Biden’s virtual climate summit next week won’t be a place for deal-making, according to the White House.
Granholm open to filibuster-proof clean power mandate – Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said the use of the filibuster-proof budget reconciliation process is an option for trying to pass a mandate that would greatly escalate zero-carbon power generation. One of President Biden’s most aggressive targets is achieving 100% carbon-free electricity generation by 2035, and a “clean electricity standard” could be a key tool to get there. “I think there still are versions of a clean energy standard that work for Senate reconciliation rules,” Granholm said Tuesday at a forum hosted by the energy research firm BloombergNEF. “The question about whether you can get a clean energy standard through regular order or reconciliation – all of that is still remains to be seen,” she said. But she also said there are several possible structures, and repeatedly emphasized that no decisions have been made. “There’s also a way to consider crafting something that provides incentives to the states to be able to make that happen also, so that might be another venue,” Granholm said. The big picture: A standard is part of the sweeping infrastructure plan the White House floated two weeks ago as the administration looks to accelerate clean energy deployment beyond its current trajectory. Granholm’s remarks suggest administration officials could look to work with Democrats to craft a standard that fits within reconciliation – the way to approve certain spending and revenue provisions without 60 Senate votes. Several analyses completed within the past year that have laid out the feasibility of cutting U.S. greenhouse gas emissions to 50% below 2005 levels by 2030 noted the importance of enacting a federal clean electricity standard in order to reach the goal.
‘Game-changing’ zero-emissions power plant coming to Decatur – A power plant described as a “game-changing” move toward clean energy in the United States is coming to Decatur. Archer Daniels Midland and 8 Rivers Capital LLC announced they have agreed in principle to place the Broadwing Clean Energy Complex at a location adjacent to ADM’s Decatur processing complex. A press release said the facility, which will be one of the first zero emissions Allam-Fetvedt cycle power plants, will generate 280 megawatts of clean power in order to push toward decarbonizing the industrial, transport and electricity sectors. The facility would safely store captured carbon a mile and a half underground through ADM’s carbon capture and storage system. The 8 Rivers company plans to make a final investment decision by 2022 and start operations by 2025. Warwick Capital Partners LLP will be a development financing partner through targeted investment vehicle Warwick Carbon Solutions. “NET Power and the Allam-Fetvedt Cycle represent a game-changing advance in the search for solutions to climate change,” the release said. “The technology combusts gas with oxygen, as opposed to air, and uses supercritical carbon dioxide as a working fluid to drive a turbine instead of steam. This eliminates all air emissions, including traditional pollutants and CO2, and inherently produces pipeline-quality CO2 that can be sequestered, all while operating at competitive cost and efficiency to traditional gas power plants.” The complex would involve an investment of over a half-billion dollars in central Illinois and would build on an existing carbon storage facility in Decatur, which is funded by ADM and the U.S. Department of Energy.
Are Car Giants Right To Bet On The EV Revolution? – Big Auto is going all-in on EVs, but is their big bet on the electric vehicle revolution foolish given America’s reluctance to embrace it with the same gusto? For as much as EVs (read: Tesla) tends to dominate media headlines, the adoption rate of EVs in America has been painfully slow. For every “150% increase” in annual EV sales – or whatever the smoke and mirrors figure is these days, there are numbers that show the real story: EVs make up 1.9% of all retail autos, according to Edmunds. And their estimated EV sales figure for 2021 could be dressed up in terms of 100%+ growth, or we could get real – EVs will make up a paltry 2.5% of all retail sales in America. The growth numbers look great. But 100% growth of a tiny piece of the market is still… tiny. And it shows that Americans aren’t buying into the EV revolution just yet. Meanwhile, Big Auto is focusing all its efforts on electrifying their fleets. Are they decades too early? EVs are projected to make up 7% of all vehicles on the road by 2030 – this equates to roughly 18.7 million vehicles. But alas, those are just predictions. The slow adoption we’ve seen to date should be triggering alarm bells for Big Auto, who is sinking money hand over fist into an EV future. According to J.D. Power U.S. Vehicle Experience Ownership Study (EVX) released in January, 82% of those early adopters who already own electric vehicles say they “definitely will” consider purchasing another EV in the future. While this is more positive than those who have not yet tried an EV, it still shows a rather unenthusiastic response. The fact that 18% of EV adopters won’t even consider a second EV purchase is a fairly bleak view of how EVs are perceived. Studies – supported by sales figures – show that Americans just aren’t ready to embrace the monumental shift in the motoring industry. And even the cultish following of Tesla that has catapulted the EV-maker’s stock over the last two years to unreasonable levels cannot overcome sentiment toward actually driving one. A few of the biggest barriers are:
- Cost to Charge: Public charging infrastructure isn’t everywhere. This leaves EV owners to charge their own EV at home, in their garage. Unfortunately for EV owners, charging an EV sucks up 100 kW of energy – more than triple the daily energy consumption of an average American household.
- Range Anxiety: Despite the fact that Americans drive about 30 miles per day, drivers are still concerned with range, with J.D. Power claiming that when it comes to picking out an EV, range is the top deciding factor.
- Cost: Cost continues to be the biggest barrier to EV adoption. An Ipsos study in early 2020 showed that consumers are willing to pay only 10% more for an EV over an ICE vehicle. But EVs are often significantly more expensive, because of the high cost of EV batteries. Driving the high cost of EV batteries are the metals used to make it. The price of battery metals have recently spiked, sending battery costs through the roof.
