Mid-term Votes That Will Affect The Climate Fight

Five Midterm Votes That Could Have an Outsize Impact on Climate Change

Coral Davenport, October 29, 2018 (NY Times)

“This is the era of deregulation in the nation’s capital…[The White House] is rolling back Obama-era climate change regulations that would have cut planet-warming pollution from smokestacks and tailpipes…and has vowed to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate agreement, the 2015 accord under which nearly every nation pledged to limit greenhouse gas pollution…At the state level, though, advocates and lawmakers around the country are fighting back…In some states, questions of climate change policy are on the ballot. While advocates generally agree that national programs, rather than state and local efforts, will be required to tackle global warming, there are a handful of policies on five midterm ballots that could have an outsize impact on the nation’s greenhouse gas pollution, and the direction of national policy…Washington: A first-in-the-nation carbon tax…New Mexico: A little-known job with big power…Arizona and Nevada: Renewable energy requirements…Colorado: The future of fracking…” click here for more

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The Progress Of Community Renewables

National Shared Renewables Scorecard

October 25, 2018 (International Renewable Energy Council)

“There are 17 active shared renewables programs in place in 13 states plus Washington, D.C…Two received A grades (12%)—Minnesota and New York. These states have incorporated the majority of shared renewables best practices identified by IREC...Five received B grades (29%)—California (Virtual Net Metering), Colorado, Washington, D.C., Massachusetts (Community Shared Solar/Virtual Net Metering) and Maryland. Although these states have some room for improvement, their programs reflect many best practices and offer solid foundations for shared renewable energy development…Eight received C grades (47%)—Connecticut (Virtual Net Metering), Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts (Neighborhood Net Metering), Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. These programs lack many of the key components necessary for successful market development…

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Two received D grades (12%)—California (Enhanced Community Renewables component of the Green Tariff Shared Renewables program) and Connecticut (Shared Clean Energy Facility Pilot Program). These programs do not comport with many of the IREC-identified best practices which could impede program effectiveness and market development..Three more states have passed shared renewables legislation or are in the process of implementing rules for their programs—Illinois, Oregon and New Jersey. In addition, California recently adopted its Community Solar – Green Tariff program which is currently being implemented and therefore not evaluated yet…Key program components are bill credit valuation…project siting requirements…interconnection procedures…low- to moderate-income customer participation…subscription portability & transferability…third party ownership & management…data tracking & reporting…” click here for more

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Science Is The Climate Change Solution

Science can succeed on climate change where politics fails; And if someone makes money from finding a solution, who cares?

Nick Butler, October 28, 2018 (Financial Times)

“…Climate change is a global risk and so everyone should be involved in the response…Many countries are taking action to mitigate climate change, but these actions don’t add up to an answer. Potential global solutions such as a universal carbon tax remain off the agenda…The production of renewable energy has become cheaper…and energy is being used more efficiently. But the advances have been slow…[and] emissions continue to rise…We cannot afford to wait for an age of collective rationality…The best hope for limiting emissions comes from the application of science to the energy market…That means finding sources of energy that can be made available to all the world’s citizens, at a price they can afford…Such a plan needs money and the sources of funds should be as broad as possible…If someone makes money from finding the answer, who cares? …Politics may have failed, but rationality has not. If one approach does not work, the logic is to try another.” click here for more

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New Energy From The Grid To Heating And Vehicles

Clean Power Is Growing Fast. Now We Need Clean Heat And Clean Transport

Mike Scott, October 19, 2018 (Forbes)

“…By 2023, renewables will account for almost a third of total world electricity generation…[but] progress will be far slower in renewable transport and heat because of weaker policy support and other barriers to deployment…Solar and wind will continue to dominate the clean power sector, but…[bioenergy growth is expected to be the New Energy that fuels heating and transport]…In 2017, 178GW of renewable energy electricity capacity was added, more than two thirds of global power growth, led by 97GW of solar power, more than half of it in China. Solar’s success offset slower growth in offshore wind and hydropower…

