The Crisis From A Different Angle

Climate scientist: We must change the way we approach the climate crisis

Wolfgang Knorr, October 22, 2019 (The Conversation via PhysOrg)

“…[As the emergency becomes ever more acute, scientists] need to alter the way we approach it—or face being part of the problem…[Work to date has been good but has] not had any impact on the carbon course of humanity…[Despite the best work of science,] CO₂ emissions from human activities have been growing exponentially, on average by 1.65% per year since 1850…If we continue this exponential rise for just five more years, we will have already exhausted the carbon allowance that gives us a two-thirds chance of limiting warming to 1.5°C…In the face of a genuine existential threat to our civilization, we scientists need to shift our focus from long-term models that give a false sense of control over the climate crisis’…

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…[W]e should focus on vulnerability in the here and now…[C]ompared to the vast amount of research focused on the uncertain impacts of global heating on humanity by 2050 and 2100, we know worryingly little about just how fragile our supply chains—or other parts of our highly efficient clockwork global economy—are in the near-term. Refocusing resources on such dramatically under-researched short-term vulnerabilities is vital, not least because it will make the climate and ecological crisis feel more close to home than abstract carbon budgets and temperature rises…By reframing our research and changing accepted levels of risk and uncertainty, perhaps climate scientists can finally help humanity change its carbon course.” click here for more

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Three New Energy Growth Buys

Investors Rejoice: U.S. Renewables Could Top Coal by 2022; A surge in wind power can blow coal down the rankings in the near future. These renewable energy stocks could benefit.

Maxx Chatsko, October 19, 2019 (The Motley Fool)

“…The United States is expected to add 22,000 megawatts of wind power capacity in the 18-month period ending December 2020. Based on the average output of new wind turbines, upgrades to existing wind farms, the steady rise of solar power, and the epic collapse of coal-fired power plants, the country could generate more electricity from renewable power sources than it does from coal as soon as 2022…[C]oal-fired power plants will account for just 25% of total American electricity production in 2019 and 22% in 2020. That's down from 28% in 2018 and nearly 50% in the early 2000s…[A]ll renewable power sources -- primarily hydropower, wind, and solar -- will provide up to 19% of American electricity in 2020…[and] near-term estimates for renewable energy have historically underestimated the real-world growth of wind and solar…

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The United States counted 97,000 megawatts of installed wind power capacity at the end of June 2019 and is expected to have roughly 120,000 megawatts spinning by the end of 2020…[T]he United States could lean on wind power for 10% of its total electricity in 2021. Add in expected contributions from hydropower (7%), solar (4% to 5%), and other renewables (1% to 2%), and the nation could generate at least 22% of its electricity from renewables…[C]oal-fired power plant retirements could help renewables top coal in 2021 or 2022 for the first time since the American Civil War…[American Electric Power (NYSE:AEP), NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE)] and Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) are building big shares] of the nation's wind and solar power capacity…[T]he near-term surge in wind power will likely be surpassed by a surge in solar power investments beginning in the mid-2020s…[These may be] significant growth opportunities.” click here for more

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Don’t Insure A Climate Crisis

How the Insurance Industry Bears Responsibility for the Climate Crisis; In this op-ed, an Insure our Future activist argues that the insurance industry could help address the climate crisis by refusing to back environmentally-destructive projects.

Schuyler Holder, October 21, 2019 (Teen Vogue)

“…[C]hanging how the insurance industry operates could be critical to addressing the climate crisis…[C]oal plants can't operate without insurance. The Trans Mountain Pipeline can't be built without insurance. Offshore oil rigs can't drill without insurance…[Insurance companies are] expected to have 400,000 job openings by next year and it’s counting on an influx of young talent…[N]ew graduates want to work with companies that care about and contribute to sustainability…[We want] something so much bigger than a desk job after graduation. We want climate change policies that will bring an end to the use of coal and other fossil fuels; we want investments in sustainable sources of energy…

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…[S]tudents considering careers in insurance can tell the industry to phase out underwriting of and investing in fossil fuels…[A new petition is not intended] to steer students away from the industry, but to bring young and matured talent together in an effort to reform current business practices that are driving climate change. Business and risk management students can join [use it to push] the insurance industry to take real action against the climate crisis…[by asking] prospective employers if they are pursuing sustainable practices and investments, and [by choosing to work for companies that are fighting for our future…” click here for more

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New Energy And The Circular Economy

Breathing new life into renewable energy; Green technology has come a long way. The next challenge for the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory is to develop ways to recycle the recycling infrastructure.

