How To Know What Climate Change Causes

Droughts, Heat Waves and Floods: How to Tell When Climate Change Is to Blame; Weather forecasters will soon provide instant assessments of global warming’s influence on extreme events

Quirin Schiermeier, July 30, 2018 (Scientific American)

“…[New University of Oxford computer modeling shows] climate change made the current heatwave] more than twice as likely to occur in many places…Germany’s national weather agency is preparing to be the first in the world to offer rapid assessments of [human-induced climate change’s] connection to particular meteorological events [like heatwaves and floods]. By 2019 or 2020, the agency hopes to post its findings on social media almost instantly, with full public reports following one or two weeks after an event…The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) in Reading, UK, is preparing to pilot a similar programme by 2020…[A]fter more than 170 studies in peer-reviewed journals, attribution science is poised to burst out of the lab and move into the everyday world.

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…[Disasters] are likely to become more common because the build-up of greenhouse gases is altering the atmosphere…But extreme weather can also arise from natural cycles…Researchers say that teasing out the role of human-induced global warming—as opposed to natural fluctuations—in individual weather extremes will help city planners, engineers and home-owners to understand which kinds of floods, droughts and other weather calamities are increasing in risk. And surveys suggest that people are more likely to support policies focused on adapting to climate-change impacts when they have just experienced extreme weather, so quickly verifying a connection between a regional event and climate change, or ruling it out, could be particularly effective…” click here for more

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New Energy Facts For Investors

…Misconceptions About Renewable Energy That Could Lead Investors Astray; Blindly believing these renewable energy arguments could lead investors to sell great stocks (or buy bad ones) at the wrong time.

Maxx Chatsko, July 30, 2018 (Motley Fool)

“…The fast rise of wind and solar bodes well for reaching international climate goals, and it has also proven to be great for individual investors who know where to look…[but] there are still quite a few misconceptions about renewable energy…[W]ind and solar energy have sprinted down the cost curve -- and they're headed lower…[O]n a levelized cost basis unsubsidized wind power is the cheapest source of electricity generation in the United States at just $0.03 per kilowatt-hour (kWh). That's followed by the newest natural gas-fired power plants at $0.04 per kWh and, surprisingly, unsubsidized utility-scale solar power at $0.043 per kWh…

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…[O]il majors generate tens of billions of dollars in free cash flow per year, and they're beginning to invest in renewable energy businesses…[They appear to be slowly transforming] into electric and gas utilities, which will come in handy as global transportation shuns liquid fuels for electric charging…[Much of the investment is in offshore wind technology, which holds tremendous promise for taking renewable energy to the next level…[W]ind energy is on pace to overtake hydro as the nation's top renewable energy source [by] 2019…At 55%, solar comprised the majority of all new generation capacity installed on the grid in the first quarter of 2018…Investors who dare to peek ahead to 2030 will see plenty of reasons to be optimistic for the future of renewable energy…Renewable energy represents a great opportunity for individual investors to build long-term wealth…” click here for more

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Plug In To Beat Climate Change And Clean Up

Cleaner Cars Are a Win for America, Trump Isn’t Helping

Dan West, July 26, 2018 (National Resources Defense Council)

“Transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, so to tackle climate change we need to be speeding away from the internal combustion engine. Electric vehicles (EVs) are leading the way. The EV transition will not only reduce transportation emissions, create jobs for U.S. workers, and provide more choices and fuel savings for consumers, it presents an incredibly lucrative opportunity for whichever carmakers can innovate fast enough to capture the market. It’s helpful to compare the world’s two largest car markets: the United States and China…Chinese carmakers are electrifying their fleets faster than U.S. companies. State controls and public subsidies play a huge role in China’s EV market, and the domestic industry that serves it…Unfortunately, the Trump administration, with its policies discouraging clean car innovation, isn’t helping…” click here for more

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How Utilities Can Drive Plugging In

Utilities Should Invest in Electric Vehicle Infrastructure

Daniel Gatti, July 5, 2018 (Union of Concerned Scientists)