- Bitterness: Big Auto is somewhat stuck, because EVs have become politically polarizing, and subsidies and incentives are widening the gap. ICE vehicle owners harbor some bitterness because EV owners don’t pay the same taxes on the vehicle that fund roads – meanwhile they are benefiting from those roads. ICE vehicle owners view themselves as being forced to subsidize the EV revolution. Then there is the ‘ICE shaming’. Instead of trying to woo ICE owners to choose electric by highlighting the pros, there is a campaign to shame the gas-guzzling crowd. FOr now, this strategy seems to be causing ICE owners to dig in, not convert.
Big Auto is working with a different set of goals than climate activists and politicians who are trying to spur on the EV revolution. Big Auto doesn’t have much skin in the climate change game. It’s focusing efforts on having a better EV than their rivals. GM, for one, has tried to “Americanize” EVs, starting with the Super Bowl. They’re not moralizing; they’re capitalizing. But in doing so, they’re assuming Americans will, in the end, choose EVs over ICE. But Big Auto must rely on the right U.S. policies for laying the EV foundation, and they are sensing that this is the administration to do it. Incentives or subsidies, charging infrastructure, ensuring the grid can handle all the charging, and favorable battery metals policies must be in place for the revolution to truly kick in. Once Big Auto has sunk billions into the EV revolution, we will see them fully support policy shifts in favor of EVs.
TRANSPORTATION: Biden wants to buy EVs. Are there enough cars? — Thursday, April 15, 2021 —The Biden administration’s plan to replace the federal government’s fleet of cars and trucks with electric vehicles assembled in the United States could face a roadblock: supply.
Advances mean all new US vehicles can be electric by 2035, study finds | Electric, hybrid and low-emission cars -Rapid advances in the technology and cost of batteries should allow all new cars and trucks sold in the US to be powered by electricity by 2035, saving drivers trillions of dollars and delivering a major boost to the effort to slow the climate crisis, new research has found.Electric vehicles currently make up only about 2% of all cars sold in the US, with many American drivers put off until now by models that were often significantly more expensive than gasoline or diesel cars, as well as concerns over the availability of plug-in recharge points. This situation is likely to drastically change this decade, according to the new University of California, Berkeley study, with the upfront cost of electric cars set to reach parity with petrol vehicles in around five years’ time. As electric cars are more efficient and require less costly maintenance, the rapid electrification of transport would save about $2.7tn in driver costs by 2050.Researchers said the plummeting cost of batteries, the main factor in the higher cost of electric vehicles, and improvements in their efficiency mean that it will be technically feasible for the US to phase out the sale of new petrol and diesel cars within 15 years. This would shrink planet-heating emissions from transport, currently the largest source of greenhouse gases in the US. “In order to meet any sort of carbon goals, the transport sector needs to be electrified,” said Amol Phadke, a senior scientist at University of California, Berkeley and report co-author. Phadke added: “The upfront price of electric vehicles is coming down rapidly, which is very exciting. Because of battery technology improvements, most models now have a range of 250 miles, higher than the daily driving distance of most people, and now come with pretty astonishing fast-charging capabilities.” Joe Biden has identified the growth of the electric vehicle market as a key plank in his administration’s efforts cut US emissions to net zero by 2050, with the US president framing the issue as a boon to American manufacturing and jobs. Biden’s administration has pledged to roll out 500,000 new electric charging ports for cars within the next decade. Some states, and other countries, have gone further. California has vowed to sell only electric vehicles by 2035, a date also set for the end of the internal combustion engine in the UK. General Motors, meanwhile, recently pledged to shift all of its fleet to electric cars by the same year. The University of California, Berkeley study makes clear that government intervention will be required for the US to hit the 2035 target of all-electric sales, with a business as usual approach meaning that less than half of cars sold in America would be electric by this point. “The role of government policy is crucial, firstly with incentives to buy electric vehicles until there is price parity and then to rapidly ramp up fast-charging infrastructure,” said Phadke. “If the US government set a date for the end of gasoline cars, it would give a very clear signal to the market. If it does nothing, the transition will still take place but not quick enough to deal with climate change. It’s not going to be easy, but it’s achievable.”
Electric Vehicles Could Be 100 Percent of New Car Sales by 2035 –The lofty and seemingly improbable vision of a country with exclusively new electric car and truck sales by 2035 is within reach, according to a new report from the University of California, Berkeley. And pairing the electrification of transit with a grid dominated by clean energy would set the United States on the path to keep global warming to below 1.5 degrees Celsius compared with pre-industrial levels, the study finds. By comparing an ambitious electrification scenario with a business-as-usual scenario, the study’s researchers found not only that the former is possible within the next 15 years, but also that it will come with benefits for the climate, economy and public health. This accelerated electrification process for new vehicle sales could save consumers roughly $1,000 annually per household by 2050, or $2.7 trillion in total, the report concludes. And doing so could avoid 150,000 premature deaths related to air pollution issues and save $1.3 trillion in environmental health costs over the next 30 years, as compared with the business-as-usual scenario.These emissions and cost savings are in reach, the authors say, because recent developments related to electric vehicle battery costs and performance have already accelerated the electrification of transportation, leaving EVs poised to overtake gasoline and diesel vehicles, despite modest sales projections in the coming years.“The uptake of electric cars and trucks can go much faster than previously forecast and is already exceeding market projections,” Dr. Amol Phadke, a senior scientist at Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy and one of the study’s authors, said in a news release. “The performance and cost of the technology are ready to meet the needs of American drivers today, and the necessary charging infrastructure can be built cost-effectively without straining electricity grids.”While more EVs will inevitably mean more demand for electricity, the report states that the precipitous drop in wind and solar costs in recent years has meant that “a cost-effective pathway to decarbonize the transportation sector is in reach,” without relying on coal or new natural gas plants to make up the difference.