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Solar capacity is set to expand in the next half a decade by almost 600 GW…led by a massive expansion in distributed generation, which will spur almost half of global PV capacity growth over 2018-23. Homes, businesses and large industrial applications are expected to generate almost 2% of global electricity output by 2023…[but there] is untapped potential to make use of bioenergy in the cement, sugar and ethanol industries, where wastes and residues offer low lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and mitigate concerns over land-use change. In addition, using these resources can improve waste management and air quality…[Only a tenth of total heat demand comes from New Energy but] renewable head demand is set to grow by 20% in the next five years.” click here for more

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Why Eating Meat Defeats Beating Climate Change

Our meat addiction is going to kill our chances of beating climate change; The case for shifting to a plant-based diet, immediately.

Eillie Anzillotti, October 18, 2018 (Fast Company)

“…New research from the World Resources Institute finds that, taking into account trends in population growth and meat consumption, agriculture alone could…[make it impossible to limit] global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius…[WRI mapped trends in population growth and animal-based food consumption from 1961 and extrapolated them out to 2050, and found people in 2050 will probably eat 70% more meat and dairy, and 80% more beef…[Beef creates] around 30 times the amount of emissions required to produce the same caloric quantity of beans. And that’s not even considering land-use implications…

…[Producing beef requires both land to grow feed, and land upon which cows can graze or pasture…[That makes it] radically less efficient than just using that land to grow produce [like beans] that humans can consume…[P]lant-based alternatives are gaining momentum…[and WRI and others have] launched a new initiative to get restaurants, companies, and hospitals to up their share of plant-based food offerings with a goal of reducing food emissions by 25% by 2030… Researchers have found that if everyone in the U.S. immediately swapped out beef for beans, we could hit 50% to 75% of our greenhouse-gas-reductions targets for the year 2020…” click here for more

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California Opens Up To Ocean Wind

Something New May Be Rising Off California Coast: Wind Farms

Ivan Penn and Stanley Reed, October 19, 2018 (NY Times)

“…[The U.S. Interior Department has taken] the first steps to enable companies to lease waters in Central and Northern California for wind projects. If all goes as the state’s regulators and utilities expect, floating windmills could begin producing power within six years…[Several wind developers] are expected to enter the bidding, equipped with new [floating] technology that has already been tested in Europe…California’s determination to fully rely on carbon-free electricity by 2045, mandated in a bill signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in September, is forcing the state to look beyond solar power and land-based wind farms to meet the goal…[There are potential rewards from offshore wind development but] the potential impact on birds, fisheries and marine mammals will be closely scrutinized…

…California is a particularly opportune spot for such a project, given the length of its coast and the size of its population. And the coast offers an added advantage: winds over the ocean tend to pick up strength as the sun sets, just when the contribution of solar power is done for the day…[The Interior Department identified a parcel off Humboldt County in Northern California, and two sites in the Morro Bay area on the central coast for leases, 15 to 30 miles off the coast where they will be less visible from land and less of a hazard to seals and migratory birds.]…Offshore wind projects in California will largely benefit from existing power lines to keep costs down. Several power plants along the coast have closed or will be retired because of pollution and other environmental concerns…” click here for more

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Things To Do About Climate Change

What the new report on climate change expects from you

Eliza Mackintosh, October 8, 2018 (CNN)

A stark new report from the global scientific authority on climate change calls on individuals, as well as governments, to take action to avoid disastrous levels of global warming...[The report calls for] "rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society…" …[C]onsumers can shift to more sustainable choices like car sharing and hybrid and electric cars…[and] using more efficient modes of travel…[In their homes, people can use] smart thermostats or more efficient air conditioners…[The report] suggests that people consume about 30% less animal products…[because livestock] account for 14.5% of greenhouse gas emissions globally, more than direct emissions from the transport sector…[The report shows consumer actions] allow emissions to be cut much faster…” click here for more

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New Energy Can Be A Political Winner

