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☆ Why Blackouts, Power Outages Are Becoming More Common
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Taylor Dorrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Power outages have increased 64% from the early 2000s, and weather-related outages — many driven by the worsening climate crisis — have increased 78%. A record-breaking blizzard in Buffalo, New York, this winter caused power outages throughout the city, resulting in the deaths of 47 residents. In 2021, a heat wave led to power outages and the deaths of hundreds in the Pacific Northwest. While regional organizations might use fees to penalize companies for power outages, it's now much harder to pinpoint and hold a person or entity responsible. In the meantime, the climate crisis will continue to wreak havoc on an aging grid system that puts profits over reliability.

☆ Explainer: Everything to know about nuclear fuel uranium
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Here is everything you need to know about uranium and its usage as a nuclear fuel. WHAT IS URANIUM USED FOR? The radioactive metal is the most widely used fuel for nuclear energy due to its abundance and the relative ease of splitting its atoms. It is also used in treating cancer, for naval propulsion, and in nuclear weapons. HOW MUCH URANIUM IS NEEDED FOR A NUCLEAR WEAPONThe amount of uranium that went missing contains enough of the U-235 isotope to build a first-generation nuclear bomb if enriched to over 90%, according to Dr. Edwin Lyman from the Union of Concerned Scientists.

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Tesla (TSLA.O) will open part of its U.S. charging network to electric vehicles (EVs) made by rivals as part of a $7.5 billion federal program to electrify the nation's highways to cut carbon emissions, the Biden administration said on Wednesday. There are also nearly 10,000 "destination" chargers with Tesla plugs that can recharge a vehicle overnight. Opening up access to Tesla's network would be a quick win for an ambitious federal program to build 500,000 EV chargers by 2030, up from 130,000 currently. Administration officials did not say whether a contract has been signed, but federal officials will control disbursement of about a third of the $7.5 billion federal program. Chris Harto, a senior policy analyst at Consumer Reports, said, "There is no doubt the $7.5 billion in federal charging investment threatens Tesla's competitive advantage.

☆ Yes, electric vehicles are greener than gas cars — even when they use dirty power
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

There's a persistent myth that electric vehicles are somehow worse for the planet than regular cars. But building an EV creates more planet-warming emissions than making a gas vehicle. But mining the necessary cobalt, refining the lithium, and packaging it all into little cells that fit neatly in a larger pack creates significant greenhouse gas emissions. But zooming in on specific regions reveals how vastly EV emissions vary across the country. Electric cars that hit American roads in 2030 could have a 76% greener lifespan than gas counterparts if the US builds an electrical grid in line with the Paris Agreement's goals, according to the ICCT.

☆ California invested an enormous amount of money into getting EVs on the road, but practically nothing when it comes to dealing with the waste: 'It's totally like the Wild West.'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Hanna Kang | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

"It's totally like the Wild West," said Zora Chung, co-founder of ReJoule, Inc., a startup project based in Signal Hill that is exploring repurposing used batteries from EVs. However, there are no EV battery recycling plants that exist in California, nor tried-and-true recycling programs in place to deal with the fallout. Currently, the company has used batteries deployed at the American Museum of Ceramic Art in Pomona, where solar panels feed electricity into the used battery storage units. Charging station for electric and hybrid cars using solar panels to generate electricity to charge car batteries. "Imagine if it just took you one full work week to qualify one used battery," Chung said.

☆ The electric Hummer isn't as great for the environment as you might think — and it proves not all EVs are created equal
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

If you think driving a pint-sized Nissan Leaf is as good for the planet as driving a huge electric Hummer, think again. The GMC Hummer EV uses significantly more electricity than other EVs, meaning it produces more pollution upstream. Moreover, the GMC Hummer EV is in many ways a supersized gas guzzler for a new era. EVs can be energy guzzlers tooOn the whole, electric cars use less energy than gas-powered ones. The 4.5-ton elephant in the roomThe Hummer EV is a full 4,000 pounds heavier than a well-optioned, gas-powered Ford F-150.