Pete Buttigieg on EV chargers, lead pipes, and promises of infrastructure (interview transcript) Pete Buttigieg has become the de facto hype man for Joe Biden’s newly released $2 trillion infrastructure plan. A great deal of the proposed spending – for road and bridge repairs, rail service expansions, public transit investments, electric vehicle charging stations – falls into the former South Bend mayor’s new domain now that he’s secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Since the American Jobs Plan was released at the end of March, Buttigieg has been making the rounds on television news programs to sell the plan. Mostly he has been forced to defend it from semantic attacks over the meaning of the word “infrastructure.”It’s no secret that the proposal is, at heart, about much more than road repair. It addresses all kinds of foundational needs required for a healthy and just society, including eldercare, internet access, and lead-free drinking water pipes. “If you can’t count on a glass of clean, safe drinking water, you’re not free,” Buttigieg told Grist. “And you’re not able to live a life of your choosing.”Crucially, the Biden administration’s plan is also meant to toggle the U.S. economy out of self-destruct mode when it comes to climate change. The proposal contains pivotal climate policies, like new requirements for utilities to procure clean energy, improved incentives for homeowners and businesses to transition to renewable energy and electric cars, and a strategy to electrify homes. Grist recently spoke with Buttigieg about how the American Jobs Plan will tackle climate change and undo past harms – and what the word “infrastructure” might mean in the future. This interview has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.
Scientists Fear Trump Wood-Burn Stance to Stay Under Regan EPA — Academics and environmentalists say they’re worried the Biden administration won’t walk back a Trump-era endorsement of burning wood for energy – a technology they say emits more carbon than coal. Some opponents of wood biomass, which uses plant or animal materials as fuel to produce electricity or heat, say they’re especially concerned about Environmental Protection Agency chief Michael Regan’s track record with the industry when he headed North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality. During those years, Regan approved several permits for wood pellet plants in North Carolina, one of the nation’s biggest-producing states. Most of the state’s wood pellets are shipped overseas for energy production. Regan hasn’t publicly commented on his plans for the wood biomass sector. An agency spokeswoman told Bloomberg Law that the issue is “a complex topic, and one that EPA is considering very carefully.” She also said the EPA is “committed to following science and the law as we determine next steps.” That doesn’t satisfy Juliette Rooney-Varga, director of the University of Massachusetts, Lowell’s Climate Change Initiative. She joined 15 other scientists in a February letter to the Biden transition team, asking them to permanently designate mature and old temperate forests as national strategic carbon reserves. “We are eagerly awaiting clarity,” Rooney-Varga said. “What do they mean when they say they’re going to follow the science? I’m not satisfied with it. That response leaves the door open to continuing to treat woody biomass as carbon-neutral, and we don’t think it is.” The scientists haven’t gotten a response, she said.
Interior bolsters offshore wind by revoking Trump-era legal opinion The Interior Department on Friday bolstered offshore wind energy by revoking a legal opinion issued during the Trump administration that gave more weight to fishing concerns about that kind of energy development. Robert Anderson, the Interior Department’s principal deputy solicitor, issued an opinion that reversed the Trump-era solicitor Daniel Jorjani’s December opinion that the department should err “on the side of less interference rather than more interference” in fishing when it comes to offshore wind activities Anderson, in his new legal opinion, said instead that the Interior secretary should seek to “strike a rational balance” between various interests. At issue is a section of the law that aims for “prevention of interference with reasonable uses” of the ocean. Jorjani’s interpretation followed another memo that similarly interpreted the same section of the law. Jorjani argued that this memo’s interpretation of the law was too narrow and only preventing interference with the legal right to fish. But Anderson argued that Jorjani’s opinion “failed to note” that the law also says that the “interference with reasonable uses” is followed by the phrase “(as determined by the Secretary),” which he argued gives the secretary discretion to decide. The difference in opinions comes as the Biden administration seeks to boost renewable energy as part of its transition to net-zero emissions. The Interior Department has recently moved closer to approving a major offshore wind project. President Biden recently said he’ll nominated Anderson to be Interior’s top lawyer.
Illinois Wind Farm Project Threatens Rare Frog Species –Most frogs make their homes near water, spending their days near ponds and streams. But the Illinois chorus frog lives, burrows, and eats in sand, according to a 2016 report by the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, spending about 85 percent of its life underground. Forbes’ findings, not yet peer-reviewed, are the first direct field evidence of this unique behavior. His observations suggest that these frogs somehow detect and eat prey underground by sensing the minute vibrations of insects scuttling beneath the sandy soil. His research is shedding more light on these peculiar frogs at a dire time, too. Soon, a new neighbor will move in next door – one noisy enough to potentially disrupt the way that these frogs sense and capture their prey. A 30,000-acre wind farm – an area about 25 percent larger than Disney World – is set to be installed near an Illinois chorus frog habitat in Mason County, Illinois. That wind farm, called the Glacier Sands Wind Project, was submitted to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for approval in May 2019. A conservation plan for the project, which addressed potential impacts to the chorus frogs, was cleared in February 2020, according to public records, and concluded that the wind farm would not “reduce the likelihood of survival” for these frogs. The new wind farm, owned by Cordelio Power, has an expected completion date of October 2021, according to a press release, and will include “up to 53 wind turbines” and impact an estimated 8.72 acres of chorus frog habitat. Cordelio Power did not respond to requests for comment.
Wind generates most power in Texas ERCOT grid in March (Reuters) – Wind generated the most electricity in the Texas power grid in March, according to federal energy data, with analysts at S&P Global Platts saying this was the first time wind topped gas-fired generation. Wind generated 39% of the power in March in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the state’s grid operator, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That compares with 30% for gas, 15% for coal, 12% for nuclear and 4% for solar. The wind record comes after generators of all sorts failed to keep the lights on for millions in ERCOT in mid-February when frigid weather boosted heating demand well above the grid’s forecasts at the same time freezing pipes left gas-fired power plants without enough fuel and wind turbines frozen. In February, gas generated 46% of the power in ERCOT with the rest coming from wind (21%), coal (19%), nuclear (12%) and solar (2%). Analysts at S&P Global Platts said gas would likely take market share back from wind in coming months as demand for air conditioning rises this summer. Demand in Texas for both heating and cooling is usually low in March.