It’s the economics: Red states embracing wind energy don’t do it for the climate

Sarah Mills, October 22, 2018 (The Converstion)

“…The federal government has never played a leading role in restricting the carbon footprint of the nation’s power plants. But now that the Trump administration is trying to dismantle many energy regulations, that national role is even smaller…Many states have been trying to fill this vacuum…and encourage the deployment of renewable energy like wind and solar power…[P]olicies have mainly taken hold along the East and West Coasts, where Democrats command a majority of the vote and concern about global warming is highest...[But] renewable energy is on the rise in not just Democratic strongholds and the “purple” states where leadership is bipartisan. It’s booming in some of the nation’s most conservative bastions…Many communities in these states < see renewable energy as an economic opportunity…

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Landowners earn money when they host wind turbines or solar panels…[It is] a drought-proof and pest-proof income stream…And solar and wind developers also often pay property taxes that fund government services, such as local public schools…[which is] a much-needed boost in areas that are struggling financially or losing population…94 percent of Democrats say they support [state-level mandates for New Energy] compared to 69 percent of Republicans – a 25-point gap in support…[But the] gap in support for increasing the use of wind or solar is much smaller: just 6 percentage points for solar energy and 10 percentage points for wind…[Those numbers show] that conservatives like wind and solar power. They just don’t want the government to tell them that they must use renewable energy…” click here for more

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Making Climate Change A Political Issue

How Some Environmentalists Hope to Make Climate Change an Issue in the Midterms

Justin Worland, October 15, 2018 (Time Magazine)

“Environmentalists hoping to move voters on the issue of climate change have adopted a familiar-sounding strategy: Think globally, act locally…It’s something of a paradox in American politics. Polls show that more than 60% of Americans believe that climate change is happening, it’s caused by human activities and its effects can already be felt, and those numbers hit a three-decade high in 2017, but almost none say that it’s the most important problemfacing the country…[Scientists broadly agree that humans are the prime driver…[but many Republican lawmakers argue the role of human activity] is being hotly debated…[Democrats argue this is an] unscientific view of climate change…” click here for more

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Wires Needed For New Energy

Corporate America must participate in transmission planning process to meet clean energy goals says new report

Robin Whitlock, 10 October 2018 (Renewable Energy Magazine)

“…Companies setting ambitious renewable energy targets must help make sure clean energy can get from where it’s generated to /where it’s needed [according to Corporate Renewable Procurement and Transmission Planning: Communicating Demand to RTOs May Yield More Low-Cost Options from the Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance and the Wind Solar Alliance. It calls] for large renewable energy customers to participate in the planning process and shape the grid’s future…US transmission planning processes are not accounting for big companies’ large and growing demand for clean, renewable power, which could result in a lack of new infrastructure to supply that demand. The report offers specific solutions and steps that corporate purchasers of energy can take, as well as new data on corporations’ renewable energy procurement to date…” click here for more

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Trump Accuses Climate Scientists Of ‘Political Agenda’

President Trump Says Climate Change Isn't a Hoax, but Thinks It Might 'Change Back Again'

October 14, 2018 (Associated Press via Time Magazine)

’ “…[The president] is backing off his claim that climate change is a hoax but says he doesn’t know if it’s manmade and suggests that the climate will ‘change back again.’ In an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” that aired Sunday night, Trump said he doesn’t want to put the U.S. at a disadvantage in responding to climate change…[He said] “Something’s changing and it’ll change back again”… [and added] “I don’t know that it’s manmade” [and] I don’t want to give trillions and trillions of dollars. I don’t want to lose millions and millions of jobs” …[T] emperature records kept by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration show that the world hasn’t had a cooler-than-average year since 1976 or a cooler-than-normal month since the end of 1985…

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…[Asked about climate scientists’ findings, the president said] “You’d have to show me the scientists because they have a very big political agenda.” [The] Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued a warning [last week] that global warming would increase climate-related risks to health, livelihoods, food security, water supply, human security and economic growth…[and said that] Earth’s weather, health and ecosystems would be in better shape if the world’s leaders could somehow limit future human-caused warming…” click here for more