“…Across the country, many utilities are stepping up to build the EV infrastructure that we need…The California Public Utilities Commission recently approved $738 million in electric vehicle infrastructure proposed by PG&E, SCE and SDG&E, including hundreds of millions for charging heavy duty vehicles such as buses and trucks…Utilities in Maryland have recently proposed a $104 million investment in charging infrastructure that would create 24,000 charging stations across the state…The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities recently approved a $45 million investment by Eversource. A comparable investment by Massachusetts’ other major utility National Grid is still pending in front of the DPU…Ohio has recently approved a $10 million pilot for electric vehicle charging stations…

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…[Utilities should invest in electric vehicle infrastructure because EVs represent] an enormous opportunity…Converting our vehicle fleet to electricity could add as much as 1,000 terawatt hours of demand onto our electric grid, an increase of about 25 percent of current levels. If managed correctly, this large and flexible load could significantly increase the efficiency of our electric system, which would benefit not only EV drivers but also all ratepayers, providing lower costs…In the long run, widespread deployment of EVs could also be a source of energy storage, filling a critical need as our electricity system moves away from fossil fuels toward intermittent sources of power, such as wind and solar…Building more EV infrastructure will help more people and businesses make the switch…Creating an EV charging network that can compete with our oil infrastructure will require tens of thousands of new charging stations…” click here for more

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Zero Hour – The Climate Change Fight Turning

Youth Climate Change Activists Marched on Washington, D.C.; “We don’t have any time to wait."

Kristen Doerer, July 22. 2018 (Teen Vogue)

“…Hundreds of young people from across the nation gathered on the national mall in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, July 21, for the protest planned by the environmental youth group Zero Hour…The march was the last in a three-day string of events in Washington, D.C…[that included] a lobby day and a Youth Climate Art Festival…The band Dispatch performed under umbrellas before a D.C. inter-tribal drum group. Then, a coalition of youth from Standing Rock addressed the crowd…When 7-year-old Havana Edwards stepped onto a stage, the D.C. activist known as ‘the tiny diplomat’ spoke about her experience traveling the world with her family, and seeing how climate change and education affect other youth…[Hundreds of protesters held signs, parachutes, and banners, many dressed in raincoats or ponchos, unfazed by the rain. At the front of the march was the coalition that protested the Dakota Access Pipeline at Standing Rock.

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…As one of Zero Hour’s founding members from New Jersey, [Madeline Tew, 15,] spent over a year planning the march, and says that she knows a lot of people who have been displaced by Hurricanes Sandy and Irene…Another core Zero Hour organizer, 20-year-old Kibiriti Majuto of Charlottesville, Virginia, said that it’s time to stand up to corporate power…Yelling into a megaphone, Kibiriti [led the chant “Corporate crime scene!”] as the group approached the Supreme Court…By the time activists marched down East Capitol Street and arrived in Lincoln Park, some had given up on their raincoats and simply enjoyed the rain…[T]he crowd, energized and ready for change, was slow to disperse.” click here for more

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State Renewables Standards Work

States boost renewable energy and development when utilities adopt renewable standards

July 23, 2018 (TechXplore via Indiana University)

“States that require utilities to increase renewable energy see expansion of renewable energy facilities and generation—including wind and other renewable sources, but especially solar...[The “standards”] require utilities to increase the percentage of energy they sell from renewable sources by a specified amount and date… Most states have adopted such standards, except those in the Southeast and parts of the Great Plains and Interior West, where fossil fuel prices are low…[Iowa, Nevada,] and Massachusetts were the first to adopt a renewable portfolio standard in the 1990s, and Hawaii's is considered the most stringent, a pivotal measuring stick…[Also called “renewable mandates,” they] drive renewable energy development across the U.S…

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The design of the policy, however, is of fundamental importance [according to "Empirical evaluation of the stringency and design of renewable portfolio standards," the stronger the mandate, the more renewables a state develops…Other important design features include frequent planning processes and regulations that are mandatory rather than voluntary…States that allow utilities to count non-renewable energy, such as "clean coal" or other fossil fuels, to satisfy renewable mandates will develop significantly less renewables, particularly less solar energy…” click here for more