ERCOT requests energy conservation, though outages not expected | The Texas Tribune –Texas’ main power grid struggled to keep up with the demand for electricity Tuesday, prompting the operator to ask Texans to conserve power nearly two months after catastrophic power outages left millions without electricity for days.The Electric Reliability Council of Texas said it does not expect customer power outages like those caused in February’s winter storm, one of the most deadly andexpensive disasters in the state’s history.Texans were asked to conserve power from Tuesday afternoon through the evening. By late Tuesday, the grid was again operating in normal conditions, according to ERCOT data.Tuesday’s tight conditions for the grid were caused by a high number of power plants being offline for maintenance – some due to repairs from the February winter storm – combined with higher demand than ERCOT predicted, Woody Rickerson, an ERCOT vice president, told reporters Tuesday evening.ERCOT officials said a cold front stalled, leaving parts of the state hotter than the grid operator planned. With hotter temperatures, energy use increased as air conditioners operated longer than anticipated for the day.Data from ERCOT showed that demand for energy on the grid was near 49,000 megawatts at 5 p.m., when the available supply to the grid was about 50,000 megawatts. That’s much less than the peak demand it neared during February, about 72,000 megawatts, when energy use surpassed record levels as Texans tried to stay warm during a severe winter storm. Approximately 32,000 megawatts of generation was offline due to maintenance on Tuesday, Rickerson told reporters Tuesday evening, enough to power 6.4 million Texas homes on a hot day.
Dallas Fed: Weatherization of Texas power plants could cost hundreds of millions, but price tag is ‘justifiable’ – Preparing Texas’ power plants and natural gas system to withstand another winter blast could cost hundreds of millions of dollars, but an analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas found the expense would be worth it.Dallas Fed analysts estimate the winter storm said Texas households and businesses lost out on $4.3 billion worth of electricity. That’s power they would have used if not for the calamitous outages stemming from the deep freeze.Total storm-related costs are significantly higher. Insured losses from the storm are as high as $20 billion, and some estimates put the losses to the Texas economy at more than $100 billion. Early in the week of Feb. 14, the cold snap caused many power plants to seize up and touched off a shortage of natural gas, a fuel used to generate electricity and heat homes.Dallas Fed researchers concluded weatherizing natural gas wellheads – some of which froze during the winter storm – costs about $20,000 to $50,000 per well. Protecting every gas well in Texas from another long bout of freezing temperatures likely would cost about $200 million annually.“That is something that would be a recurring annual expense, because you’re constantly drilling wells and having to install this (equipment),” said Garrett Golding, a Dallas Fed business economist.Weatherizing Texas’ 162 natural gas-fired power plants could be trickier, but the Dallas Fed estimates it would be a one-time cost of up to $95 million.The cost to weatherize a power plant would be at most $500,000. The Dallas Fed came to that figure by calculating the expense to install the weatherization equipment recommended in a report by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission following the 2011 freeze that caused power outages in Texas.The measures could include upgrading heat tracing circuits, beefing up thermal insulation and installing wind breaks or other temporary enclosures to protect equipment against wintry gusts.Texas power plants aren’t designed to trap in heat during winter. They’re built to shed heat during the sweltering summer months when power plants are producing the most electricity. “There’s going to be a lot of problems with just the overall architecture of (power plants),” Golding said. “They’re extremely exposed to the elements because these are supposed to run hard in the summer. There are some things that will need to be bolted on and bolted off, as far as seasonal changes go.”The analysts also found that weatherizing the state’s 13,000 wind turbines could be expensive. Wind turbines can be equipped with special blades that have internal heating equipment to prevent ice formation. But such blades cost about $400,000, add to the turbines’ already hefty price tag – a few million dollars each.However, wind farm operators can apply cold-weather lubricants and blade coatings to protect against an ice storm without running up a massive tab, according to the Dallas Fed.
Toxic and Radioactive: The Damage From Mining Rare Elements – More than every second person in the world now has a cellphone, and manufacturers are rolling out bigger, better, slicker models all the time. Many, however, have a bloody history.Though made in large part of plastic, glass, ceramics, gold and copper, they also contain critical resources. The gallium used for LEDs and the camera flash, the tantalum in capacitors and indium that powers the display were all pulled from the ground – at a price for nature and people.”Mining raw materials is always problematic, both with regard to human rights and ecology,” said Melanie Müller, raw materials expert of the German think tank SWP. “Their production process is pretty toxic.”The gallium and indium in many phones comes from China or South Korea, the tantalum from the Democratic Republic of Congo or Rwanda. All in, such materials comprise less than ten grams of a phone’s weight. But these grams finance an international mining industry that causes radioactive earth dumps, poisoned groundwater and Indigenous population displacement.The problem is that modern technologies don’t work without what are known as critical raw materials. Collectively, solar panels, drones, 3D printers and smartphone contain as many as 30 of these different elements sourced from around the globe. A prime example is lithium from Chile, which is essential in the manufacture of batteries for electric vehicles.”No one, not even within the industry, would deny that mining lithium causes enormous environmental damage,” Müller explained, in reference to the artificial lakes companies create when flushing the metal out of underground brine reservoirs. “The process uses vast amounts of water, so you end up with these huge flooded areas where the lithium settles.”This means of extraction results in the destruction and contamination of the natural water system. Unique plants and animals lose access to groundwater and watering holes. There have also been reports offreshwater becoming salinated due to extensive acidic waste water during lithium mining.But lithium is not the only raw material that causes damage. Securing just one ton of rare earth elements produces 2,000 tons of toxic waste, and has devastated large regions of China, said Günther Hilpert, head of the Asia Research Division of the German think tank SWP.He says companies there have adopted a process of spraying acid over the mining areas in order to separate the rare earths from other ores, and that mined areas are often abandoned after excavation.”They are no longer viable for agricultural use,” Hilpert said. “Nature has been overexploited.”China is not the only country with low environmental mining standards and poor resource governance. In Madagascar, for example, a thriving illegal gem and metal mining sector has been linked to rainforest depletion and destruction of natural lemur habitats. States like Madagascar, Rwanda and the DRC score poorly on the Environmental Performance Index that ranks 180 countries for their effort on factors including conservation, air quality, waste management and emissions. Environmentalists are therefore particularly concerned that these countries are mining highly toxic materials like beryllium, tantalum and cobalt.”It is a dirty, toxic, partly radioactive industry,” Hilpert said. “China, for example, has never really cared about human rights when it comes to achieving production targets.”