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Gen-Xers, Millennials Like Solar And Savings In Green

Vivint Solar 2018 Environmental Consumer Report Reveals You're Likely More Green Than You Think

October 11, 2018 (Solar Industry Magazine)

“…[F]ewer millennials consider themselves ‘green consumers’ than older generations…[T]wo-thirds of baby boomers consider themselves environmentally conscious, compared to 58 percent of millennials and 57 percent of Gen Xers…[but together they create a] smaller-than-expected gap between green consumers and conventional consumers [according to a Vivint Solar-funded poll of 3,000 consumers]…Millennials are the least likely generation to go green for the environment...71 percent of green millennials cite the environment as a factor in going green, compared to 82 percent of green Gen Xers and 93 percent of green baby boomers…Millennials are the most likely generation to go green for the financial savings (47 percent)…Millennials are also the most likely age group to be introduced to an eco-friendly way of life by their parents...Millennials and Gen Xers show the strongest interested in purchasing solar over the next five years…” click here for more

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Climate Change And The Emperor’s New Clothes

Why We Keep Ignoring Even the Most Dire Climate Change Warnings

Jeffrey Kluger, October 8, 2018 (Time Magazine)

“…Humans have always been an exceedingly risk-averse species—which is how we came to survive…[So when it comes to the loss of the entire planet, well, we ought to take action. And yet we don’t…[In the wake of an announcement by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that a] distant future of an Earth best by floods, droughts, wildfires and typhoons isn’t distant anymore, but as little as 12 years away…the public reaction—again, as always—has been meh…[because] climate change checks almost every one of our ignore-the-problem boxes…[It lacks the absolutely critical component—the “me” component…

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Immediate concerns will always trump eventual concerns—which is one more trick of species survival…We establish that kind of distance from risk not just temporally but geographically and culturally…Finally, there’s a sense of futility…[Climate change is] arguably the biggest of all problems—and that makes individual action seem awfully pointless…Of course, every great human enterprise has called on people not to do things they want to do or to do things they don’t—paying taxes, volunteering for military service…[I]t has helped ensure the success of the larger human project and the survival of the next generations…[If we don’t act on climate change,] we’re going to owe those generations an explanation—and an apology.” click here for more

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The Way To More New Energy

Commitments to renewable energy are a great start — what comes next?

Priya Barua, Celina Bonugli and Emily Kaldjian, October 2, 2018 (GreenBiz)

“In the past five years, private energy buyers have made significant commitments to reaching 100 percent renewable energy and have voluntarily brought about 14.2 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy into the electricity market…To maximize these renewable energy commitments and ensure that they are contributing to decarbonizing the electricity grid, we are entering a new era of collaboration, in which utilities will need to play an important role…[by using a portfolio of New Energy technologies like electric vehicles, large batteries and demand response strategies in] achieving net GHG emission reductions, while maintaining reliability, grid efficiency and affordability…

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…[Utilities can advance solutions by collaborating] with customers to identify opportunities to retire existing power plants faster…[i]ntegrating customer energy efficiency and renewable energy goals into their long-term plans and strategies…[and designing solutions that take a portfolio approach to recognize and monetize various grid resources…Utilities and customers must continue collaborating to expand the scope of utility solutions and achieve the reduced carbon emissions from our electricity market…[They] must clearly communicate their respective sustainability and clean energy goals with…the intention of collaborating and connecting often…[and stakeholding communities] should prioritize metrics that support this broader definition of leadership…” click here for more

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Climate Report 1 - New Energy “would have to increase to as much as 67 percent…”

Major Climate Report Describes a Strong Risk of Crisis as Early as 2040

Coral Davenport, October 7, 2018 (NY Times)

