Panic Before It’s Too Late

It is absolutely time to panic about climate change; Author David Wallace-Wells on the dystopian hellscape that awaits us.

Sean Illing, February 24, 2019 (VOX)

Editor’s note: Consider this post a tease for a long and informative read. Click through.

“…[We could potentially avoid 150 million excess premature deaths by the end of century from air pollution (the equivalent of 25 Holocausts or twice the number of deaths from World War II) if we could limit average global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius or hold warming at 2 degrees without relying on negative emissions…[and] we’ve done more damage to the environment since the United Nations established its climate change framework in 1992 than we did in all the millennia that preceded it…[according to David Wallace-Wells’s just-released The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming…

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…[The author told VOX that if] we continue on the track we’re on now,] we could be seeing roughly 64 times as much land burned every year as we saw in 2018, a year that felt completely unprecedented and inflicted unimaginable damage in California…And we see trajectories like this in basically every area of potential climate impact — from impact on agricultural yields, to public health issues, to the relationship between climate change and economic growth, climate change and conflict…And if we don’t change course rapidly, they’re going to get catastrophically worse…[There are experts who believe we’ll get to 2 degrees of warming] as soon as 2030…[but] 2050 is probably a safer assumption…[We’re all beginning to relearn the fact that we live within nature…None of us, no matter where we live, will be able to escape the consequences of this…” click here for more

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Distributed Energy Resources (DER) Right Now

Decentralized Renewable Energy Systems: A Status-Quo Analysis

February 22, 2019 (Advanced Science News)

“The increasing share of decentralized intermittent renewable energy generation reinforces the necessity of balancing local production and energy consumption. Decentralized renewable energy systems are promising options to cope with this challenge. They are systems of interconnected buildings, which i) are powered by renewable energy sources (e.g., solar, wind), ii) combine multiple energy carriers (e.g., electricity, heat, hydrogen), and iii) integrate both storage (e.g., batteries, thermal tanks) and conversion (e.g., heat pump, electrolyzer) technologies. At the system level, they can range from single buildings, such as multi-family homes, to groups of buildings within neighborhoods, communities or city quarters.

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Despite high up-front investment costs, these systems can provide numerous benefits: by increasing self-consumption of renewable electricity produced on-site, they can substantially reduce overall energy costs. They demonstrate large synergy potential and high operational flexibility, thereby improving input resource utilization, alleviating stress from the local grid, reducing transmission and distribution losses, and creating a more reliable energy supply…The trend toward decentralized energy systems is likely to be enforced in the future due to widespread reductions in technology costs, further technological learning, and the coupling of [the energy, mobility and industry sectors]…” click here for more

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Climate Change And Human Personality

We Are The People of the Apocalypse; Clinical psychologist John F. Schumaker reveals the dangerous erosion of human personality at the heart of modern consumer culture.

John F. Schumaker, December 14, 2018 (Films For Action)

“…While the ever-deepening mental-health crisis is common knowledge, less understood is the even more serious ‘personality crisis’ that has rendered the consuming public largely unfit for democracy and nigh useless in the face of the multiple emergencies that beg for responsible and conscientious citizenship…50 years ago, [psychologist Erich Fromm used the term] ‘marketing personality’ to describe the one-dimensional, commodified and de-sensitized ‘eternal suckling’ that was…succumbing to a culturally manufactured ‘consensus of stupidity’ that could prove our ultimate undoing. Since then, the ‘social character’ has become so stunted, and the decline of true citizenship so complete, that some now speak of the ‘apocalyptic personality’ propelling our rush toward self-destruction…

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…[T]he climate crisis cries loudest for responsible citizenship and leadership. It is by far the greatest moral, ethical and psycho-social challenge encountered by our species. But the cultural conditions that foster collective responsibility, other-mindedness and conscience development have eroded…[C]limate concern is on a downward slope, with recent years showing the most precipitous decline…[Research shows] consumer culture has endowed its ‘unfinished personalities’ with minimal aptitude or motivation for constructive disobedience…[Today’s youths] are the most conventional and conformist generation in history – with most being huddled around the same dead zone of market-driven values, commercialized meanings, and digital distractions…Who we are has never been more incompatible with who we need to be. What we have become is the greatest threat to ourselves and the planet…” click here for more

