Visitors Please Note: This blog is maintained to assist in developing a TV show, Energy Week with George Harvey and Tom Finnell. The post is put up in incomplete form, and is updated with news until it is completed, usually on Wednesday. The source is geoharvey.com.
Within a few days of the last update, the show may be seen, along with older shows, at this link on the BCTV website: Energy Week Series.
Energy Week #452: 1/6/2022
Minute 0: Introduction
Thursday, December 30
City of Kodiak (Wanetta Ayers, released into the public domain)
Minute 2
¶ “67°F Day In Kodiak, Alaska, Sets New Statewide Temperature Record” • On Sunday, the Kodiak Tide Gauge station recorded an amazing 67°F, a new statewide temperature record for December. The Kodiak Airport recorded 65°F, breaking their record for the month by 9°F. One climatologist said, “I would not have thought such a thing possible.” [CNN]
Asparagopsis taxiformis (João D’Andretta, CC-BY-SA 4.0)
Minute 5
¶ “Feeding This Seaweed To Cows Can Eliminate Their Methane Emissions” • In a single year, a cow can emit as much greenhouse gas as a small car, but the amount can be reduced by adding seaweed to the diet. Rob Kinley, chief scientist at Futurefeed, found that the red algae Asparagopsis can practically eliminate methane emissions from livestock. [CleanTechnica]
Wild Coast, South Africa (Jon Rawlinson, CC-BY-SA 2.0)
Minute 8
¶ “South African Court Halts Shell’s Oil Exploration In Whale Breeding Grounds” • A South African court has stopped Shell’s seismic testing for oil and gas along the nation’s eastern coastline, the BBC has reported, adding that this is pending a final ruling. Now This News has shared that the Wild Coast is also an area where whales breed. [CleanTechnica]
Friday, December 31
Meryl Streep in trailer (Netflix via YouTube)
Minute 11
¶ “Our Completely Impartial, Unbiased Review Of ‘Don’t Look Up'” • “Don’t Look Up” is a satirical movie that skewers climate deniers. The movie is simplistic in the extreme. Some will love it, and some will hate it. But one NASA scientist said it is “the most accurate film about society’s terrifying non-response to climate breakdown I’ve seen.” [CleanTechnica]
Wildfire (Evan Wise, Unsplash)
Minute 13
¶ “Colorado Wildfires: Tens Of Thousands Evacuated As Blazes Spread” • Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated and hundreds of homes have been destroyed as wildfires spread through Colorado. The fast-moving fires are burning in Boulder County, north of Denver, and officials say deaths and injuries are likely as the blazes spread further. [BBC]
Capitol building (Harold Mendoza, Unsplash)
Minute 16
¶ “Implementing The Clean Energy Investments In Bipartisan Infrastructure Law” • Those following US Congressional climate policy in the US are seeing 2021 end after setbacks to the Build Back Better Act in its current form, as Senate Democrats have been unable to find sufficient votes for passage. But its provisions are necessary for US climate policy. [CleanTechnica]
Saturday, January 1
Vermont Yankee in a former time (NRC, Entergy Nuclear)
Minute 19
¶ “Vermont Nuclear Decommissioning Committee Drafting Advisory Opinion On Nuclear Waste Policy” • The DOE is taking suggestions on how to site facilities for temporary, consolidated storage of spent nuclear fuel based on local consent. A Vermont Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel committee is drafting an advisory opinion. [WAMC]
Tesla Model Y (Kevauto, CC-BY-SA 4.0)
Minute 22
¶ “The Top Electric Vehicles In World During Record Sales Month” • Global plugin vehicle registrations were up 72% in November 2021 from November 2020. There were 721,000 registrations (11.5% share of the overall auto market), establishing a new global record for PEV sales. Internal combustion vehicles may already be past their peak. [CleanTechnica]
Offshore wind turbines (Mary Ray, Unsplash)
Minute 24
¶ “Scotland Missed 100% Clean Electricity Consumption In 2020 By Only 1.4%” •In 2011, Scotland set a target of reaching 100% clean electricity consumption in 2020. And last year, the country almost reached its target. Of gross electricity consumption, 98.6% came from renewables, the Scottish government’s December energy statement says. [Electrek]
Sunday, January 2
Happisburgh and eroding cliffs (Jim Whiteside, CC BY-SA 2.0)
Minute 27
¶ “Sands Of Time Are Slipping Away For England’s Crumbling Coasts Amid Climate Crisis” • Norfolk is a real-time lesson in how weather and sea can drastically alter a landscape. One man said, “You hear about erosion, but you don’t know what it means, what it involves, until you witness it. And it’s a shock to see the physical transformation.” [The Guardian]
Airplane at a small Danish airport (Peter Bakema, Gnu license)
Minute 30