“A landmark report from the United Nations’ scientific panel on climate change paints a far more dire picture of the immediate consequences of climate change than previously thought and says that avoiding the damage requires transforming the world economy at a speed and scale that has ‘no documented historic precedent’…[It] describes a world of worsening food shortages and wildfires, and a mass die-off of coral reefs as soon as 2040 — a period well within the lifetime of much of the global population…The authors found that if greenhouse gas emissions continue at the current rate, the atmosphere will warm up by as much as 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 degrees Celsius) above preindustrial levels by 2040, inundating coastlines and intensifying droughts and poverty. Previous work had focused on estimating the damage if average temperatures were to rise by a larger number, 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius), because that was the threshold scientists previously considered for the most severe effects of climate change…The new report, however, shows that many of those effects will come much sooner, at the 2.7-degree mark…Avoiding the most serious damage requires transforming the world economy within just a few years…[If not avoided, the] damage would come at a cost of $54 trillion…

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...[It remains] technically possible to achieve the rapid changes required to avoid 2.7 degrees of warming…[but heavy taxes or prices on carbon dioxide emissions] would be required…[That] would be almost politically impossible in the United States, the world’s largest economy and second-largest greenhouse gas emitter behind China. Lawmakers around the world, including in China, the European Union and California, have enacted carbon pricing programs…President Trump, who has mocked the science of human-caused climate change, has vowed to increase the burning of coal…Absent aggressive action, many effects once expected only several decades in the future will arrive by 2040…[To prevent 2.7 degrees of warming,] greenhouse pollution must be reduced by 45 percent from 2010 levels by 2030, and 100 percent by 2050…[and] use of coal as an electricity source would have to drop from nearly 40 percent today to between 1 and 7 percent. Renewable energy such as wind and solar, which make up about 20 percent of the electricity mix today, would have to increase to as much as 67 percent…” click here for more

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Climate Report 2 - “The transformation described in the document is breathtaking…”

The world has just over a decade to get climate change under control, U.N. scientists say; “There is no documented historic precedent" for the scale of changes required, the body found.

Chris Mooney and Brady Dennis, October 7, 2018 (Washington Post)

“The world stands on the brink of failure when it comes to holding global warming to moderate levels, and nations will need to take ‘unprecedented’ actions to cut their carbon emissions over the next decade, according to a landmark report by the top scientific body studying climate change…With global emissions showing few signs of slowing and the United States — the world’s second-largest emitter of carbon dioxide — rolling back a suite of Obama-era climate measures, the prospects for meeting the most ambitious goals of the 2015 Paris agreement look increasingly slim. To avoid racing past warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) over preindustrial levels would require a ‘rapid and far-reaching’ transformation of human civilization at a magnitude that has never happened before, the group found.

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‘There is no documented historic precedent’ for the sweeping change to energy, transportation and other systems required to reach 1.5 degrees Celsius…[but] the report is being received with hope in some quarters because it affirms that 1.5 degrees Celsius is still possible — if emissions stopped today, for instance, the planet would not reach that temperature. It is also likely to galvanize even stronger climate action by focusing on 1.5 degrees Celsius, rather than 2 degrees, as a target that the world cannot afford to miss…The transformation described in the document is breathtaking, and the speed of change required raises inevitable questions about its feasibility…The upshot is that humans are allowed either 10 or 14 years of current emissions, and no more, for a two-thirds or better chance of avoiding 1.5 degrees Celsius…[T]he world’s percentage of electricity from renewables such as solar and wind power would have to jump from the current 24 percent to something more like 50 or 60 percent…” click here for more

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Hoax? Gov Report Says Global Temps To Spike 7 Degrees

Trump administration sees a 7-degree rise in global temperatures by 2100

Juliet Eilperin, Brady Dennis, and Chris Mooney, September 28, 2018 (Washington Post)

“…A rise of seven degrees Fahrenheit, or about four degrees Celsius, compared with preindustrial levels would be catastrophic, according to scientists. Many coral reefs would dissolve in increasingly acidic oceans. Parts of Manhattan and Miami would be underwater without costly coastal defenses. Extreme heat waves would routinely smother large parts of the globe…[But the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s draft Environmental Impact Report says that] fate is already sealed…[It] was written to justify President Trump’s decision to freeze federal fuel-efficiency standards for cars and light trucks built after 2020…[The impact statement says] that policy would add just a very small drop to a very big, hot bucket…