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Climate Change Awakenings

Climate change is finally getting political cred with Republicans

Amy Harder, July 23, 2018 (Axios)

“…Some congressional Republicans are beginning to find it in their political interest to at least acknowledge climate change and oppose efforts to weaken existing policies…The subtle but significant shift is fueled by disparate factors, including a stronger economy and President Trump’s dismissive policies on climate…[Unlike the backlash Republicans face for disagreeing with Trump on many issues, polling] shows that most Republican voters don’t penalize their lawmakers for acknowledging climate change is real and a problem, even though Trump openly mocks it…[But polling also] shows climate change remains a low priority for most voters…[and the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus] faces accusations from some environmentalists that it’s mostly an empty effort giving political cover to Republicans…[The record shows it] hasn’t put forth any substantive policies…[But the fact that 42 Republicans have joined] represents a political turning point, considering that the party as a whole has dismissed or denied outright mainstream climate science for most of the past decade…” click here for more

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New Energy Jobs Lead The Economy

Now Hiring:The Growth Of America's Clean Energy & Sustainability Jobs

July 2018 (Environmental Defense Fund)

“…Sustainability jobs represent a large and growing portion of the U.S. workforce across multiple sectors…[Jobs in energy efficiency, renewable energy, waste reduction, natural resources conservation, and environmental education now collectively represent] an estimated 4-4.5 million jobs in the U.S., up from 3.4 million in 2011…[Many renewable and energy efficiency jobs cannot be outsourced, and can pay above average wages…Average wages for energy efficiency jobs are almost $5,000 above the national median, and wages for solar workers are above the national median of $17.04 per hour…[A]ll states have some type of clean energy or sustainability job opportunity…In 2015, renewable energy jobs in the U.S. reached 769,000, the result of a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 6% since 2012…[while job creation in fossil fuel extraction and support services had] a -4.25% CAGR…

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…Solar and wind jobs have grown at rates of about 20% annually in recent years and are each creating jobs at a rate 12 times faster than that of the rest of the U.S. economy…There are approximately 2.2 million energy efficiency workers nationwide, the majority of which are in small businesses working on the construction and installation of energy efficient systems…[Energy efficiency] investments create approximately 8 jobs (direct and indirect) per $1M invested compared to about 3 jobs in fossil fuels…Clean vehicles in 2016 employed 48% more workers than in 2015…[and hybrid vehicles] represent more than 70% of these jobs…” click here for more

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Offshore Wind Price Competitive With Nuclear

Danish Energy Agency’s new estimate slashes price of renewable energy by 30% - bringing offshore wind on par with nuclear

Vilhelm Carlstrom, 16 July 2018 (Business Insider – Nordic)

“…In the past thirty years, Denmark has reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 30%, and even reduced energy consumption by 7%, while GDP grew 55%...[Its , the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCoE) calculator compares various energy sources on lifetime costs] beyond those associated with construction and production – like the socioeconomic costs of different emissions…[In the newest update, for] facilities commencing production in 2020, the price of offshore wind has been slashed by 30%, onshore wind by 25% and solar by 40%...[due to] a significant reduction in the capital expenditure and operating costs associated with employing the new technologies, coupled with increases in productivity…The reductions bring the average costs of producing one MWh of energy to EUR 46 for Danish offshore wind projects, EUR 30 for onshore wind, and EUR 40 for photovoltaic solar energy. That brings offshore wind on par with nuclear power, while onshore wind is by far the cheapest, and solar PV closing in quickly…The agency stresses that the results will vary greatly based on assumptions and locality…” click here for more

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Solar Spreading As New Energy Costs Plummet

32 Million New Homes Will Have Renewable Energy Via Solar Power By 2030; Developing nations may leap-frog old-school power lines.