WATER POLLUTION: Tenn. Dem floats bill to increase scrutiny of coal ash dumps — Tuesday, April 13, 2021 — Tennessee Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen introduced legislation last week to bolster environmental and public health protections for communities at risk of exposure to coal ash.
Illinois Adopts Rules On How Power Plants Close Coal Ash Ponds, Requires Public Input — Illinois now has broad regulations for how power companies may close coal ash ponds.The rules the Illinois Pollution Control Board adopted Thursday determine how to close more than 70 ash ponds across the state that contain toxic waste.“These ponds have to close, they’re not safe,” said Andrew Rehn, a civil engineer at Prairie Rivers Network, an organization that works on pollution issues in Illinois.Ninety percent of Illinois coal-fired power plants had unsafe levels of toxic pollutants in their groundwater, according to a 2018 report from the Sierra Club. Missouri has similar problems with coal waste polluting groundwater.The contamination comes from coal ash ponds that lack sufficient liners that keep the toxic waste from leaching into the ground, Rehn said.“Most of them are unlined or have liners that don’t count as sufficient enough and therefore are polluting,” he said. “I’m expecting a lot of companies coming forward to start closing ponds.”The new rules ensure residents in communities with coal ash ponds have many chances to share their views on the closure plans.“The rules got us a complete suite of public participation throughout the whole process,” Rehn said. “It has clear opportunities for the public to weigh in and really understand what’s being proposed and happening at facilities in Illinois.”Companies that wish to close an ash pond have to host at least two public meetings about the proposed project, including information about the merits of different closure strategies. These meetings must happen at least a month before an operator applies to close a pond.The regulations also require the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to hold public hearings when there is significant public interest in the approval or denial of a specific permit.
Alabama Power’s statewide coal ash plan concerns environmentalists — The argument drags on over what to do with coal ash in the Mobile area. A public hearing was held last week on a plan by Alabama Power. The utility company wants to busy coal ash in an existing pit at its plant Barry facility. The Alabama Department of Environmental Management is now deciding whether or not to issue a permit to allow Alabama Power to do that. We spoke with all sides on the issue for this report. Alabama Power’s plan to trade coal ash ponds and use coal ash pits would apply all over the state. The utility company wants to cap and seal coal ash ponds at six plants across Alabama. Environmental groups are crying foul since that would leave the ash next to rivers and waterways. The ball is now in the court of the Alabama Department of Environmental Management. The agency appears to be already siding with Alabama Power on the matter.“The closure and cleanup will be developed in accordance with plans that have been developed after many months of review and revision by the department and power companies,” said ADEM director Lance Lefleur. His comments come from a video on the agency’s website. “The public is encouraged to make their comments. All comments will be considered before the permits are made final,” said LeFleur.Last week’s hearing in Mobile was the public’s chance to speak out about Alabama Power’s plan for Barry Plant. It’s located 25 miles north of Mobile. The six hundred acre coal ash pond stores more than twenty million cubic yards of wet coal ash on the bank of the Mobile River.“In our case, we’ve been putting coal Ash into a pit alongside the Mobile River for about 75 years,” said Casi Callaway executive director of Mobile Baykeeper.She says it’s dangerous to keep ash close to the river.“So it’s now 22 million tons in a just shy of 600-acre coal ash pit area. So it’s a lot of ash, a lot of heavy metals, a lot of toxic pollutants. All right there surrounded by the Mobile River, which is a really fast-moving river,” Callaway said. “Alabama Power is going to leave their coal ash on the side of our river. They’re going to put a cap on top of it, and they’re calling that acceptable. They’re going to shrink the footprint a little bit, but they are not putting a liner underneath the ash. They are not doing anything more substantial around the dam. They are going to essentially leave coal ash on the side of our rivers in harm’s way of a hurricane.
Morrisey among petitioners making economic case for keeping Marshall County coal-fired plant open – Recent filings in a case before the Public Service Commission of West Virginia in which American Electric Power’s subsidiaries warned that they may close a coal-fired plant show that coal remains a crucial economic engine in the state.They also hint at how intense the fight will be over West Virginia’s energy future.Appalachian Power and Wheeling Power said in a Dec. 23 filing with the Public Service Commission that the Mitchell coal-fired generating facility in Marshall County would cease operation in 2028 if the companies choose to retire the plant rather than make an additional investment to ensure that the plant complies with federal guidelines limiting wastewater to continue operating beyond that year until the projected end of its lifespan in 2040. There were 214 people employed at the Mitchell plant that were compensated a combined $26.8 million in wages in 2020, according to a filing by the utilities last week.The most recent petition to intervene in the case came from state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, whose office came to the plant’s defense in a filing last week.The filing contended that the state has a “significant interest” in the continued operation of the Mitchell plant, noting that its early retirement would result in significant revenue losses for the state and threaten jobs.“Ensuring [electricity] capacity is fundamental to national security and powering our state’s economy as well as protecting the jobs of hard-working West Virginian utility workers, coal miners and countless others who rely upon their success,” Morrisey said in a statement. Morrisey’s support for the plant’s continued operation followed letters of support from the Marshall County Commission and an umbrella group comprised of local building construction trades unions and their members.