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Conservative Voters Want Climate Change Solutions

Survey Release: Midterm Voters Want Action On Clean Energy Policy

Charles Hernick, December 6, 2018 (Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions Forum)

“…[There is] strong support among Republicans and Democrats alike for government action to accelerate development and use of clean energy in the United States…[And] a supermajority of voters (81%) across party affiliations and all four regions of the country say they would vote for elected officials who support clean energy development such as wind and solar…[According to a national post-election survey from a conservative group, clean] energy was important to voters in 2018 and will be a key issue in future elections…Most voters want the United States to put more emphasis on producing domestic energy from wind, solar, and hydropower…

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Among voters, 74% say the U.S. should put more emphasis on solar power, 64% say the U.S. should put more emphasis on wind power, and 54% say the U.S. should put more emphasis on hydropower…[Only] 42% say the U.S. should put more emphasis on natural gas, 27% say the U.S. should put more emphasis on nuclear power, and 16% say the U.S. should put more emphasis on coal…Voters favor government action to accelerate the development and use of clean energy in the U.S. but prefer to drive development through free-market policies…Support is strong among Republicans (67%), Independents (76%), and Democrats (95%). Suburban women (85%) are notably outpacing the topline support for government action…When given a choice, nearly two-thirds of voters (63%) would prefer increasing clean energy development through competition and free-market policies, while 31% favor government mandates and quotas…” click here for more

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So Many Ways To Be Wrong About Climate Change

11 Things Climate Change 'Dismissive' People Say On Social Media

Marshall Shepherd, February 16, 2019 (Forbes)

“It is clear that climate is changing, and there is a human component on top of the naturally varying system…[but there is always a certain percentage of people who are "Dismissive" and very sure climate change] is not happening…[Currently, they are] roughly nine percent…[but they use 11 "Dismissive" tactics on social media to impose a presence that is] often very loud, persistent, aggressive and vitriolic…[These include incorrect arguments about a disproven 1975 article about Ice Ages] and natural cycles…

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…[They reference an uninformed] "Grand Poobah"…or cast doubt on the motives of legitimate] scientists and grant money…[or question their] Credentialing…[or raise irrelevant] questions of deflection…[or say cold winters disprove] global warming…[though it is more accurate name use the term] climate change…[They often work anonymously, with] few followers…[or discredit the significance of suddenly recurring 500-year storms by claiming] Storms always happened…” click here for more

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The Fight For Transportation Electrification In 2018

The 50 States of Electric Vehicles: 47 States and DC Took Action on Electric Vehicles During 2018

February 14, 2019 (North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center)

“…[The 2018 annual review and Q4 2018 update of The 50 States of Electric Vehicles] finds that 47 states and the District of Columbia took actions related to electric vehicles and charging infrastructure during 2018…with the greatest number of actions relating to DC fast charging station deployment, followed by Level 2 charging station deployment, rebate programs, and rate design for Level 2 charging…[The top electric vehicle trends of 2018 included..States clarifying Commission jurisdiction over electric vehicle charging stations...Utilities proposing demand charge reductions or alternatives for fast chargers…Governors establishing statewide zero-emission vehicle goals…

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States addressing the future of transportation infrastructure funding…Utilities collecting data on electric vehicle charging patterns…Utilities focusing on different methods to promote off-peak charging…Utilities and stakeholders finding agreement on electric vehicle programs…State agencies publishing spending plans for Volkswagen settlement funds...States and utilities investing in electric buses and charging infrastructure…and Utilities piloting vehicle-to-grid capabilities…A total of 424 electric vehicle actions were taken during 2018, representing an 87% increase over 2017…” click here for more

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The Imaginative Climate Change Solution

How sci-fi could help solve climate change

Zoe Sayler, February 18, 2019 (Grist)

“…Is there science fiction out there right now, sitting on some library bookshelf, that could pave a yellow brick road to a better future? And, if there isn’t, shouldn’t there be?...[W]hile dystopian fiction can be a jarring wake-up call…scholars and writers are increasingly calling for stories that help us rise above our most intimidating challenges…[We have H.G. Wells to thank for the rocket. Star Trek inspired the first mobile phone. Climate fiction could] dramatize our hopes and offer us different visions of the future…[In “Better Worlds,” The Verge’s recent series of optimistic science fiction short stories and videos, several stories] explore themes of climate and social justice…