Matthew Phelan, July 16, 2018 (Inverse)

“…[A]ccess to decentralized power systems — including a projected 72 million solar-powered homes — will expand access to electricity more cheaply and more sustainably than past estimates…[and] the total industry investment required to achieve this is approximately $372 billion dollars less than recent assessments by the International Energy Agency [according to a new report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance]…About $162 billion is currently likely to be spent on expanding energy access…with about $191 million needed to close the gap to universal access…[T]he report’s emphasis on decentralized energy grids that allow leap-frogging technologies aligns with [the newest United Nations approach. Energy companies can] focus their efforts on the last handful of places where traditional, old-school grid extensions remain economically viable until sometime around the mid-2020s…[Where the per-kWh price of grid-connected New Energy is not competitive, home solar systems or community level microgrids] can and do suddenly become more cost effective…[Of the 238 million new households to get electricity between now and 2030,] 72 million will use solar home systems and 34 million will benefit from microgrids…” click here for more

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Baseball, Moneyball, and Climate Change

What Baseball Can Teach Us About the Climate Change Debate

Jacob Weindling, June 23, 2018 (Paste)

“Roughly half of Americans don’t believe that climate change is man-made, and the reasons surrounding this mass rejection of experts have been fiercely debated…[Baseball reveals] an aversion to new statistics and metrics that help us better understand…[A]ll pitching philosophies are concentrated around producing three results: 1. Limiting walks 2. Maximizing strikeouts 3. Avoiding home runs…[Because] those three outcomes are the only events on a baseball field that the pitcher has 100% control over…[O]nce the ball is in play, there are a multitude of variables…[But when this philosophy is translated into] statistics,] old school baseball folks tend to check out of the conversation…

[There is a new wave of statistics that old school baseball folks tend to decry, though they] are based in old school thinking…Which gets to a fundamental flaw in human nature…[P]roviding people with evidence which contradicts their beliefs will not change their mind. Stories are superior to facts and figures…Those of us that accept climate change as fact must do a better job of convincing the 52% of Americans who do not believe that climate change is caused by humans. Hurling facts and figures at them does not work—as I have learned in my time evangelizing advanced baseball statistics…Don’t tell climate change deniers that ‘studies say’ things—show them those things…[There is no shortage of evidence] and we should use it to try to rally people to the cause before it becomes catastrophically undeniable.” click here for more

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How Long Will New Energy Need NatGas?

Clean energy is catching up to natural gas; The natural gas “bridge” to sustainability may be shorter than expected.

David Roberts, July 13, 2018 (VOX)

…[Conventional wisdom in the energy sector for a decade has been that natural gas is the necessary bridge] from the fossil fuel present to the renewable future…Around 2015, though, just five years into gas’s rise to power, complications for this narrative began to appear. First, wind and solar costs fell so far, so fast that they are now undercutting the cost of new gas in a growing number of regions. And then batteries — which can “firm up” variable renewables, diminishing the need for natural gas’s flexibility — also started getting cheap faster than anyone expected. It happened so fast that, in certain limited circumstances, solar+storage or wind+storage is already cheaper than new natural gas plants and able to play all the same roles (and more)…

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The cost of natural gas power is tethered to the commodity price of natural gas, which is inherently volatile. The price of controllable, storable renewable energy is tethered only to technology costs, which are going down, down, down. Recent forecasts suggest that it may be cheaper to build new renewables+storage than to continue operating existing natural gas plants by 2035…That means natural gas plants built today could be rendered uncompetitive well before their rated lifespan. They could become ‘stranded assets,’ saddling utility ratepayers and investors with the costs of premature decommissioning...Meanwhile, gas’s environmental reputation has suffered from a series of reports…showing that gas’s lifecycle methane emissions are much higher than previously estimated and could virtually erase any climate advantage gas has over coal, rendering it a bridge to nowhere…” click here for more

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Can High Tech Beat Climate Change?

