Archive for February 2024
California’s patchwork push to scale up virtual power plants
New rooftop solar systems are worth a lot less than they used to be in California , following the state’s dramatic changes in net-metering policy . Even batteries added to those solar systems to store power when the sun is shining and feed energy back after the sun goes down — a primary goal of the state’s new…
Read MoreIn Europe, Natural Gas Demand Hits 10-Year Low
In the two years since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, European demand for natural gas has dropped by 20 percent.
Read MoreUS climate goals: EVs are on track, but clean power is lagging
Based on headlines alone, you might expect that the U.S. is cruising toward its clean electricity goals while sputtering toward its EV goals. But in a counterintuitive turn, a new report finds the opposite to be true. Electric vehicles are on track to meet the country’s goals of decarbonizing transportation —…
Read MoreInside my quest for a climate-friendly bank
This article by Yale Climate Connections is published here as part of the global journalism collaboration Covering Climate Now . I grew up knowing that when you had extra money, you put it under a bed, stashed it in a book or a clock, or, if there was enough of it, it went into a savings account at a bank. It…
Read MoreRain Comes to the Arctic, With a Cascade of Troubling Changes
Rain used to be rare in the Arctic, but as the region warms, so-called rain-on-snow events are becoming more common. The rains accelerate ice loss, trigger flooding, landslides, and avalanches, and create problems for wildlife and the Indigenous people who depend on them.
Read MoreDoes LNG really fight climate change? 5 common LNG claims, examined
American liquefied natural gas exports surged from basically nothing just eight years ago to a formidable force reshaping domestic and global politics. Now, thanks to the Biden administration’s recent pause on approvals of new LNG projects , it’s become the hottest topic in U.S. energy news. It’s also one of the most…
Read MoreEVs are one step closer to becoming roaming grid batteries
University of Delaware professor Willett Kempton is a pioneer of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology. In fact, he and his team of EV researchers at the university have been turning electric vehicles into grid batteries since 2007 , when they kicked off a first-of-a-kind experiment that’s since been replicated in V2G…
Read MoreReturn of Trees to Eastern U.S. Kept Region Cool as Planet Warmed
Over the 20th century, the U.S. as a whole warmed by 1.2 degrees F (0.7 degrees C), but across much the East, temperatures dropped by 0.5 degrees F (0.3 degrees C). A new study posits that the restoration of lost forest countered warming, keeping the region cool.
Read MoreHow US protectionism is holding back the country’s offshore wind plans
This article by Hakai magazine is published here as part of the global journalism collaboration Covering Climate Now . When turbine blades for the United States’ first offshore wind project left port in September 2023, headed for the Vineyard Wind 1 project off Massachusetts, they were traveling on a barge instead…
Read MoreMéxico inicia su propia expansión de GNL mientras desarrolladores estadounidenses miran hacia el sur
Read this article in English Traducción por Maria Virginia Olano En los últimos meses, activistas ambientales han montado campañas en contra de la rápida expansión de terminales de exportación de gas natural licuado (GNL) a lo largo de la costa del Golfo de Estados Unidos, recalcando los impactos que tienen en…
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