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Category Archives: Energy

The Power of Big Oil

“FRONTLINE examines the fossil fuel industry’s history of casting doubt and delaying action on climate change. This three-part series traces decades of missed opportunities and the ongoing attempts to hold Big Oil to account.” See also – The Guardian – ‘”In a powerful new three-part docuseries, the oil industry is put on trial as the… Continue Reading

The “State of the Air” 2022 report

American Lung Association: “The “State of the Air” 2022 report finds that despite decades of progress on cleaning up sources of air pollution, more than 40% of Americans—over 137 million people—are living in places with failing grades for unhealthy levels of particle pollution or ozone. This is 2.1 million more people breathing unhealthy air compared… Continue Reading

Animated map of EV charging stations shows huge dead zones around the country

Fasts Company: “Electric vehicles are clearly the future, but their mass adoption is somewhat hindered by infrastructure rollout—namely, the charging stations that drivers need to keep them powered, especially on long cross-country trips. But data compiled from geographic information systems firm Esri shows that some areas of the United States are doing better than others… Continue Reading

The European Commission and the IEA outline key energy saving actions

“The International Energy Agency and the European Commission outlined today a range of simple steps that people can take to reduce their energy use and save money, and that would save enough oil to fill 120 super tankers and enough natural gas to heat almost 20 million homes if adopted by all EU citizens. These… Continue Reading

Visualizing Ukraine’s Top Trading Partners and Products

Visual Capitalist: “International trade was equal to 65% of Ukraine’s GDP in 2020, totaling to $102.9 billion of goods exchanged with countries around the world. In 2014, Russia’s annexation of Crimea contributed to a 30% year-over-year drop in Ukraine’s 2015 trade value ($75.6B). Now, Ukraine’s international trade has been irreversibly disrupted since Russia’s full-scale invasion… Continue Reading

AreaHub website shows local environmental dangers

Cornell Chronicle: “A new database allows users to search any U.S. ZIP code, city name or even an address to learn about extreme weather concerns like hurricane or wildfire exposure, and nearby environmental industrial hazards such as Superfund sites, neighborhood brownfields or problematic nuclear reactors. Pick a place: Type in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, for example, to… Continue Reading

The U.S. Power Sector and Climate Policy

An InfluenceMap Report April 2022: “This report analyzes the climate policy engagement of the 25 largest investor-owned electric utilities in the U.S., covering over 80% of the total market cap of publicly listed utilities. The results show a wide spectrum of engagement with climate policy, indicating a highly fractured sector in terms of climate policy… Continue Reading

Can switching banks cut your carbon footprint?

Quartz: “Most major US and European banks have set long-term goals to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from their lending portfolios, yet remain tied to fossil fuel companies, which make up a big share of their business. As an average customer of one of these banks, a portion of your deposit is destined to make its… Continue Reading

Big electric trucks and SUVs are the new gas guzzlers

Quartz: “New lines of electric trucks and SUVs are hitting the roads. Automakers are marketing vehicles like Tesla’s Cybertruck, Ford’s F-150 Lightning, Rivian’s R1T pickup truck, and GMC’s Hummer EV to customers who prefer driving big vehicles, no matter their fuel efficiency. These new EVs promise drivers the same heavy-duty performance as a combustion engine… Continue Reading

Increase in atmospheric methane set another record during 2021

NASA: “For the second year in a row, NOAA scientists observed a record annual increase in atmospheric levels of methane, a powerful, heat-trapping greenhouse gas that’s the second biggest contributor to human-caused global warming after carbon dioxide. NOAA’s preliminary analysis showed the annual increase in atmospheric methane during 2021 was 17 parts per billion (ppb), the… Continue Reading