Big Tech Should Take the Lead on Climate Change—Here’s Why

Owen Gaffney, July 9, 2018 (Singularity Hub)

“…The climate conversation with tech entrepreneurs and leaders needs to change for three reasons…First, the technology sector gets it…Apple has committed to adopting a 100 percent circular economy… Alphabet claims it is now the world’s largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy. And Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg are investing a billion dollars in clean energy solutions…Second, the technology sector gets how to harness the power of exponentials better than any other economic sector…Third, and most significantly, the biggest influence the tech sector can have is not on its own emissions or even those of its suppliers—it is, after all, just 2-2.5 percent of global emissions…On a daily basis, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft influence the behavior of billions of people—the world’s middle classes and the world’s businesses…This conversation about consumer emissions has only just begun…

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As a simple rule of thumb, the world needs to halve emissions every decade globally until 2050…[This exponential decay curve can be called] the Carbon Law, after Moore’s Law. The first halving is relatively easy and [is being] done with existing technology…Now we need an exponential roadmap—combining technology, behavioral change and policy—to guide the world to reach a carbon positive global economy by 2050…What if the default settings for mobile phones promoted exercise, healthy eating, and sustainable transport? What if Facebook, Google, and others priced advertising for healthy and low-emitting products more favorably than other products? What if they displayed healthy and low-carbon products more prominently than others? What if apps that drive down emissions were favored over those that drive emissions up? The next decade is critical for the planet…” click here for more

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Solar V. Solar

Report: Solar Farms Vital To Bolstering Renewable Energy

Amy Sisk, July 9, 2018 (WESA Pittsburgh/National Public Radio)

“…[New Energy] advocates and environmental officials say bringing solar farms to Pennsylvania needs to happen if the state wants to significantly boost how much energy it gets from the sun…[A draft plan from the Department of Environmental Protection] identifies ways the state could get 10 percent of its electricity from solar energy by 2030. Under current law, the state requires that 0.5 percent of its electricity come from solar energy by 2021…[and most of it is distributed generation for individual] homes and businesses…[New Energy advocates say large solar farms that send the power they generate into the grid for Pennsylvania to significantly and cost-effectively] boost its solar generation…The report looks at two scenarios — one with 65 percent of the state’s solar power coming from solar farms, and the other with 90 percent. While solar farms are a big focus, it also examines what it will take to boost rooftop solar projects…[and] acknowledges the need to find land to install the solar farms…” click here for more

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Climate Change And The Effort Against It Go On

Climate Change Scorecard

Lulu Garcia-Navarro, July 8, 2018 (National Public Radio)

“Record heat all over the planet, fires, rising sea levels, flooding neighborhoods and cities - manmade climate change is being felt in all sorts of ways…[After the U.S.announced its intention to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, there were predictions that the other countries would follow, but it is] a pretty mixed picture…[India is making] rapid progress…[and] will be achieving their goals on renewable energy well ahead of schedule. China's emissions had been more or less stabilizing…[ Even the U.S.has had] reductions in emissions, despite the Trump rollbacks, thanks to stronger efforts by cities and states and many companies…[But] in each of those cases there are warning signs. India continues to build coal-burning plants. China's emissions spiked in the first quarter of this year…[And the U.S. is] not nearly on track to set the goal that the Obama administration set…No other countries have followed the U.S. in terms of withdrawing from the agreement - quite the opposite. Countries have rallied around the agreement…[It is] too early actually to measure the tangible effect…[The goals] are for 2025 and 2030…” click here for more

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Boomers Versus Millennials On Green

Hippies vs. Hipsters: Who’s winning at sustainability?

Susannah Enkeman, July 5, 2018 (Shelton Group)

“…Millennials were long celebrated for being so green. And then they started getting older …Boomers are sometimes congratulated for valuing efficiency, or credited for environmental conscientiousness attributed to guilt … [Millennials] are winning when it comes to sustainability attitudes. Hipsters (72%) are more likely than Hippies (60%) to agree/strongly agree that “Global warming, or climate change, is occurring, and it is primarily caused by human activity”…If you’re measuring by action, [Boomers] win…[They] are doing more energy conservation in their homes. Fewer Hippies (15%) than Hipsters (27%) say they have NOT purchased any energy-conserving home products, and 13% of Hipsters have NOT taken any water conservation steps at home, compared to only 7% of Hippies…Hippies are more likely to wear their green on their sleeves…[But there] is one sustainable-minded behavior that Hipsters are more likely to say they do than Hippies: purchasing…” click here for more

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Following The Money In The Climate Fight

Investor-led moves to tackle climate change grow

Jennifer Thompson, July 2, 2018 (Financial Times)

