December, 2022

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Ask a Scientist: In Moments of Despair, Climate Progress Can Keep Hope Alive

Union of Concerned Scientists

Masterpieces in European museums are under siege. Last month, protesters threw a black, oily liquid at a Gustav Klimt painting at Vienna’s Leopold Museum. In October, they dumped tomato soup on a Vincent Van Gogh painting London’s Gallery of Art, smeared mash potatoes on a Claude Monet painting at the Museum Barberini in Potsdam, and glued themselves to a Johannes Vermeer painting at the Mauritshuis Museum in The Hague.

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In Bolivia, Mercury Pollution Spreads Amid a Surge in Gold Mining

Yale E360

A boom in small-scale gold mining in Bolivia has raised concerns about pollution from mercury used in the mining process. Researchers are citing the health impacts on downstream villages, but the government has yet to act to stem the widespread use of the highly toxic chemical. Read more on E360 →.

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The water south of Greenland has been cooling, so what causes that?

Real Climate

Sea surface temperature trend 1993 – 2018, from European Atlas of the Seas. Let’s compare two possibilities by a back-of-envelope calculation. (1) Is it due to a reduced heat transport of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC)? (2) Or is it simply due to the influx of cold meltwater as the Greenland Ice Sheet is losing ice? The latter is often suggested.

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Looking forward to seeing your E+E Leader Awards for 2023

Environment + Energy Leader

If you've got some extra time next week, why not work on your submission for the 2023 E+E Leader Awards? . The post Looking forward to seeing your E+E Leader Awards for 2023 appeared first on Environment + Energy Leader.

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Implementing D.E.J.I. Strategies in Energy, Environment, and Transportation

Speaker: Antoine M. Thompson, Executive Director of the Greater Washington Region Clean Cities Coalition

Diversity, Equity, Justice, and Inclusion (DEJI) policies, programs, and initiatives are critically important as we move forward with public and private sector climate and sustainability goals and plans. Underserved and socially, economically, and racially disadvantaged communities bear the burden of pollution, higher energy costs, limited resources, and limited investments in the clean energy and transportation sectors.

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That Was The Year That Was

Legal Planet

A lot has happened on the environmental front. Here are the biggest stories of 2022. Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act, providing $369 billion in tax credit and spending to reduce carbon emissions. California banned the sale of new gas cars in 2035, with several other states now agreeing to follow suit. The Democrats lost control of Congress, eliminating the chances for significant climate/energy legislation in the next two years.

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The Stream, December 28, 2022: Mercury Pollution of Waterways Spoils Bolivia’s Gold Mining Boom

Circle of Blue

The sun illuminates a canal in Buckeye, Arizona. Photo © J. Carl Ganter/Circle of Blue. YOUR GLOBAL RUNDOWN. Activists call on Bolivia to regulate the mining industry’s use of mercury, which continues to pollute biodiverse watersheds, rivers, and drinking water. The San Carlos Apache Tribe announces a tentative one-year deal to provide water to an unincorporated residential community outside of Scottsdale, Arizona.

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Coal Prevailed in 2022, but Renewables Remain Ascendant

Yale E360

With Russia's invasion of Ukraine roiling energy markets, 2022 saw countries burning unprecedented amounts of coal — but also making massive investments in renewables. Experts are projecting the world will add as much renewable power in the next five years as it did in the last 20, with renewables rapidly overtaking coal to become the world’s largest source of electricity.

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From Algorithms to Ice Hockey: Finding Ways To Make Equity a Reality

3BL Media

BY SOPHIE HARES. SOURCE: Mastercard. DESCRIPTION: As businesses realize the benefits of bringing more people into the financial fold, ideas to improve diversity, equity and inclusion, known as DEI, emerged throughout the year. But amid the progress, it also became clear that transforming promising slogans into reality is not easy. There are no quick fixes to leveling the playing field for women, people of color or the LGBTQ community.

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Southeast US Battery Storage Projects Add 150 MW for Grid Reliability

Environment + Energy Leader

Origis Energy and Mitsubishi Power Americas are partnering to add the energy systems at three solar sites. The post Southeast US Battery Storage Projects Add 150 MW for Grid Reliability appeared first on Environment + Energy Leader.

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Climate Rides the Omnibus

Legal Planet

The omnibus spending bill is by no means a “climate law.” Because it spans the entire government, though, it has many provisions relating to climate change. They aren’t dramatic step forward. But the fact that they can pass as part of a bipartisan spending law is a sign of how climate change is slowly becoming normalized as a political consideration.

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Shaping a Resilient Future: Climate Impact on Vulnerable Populations

Speaker: Laurie Schoeman Director, Climate & Sustainability, Capital

As households and communities across the nation face challenges such as hurricanes, wildfires, drought, extreme heat and cold, and thawing permafrost and flooding, we are increasingly searching for ways to mitigate and prevent climate impacts. During this event, national climate and housing expert Laurie Schoeman will discuss topics including: The two paths for climate action: decarbonization and adaptation.

