Beyond Plastics – Plastics are the New Coal: “Plastics are on track to contribute more climate change emissions than coal plants by 2030, a new report finds. As fossil fuel companies seek to recoup falling profits, they are increasing plastics production and cancelling out greenhouse gas reductions gained from the recent closures of 65 percent… Continue Reading
Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002
Category Archives: Energy
Director of National Intelligence Inaugural Estimate on Climate Change
National Intelligence Estimate – Climate Change and International Responses Increasing Challenges to US National Security Through 2040. October 21, 2021. “We assess that climate change will increasingly exacerbate risks to US national security interests as the physical impacts increase and geopolitical tensions mount about how to respond to the challenge. Global momentum is growing for more… Continue Reading
More than 120,000 US sites feared to handle harmful PFAS ‘forever’ chemicals
The Guardian: “The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has identified more than 120,000 locations around the US where people may be exposed to a class of toxic “forever chemicals” associated with various cancers and other health problems that is a frightening tally four times larger than previously reported, according to data obtained by the Guardian.… Continue Reading
The Power of Electric Bike Libraries
Bloomberg: “Climate-friendly e-bikes are a key part of plans to decarbonize urban transportation. To speed adoption, more cities are offering lending programs that can expose more riders to this new mode…With U.S. sales growing 145% in 2020 — boosted in part by Covid-19 shutdowns and an explosion in outdoor recreation — e-bikes are steadily becoming more familiar sights… Continue Reading
The thorny truth about socially responsible investing
Vox: “It’s easier than ever to invest ethically — or, at least, to be told by marketers you are. Whether you’re actually doing it is harder to figure out. Investors have become eager to put their money toward good in recent years. In 2020, assets under management using sustainable investing strategies in the United States… Continue Reading
If 100 companies are responsible for 70% of emissions, what can you do?
Fast Company: “Corporations and governments have known about the risk of climate change for about half a century. It first appeared on Exxon’s radar in 1981. Two years prior, a group of scientists had created the Charney Report, which assessed the effects of rising amounts of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere (and correctly predicted how… Continue Reading
65 Things You (Probably) Shouldn’t Pay For
Via the Washington Post article – Consumers’ Checkbook – 65 Things You (Probably) Shouldn’t Pay For – “Let’s face it: We often waste money on stuff we don’t really need. Five-dollar lattes. Top-of-the-line appliances and granite countertops to plate up takeout and microwave frozen meals from Trader Joe’s. Golfing gear. Home theaters. Designer clothes, shoes, and… Continue Reading
Google launches new features to help users shrink their carbon footprints
The Verge: “Google announced a suite of new features that it says will help people who use their platforms make more sustainable choices. The new services focus on reducing planet-heating greenhouse gas emissions and are primarily found on Search, Maps, Travel, and Nest. But before we get into the details of how their new tools… Continue Reading
Massachusetts is Pouring Billions into a Gas System that Will Be Obsolete
New Report Uncovers Opportunity to Fund Energy Transition – Boston, MA — “Today the Gas Leaks Allies release the first in-depth analysis of a massive Massachusetts program—the Gas System Enhancement Program (GSEP)— to accelerate the replacement of leak-prone gas pipes. The report, GSEP at the Six-Year Mark: A Review of the Massachusetts Gas System Enhancement Program, finds… Continue Reading
New study shows that drought could shut down the biggest US Hydro Plants in the next few years
“According to newly-released projections from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamations, there’s a significant chance that both Lake Powell and Lake Mead — the largest hydroelectric power sources in the country — will stop working in the next few years.” “Five-year projections of future conditions, currently through 2026, in the Colorado River system are typically updated… Continue Reading
Regeneration Banking & Finance Fossil Fuels
Banking on Climate Chaos – Fossil Fuel Finance Report 2021: “This report analyzes fossil fuel financing from the world’s 60 largest commercial and investment banks — aggregating their leading roles in lending and underwriting of debt and equity issuances — and finds that these banks poured a total of $3.8 trillion into fossil fuels from… Continue Reading
They Knew: How the U.S. Government Helped Cause the Climate Crisis
Yale Environment 360 – “James Gustave Speth has been calling for action on climate since serving in the White House in the 1970s. In an e360 interview, he talks about his new book, which chronicles how successive U.S. administrations repeatedly failed to act in response to scientists’ increasingly dire warnings. Few people have followed the… Continue Reading