☆ 'Profoundly disturbing': The PR firm for the COP27 climate summit has a long history with Big Oil
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

"Hill and Knowlton is the main lobbying communications firm for the oil industry," said Duncan Meisel, campaign director at Clean Creatives, a U.S.-based group working to disentangle the PR industry from the fossil fuel sector. "Any PR firm that is actively supporting to promote [a] narrative of continued fossil fuel expansion under any circumstances is a problem," Muffett told CNBC via telephone. watch nowIt comes at a time of growing momentum for calls to end fossil fuel production worldwide. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recently called out what he described as the "massive public relations machine raking in billions to shield the fossil fuel industry from scrutiny." "Fossil fuel interests need to spend less time averting a PR disaster — and more time averting a planetary one."

☆ Biden says 'everyone has to act' to help the world deal with the climate crisis. But the US isn't meeting its own promises.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

President Joe Biden touted the new US climate law and methane restrictions at a UN climate summit. Biden urged rich countries pay up on climate, but the US hasn't been meeting its own promises. Developing nations share comparatively little responsibility for the buildup of heat-trapping gasses in the atmosphere. "If countries can finance coal in developing countries, there is no reason we can't finance clean energy in developing countries," Biden said to loud applause from the audience. Looming over COP27 is the global energy crisis sparked by Russia's war in Ukraine.

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 9 (Reuters) - U.S. climate envoy John Kerry on Wednesday announced the creation of a carbon offset plan meant to help developing countries speed their transition away from fossil fuels. Kerry launched the Energy Transition Accelerator (ETA) with the intention of funding renewable energy projects and accelerating clean energy transitions in developing countries. Kerry added that the carbon credits used in the program would be "high quality" and meet "strong safeguards". Kerry said Guterres was supportive of the U.S.-led carbon market initiative provided there were safeguards to it. At the event launch, a protester interrupted Kerry saying: "You’re providing false solutions.”Kerry responded that fossil fuel companies would not participate in the program.

☆ How to survive a nuclear bomb attack: Minute-by-minute steps to protect yourself
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Aria Bendix | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

If a nuclear bomb were headed toward the US, residents would have 30 minutes or less to shelter. Russian Presidential Press Service/APA nuclear attack remains highly unlikely, but it's not out of the question, experts say. Redlener said the best way to learn of an impending nuclear attack would probably be TV or radio. Survivors of a nuclear attack would have about 15 minutes before sandlike radioactive particles, known as nuclear fallout, reached the ground. The US Department of Health and Human Services recommends staying indoors for at least 24 hours after a nuclear explosion.

☆ Russia's war in Ukraine raises a harrowing question: How widespread would fallout from a nuclear bomb be?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Aria Bendix | Azmi Haroun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

"Ukraine doesn't have nuclear weapons, so the risk of nuclear war in this scenario is if, somehow, the conflict escalated to pull in NATO countries or the US," she added. "That raises the risk of nuclear confrontation because some of the NATO countries have nuclear weapons." The US, for instance, has about 5,500 nuclear weapons, while Russia has about 6,000, according to the Federation of American Scientists. When a nuclear bomb strikes, it sets off a flash of light, a giant orange fireball, and building-toppling shockwaves. The fallout of a nuclear bomb also depends on how a country chooses to detonate it.

☆ The climate crisis has world leaders rethinking nuclear power
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-18 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Climate change and Russia's invasion of Ukraine has world leaders looking again at nuclear power. Gavin Newsom's plan to keep a nuclear power plant open points to a trend. Nuclear power doesn't emit greenhouse gases and provides 10% of global electricity. Gavin Newsom wants to extend the life of a nuclear plant that was slated to close by 2025. The race to combat the climate crisis and shore up energy supplies after Russia's invasion of Ukraine is pushing policymakers to reconsider nuclear power.

☆ Fact Check-Statue of Liberty photos do not prove sea level rise is insignificant
▼ + stars: | 2021-11-04 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

However, sea level rise to date has already been shown to have contributed to catastrophic damage done by storms and flooding, and accelerating sea level rise projected over the next century is expected to worsen the problem. “No one is calling the sea level rise experienced so far catastrophic, but global sea level rise has accelerated since about 1970 and will continue to accelerate until global temperatures are stabilized. Sea level rise is computed using monthly or annual averages to avoid this confusion,” he said (here). The analyses forecast accelerating sea level rise in the region, with a possible rise of about 2 feet to as much as 9 feet by 2100. Two side-by-side images of the Statue of Liberty are not evidence of the degree of sea level rise, or that sea level rise to date has had no catastrophic impact.

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