October 9, 2019 (Scientific American)

“…Scientists at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are working on ways to minimize waste from New Energy like replaced wind turbine blades and batteries and move] towards a circular economy, a world where waste is eliminated and materials are used again and again…[They are working on cutting-edge materials that can be] recaptured for use in the next (usually better) iteration…One promising idea is to fashion [wind turbine] blades from thermoplastics, which can be molded when heated but harden when cooled. Thermoplastic blades could be created on-site and could be melted down and repurposed at the end of their usable lives…

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…[Chemists are] working on processes to make recycled plastic as strong, or stronger, than the original…Moving to a circular economy can take a long time. Pairing government scientists with large corporations offers a way to speed up the process…[The scientists say the next five to ten years will be crucial to the emergence of new business models that can use the] huge potential to do more…” click here for more

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Imagining Fates And Solutions

Climate fiction is imagining a future beyond the climate crisis

Bernadette McBride, October 11, 2019 (The Conversation via Quartz)

“,,,[With global emissions reaching record levels, the past four years the four hottest on record, coral reefs dying, and sea levels rising, we] are headed towards a future that is hard to contemplate…[But] a literary phenomenon has grown over the past decade or two which seeks to help us imagine the impacts of climate change…[Cli-Fi deals with climate science and seeks] to engage the reader in a way that the statistics of scientists cannot…[It is probably best known for novels] set in the future, depicting a world where advanced climate change has wreaked irreversible damage upon our planet…[Examples are Oryx and Crake (2003), The Water Knife (2015), the film The Day After Tomorrow (2004), Tentacle (2015), and the] short film White (2011)…

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…[But we must] at least try to imagine a fairer world for all, rather than only visions of doom…[The rarer utopian form of cli-fi imagines] future worlds where humanity has responded to climate change in a more timely and resourceful manner…[Novels like The Dispossessed (1974), the Science in the Capital trilogy, and New York 2140 (2017)] conjure up futures where human and non-human lives have been adapted, where ways of living have been reimagined in the face of environmental disaster. Scientists, and policy makers—and indeed the public—can look to these works as a source of hope and inspiration…” click here for more

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UK New Energy Going Incentive-Free

Law firm lauds 'subsidy-free clean power future'; WFW report says alternative finance models and storage solutions allow renewables to cut government ties

10 October 2019 (ReNews Biz)

“…[There will be a ‘net positive effect’ of a drive in Europe towards subsidy-free project financing…Infant technologies may have been allowed to grow to grid parity from government support via permitting, subsidies and energy transition targets, but it is ‘freedom from the chains of government interference’ that is the leading driver of alternative financing models, [according to] The Future of Renewable Energy report…The most popular model is the corporate power purchase agreement (CPPA), which is supported by companies increasingly making 100% renewable energy consumption a leading priority…

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Companies best suited to survive in this climate are those that are able to understand and manage merchant risk, engage with and develop CPPAs and help tackle intermittency through energy storage solutions…[G]reen issues trump all other metrics for offtakers, including security of supply, price certainty and cost savings…[Energy storage is also] expected to continue to attract significant investor interest…Lower costs and advances in technology to ensure longer life are evident now and expected to improve driven by manufacturing learning rates, cell chemistry improvements and economies of scale…Co-locating renewables projects with batteries with an increase in ‘integrated thinking’ among utilities and developers is [also] increasingly evident…” click here for more

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Deniers Fate Will Be Bankruptcy

Firms ignoring climate crisis will go bankrupt, says Mark Carney; Bank of England governor warns of financial collapse linked to climate emergency

Damian Carrington, 13 October 2019 (UK Guardian)

“Companies and industries that are not moving towards zero-carbon emissions will be punished by investors and go bankrupt, the governor of the Bank of England has warned…[Mark Carney said] the global transition needed to tackle the climate crisis could result in an abrupt financial collapse…[and] the longer action to reverse emissions was delayed, the more the risk of collapse would grow…[Just 20 fossil fuel companies have produced coal, oil and gas linked to more than a third of all emissions in the modern era…The Bank of England has said up to $20tn (£16tn) of assets could be wiped out if the climate emergency is not addressed effectively. But Carney also said great fortunes could be made by those working to end greenhouse gas emissions with a big potential upside…

