March 2018 – No Fricking Fracking

Anti-pipeline activists found not guilty because ‘protest against climate change crisis’ was legal ‘necessity’

This article discusses the results of a trial of activists in protesting the construction of a pipeline, because the protest was a “legal necessity”.

More than a dozen protesters who clambered into holes dug for a high pressure gas pipeline said they had been found not responsible by a judge after hearing them argue their actions to try and stop climate change were a legal “necessity”.

Karenna Gore, the daughter of former Vice President Al Gore, was among more than 198 people who were arrested because of their 2015 actions protesting the pipeline in West Roxbury, Massachusetts, a neighbourhood of Boston. Thirteen people were to go on trial this week, though prosecutors downgraded their original criminal charges to one of civil infraction.

On Tuesday, Judge Mary Ann Driscoll of West Roxbury District Court, found all 13 defendants not responsible, the equivalent of not guilty in a criminal case. She did so after each of the defendants addressed the judge and explained why they were driven to try and halt the pipeline’s construction.

China Has Met Its 2020 Carbon Target Three Years Early

This article discusses China’s meeting its CO2 emission reductions 3 years early.

As part of the Paris Agreement in 2015, China, the world’s largest emitter of CO2, had pledged to reduce its 2005 carbon intensity by 40 to 45 percent by 2020. It has a goal of reducing carbon emissions by unit of GDP by 60 to 65 percent by 2030, and to halt increasing its emissions after that point.

Partisan split on climate grows, even as U.S. fears are on the rise, poll finds

This article discusses how more and more people realize that climate change is real, but that politicians don’t seem to hear the message.

Fewer Republicans say they believe that there is a scientific consensus on climate change or that the effects of global warming have already begun, according to a new Gallup poll, which showed a widening partisan gap near record levels.

The moves comes after a year in which President Trump, who has called global warming a “hoax,” withdrew from the 2015 Paris climate accord and removed climate change from a list of top national security threats.

As Republicans moved in one direction, Democrats have moved in the other. An increasing number of Democrats believe that the effects of global warming have already begun and that warming will pose a “serious threat” in their lifetimes. As in earlier surveys, an overwhelming portion of Democrats are worried about climate change and link it to human activities.

Aging Wind Farms Are Repowering with Longer Blades, More Efficient Turbines

This article discusses how aging wind farms are retooling older turbines. Because of that, jobs and a thriving industry are growing up around the ‘repowering’ of existing wind farms, as technology upgrades increase their renewable energy production.

Old wind farms that have towered over the same fields for more than a decade may be generating more power now than ever before.

As America’s biggest wind farms age, their owners are starting to “repower” them with more efficient turbines, new electronics and longer, lighter blades that can sweep more wind with each rotation. The result is a thriving new industry, new jobs and more renewable energy.

New blades and technology updates have completely “revitalized” two Leeward Energy wind farms near Sweetwater, Texas, saving the company money and allowing the farm to generate more energy, said Leeward CEO Greg Wolf.

Shell’s Plan to Save Us From Climate Change Makes a Dangerous Assumption

This article discusses the paper published by Shell Oil Company on how to deal with climate change. It relies on a technology that may never exist.

The Royal Dutch Shell oil company published its own strategy. The ‘Sky scenario,’ as the company is calling it, is an ambitious look at the future of energy and the climate over the rest of this century. It’s important to note that Sky is a ‘scenario,’ not a prediction or a roadmap for Shell; instead, it’s a look at how things might unfold.

That strategy relies on assumptions that most scientists agree will not be met.

Canada- No Real Plans to Fight or Adapt to Climate Change: New Audit

This article discusses the Canadian Government’s plans to deal with climate change. There aren’t any.

Canada talks the talk, but fails to walk the walk on climate change, according to a cross-country audit of climate change planning, emissions reductions and the likelihood of Canada meeting any of its targets.

The audit, conducted by federal environment commissioner Julie Gelfand and auditors general of nine provinces and three northern territories, paints a picture of a patchwork of incomplete plans, lack of clear targets and few roadmaps to show how the country can reach its goals.

The mish-mash of plans showed that no Canadian government has met all its climate change commitments, most of those who have got around to setting greenhouse gas reduction targets will not meet them and no government is fully prepared to adapt to climate change, despite increasing evidence of its ravages, from increased floods and more intense wildfires to rising ocean levels and melting permafrost.

“Most Canadian governments have not assessed and, therefore, do not fully understand what risks they face and what actions they should take to adapt to a changing climate,” says the report.

Permafrost – What happens when it thaws?

This article discusses the impact that thawing permafrost will have on the climate. It could be very, very bad, as it could exacerbate the temperature rise globally.

Shell just outlined a radical scenario for what it would take to halt climate change

This article discusses what Shell Oil Company just released about climate change. It’s a start.

Royal Dutch Shell on Monday outlined a scenario in which, by 2070, we would be using far less of the company’s own product — oil — as cars become electric, a massive carbon storage industry develops, and transportation begins a shift toward a reliance on hydrogen as an energy carrier.

The company’s Sky scenario was designed to imagine a world that complies with the goals of the Paris climate agreement, managing to hold the planet’s warming to “well below” a rise of 2 degrees Celsius, or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, above preindustrial levels. Shell has said that it supports the Paris agreement.

Judge: Trump Consider Climate Change in Drilling & Mining Lease Plan

This article discusses a recent court ruling against EPA and Trump, requiring that the administration must consider Climate Change in creating its mining and drilling leases.

A federal court has ruled against a U.S. Interior Department plan to open more than 15 million acres of public land and mineral rights to fossil fuel extraction, concluding that the government failed to adequately consider how the oil, gas and coal development would affect the climate and other environmental resources.The U.S. District Court decision Friday in Montana throws a new roadblock before the Trump administration’s goal of expanding and accelerating fossil extraction from federal lands.

The plan covers 15 million acres in the Powder River Basin of Montana and Wyoming. The ruling on it is the latest to cite risks of fossil fuels and global warming.

Half of All U.S. Coal Plants Would Lose Money Without Regulation

This article discusses the cost effectiveness of coal as a source of energy. Without subsidies, most would be forced to close.

It’s long been clear that U.S. coal plants are struggling. A study released Monday shows how much — concluding that barely half earned enough revenue last year to cover their operating expenses.

Power grids may face “massive” upheaval as more uneconomic plants close, according to the report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The problem is particularly bad in Florida, Georgia and elsewhere in the Southeast, where the distance from major coal mines drives up prices. The study examined the monthly economic performance of every U.S. coal plant in operation since 2012.

Still, many coal plants manage to shield themselves from economics. About 95 percent of those with operating expenses exceeding revenue operate in regions where regulators set rates, the study found. Instead of allowing market forces to determine their fate, regulators and utilities often keep struggling plants open to ensure stability on their grids.