...[Arizona State University’s] Center for Science and the Imagination has published anthologies spotlighting climate literature, optimistic sci-fi, or both, and is set to release a new anthology this spring called The Weight of Light, which pairs visions of a solar future with scientific essays that describe and analyze the premise behind the prose…[We need more big, risky, earth-shattering ideas from science fiction writers. Sci-fi author Neal Stephenson blames a dearth of forward-looking science fiction for what he calls “innovation starvation”… But does optimistic climate fiction sell?...Journalist Dan Bloom, who coined the term cli-fi in 2008…[Others think] sci-fi video games could have a positive impact…[Thunderbird Strike, a game by Elizabeth LaPensée about the harms of oil drilling,] makes an overwhelming problem feel like a game that anyone can win.” click here for more

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Tech Giants Must Buy More New Energy – Greenpeace

Is Amazon breaking 100% renewables commitment? Greenpeace report says yes

Michelle Froese, February 13, 2019 (Windpower Engineering and Development)

“…Amazon Web Services, already one of the largest electricity customers in the [Virginia], appears to have abandoned its commitment to renewable energy, with evidence of a dramatic expansion in Virginia over the past two years without any additional supply of renewable energy [according to Clicking Clean Virginia – The Dirty Energy Powering Data Center Alley…[Unless Amazon and other cloud computing giants stop further fueling climate change with new demand for dirty energy, the] growing use of the internet could lead to more pipelines, more pollution and more problems…[About 70% of the world’s internet traffic passes through Northern Virginia’s ‘data center alley,’ the largest data center hub in the world]…

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Of the data center operators included in the analysis, Facebook has achieved 37% renewables in Virginia, Microsoft 34%, while Google and Digital Realty are at 4% renewables. Apple and Salesforce do not own data centers in Virginia, but have offset 100 and 44% of their colocation leases with renewables, respectively. Amazon’s data centers in Virginia are powered by only 12% renewable energy…[Total power demand of existing data centers and those under development in Virginia is] approaching 4.5 GW…[Amazon Web Services has] 1.7 GW of power demand across 55 Virginia data centers operating or under construction, representing an increase of nearly 60% in the past two years alone… Facebook, Microsoft, and Google all operate or are building their own data centers in the Commonwealth and have not matched this demand with local renewables…” click here for more

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The Green New Deal Debate Heats Up

Ocasio-Cortez Team Flubs a Green New Deal Summary, and Republicans Pounce

Coral Davenport, February 11. 2019 (NY Times)

“Days after introducing her Green New Deal — a plan to combat climate change that has won the endorsement of several Democratic presidential candidates — Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez found the proposal enmeshed in confusion when her staff published a summary that included provisions not endorsed by the candidates…[Her staff backed away from it but] Republicans pounced on the plan…The plan, written by Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, a freshman Democrat from New York, and Senator Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts, was modeled on Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal and embraced by several presidential candidates, including Senators Kamala Harris, Democrat of California; Kirsten Gillibrand, Democrat of New York; and Cory Booker, Democrat of New Jersey…

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…[The non-binding goal-setting resolution, also endorsed by Senator Bernie Sanders, calls for elimination of new greenhouse gas emissions by 2030] was also signed by more than 60 House and Senate Democrats…Ms. Ocasio-Cortez has promoted the plan as a blueprint for the eventual Democratic presidential nominee…[But Republicans have turned the mistake] into a campaign moment, saying it reveals extreme] priorities…” click here for more

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Two New Energy Bets To Consider

2 Renewable Energy Stocks to Buy in February; Two well-managed renewable energy businesses are not getting much love from Wall Street right now, but the high-yield stocks are great long-term buys.