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Carney said disclosure by companies of the risks posed by climate change to their business was key to a smooth transition to a zero-carbon world as it enabled investors to back winners…US coal companies had already lost 90% of their value…[and] banks overexposed to the sunset sectors will suffer accordingly…[as transition to net zero carbon emissions changes] the value of every asset, raising the risk of shocks to the financial system…[while] climate action bolsters economic growth…[Recently,] Carney told big corporations they had two years to agree rules for reporting climate risks before global regulators devised their own and made them compulsory…” click here for more

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Coal’s Demise, New Energy’s Rise

Coal demand projected to hit new lows through 2020

Rebecca Beitsch, October 10, 2019 (The Hill)

“Coal is losing ground in the U.S. energy markets despite attempts from President Trump to boost the struggling industry…[Coal’s share of U.S. electricity generation] is expected to decline] from 28 percent in 2018 to 22 percent by 2020…That would make for a 27 percent decline in coal production since 2016…Utilities across the county have announced they will be closing various coal-fired power plants, while banks have been hesitant to finance the industry’s projects…

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The Trump administration has made an effort to boost the coal industry, scrapping an Obama-era power plant rule and replacing it with one critics have contended would only allow the most modest pollution controls at power plants…[New Energy’s share of U.S. electricity generation is forecast to go] from just under 10 percent in 2018 to 12 percent by 2020…[with carbon emissions declining] by about 2 percent in 2019 and 2020, despite a nearly 3 percent rise in 2018.” click here for more

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Investing To Beat The Climate Crisis

How can I invest my money without contributing to the climate crisis?

Eve Andrews, October 3, 2019 (Grist)

“…If the various companies that make up your mutual fund or index fund do well, you get some money. And if any of those companies are involved in fossil fuel extraction, then you made that money on climate change…[If your priority is ethical purity, don’t] invest at all…[But if] your priority is doing everything you can as an individual to mitigate climate change, ignoring the entire world of finance might actually not be the most productive choice…[Because] there is truly no way to construct any of the infrastructure or rehome any of the people who will be displaced or develop any carbon-saving technology without money… [A government bond] is investing in a fossil-fuel friendly federal government…

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...[A municipal bond] might be a greener way to invest…[But climate change is putting municipalities in jeopardy, making] munis a riskier bet…[I]ndividual shareholders of major companies do not have a significant enough stake to actually make their opinions matter… [T]here are a growing number of “green” funds offered by major brokerage firms that you can opt into…But a lot of them are playing pretty fast and loose around the definition of ‘green’…You can get a loan from a commercial bank to green your house or your community yourself…[You can support green community banks that] exist to support climate-forward community projects…[And you can vote out of office] the people who keep passing backwards legislation subsidizing fossil fuel companies…” click here for more

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All The Way To New Energy

Can We Overcome The Last Few Hurdles For Renewable Energy?

Charles Tower-Clark, October 4, 2019 (Forbes)

“…[New Energy] is quickly becoming a viable alternative to fossil fuels, and significant global adoption could help to mitigate the more drastic and immediate effects of climate change…[But it] is not as simple as installing renewable technologies and plugging them into the grid…Much of the grid in the U.S. is decades old, and is not prepared to handle large amounts of renewable energy…[Also, both New Energy and consumer demand are variable and do not necessarily match up…As a result, renewables are far more cost-effective when battery technology can be deployed…While recent advances in battery capacity and longevity (as well as battery chemistry itself) are encouraging, cost is always the most significant factor that limits the adoption of new technology—despite the drastic consequences of the lack of change…

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Globally, however, the fossil fuel industry receives around $370 billion in subsidies, compared to $100 billion for renewable energy…[and] there are signs that renewable energy may not need subsidizing for much longer…[Though fossil fuels are sewn into the fabric of the economy, fossil fuel subsidies could be directed toward easing the economic impacts of a transition. Greta Thunberg’s speech at the UN Climate Summit taught us] that inaction by world leaders on climate change will no longer be tolerated…[T]here will undoubtedly be tough times ahead for fossil fuel employment as the job market shifts to new jobs. But these costs and hardships are nothing compared to the costs of doing nothing…” click here for more

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New Energy Beats GeoEngineering On Cost, Time, Risk

In a climate crisis, is geoengineering worth the risks? More research on such tech as ocean seeding and space mirrors is needed, some scientists say

Carolyn Gramling, October 6, 2019 (Science News)