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The document projects that global temperature will rise by nearly 3.5 degrees Celsius above the average temperature between 1986 and 2005 regardless of whether Obama-era tailpipe standards take effect or are frozen for six years, as the Trump administration has proposed. The global average temperature rose more than 0.5 degrees Celsius between 1880, the start of industrialization, and 1986, so the analysis assumes a roughly four degree Celsius or seven degree Fahrenheit increase from preindustrial levels…If enacted, the administration’s proposals would give new life to aging coal plants; allow oil and gas operations to release more methane into the atmosphere; and prevent new curbs on greenhouse gases used in refrigerators and air-conditioning units. The vehicle rule alone would put 8 billion additional tons of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere this century, more than a year’s worth of total U.S. emissions, according to the government’s own analysis…” click here for more

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Tech $$$ Still Driving New Energy

Tech Investments Are Powering Up Clean Energy; Spending on renewables is good for sustainability goals while being good PR. It’s also great for business.

Nathaniel Bullard, September 29, 2018 (Bloomberg News)

“…Three years ago, Alphabet Inc., Apple Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Facebook Inc. spent $40 billion on big-ticket physical assets; last year, they invested $80 billion, putting them in the ranks of automakers, oil and gas companies, and telecoms in terms of capital expenditure outlays…Since 2010, they’ve signed agreements to buy nearly 18,000 megawatts from [New Energy] generators of clean power…[and] are the biggest buyers; governments and universities are a distant second…[The main reason] is that long-term contracts with [New Energy generators] have no variable costs…They give companies visibility on their power prices for several decades and, at least historically, have offered cheaper prices than what the grid provides…Since 2010, it’s been mostly wind power, but we can see the approach to parity (or better) for solar in the past year...

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…[T]ech companies’ demand has induced more than $15 billion in wind and solar investment just in the U.S. Announced wind and solar capex this year is more than $2 billion, with months yet to go, and with wind and solar capital costs half what they were in 2014…[That] wouldn’t have happened without tech companies…[E]very wind or solar project built to meet the needs of a tech company helps drive down the costs of wind and solar power through greater deployment…[It] makes an impact on the entire energy system…[and tech investments in vehicle electrification is also beginning to impact] the transportation sector…” click here for more

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What #MeToo Means For Climate Change

Why the #MeToo movement gives me hope we can fix climate change; These days new social norms can be swift and profound. It could be our saving grace

Andrew Simms, 1 October 2018 (UK Guardian)

“…The latest science tells us that nothing short of rapid, transformative change in our infrastructure and behaviour can prevent the loss of the climate we depend on – yet the message is only now being officially endorsed at the highest scientific level, because the implications are terrifying for today’s political and economic gatekeepers. It means real change, which incumbents always fear…[But work from the Rapid Transition Alliance shows] we might be entering a phase in which more rapid behavioural changes are possible…[I]n the early 1970s, more than half of men and over 40% of women smoked… Today in the UK fewer than one in five adults still smoke… Car use in the UK was 20 times higher in 2016 compared with 1949, but the risk of being injured or killed fell almost every year from 1949, from 165 deaths for every billion miles driven, to only 5.4 such deaths in 2015…

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Other examples of successful behaviour change can be found in responses to the HIV/Aids crisis, the dangers of an unhealthy diet and antibiotic resistance…[T]here are signs that something else is happening that might bring even faster shifts in attitude and behaviour closer to what is needed to meet vital climate targets. A mixture of new social movements and social media now seem capable of transforming gradual background shifts into defining moments of change… From the shift around single-use plastics, to the #MeToo movement and the rise of the vegan diet, things are moving fast…Things change. It’s the one thing that is reliable. The climate is changing faster than the attitudes and behaviour of the people most responsible for causing its disruption – but we now know enough to speed things up if we choose to…” click here for more

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