Haaland revokes a dozen Trump orders -Interior Secretary Deb Haaland took action against multiple Trump-era orders on Friday, but the department said she did not reinstate a moratorium on coal leasing on federal lands despite revoking a Trump administration move to reverse it. The Trump-era order, which terminated the Obama administration’s moratorium on new coal leasing, was one of a dozen such Trump-era moves that Haaland rescinded. Other orders revoked by Haaland on Friday aimed to speed up energy permitting and start developing a five-year offshore oil and gas leasing program. Haaland also took aim at the former administration’s rollback to environmental reviews in the permitting process. “I’m hopeful that these steps will help make clear that we, as a Department, have a mandate to act,” the leader of the Interior department said in a statement. Despite the revocation of the Trump-era order on coal, a department spokesperson, however, denied that the coal move reinstates the Obama era leasing ban. The official said the announcement doesn’t immediately take action on coal development, and that the agency is continuing to review a path forward. Sharon Buccino, the senior director of the land division at the Natural Resources Defense Council’s nature program, said the Obama pause has not been reinstated because of the specific language of the 2016 order that says it is effective until “its provisions are amended, superseded, or revoked.” She argued that when the policy was revoked under then-President Trump, it died. “It was in fact revoked by Trump, so that basically terminates what Obama did,” Buccino said. “What Secretary Haaland has done is, she’s rescinded what Trump did and so that clearly paves the way for giving greater scrutiny to new coal leasing, but the Obama moratorium isn’t live anymore … there’s nothing left to reinstate because of that language,” she added.
US met coal miner Warrior strike continues as union rejects deal – US coking coal miner Warrior Met Coal said April 12 a strike by workers is continuing as weak reference Australian coking coal prices at $110/mt threaten margins at higher cost producers. United Miner Workers of America members rejected a tentative collective bargaining agreement reached last week with Warrior, and are on an unfair labor practice strike, according to the union. Warrior, while confirming on April 12 the strike was ongoing, referred to its March 31 statement that it has continuity plans in place to continue meeting the demands of its key customers. Major Warrior coking coal buyers include Exiros, Voestalpine, Erdemir Group, and trader Xcoal Energy & Resources, according to company documents. Warrior has worked off coal inventory from around 1 million st at the start of the year due to strong export contract demand and spot shipments to China, according to market sources. Contracts typically price off Australian FOB indices, while spot prices won premiums since the fourth quarter on demand in China for North American met coal imports. “Our belief is that the company will likely ship from those stockpiles to satisfy contracts while production is idled. The question is how long it will take before those tons run out,” investment bank The Benchmark Company’s analyst Nathan Martin said in an April 12 report. “Even if a more prolonged outage at HCC caused force majeure to become necessary, the company’s customers could likely secure replacement cargoes from Australia if necessary. While this might put some upward pressure on Australian prices, there probably wouldn’t be an oversized near-term reaction in the market,” the bank said. The UMWA will continue negotiations with the company, and the UMWA District 20 and the International union support the workers on strike, the union said in an April 9 statement. “Our members made it clear that the tentative agreement was not sufficient enough to make up for the sacrifices made in 2016,” said UMWA International President Cecil Roberts. “So, the UMWA will continue to strike at Warrior Met until an agreement can be reached that provides these miners what they deserve.” Miners at Brookwood, Alabama-based Warrior have been on strike since 10 pm on April 1, according to the UMWA. “We have not been able to see the agreement brought before the group, but we hear that wages continue to be a sticking point,” Benchmark’s Martin said. “Notably, miners reportedly took an hourly wage cut to get the last contract done as HCC emerged from bankruptcy back in April 2016. It would seem members are now trying to recoup some of that concession in the new five-year agreement.” The strike included over 1,100 workers, of around 1,400 in total, and affected the two active coal mines and coal processing plants, according to local reports. Warrior produced 7.9 million st of coking coal in 2020, 7.2% lower on 2019, due to weaker demand stemming from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the second quarter of last year.
Community effort to save Byron nuclear plant gaining traction – The Exelon Nuclear Plant in Byron currently employs more than 2,300 people, but the facility is on the chopping block. There are renewed efforts to save the power plant as state lawmakers mull over the Climate Union Jobs Act. A community group rallying to save the plant is hopeful residents will make their voices heard as the act moves forward. “This makes a huge difference in what Byron can be as a community,” said Byron Mayor John Rickard. Illinois lawmakers are scheduled to meet Thursday to continue discussing the Climate Union Jobs Act. Local advocates have been urging residents to show their support for the legislation. “The best thing they can do is sign a witness slip, which you can do electronically,” said Mayor Rickard. “If somebody has the time and desire, call your legislator. That would help too.” “It will make a difference. And the more signatures and larger reach as possible, the more of a difference it’ll make.” Last year, Exelon announced plans to close the plan in September of 2021. Shortly after, dozens of community members joined together to lobby for it to stay open. Mayor Rickard thinks the effort is paying off. “Rumor has it the conversations are going well. I think momentum is shifting in our favor. Nothing is sure yet, but it’s feeling good,” he said. A recent study estimated more than 15% of Ogle County’s GDP is tied to the facility. Rickard says keeping it in operation is critical for the city. “Everybody can travel down to Springfield and fill the hallways. Or the more efficient way is the witness slip, and committees do look at that. It gives them a sense of level of support from around the state, and how broad that support is,” the mayor added. Advocates say they’re also looking into other ways to plead their case to lawmakers, such as letter-writing campaigns or phone banking.
