Getting climate, energy & environment news right.

Electric Cars Emit More Particulate Pollution
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Electric Cars Emit More Particulate Pollution

"Where do most particulate emissions attributed to cars come from? California speaks as if their primary source is the tailpipe. That was true in the past. But today most vehicle-related particulate matter comes from tire wear. Cars are heavy, and as their tires rub against the road, they degrade and release tiny, often toxic particles. According to measurements by an emission-analytics firm, in gasoline cars equipped with a particle filter, airborne tire-wear emissions are more than 400 times as great as direct exhaust particulate emissions."

20/20 vision for wildlife habitat conservation
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20/20 vision for wildlife habitat conservation

"America’s Wildlife Habitat Conservation Act (AWHCA) is a visionary, logical and reasonable policy to more broadly use our proactive tools and knowledge to improve habitat. It will make strategic investments in state and tribal led conservation on both federal and private lands with the caveat that these conservation efforts can generate funding to reinvest and do even more conservation. By strengthening relationships with states, tribes, private landowners, and the federal government, we will empower them to create proactive conservation programs that have been proven to work both on the ground and economically. Through timber sales from thinning activities and private investments in the value created through habitat conservation work, broad scale conservation can eventually fund itself far more effectively than the federal government can, but federal resources and policies are needed to get the conservation started."

A new Energy Department program aims to recycle wind turbine magnets
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A new Energy Department program aims to recycle wind turbine magnets

"Funded by the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the prize seeks to develop ​“a cost-effective and sustainable recycling industry” for wind turbine components that aren’t being recycled commercially today, including wind turbine blades and the supersized magnets inside some generators. Each winning group receives a $75,000 cash prize to help advance its recycling idea. If a team’s initial results are promising, it may go on to win an additional half a million dollars in cash, as well as a $100,000 voucher for technical assistance from a DOE national laboratory."

Pressed for Space, Solar Farms Are Getting Creative
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Pressed for Space, Solar Farms Are Getting Creative

"As solar gains momentum, its champions are getting more creative about where to place panels. There are solar arrays on top of big-box stores, solar arrays on yachts and solar farms that float. There are panels small enough to work on a balcony and even small enough to attach to a smartphone. To minimize clearing land, engineers are also working on incorporating the technology into existing infrastructure. From landfills to art installations, here are five unexpected places you can find a solar farm — or at least some strategically placed panels."

President Biden Turns It Up to 11
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President Biden Turns It Up to 11

Biden performed well above already low expectations but if he doesn’t alter the fundamentals of the 2024 race dramatically and quickly, this State of the Union will be his last.

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