The recent heat wave in Europe was unprecedented. In the US the Independence Day parade was cancelled and 842,000 homes were without electricity as circuits were overwhelmed by demand for air conditioning. Why are these new heat wave records related to climate change? Climate scientist Andrew Dessler explains.
GREENING
BMW Will Build a New Electric S.U.V. in South Carolina. The German company is doubling down on electric vehicles even as other automakers pull back after acknowledging billions of dollars in losses. BMW sells more to the hot EV market in Europe than Americal automakers.
University of Hawai’i researchers find developing more utility-scale solar-plus-storage rather than a new natural gas plant will save the state’s utility ratepayers billions of dollars and smooth the transition to 100% renewable energy. (Honolulu Civil Beat)
The Western Governors Association backs a proposed $60 billion plan to add or upgrade 12,600 miles of high-voltage transmission lines in the region over the next decade, saying projected demand growth requires a more robust grid. (Deseret News, Utah News Dispatch)
California awards the Port of Long Beach $338 million to purchase a battery-electric tugboat and other cargo-handling equipment and deploy 21 EV charging stations. (electrek)
A federal appeals court upholds a New York City law effectively banning natural gas appliances in most new buildings. (E&E News) [This conflicts with a 9th district Appeals court ruling regarding a Berkeley rule, so it will be headed to the Supreme Court, where ideals go to die.]
A new paper shows that the EU’s carbon border adjustment mechanism is already driving cleaner production and shifting the competitiveness of Indian steel exporters. [The mechanism adds tariffs to imports equal to the added costs that EU manufacturers have to pay due to carbon taxes.] read more
Tesla’s sales soared last quarter, rising 25% compared to the same period last year. That seems largely due to strong sales in Europe, where Tesla’s aggressive loans and price cuts — as well as high fuel prices due to the Iran war — are driving a new surgein EV buying. [Whatever we think of Elon Musk every EV is a step in the right direction.]
The Department of Energy has projected that Virtual Power Plants could meet 10% to 20% of peak electricity demand by 2030, saving “on the order of $10B in annual grid costs through avoided generation buildout, delayed power infrastructure investments, and reduced operation of expensive peaker plants.”
CLIMATE DESPOLIATION
In a fascinating article a Pakastani dentist described the consequences for dental health (which have knock on consequences in other realms) of working in weather so hot that saliva stops forming. “I realized I was witnessing something far more systemic and urgent than a collection of individual dental problems. This was environmental collapse writing itself directly into human biological systems…. Saliva performs three critical functions that are absolutely essential to tooth survival: It buffers acids from food and stomach reflux that would otherwise erode enamel; it holds calcium and phosphate minerals, which actively remineralize tooth enamel when microscopic damage occurs; and it contains enzymes and antibodies that fight bacteria, helping prevent infection and decay. Without adequate saliva flow — and I mean genuinely adequate, not just the minimal amount needed to swallow — teeth begin to demineralize within weeks.” [Definitely worth reading.]
Google’s greenhouse gas emissions rose to record heights last year as the company’s clean energy investments failed to keep up with its rapid expansion of AI infrastructure. Amazon’s emissions rose 16% from 2024. (Axios)
The World Bank will “abandon” its goal to devote 45% of annual lending resources to climate-related projects, reported Reuters. Carbon Brief explored what it could mean for global climate action.
DARK AGE CLIMATE POLITICS
The Department of Energy proposed sweeping changes to its rules for updating efficiency standards for household appliances on Thursday. If finalized, they would hamstring future administrations from issuing tighter standards that would save consumers money as higher-performing air conditioners, stoves, washing machines, refrigerators, and the like hit the market.
Sustainability advocates and investment managers alike criticize the Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposal to end a Biden-era regulation that requires companies to disclose their climate-related risks, saying investors need that information to make wise decisions. (E&E News)
A well-designed system of running water, gravel, microbes and wetland plants could deliver crystal-clear water free of visible algae to the Reflecting Pool. It would slash the need for chemicals, electricity and maintenance in the troubled basin. The technology is as old as life, and as modern as the thousands of natural pools and swimming ponds successfully installed around the world from Minnesota to Germany.
There are 92 gigawatts of early-stage solar, wind, and battery storage projects at risk of getting caught up in the Interior Department’s permitting blockade, according to a Wood Mackenzie analysis. That total represents $121 billion worth of investment in projects planned on federal and private lands through 2029. Wood Mackenzie’s analysis doesn’t include the some 29 gigawatts of onshore wind projects that the Pentagon is also holding up, citing national security concerns.
Two new reports find the world’s top banks are financing more fossil fuel development as they continue to back away from climate commitments. (Grist)
Editor’s note. Do you sometimes wonder, as I do, how fossil fuel executives and bankers directly involved in causing global warming justify their actions to themselves? I’m reading a book call Green Crime: Inside the Minds of the People Destroying the Planet, and How to Stop Them by forensic psychologist Julia Shaw. But on the fourth of July a similar phenomenon comes to mind: for 246 years Americans “owned” slaves and treated them brutally. You might even say “inhumanly;” but self-deception accompanying cruelty seems all too human. Can we rise above our humanity to mobilize the world to reduce emissions in time? The jury is still out.
Dan Chandler
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