“Big investors are stepping up their efforts to hold the companies they invest in to greater account over how they address climate change…[Climate Action 100+ is now calling for investors in 161 of the biggest greenhouse gases emitting companies to use their leverage to get those companies] to cut greenhouse gas emissions and improve their disclosure and oversight of climate-related risks…Four new investors, including AllianceBernstein the $550bn fund manager and UniSuper, a $64bn Australian pension fund, have also joined the push taking the grouping to 289 members with almost $30tn in assets under management. Companies now being pushed to do more to tackle climate change include French car group Peugeot, Unilever, Coca Cola and airline Air France KLM…” click here for more

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Another Big Step For Big Energy Storage

Tesla strikes another mammoth energy storage deal in California; Lithium-ion battery projects are becoming economically viable.

Megan Geuss, July 2, 2018 (Ars Technica)

“…[Dominant] California utility Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) asked the state to approve four lithium-ion battery storage projects…[A 730MWh to 1.1 GWh project, built by Tesla, would be owned and operated by the utility. It] is expected to discharge 182.5MW for 4 hours (hence, the 730MWh number). But the contract could be bumped up to a discharge duration of 6 hours, which would result in just under 1.1 GWh of storage owned by PG&E…

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[Another project, to be developed by Vistra (which recently merged with Dynegy) and completed by 2020,] could become the world's first grid-scale, lithium-ion battery installation to store more than a gigawatt-hour of energy…[The 300MW battery installation] would be able to be discharged for four hours. At 1.2GWh, the battery would be among the largest in the world…The two other projects are smaller and include a 75MW / 300MWh battery installation from a company called Hummingbird Energy Storage LLC, as well as an aggregation project from Micronoc Inc, which will site 10MW / 40MWh of batteries at commercial locations…” click here for more

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Wyoming Coal Is No Longer In The Money

Study suggests coal power in Wyoming is too expensive

Heather Richards, July 2, 2018 (Gillette News Record)

“…[In the nation’s largest coal-producing state, coal power from coal plants owned by Wyoming’s largest utility isn’t] always the cheapest power source for customers, particularly compared to renewables. That finding [from the PacifiCorp Coal Valuation Study] runs counter to assumptions that proximity to coal mines always drives down the cost of coal power, compared with other options…Wyoming coal-fired power plant Jim Bridger in Sweetwater County provides some of the most expensive power in the utility’s 22-coal unit fleet…

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[Natural gas generation prices] have been cheap and are expected to remain low, while many of the country’s coal plants are aging…Add to that picture the falling cost of developing wind and the coal industry has faced an unprecedented shift in demand…Coal continues to be part of the electricity mix, particularly for PacifiCorp. The question is, should it remain so…[The analysis] does not provide a full picture, sidelining costs like transmission and the price tag of replacing a significant amount of power now available from coal with new wind or solar…It is clear, nevertheless, that the ongoing costs of operating PacifiCorp’s coal units to supply electricity to customers are increasing while the cost of renewable energy is falling…” click here for more

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Montana Is Wired For New Energy

Montana's Transmission System Ready For New Wind Energy, Report Says

Corin Cates-Carney, July 2, 2018 (Montana Public Radio)

Montana could play a significant role in meeting the demand for renewable energy in the Pacific Northwest…[because it has an electricity transmission system capable of carrying new wind energy westward], according to a new study from the Bonneville Power Administration and the state of Montana…[A] significant amount of Montana wind energy can be cost-effectively delivered today, and that there are additional actions that can take place to ensure more energy in the future…[T]he cost of delivering renewable energy from Montana to the west coast could compete with other renewable resources in the Northwest, but several uncertainties remain about how that power would be transmitted that could limit that potential…[Two units at the Colstrip coal-fired power plant] are scheduled to go offline no later than 2022…[E]lectricity generated by the Colstrip power plant can be entirely replaced, megawatt for megawatt, with renewable electricity with minimal cost or technical modifications…[because the transmission system used by Colstrip can] support one-for-one replacement of Colstrip generation with new resources…” click here for more

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