¶ “Denmark To Make Domestic Flights Fossil Fuel Free By 2030” • Denmark’s government announced a goal to make domestic flights fossil fuel free by 2030. In her New Year’s address, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she wants to “make flying green.” However she acknowledged that the solutions to reach her target were not yet in place. [BBC]
Mack Trucks electric garbage truck (Courtesy of Mack Trucks)
Minute 32
¶ “New York Adopts ACT Rule Bringing Clean Trucks To The State” • New York is closing out 2021 with a big climate and clean air win, becoming the fifth state in the country to adopt the Advanced Clean Trucks rule. Adoption of the ACT rule ensures that over $19 billion in net societal benefits will come to New Yorkers through 2050. [CleanTechnica]
Monday, January 3
Impossible™ burger (Image provided by Impossible™)
Minute 35
¶ “Prediction For 2022: Plant-Based Foods Will Surge” • A whole new range of consumers has discovered plant-based items, and selections can be appealing. So, let’s make a prediction for 2022: Plant-based foods will not only transcend their current path leading to mainstream acceptance – they’ll become preferred, for lots of reasons. [CleanTechnica]
Central nuclear Vandellòs II (Jorge Franganillo, CC-BY-SA 3.0)
Minute 38
¶ “Spain Rejects EU’s ‘Green’ Label For Nuclear And Natural Gas Energy” • The Spanish government has rejected the European Commission’s plans to include nuclear energy and natural gas in the EU’s classification table of green energies. Spain’s Minister for the Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, said the plan is a “step backwards.” [The Local – Spain’s]
Tesla Gigafactory 1 (Smnt, CC-BY-SA 4.0)
Minute 40
¶ “Tesla Delivered Over 300,000 EVs In Q4 2021 And Almost A Million In 2021” • Tesla announced another record quarter for vehicle deliveries, for a record-breaking year. In Q4 of 2021, Tesla delivered 308,000 vehicles, putting its total deliveries for 2021 at 936,000. And its two new gigafactories in Berlin and Austin aren’t even online yet. [CleanTechnica]
Tuesday, January 4
Tiny House (New Frontier Design image)
Minute 43
¶ “Why The Tiny House Is Perfect For Now” • The tiny house movement found its moment. The idea is that having less space and stuff can create room in our lives for more important things, and it has appeal. The roots of the tiny house movement can be traced to Henry David Thoreau, and its fans champion the dwellings’ green credentials. [BBC]
Wildfire (National Park Service, public domain)
Minute 46
¶ “Fire And Ice: The Puzzling Link Between Western Wildfires And Arctic Sea Ice” • A study describes a link between dwindling sea ice and worsening wildfires. As the Arctic continues warming, it can sharpen the contrast between the two distantly connected systems, altering the jet stream, and exacerbating conditions in a fire-ravaged region. [CleanTechnica]
Gillig electric bus (Courtesy of Gillig)
Minute 48
¶ “Florida Transit Agency Buys 60 Electric Buses” • A Florida transit agency, the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority of Pinellas County, recently ordered 60 full-electric buses. Pinellas County includes St Petersburg. The 60 electric buses will be delivered over the next 5 years, though 24 of them will be delivered before the end of this year. [CleanTechnica]
Wednesday, January 5
Ford F-150 Lightning in “Antimatter Blue” (Ford image)
Minute 51
¶ “Ford Increases F-150 Lightning Production Target From 80,000 To 150,000/Year!” • First, Ford’s production target for the F-150 Lightning was 40,000. Then 80,000. Now, Ford CEO Jim Farley tweeted that with strong customer demand for the F-150 Lightning, the target was raised significantly once again, this time to 150,000 sales a year! [CleanTechnica]
Fengning Pumped Storage Power Station (SGCC image)
Minute 54
¶ “Largest Pumped-Hydro Facility In World Turns On In China” • The State Grid Corporation of China, the largest grid operator and power utility in China, has put the largest pumped-hydro facility in the world into commission. It’s a 3.6-GW, 6,612-GWh system in the Hebei province. It is the Fengning Pumped Storage Power Station. [CleanTechnica]
Port of Newcastle (Lynda Hinton, Unsplash)
Minute 56
¶ “World’s Largest Coal Port To Be 100% Powered By Renewable Energy” • The world’s largest coal port announced it will now be powered 100% by renewable energy. Its CEO also said, “We get 84 cents a tonne for coal shipped through our port. We get between $6 and $8 for every other product. You can see where I’d rather have my money.” [The Guardian]
Minute 59: Finis
Notes: Energy Week #452: 1/6/2022
George Harvey, blogger, author, and journalist for Green Energy Times and CleanTechnica, computer engineer
Tom Finnell, electrical engineer, transmission grid expert, world traveler, philanthropist, and philosopher
Energy, Renewable Energy, Wind Power, Solar, Batteries, Nuclear, Coal, Oil, Gas, Climate Change
Energy Week with George Harvey and Tom Finnell 