Maxx Chatsko, February 11, 2019 (Motley Fool)

“…[The U.S. got at least 15% of its electricity from New Energy in 2018 and many expect the trend to] become undeniable in the next decade…[Wind will overtake hydropower as the top New Energy in 2019 and some forecasts put solar soon in the U.S. lead because] battery prices are falling at such a precipitous rate…[By 2030, wind and solar are projected to be] as much as 30% of its electricity…[G]rowth-minded investors may want to begin searching for profitable businesses…NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP) and Brookfield Renewable Partners (NYSE:BEP) are good places to start…

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NextEra Energy Partners is the renewable energy yieldco of NextEra Energy, the world's largest publicly traded utility ranked by market cap…[It] has strategic access to the country's largest renewable energy project backlog, which will hit 40,000 megawatts by 2020…Units of Brookfield Renewable Partners had a rough 2018, but the business turned in another solid year of operations…The renewable energy yieldco generates most of its funds from operations (FFO) from hydropower assets in North America and Brazil…[and it acquired] new wind, solar, and energy storage assets across its portfolio…[Long-term investors] looking to inject growth, income, and a little renewable energy into their portfolios should find NextEra Energy Partners and Brookfield Renewable Partners attractive investments…” click here for more

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Complications In Democrats’ Climate Fight

As Climate Change Returns to Capitol Hill, Disagreements Remain Among Democrats

Carolyn Kormann, February 9, 2019 (The New Yorker)

“…[The first House Committee on Energy and Commerce hearing on climate change since 2013 and the first by the House Committee on Natural Resources since 2009 were held last week, signaling] some degree of new momentum…[but the] Democratic leadership seemed willing to go only so far in advancing climate talks on Capitol Hill…[The new Select Committee on the Climate Crisis] will have no legislative or subpoena power…The chairwoman will be Kathy Castor, of Florida, who has a mostly unknown record, outside her district, for environmental and emissions-reduction policy…[Only one of the committee’s members were among the 41 of the House’s 435 members to not take money from fossil fuel interests and, during the 2018 election cycle, the other committee members] or their political-action committees received $238,000 from the oil, gas, and electric-utilities industries…[Some] have investments in fossil-fuel assets…

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[Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] declined to serve on the committee, but] introduced a much-hyped resolution for a Green New Deal… [Conservatives] have blasted the proposal as an impossible fantasy…The point of the declaration is to put increasing pressure on the Democratic Party, especially Presidential candidates, to treat climate change with the urgency it demands… [According to just released NASA and NOAA analyses of 2018 trends, 2018 was the fourth-warmest year on record since 1880, following 2016, 2017, and 2015, but House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi said that the select climate committee was not specifically tasked with pursuing the Green New Deal…Without a unified front, the Democrats risk wasting valuable time that should be devoted to enacting federal policies to reduce emissions by as much as three per cent a year over the next several years—the necessary amount if the U.S. is to meet its climate targets under the Paris Agreement…” click here for more

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The Fight To Remake The Grid

The 50 States of Grid Modernization: Grid Modernization Action Increases by 60% in 2018

February 7, 2019 (The N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center)

“…[The 2018 annual review and Q4 2018 update edition of The 50 States of Grid Modernization found] that 44 states and the District of Columbia took actions related to grid modernization during 2018…with the greatest number of actions relating to energy storage deployment, advanced metering infrastructure rules, utility business model reforms, smart grid deployment, and distribution system planning…[Among] top grid modernization trends of 2018…[were] States and utilities undertaking distribution system planning efforts…States studying the value of energy storage and policy options to expand deployment…Regulators rejecting and scaling back utility grid modernization investments…

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Growing movement toward performance-based regulation…Utilities requesting special ratemaking treatment for grid investments…States concluding grid modernization investigations and identifying next steps…Regulators establishing clear standards for energy storage interconnection…States considering rules for access to customer energy usage data…Utilities proposing advanced metering infrastructure opt-out tariffs and fees; and…Wholesale market operators expanding opportunities for energy storage participation…A total of 460 grid modernization actions were taken during 2018, representing a 60% increase in activity over 2017 (288 actions)… A total of 280 actions were tracked in Q4.” click here for more

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The Faces Of Climate Change

‘The Human Element’ makes the impacts of climate change feel real; A photographer documents how global warming is already affecting people’s lives

Carolyn Gramling, February 4, 2019 (Science News)

