Musings

By John Timmer A Green New Deal with an emphasis on the green part. University of Rhode Island Sights like this may become common on Long Island. Yesterday, New York governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill that's been described as the state's Green New Deal. Unlike the one that's been floated in Congress, this one isn't a grab-bag collection of social and energy programs. Instead, there's a strong focus on energy, with assurances that changes will be made in a way that benefits underprivileged communities. More at Ars Technica

By Matthew Hoffmann Georgios Kefalas/Keystone via AP Climate activists block the entrance to the Swiss bank UBS with a pile of coal in Basel, Switzerland earlier this summer. Climate protests are helping raise awareness about the ugliness of fossil fuels, and so too should the language we use. Despite dire warnings of climate catastrophe and research showing that fossil fuels need to stay in the ground, the fossil fuel system remains dominant, normal and even invisible. More at The Conversation

By Lucien Wilkinson, Curtin University CC0 Public Domain An innovative thermal battery being developed by Curtin University researchers will be key to a solar power system capable of producing electricity overnight, rivaling fossil fuels as a viable source of power for commercial and heavy industries around the world, including mining operations. More at Phys.org

By Kyle Bakx · CBC News · Oilpatch CEOs want to put idle rail cars to use, but face mandated production limit Dave Rae/CBC Alberta's oil curtailment policy is impacting how much crude is exported by train. The chief executives of major oil companies are questioning why so many oil rail cars are sitting idle in Alberta, while the provincial government is still limiting oil production. More at CBC News

By Brian Kahn Getty Reducing air pollution is objectively good. In addition to providing huge public health benefits, new findings show it would also give China solar generating industry a big boost in productivity. More at Earther - Gizmodo

By Pip Roddis, The Conversation Roddis et al, Author provided Solar is the UK’s most popular source of energy. Subsidies for onshore wind power were cut by the UK government in 2015. Then the main reasons given were that it was too expensive and that the public didn't support it. Amber Rudd MP, then head of what was the Department of Energy and Climate Change, said in a statement to parliament: "We are reaching the limits of what is affordable and what the public is prepared to accept." More at Phys.org

By Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology In winter, the production of solar power drops sharply, but this is precisely when the demand for electricity is highest. How can we close this gap? If we want to get rid of fossil fuels nationwide, there is a lot to do. It will be a generation project, that much is clear. Empa researchers Martin Rüdisüli, Sinan Teske and Urs Elber have now calculated how long and steep the road to a sustainable energy system might be; their study was published at the end of June in the journal Energies. More at Phys.org

Uwebart/Wikimedia, CC BY-SA Melting glaciers threaten the village of Huaraz, Peru. The directors of RWE, a German energy company, had probably never heard of the small village of Huaraz, Peru before 2015. But Saúl Lliuya, a mountain guide and farmer there, sued RWE for climate-related harms that year. More at The Conversation

By Haydn Watters · CBC News · Wade Anderson hopes to cover 32 states, 5 provinces and territories in 2 months Haydn Watters/CBC Wade Anderson is in the middle of an epic two-month road trip to extreme points around North America in his Tesla. He hopes to hit 32 states and five provinces and territories. The Tucson, Ariz., man is three weeks into a two-month road trip around the continent in his electric car, a Tesla Model 3. He left from Tucson last month and has already hit the southernmost and eastermost points in the continental U.S. — with many more "extremes" in his sights. More at CBC News

By Clara Marc, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne CC0 Public Domain Many countries—including Switzerland—are developing an energy strategy to meet various objectives such as reducing reliance on fossil fuels, cutting CO2 emissions and promoting the energy transition. That means governments have to make important decisions about which power sources to prioritize in the future and what technologies to invest in, in order to strike the right balance between keeping public spending under control and promoting clean energy. More at Phys.org

By Catherine Hours E-scooters touted as zero-carbon urban transport are flooding city streets worldwide, but just how green they are remains an open question. The companies—from multinationals to local start-ups—distributing them insist the omnipresent two-wheel vehicles are a boon for the environment and a curb on global warming. More at Phys.org

By Thomas Fox Shutterstock Drones - and other innovative technologies - can be effective in detecting methane leaks. A suite of new technologies may soon be patrolling for fugitive — invisible but harmful — natural gas leaks from the oil and gas sector. Our recent study suggests that drones, aircraft, trucks, fixed sensors and even satellites may be poised to help find gas leaks quickly, preventing damage to the environment and human health. More at The Conversation

By Erin Collins · CBC News · The people of Halkirk have been producing power of one kind or another for more than a century Colin Hall/CBC It's easy to spot the coming boom in wind power from the streets of Halkirk, a village in central Alberta. Global forces in the energy sector — in this case, the depressed price of oil and the pressure to fight climate change — are once again changing the character of this place. But the transition to clean, renewable energy production hasn't been without some serious growing pains. More at CBC News

By Reuters Vladimir Putin says deal due to expire on Sunday will be extended by six to nine months Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images Russia and Saudi Arabia agree to extend Opec deal. Russia has agreed with Saudi Arabia to extend by six to nine months a deal with Opec on reducing oil output, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, said, as oil prices come under renewed pressure from rising US supplies and a slowing global economy. More at The Guardian

By Megan Geuss Seasonal shifts helped, but long-term changes underlie the record. nate2b / Flickr Wind turbines near Palm Springs, California. Enlarge / Wind turbines near Palm Springs, California. A remarkable thing happened in the US in April. For the first time ever, renewable electricity generation beat out coal-fired electricity generation on a national level, according to the Energy Information Agency (EIA). While renewable energy—including hydro, wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass—constituted 23 percent of the nation's power supply, coal-fired electricity only contributed 20 percent of our power supply. More at Ars Technica

By University of Texas at Austin NOAA Gas hydrates, shown here on the Gulf of Mexico floor, are an ice-like material that form naturally under extreme pressure in low temperature environments where water is abundant. A new study from The University of Texas at Austin has shown that hydrates under the Gulf floor can be tapped for energy while providing safe storage for greenhouse gas emissions. New research at The University of Texas at Austin shows that injecting air and carbon dioxide into methane ice deposits buried beneath the Gulf of Mexico could unlock vast natural gas energy resources while helping fight climate change by trapping the carbon dioxide underground. More at Phys.org

By Sarah Buchanan Premier Ford is forcing gas station owners in Ontario to put up misleading anti-carbon tax stickers by August 30th. These stickers deliberately hide the truth by leaving out any mention of carbon tax rebates, and by failing to mention the devastating impacts of the climate crisis we are facing. More at Environmental Defence

By David Taylor THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer delivers a speech on the environment in Chelsea, Que. on June 19, 2019. When Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer unveiled his long-awaited climate plan, he said he could eliminate the federal carbon tax and still meet Canada’s emissions targets by focusing on investments into green technology. Tech, not taxes, he said. More at The Conversation

By Greg McDermid , Maria Strack Eamon MacMahon A seismic line (petroleum exploration corridor) traverses a wetland in northern Alberta. Wetlands in Canada’s boreal forest contain deep deposits of carbon-rich soils, made up of decomposed vegetation (peat) that has accumulated over thousands of years. Globally, peatlands store twice as much carbon as all of the world’s forests combined. Protecting this carbon store is critical in the fight against climate change. More at The Conversation

By Jacqueline Hansen · CBC News · Canadian government sees big potential from small modular reactors Image: Terrestrial Energy Oakville, Ont.-based Terrestrial Energy is designing a small modular reactor that it hopes will be operational in 2029. Canada is positioning itself up to be a leader in a new age of nuclear power by exploring the use of small modular reactors (SMR). More at CBC News