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Federal Water Tap, December 26: Water Spending Woven into Budget Deal

Circle of Blue

The Rundown. Congress passes a $1.7 trillion budget deal. The Army Corps finalizes a plan for a river diversion to rebuild land on the Louisiana coast. The Army Corps also releases a draft review of a massive water-diversion tunnel through California’s contentious delta region. Congress sends several water-related bills to the president. And lastly, the EPA’s draft drinking water standards for PFOA and PFOS are due by the end of the year.

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Why Energy Bills Will Be Even Higher This Winter

Union of Concerned Scientists

US ratepayers very likely will pay even more for electricity and heating this winter compared to the already-expensive winter of 2021-2022. These higher costs are being driven by a major overreliance on natural gas, which has sharply spiked in price and is currently the dominant fuel source in the US for both home heating and electricity generation.

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For U.S. Companies, the Race for the New EV Battery Is On

Yale E360

Spurred by federal mandates and incentives, U.S. manufacturers are pushing forward with developing new battery technologies for electric vehicles. The holy grail is a battery that is safer, costs less, provides longer driving range, and doesn’t use imported “conflict” minerals. Read more on E360 →.

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GoDaddy’s Pilot You Empower Cohort Proves Power of One-on-One Personalized Coaching for Entrepreneurs

3BL Media

SOURCE: GoDaddy. DESCRIPTION: Leveraging its deep expertise as the world’s largest services platform for entrepreneurs around the globe, GoDaddy Inc.’s You Empower pilot cohort has proved the power of one-on-one personalized coaching for entrepreneurs eager to enhance their small business’ digital presence and branding. GoDaddy You Empower is a 12-week, skills-based, full-time employee volunteer assignment where employees are paired with Empower by GoDaddy nonprofit community partners.

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Sustainability at Retail

Sustainability impacts every nation, company, and person around the world. So much so that, in 2015, the United Nations (UN) issued a call for action by all countries to work toward sustainable development. In response to this and as part of a global Sustainability at Retail initiative, Shop! worked collaboratively with its global affiliates to address these critical issues in this white paper.

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Sustainability Boosts Zero-Waste Packaging Market

Environment + Energy Leader

Edible and compostable materials join recyclables as key components of the segment's growth. The post Sustainability Boosts Zero-Waste Packaging Market appeared first on Environment + Energy Leader.

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The Most Important Environmental Story Of The Week

Legal Planet

No, it’s not the Biden Administration’s successful push to electrify tens of thousands of USPS vehicles. It’s how Matrix LLC, a consultant in the southeast with significant investments in the energy sector, made massive payments to local media outlets to slant their coverage in favor of dirty power and exorbitant electricity rates. Consider Alabama Power, which. runs and owns a coal-fired power plant that is the largest single source of carbon dioxide emissions in the United States.

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The Year in Water, 2022

Circle of Blue

The Year in Water, 2022. Sharpening the Shark’s Teeth By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue – December 13, 2022. Spend a few days at a water conference and you’ll hear a favored metaphor for the environmental changes that are unsettling the planet. If climate change is a shark, attendees will say, then water is the shark’s teeth. In this telling, when higher temperatures bite, victims are likely to suffer a hydrologic trauma: too much water or too little.

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Do Paris Agreement Temperature Goals Address Sea Level Rise and Climate Justice?

Union of Concerned Scientists

Sea level rise presents numerous climate justice issues. Some of the venues where people are addressing the injustices of climate change are UN climate negotiations, the courts, and community organizing efforts around the world. Climate justice research can help inform these conversations. New research that I led as part of my PhD dissertation, which was just published in Earth’s Future , digs deep into the topic of sea level rise and climate justice.

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Forest Equity: What Indigenous People Want from Carbon Credits

Yale E360

To Indigenous leader Levi Sucre Romero, carbon credit markets have failed to respect Indigenous people and their key role in protecting their lands. In an e360 interview, he talks about how carbon brokers have taken advantage of local communities and why that must change. Read more on E360 →.

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ESG Talk: Season Finale

3BL Media

SOURCE: Workiva. DESCRIPTION: That's a wrap! Check out this new highlight reel featuring some of our most memorable moments from ESG Talk season one. In season two, we're bringing together more diverse perspectives to simplify ESG, one conversation at a time. Looking for more? Subscribe to ESG Talk on Apple , Spotify , Google , and YouTube. Tweet me: Just released—a new highlight reel featuring some of the most memorable moments from #ESGTalk season one.

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China’s Largest Stand-Alone Energy Storage Station with Hithium LFP Battery has Gone Live

Environment + Energy Leader

As the largest of its kind in China up to this moment, this project is a major milestone in the building of renewable energy power system in Ningxia. The post China’s Largest Stand-Alone Energy Storage Station with Hithium LFP Battery has Gone Live appeared first on Environment + Energy Leader.

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Keep on Trucking

Legal Planet

Last week, EPA finalized its new rule imposing emission limits on new heavy trucks. The new regulation was clearly a massive undertaking. EPA’s formal announcement of the new rule is 1100 pages long. The accompanying summary of comments on the proposed rule and EPA’s responses is another 2000 pages. This is partly due to the complexity of controlling emissions from trucks, given that there is no equivalent of the catalytic converter for diesels.

