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Category Archives: Energy

Dimming the Sun to Cool the Planet Is a Desperate Idea, Yet We’re Inching Toward It

The New Yorker [subscription req’d]: “The idea behind solar geoengineering is essentially to mimic what happens when volcanoes push particles into the atmosphere; a large eruption, such as that of Mt. Pinatubo, in the Philippines, in 1992, can measurably cool the world for a year or two. This scheme, not surprisingly, has few public advocates,… Continue Reading

Department of Energy computer systems target of relentless cyberattacks

“Cyber attackers successfully compromised the security of U.S. Department of Energy computer systems more than 150 times between 2010 and 2014, according to a review of federal records obtained by USA TODAY. Incident reports submitted by federal officials and contractors since late 2010 to the Energy Department’s Joint Cybersecurity Coordination Center shows a near-consistent barrage… Continue Reading

How Oil & Gas Funding Distorts Energy Research

Gizmodo: “Prominent energy centers at MIT, Stanford, and Columbia may be biased toward natural gas because of funding, a new study says Journalists like me often seek out academics for comment and insight on stories related to the energy transition, since these professors have often done in-depth research into various fuel sources and their impacts.… Continue Reading

TIME The Best Inventions of 2022

“Every year for over two decades, TIME editors have highlighted the 100 most impactful new products and ideas. This year, in a rapidly shifting world, innovation boomed. So in 2022, for the first time ever, we selected the year’s 200 Best Inventions. To compile the list, we solicited nominations from TIME’s editors and correspondents around… Continue Reading

Climate TRACE

“Climate TRACE is a global non-profit coalition created to make meaningful climate action faster and easier by independently tracking greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with unprecedented detail and speed. We harness satellite imagery and other forms of remote sensing, artificial intelligence, and collective data science expertise to track human-caused GHG emissions with unprecedented detail and speed.… Continue Reading

National-scale maps of carbon stored in wetland soil across all interior and coastal settings were created from harmonized public datasets

USGS: “These datasets represent a revised national scale estimate of wetland soil carbon stock assessments by improving representation of soil organic carbon densities. Carbon storage in wetland soils can have physical influences on water flow, water retention, and biogeochemical cycles and thus are critical to water models that guide decisions that affect downstream users. The… Continue Reading

The world has nine years to prevent climate catastrophe

“A major paper released on the sidelines of the COP27 climate summit in Egypt has started a countdown. At the current rate of global emissions, the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels will likely be permanently out of reach in nine years, the study found.  The paper,… Continue Reading

Internet Archives – We have added a Mastodon Server

“The Internet Archive has recently set up its own Mastodon server– a federated/decentralized open source social media package– that has garnered lots of attention lately.We use it in ways that we use twitter now (we are not leaving twitter): • @[email protected] for events, announcements, and fun things • Staff accounts (e.g. my account @[email protected]) for,… Continue Reading

New feature to help people navigate the energy crisis in Europe

Google Blog: “Europe is gearing up for a challenging winter – with rising prices and pressures on the European grid, driven by Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine, further driving the need for secure, reliable, sustainable and affordable energy sources. We know that energy security and affordability are top of mind for many across Europe right… Continue Reading

National Climate Assessment

The National Climate Assessment summarizes the impacts of climate change on the United States, now and in the future. A team of more than 300 experts guided by a 60-member Federal Advisory Committee produced the report, which was extensively reviewed by the public and experts, including federal agencies and a panel of the National Academy… Continue Reading

Provisional State of the Global Climate in 2022

World Meteorological Organization (WMO) – Provisional State of the Global Climate in 2022: “The past eight years are on track to be the eight warmest on record, fuelled by ever-rising greenhouse gas concentrations and accumulated heat. Extreme heatwaves, drought and devastating flooding have affected millions and cost billions this year, according to the WMO Provisional… Continue Reading

Eight warmest years on record witness upsurge in climate change impacts

World Meteorological Association: “The past eight years are on track to be the eight warmest on record, fuelled by ever-rising greenhouse gas concentrations and accumulated heat. Extreme heatwaves, drought and devastating flooding have affected millions and cost billions this year, according to the World Meteorological Organization’s provisional State of the Global Climate in 2022 report.… Continue Reading