Study Urges $350 Million Nuclear Bailout For Exelon | WBEZ Chicago – Two northern Illinois nuclear power plants that Exelon Generation intends to mothball deserve roughly $350 million in ratepayer subsidies over five years to keep open, according to an analysis commissioned by Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration. The study obtained by WBEZ represents an important marker by the governor’s office about how far it’s willing to go in helping the power-generating company prop up its financially ailing Dresden and Byron nuclear plants during the ongoing spring legislative session in Springfield. Exelon repeatedly has argued both plants are economic white elephants under current economic conditions. But they help generate enormous volumes of non-fossil-fuel energy, aligning with Pritzker’s desire to expand clean-energy options for the state. Last August, Exelon Generation announced it would prematurely close both plants this fall due to revenue shortfalls in “the hundreds of millions of dollars” caused by declining energy prices and market rules favoring fossil fuel producers. The plants supply power to more than 4 million homes in northern Illinois and account for about 30% of the state’s carbon-free energy supply, according to Exelon. Together, they employ about 1,500 full-time workers. The Pritzker administration’s study, released Thursday, found the plants “do face real risk of becoming uneconomic in the near term. “This has implications for Illinois’ policy goals because the plants generate carbon-free electricity that is currently undervalued or even ignored within current wholesale electricity markets,” the report by Cambridge, Mass.-based Synapse Energy Economics concluded. “In addition, the plants employ hundreds of workers directly and contribute to the economies of numerous Illinois communities,” the report continued. “Illinois could reasonably determine that it is in the public interest for the plants to remain in operation, warranting public support.”
Asking NJ court to undo nuclear subsidy – New Jersey Rate Counsel Director Stefanie Brand is asking the New Jersey Supreme Court to reverse last month’s appellate court decision upholding the award of hundreds of millions in ratepayer subsidies to the state’s nuclear power plants. In a notice of a petition for certification, the Division of Rate Counsel argued the lower court erred when it upheld the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities’ decision in 2019 to approve $300 million in new surcharges on customers’ gas and electric bills. Without the subsidies, Public Service Enterprise Group, whose subsidiary operates three nuclear units in South Jersey, has threatened to close the plants because they are no longer profitable. If the high court decides to review the case, it could result in the justices taking up the case at roughly the same time as the BPU, which is scheduled to decide whether the plants – Hope Creek, Salem I and Salem II – qualify for additional subsidies from ratepayers for another three years. The BPU is expected to rule on those applications on April 27. The first subsidy added about $70 a year to what residential customers pay for electricity. Those decisions will have huge implications for the Murphy administration’s plans to achieve its aggressive goals to reduce the carbon pollution contributing to climate change and to transition to 100% clean energy. The nuclear plants represent more than 90% of the carbon-free electricity in New Jersey. In her brief notice of petition for certification to the Supreme Court, Brand argued the lower court’s decision effectively overruled a prior high court ruling that required rates be just and reasonable even when set by the Legislature. In the decision upholding BPU’s action, the appellate court said the ruling is supported by the record and consistent with the so-called zero emission certificate’s plain language in the program established by the agency and the legislative intent. ZEC is the jargon used by lawmakers to describe the nuclear subsidies. PSEG did not respond to comment on the Rate Counsel’s filing.
House perfects nuclear energy construction bill – A bill seeking to encourage nuclear power generation in Missouri is moving forward in the House after its perfection Tuesday. HB 261, sponsored by Rep. John Black, would create the Missouri Nuclear Clean Power Act. Under the bill, clean energy plants or facilities generating 200 or more megawatts using renewable resources would be able to charge for construction costs before beginning operation. Black said the bill would bolster the state’s renewable energy output. “This would help move Missouri into the 21st century with regard to energy policy,” Black said. “This would help ensure a viable source of electricity, vital to our homes and businesses in the state of Missouri. … We only have to review the conditions in the nation to understand the necessity for fuel to sustain our society, specifically nuclear power.” Rep. Tracy McCreery decried the bill on the floor, saying it wasn’t backed by Missouri’s investor-owned utilities and proposed the matter be left up to the free market. The bill passed out of committee last month with several groups – including the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives (AMEC) and the Missouri Farm Bureau – testifying in favor while groups including Renew Missouri and the Consumers Council of Missouri opposed it. According to Black, Missouri and New Hampshire are the only states without these policies on the books.
