"To put it in simple terms, optimism is what’s missing from the climate dialogue. Flashy headlines decry a climate apocalypse without acknowledging that our world population is growing because more people are surviving into their child-bearing years. That’s good news. Now, we have to work toward solutions that will keep the planet healthy for our growing population."
Valerie Volcovici of Reuters reports that GM, Ford, and Google will promote virtual power plants. “With permission from customers, they use advanced software to react to electricity shortages with such techniques as switching thousands of households’ batteries, like those in EVs, from charge to discharge mode or prompting electricity-using devices, such as water heaters, to...
"Wind energy was running low during the severe Winter Storm Uri, but as it turned out, it wasn’t renewables, but fossil fuels—particularly poorly winterized natural gas systems—that were primarily to blame for the cascading grid collapse that left 10 million people without power and 246 people dead."
Todd Myers, in his book "Time to Think Small," makes the case for climate optimism by pointing out that bottom-up environmental solutions are nearly endless.
"Easy" will never be a word to describe water management. But with solid reform, as suggested in the PERC report, Arizona could set the state up for a future with a more sustainable water supply.
"'We want to build the smallest fusion reactor in the world. Then we’re talking about a project that’s maybe tens of millions of dollars, not billions, and you could actually do it with a small team,'" Avalanche CEO Robin Langtry tells the paper."
"She added that since launching, Mycocycle has treated 12,000 pounds of material via paid pilots, as well as with building owners and contractors like META and Lendlease who are focused on reduction of Scope 3 emissions and innovations within their industries."
"After more than 20 years of negotiations, WTO members finally seem intent on reeling back the subsidies that fund these destructive practices. Last year, negotiators agreed to significantly curtail some fishing subsidies, including limiting or prohibiting them to 'Vessels or operators engaged in illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing or fishing-related activities in support of IUU fishing,' 'fishing or fishing-related activities regarding stocks that are overfished' and 'fishing or fishing-related activities on the unregulated high seas.'"
Lawmakers control the purse strings, and that gives them the power to drive positive change. By slashing through red tape and encouraging environmental innovation, they can improve American policy and help deliver a cleaner environment.
"The 250% residential demand spike during Uri could have been mitigated dramatically if Texas proactively funded efficiency incentives and adopted tighter building codes. Those actions are cheap - all of the homes in Texas could be winterized for less than the $50 billion in power price premiums paid out during Uri. Beyond lowering electricity demand, winterization measures would lower consumers’ utility bills while making their homes more comfortable."
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