“…[Geoengineering, which is tinkering to delay or halt the worst effects of global warming,] may once again be getting a closer look…Not everyone is sure this is a good idea…What hints scientists do have about the possible effects of geoengineering come from ‘natural experiments’ such as massive volcanic eruptions that briefly but intensely alter atmospheric or ocean conditions…[but] there are still few real-world data…[The October 2018 special report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] highlighted both the potential benefits and drawbacks of strategies such as stratospheric aerosols and ocean seeding…

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[Rising environmental concerns have effectively prevented scientific experiments…[But unprecedented] risks posed by climate change over the next few decades may require a willingness to at least consider even seemingly absurd geoengineering ideas…[But geoengineering’s many potential pitfalls haven’t made it popular with most] Democratic presidential candidates, whose climate platforms focus instead on ways to reduce U.S. reliance on fossil fuels…” click here for more

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The Public Wants New Energy

Americans really want the US to adopt renewable energy like wind and solar power, while rejecting fossil fuels like coal

Joseph Zeballos-Roig and Angela Wang, October 1, 2019 (Business Insider)

“…[A large bipartisan] majority of Americans strongly favor cleaner sources of energy over fossil fuels…[B]oth self-identified Democrats and Republicans support the idea of the nation transitioning towards renewable sources of energy…Solar and wind power were the top two preferred alternative energy sources…The use of renewable energy sources like wind and solar power has doubled in the last decade, according to the US Energy Information Administration, and federal and state policies combined with the declining cost of production drove much of the growth…Natural gas, which is a cleaner-burning fossil fuel, overtook coal as the nation's top source of electricity in 2016, highlighting the energy transition currently underway…

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Solar power was the most preferred form of energy…Wind was the second-ranked energy source…Hydroelectric power ranked third…Geothermal power was fourth…[Natural gas, biomass, petroleum, and nuclear followed, and coal] ranked dead-last…[But the Trump administration has loosened environmental regulations and] threw a lifeline to the struggling coal industry by easing restrictions on coal-burning power plants. The Energy Information Administration projects that it won't reverse coal's decline and that its share of electricity generation will be 22% in 2020…[As] the federal government pulls back from combating climate change under the Trump administration, states and cities are increasingly filling the void, setting the US in an opposite direction the public favors…” click here for more

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‘There Is Not A Climate Crisis’ – White House’s BLM

Trump administration pushes for Arctic drilling by arguing 'there is not a climate crisis'

Rebecca Beitsch, September 30, 2019 (The Hill)

“…The Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) environmental impact statement, released this month, is the last step before drilling leases can be sold on a piece of wilderness in Alaska that House Democrats have sought to protect…[The BLM document contains language] that spells out the administration's response to opponents who argue drilling in the Arctic will hasten climate change…[It argues that the proposed development is not] ‘inconsistent with maintaining a livable planet (i.e., there is not a climate crisis)’…[and that the] ‘planet was much warmer within the past 1,000 years, prior to the Little Ice Age, based on extensive archaeological evidence’…

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…[It adds that the earlier warming] ‘did not make the planet unlivable; rather, it was a time when societies prospered’… [Brenda Ekwurzel, director of climate science for the Union of Concerned Scientists, called this arguments ‘shockingly out-of-step with what mainstream science tells us’ and ‘nothing more than a coordinated disinformation effort by the administration to deny the science, roll back climate policies, and actually drive up carbon emissions at a time when urgent cuts are needed’…BLM favors the option to offer lease sales across 1.56 million acres of Alaska’s coastal plains… before the end of the year.” click here for more

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Good Long-Term New Energy Stock Buys

3 Top Renewable-Energy Stocks to Buy Right Now; These renewable energy companies have bright futures.

Matthew Dilallo, September 29, 2019 (Motley Fool)

“…[The global economy has invested $1.5 trillion in New Energy over the last five years, but over the next ten years it could invest] another $5 trillion-$10 trillion…Three of the top companies focused on this market are Brookfield Renewable Partners (NYSE:BEP), TerraForm Power (NASDAQ:TERP), and NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP). All three boast excellent growth prospects while also paying an attractive dividend. That should give them plenty of power to generate strong total returns, making them great long-term buys right now…

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[They are among the world's largest renewable energy companies and operate diversified portfolios of green energy assets like hydro, wind, solar, and energy storage with long-term, fixed-rate contracts that] generate very predictable cash flow…[They currently pay dividends of 3% to 5% or more annually and expect by the early to mid-2020s to grow their] cash flow per share by a more than 10% annual rate…[These New Energy investments offer] an enticing combination of yield and growth prospects…[that make them] excellent long-term buys…” click here for more

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