“…Should discussions of climate change appeal directly to people’s emotions, whether fear or anger or even hope? Or are data-driven discussions the way to go? …The Human Element, a documentary starring photographer James Balog, aims directly for the gut by putting a human face on the impacts. The movie, now streaming online, shows how human-caused climate change is intersecting with people’s lives…[It] is framed through the four ancient elements: earth, air, fire and water…People, Balog suggests, are a fifth element — a force of nature, too. People are driving climate change, and their lives are being altered by it…

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…[It captures] the desolation of a family standing in knee-deep water inside their home in [Hurricane] Irma’s aftermath…The air segment focuses on how humans are altering [and polluting] the atmosphere…In the fire segment, Balog photographs firefighters as they wearily but valiantly tackle [a California fire] …Finally, the earth segment brings Balog to the coal-mining country of Kentucky and Pennsylvania…[and] paints a grim picture of how a fading industry…[The Human Element] doesn’t dwell for long on actual climate science…[but the stories and images are] an effective, powerful way to communicate the impacts of climate change.” click here for more

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The Top U.S. Community Solar Program

Why Minnesota’s Community Solar Program is the Best

John Farrell, 17 January 2019 (Institute for Local Self-Reliance)

Minnesota’s community solar program hit a record 505 megawatts of operational capacity in January 2019…In recent news, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission approved an adder to compensation rates for residential subscribers in October, boosting subscriptions by 1.5 cents per kilowatt-hour for projects started in 2019 or 2020…[and it appears] the project queue (including new applications, projects in study, projects in design/construction, and energized projects) rebounded to over 900 megawatts by December 1st, after falling…to about 800 megawatts earlier this year. The adder will come on top of the revised compensation scheme for new projects in 2018––based on the value of solar…

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…[Xcel Energy data shows] more than 10,000 residential customers (92% of all subscribers) are saving money with a shared solar subscription…Although the vast majority of the program’s capacity serves commercial customers (87%), nearly one-third of the total program capacity in March 2018 (about 100 megawatts) actually serves public entities like schools. In other words, community solar helps broaden those who benefit from solar by enabling individuals and public institutions to save money with solar…” click here for more

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The Climate Issue And The 2020 Election

Climate change 2020: can the Democrats make it an election issue? Several hopefuls are embracing the effort for a Green New Deal – but success will require overcoming legislative hurdles

Emily Holden and David Smith, 3 February 2019 (UK Guardian)

“…[Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, a grassroots environmental and social justice group wants to do [job-creating things for out-of-work coal miners] like insulate old camp homes and use the energy savings to pay the costs…[It could form the backbone of the Green New Deal to remake the national economy and fight climate change] that more and more Democrats are supporting…The concept has the backing of the 2020 presidential contenders Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, and Elizabeth Warren and the likely candidate Bernie Sanders…

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The New York representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Massachusetts senator Ed Markey will soon roll out a brief outline…A Green New Deal will aim to spur jobs and tackle inequity. It will aim to help people of color and indigenous communities…[M]ost importantly, people involved say, the document will push candidates for the White House to explain what they plan to do about climate change…[E]nvironmental groups, unions and climate justice advocates have been laying out their thoughts on what a Green New Deal should include…[The significant legislative challenge will be getting all the groups involved to] agree on the best way forward…” click here for more

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The Fight For Solar Right Now

The 50 States of Solar Report: 47 States and DC Took 264 Distributed Solar Policy and Rate Design Actions During 2018

January 31, 2019 (North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center)

“…[The 2018 annual review and Q4 update edition of The 50 States of Solar reports] that 47 states and the District of Columbia took some type of distributed solar policy action during 2018…[with] the greatest number of actions relating to residential fixed charge increases, net metering policies, and community solar policies…ten of the top distributed solar policy trends…[included:] Compensation frameworks and program designs growing increasingly complex…States expanding opportunities for low-income customer participation in community solar programs…Policymakers and regulators authorizing solar-plus-storage net metering…

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…[They also include:] Regulators approving residential demand charges for distributed solar customers…Companies seeking clarity on solar leasing legality…Requests to significantly increase residential fixed charges slowing…Solar policies being addressed within the broader scope of grid modernization…Mixed decisions on separate customer classes for distributed generation customers…States and utilities increasing rate options for customer-generators; and…States exploring the locational value of distributed generation…[Even more activity is expected] in 2019, as some states consider increasingly intricate policy designs…” click here for more

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