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Snapshots, Hotshots and Moonshots: Images of Climate Change in 2022

Inside Climate News

Climate change manifested this year in more than just weather disasters. By Katelyn Weisbrod Climate change and an environment in peril were visible in many of 2022’s defining moments: record-smashing heat waves in Europe and South Asia, droughts pushing the fragile global food system to its limit and energy and food markets shaken by war in Ukraine.

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Danger Season and Hurricane Season Have Ended, Work for Impacted Communities Has Not

Union of Concerned Scientists

This post was co-authored by Astrid Caldas. Here we are, at the end of another year. Danger season, the period of time between May and September when climate-related disasters peak is long gone. Hurricane season just ended on November 30. But as much as we’d like to think those are in the past now, that is not true—for those impacted, the work of recovery has hardly begun and will not be finished for years to come, if at all.

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Americans Flocking to Fire-Prone Regions, Study Finds

Yale E360

Americans are moving away from parts of the Midwest that are prone to heat waves, but are moving into regions in the West that are increasingly vulnerable to wildfires, according to a 10-year study. Read more on E360 →.

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KeyBank Foundation Invests More Than $1.4 Million To Support Workforce Development and Homeownership Initiatives in the Capital Region

3BL Media

Funding will lift up and amplify efforts that will strengthen communities through workforce training, financial education and economic development. SOURCE: KeyBank. DESCRIPTION: ALBANY, N.Y., December 27, 2022 /3BL Media/ – The KeyBank Foundation is investing a total of $1,425,000 in four non-profit organizations in the Capital Region to support workforce development, housing insecurities and homeownership initiatives.

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SMUD and Swell Energy Partner on Virtual Power Plant That Strengthens the Grid with Renewables

Environment + Energy Leader

Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) and Swell Energy recently announced an agreement for Swell to act as the aggregator for the new My Energy Optimizer Partner+ program – a customer-driven virtual power plant initiative. The post SMUD and Swell Energy Partner on Virtual Power Plant That Strengthens the Grid with Renewables appeared first on Environment + Energy Leader.

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The Passing of a Respected Water Warrior

Legal Planet

Clifford (Cliff) Lee, one of California’s most knowledgable and respected water law experts, died suddenly late last month. His passing leaves a tremendous void in the field of California water law and policy. After earning his undergraduate degree from U.C. Berkeley, Cliff attended law school at U.C. Davis and quickly became entranced by water law.

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To Save the Vaquita Porpoise, Conservationists Entreat Mexico to Keep Gillnets Out of the Northern Gulf of California

Inside Climate News

The country must enforce its ban on gillnet fishing in the area to save the world’s most endangered marine mammal, experts warn. Only around 10 of the porpoises are thought to remain. By Delaney Dryfoos In San Felipe, a fishing town on the northeast edge of Baja California, the use and transportation of gillnets have been banned by the Mexican government since 2017 as a measure to protect the rare vaquita porpoise.

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Where’s My Train? Chronic Disinvestment in Transit Leaves Us All Stuck

Union of Concerned Scientists

If you live in an area with public transit, and have found yourself wondering where things went wrong, you’re not alone. Maybe you ride every day but have had to navigate line closures and service changes like in Boston or Washington DC. Perhaps you rarely ride or have had a handful of bad experiences with delays or ghost buses that never come. Or perhaps you can’t understand why it is so difficult to get to the airport on a train or bus (we see you, Los Angeles).

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The 30 Percent Goal: Is Bigger Always Better for Biodiversity?

Yale E360

The UN biodiversity conference now meeting in Montreal is considering a proposal to commit to putting 30 percent of land and sea under protection by 2030. Some ecologists warn that focusing too much on the size of protected areas risks missing what most needs saving. Read more on E360 →.

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Shop Brands That Give Back Through Microcredit This Holiday Season

3BL Media

by Sandy Mariscal, Senior Marketing and Outreach Program Manager. SOURCE: Whole Foods Market Foundations. DESCRIPTION: Whole Foods Market suppliers are empowering microentrepreneurs with income-generating opportunities this holiday season. These like-minded companies are donating a portion of their sales in select Whole Foods Market stores in December to fund microcredit through Whole Planet Foundation.

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Looking forward to seeing your E+E Leader Awards for 2023

Environment + Energy Leader

If you've got some extra time next week, why not work on your submission for the 2023 E+E Leader Awards? . The post Looking forward to seeing your E+E Leader Awards for 2023 appeared first on Environment + Energy Leader.

2023 246
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A Celebration of Energy Efficiency?

Legal Planet

When you think about it, the Hanukkah story is, in a funny way, about a miraculous increase in energy efficiency. An energy resource (olive oil) that was supposed to supply only enough energy for one night’s worth of light was able to supply light for eight nights. That’s an eightfold improvement in energy efficiency, akin to driving 2000 miles on one tank of gas.