Former NRC chair questions economic feasibility of new nuclear in US – Without further aid from Congress and the White House, the prospects for the U.S. nuclear industry will dwindle in the face of cheaper resources that are getting built faster than new nuclear generators, according to a former Chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Small modular reactor developers are eyeing the potential to replace retiring coal generation and take advantage of those facilities’ interconnection sites. Excepting NuScale Power, which has advanced in permitting with the NRC, the near-term potential for other small modular reactor designs to replace physical coal plants is “very low in the near future, like zero,” Allison Macfarlane, who chaired the NRC during the Obama administration and now directs the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia, said during a Friday webinar hosted by OurEnergyPolicy. Larger nuclear plants are still being built globally, in “parts of the world where electricity demand growth is significantly higher” than in the U.S., John Kotek, senior vice president of policy development and public affairs at the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), said on the panel. The only U.S. reactors currently under construction continue to face delays. Vogtle Unit 3 and Unit 4 are poised to be the first nuclear plants completed in the United States since the Tennessee Valley Authority put Watts Barr Unit 2 into service in 2016, which was the first unit to be built in the last three decades. Large conventional nuclear plants require a series of attributes for safety, including a 10-mile emergency planning zone, a special water supply and redundant transmission interconnections. Panelists discussed the low likelihood of a new large nuclear power plant in the U.S. based on the numerous safety attributes required in new sites. “A lot of those opportunities already have existing nuclear plants … there are some large coal plant sites where maybe they have all those attributes,” said Chris Colbert, chief financial officer and chief strategy officer at NuScale. . NuScale is proposing designs with six to 12 modules. “I don’t know that it’s possible in terms of economies of scale for truly small modular reactors to actually survive and compete. I mean, if we look at NuScale, you’re looking at building the 12-packs, you’re not actually looking at a one-off. And it’s not clear to me that a one-off can survive” in the U.S. markets, Macfarlane said. NuScale’s Colbert said the company is looking at six- or eight-module designs. According to him, a one-off reactor could be competitive in areas where the alternative would be burning diesel fuel, but that economies of scale would be required for small modular reactors, as with renewable energy, to compete with abundant, cheap natural gas. NuScale’s light water reactor technology boasts an existing global supply chain for its advanced reactor design, with 75% of the supply chain based in the United States, Colbert said.
Japan plans to dump treated water from Fukushima disaster into the ocean –Japanese officials plan to release more than 264 million gallons of radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean over a period of decades as part of efforts to dispose of waste resulting from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. A report from Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry obtained by Bloomberg indicated that the first release of water would take place in roughly two years, with the water being processed to remove all radioactive elements except for tritium and engineers working to dilute it before it is released. The report prompted statements from China and South Korea’s governments, the latter of which firmly condemned the idea while Beijing urged Japan to deal with the issue prudently, according to Bloomberg. “Disposing of the treated water is an unavoidable issue for decommissioning the Fukushima nuclear power plant,” said Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, according to Bloomberg. Just more than 10 years ago, the Fukushima nuclear plant experienced a meltdown resulting from an earthquake and an ensuing tsunami that heavily damaged the facility, resulting in large amounts of radiation being released into the surrounding area and Pacific Ocean. In 2012, a Japanese commission found that the company responsible for overseeing the plant, the Tokyo Electric Power Company, had failed to prepare for damage containment and had not developed proper evacuation procedures for employees. Environmental groups have warned against plans to release more radioactive water into the ocean, while local fishing groups are also opposed to the idea, Bloomberg reported.
Japan Says Sorry, But It Has to Dump This Radioactive Water Into the Ocean –Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga says that the government has put off figuring out what to do with all of the contaminated water building up at the destroyed Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plantfor long enough – and it’s time to start dumping it into the ocean. Suga’s hand is forced given that the plant will soon run out of space to store the contaminated groundwater seeping into the facility, The Japan Times reports, and he’s framing the controversial plan to release the water into the Pacific Ocean as “unavoidable.” Japanese officials have been debating how to best contain the radioactive water at the Fukushima plant for years, but the plan that seems to have stuck is to purify the water as best as possible, dilute the radioactive tritium that persists even after the cleaning process, and to dump it over the course of 30 years. “What to do with the [treated] water is a task that the government can no longer put off without setting a policy,” Japanese trade minister Hiroshi Kajiyama told reporters on Wednesday. But outside of government halls, the plan is still considerably unpopular, especially among fishers who are concerned no one will want to buy fish caught in radioactive waters. Reasonably so, too, since 15 countries and regions still restrict imports from the Fukushima prefecture, according to the Japan Times. If the government proceeds, the plan will be to dilute tritium down to just 2.5 percent of the maximum concentration allowed by national standards before dumping it out. That means, Japanese officials say, the water won’t be dangerous to people – though only time will tell how much people trust it.
Engineering professor says Japan’s plan to dump treated radioactive water in the sea is not dangerous —Japan’s plan to release treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean will have “zero environmental impact,” according to one nuclear engineering professor who spoke to CNBC.Japan said Tuesday the Fukushima plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co or TEPCO, will treat and dilute the water before pumping it out in about two years. There are more than a million metric tons of radioactive water from the wrecked plant, and it will take decades to completely release them.The move has drawn sharp opposition from Japan’s neighbors and environmental activists.But Brent Heuser of the University of Illinois said the filtering process will remove most radioactive elements from the water, leaving only tritium – a radioactive isotope of hydrogen – that’s not harmful in small quantities. “Tritium is not dangerous in small amounts … it’s gonna be very dilute, it is simply not a concern, the environmental impact is zero,” Heuser, a professor of nuclear, plasma and radiological engineering, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Thursday.Still, Japan’s neighbors including China and South Korea have opposed the plan. Environmental group Greenpeace as well as local residents and fishermen also raised their concerns.South Korea summoned the Japanese ambassador in Seoul and is reportedly exploring ways to fight Japan’s decision in an international court. Over in China, the foreign ministry criticized Japan in a statement for “unilaterally” deciding to release the water, while ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian challenged Japanese officials to drink water from the Fukushima plant.Meanwhile, Reuters reported Taiwan saying it will continue to express its concerns and closely monitor the related developments.The International Atomic Energy Agency said “Japan’s chosen water disposal method is both technically feasible and in line with international practice.” The U.S. said Japan has been transparent and its approach appears in line with “globally accepted nuclear safety standards.”For Heuser, there are larger issues about ocean pollution to worry about than Japan releasing the treated water. “I would say to people who are concerned about this going into the ocean: We dump 8 tons of plastics in the ocean, pregnant women are not supposed to eat tuna because of mercury poisoning, microplastic is in the marine food chain – this is what we should be worried about,” he said.
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