Green Energy

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Asian Renewable Energy Hub is planning a $16 billion solar and wind project in the part of the Australian outback known as Pilbara, that is, in the north of the West Australian desert. The panels work by converting photons or ordinary light rays to electricity. The Australian Bureau of […]

Climate Crisis

One last Time, Trump lies to the International Community about the Climate Emergency and Green Energy

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – DW gives a clip of Trump’s unhinged video rant to the G20 summit against the Paris Climate Accord on Sunday, which is being held virtually this year. Trump said, according to Kevin Liptak at CNN, “The Paris accord was not designed to save the environment, it was designed to kill […]

Climate Crisis

We only need $1.5 Trillion to meet Paris climate goals, a fraction of what Gov’ts are spending on Pandemic Relief

The Conversation

By David L. McCollum | – As of late summer, governments around the world had pledged US$12.2 trillion of relief in response to the coronavirus pandemic. That’s around 15% of global GDP, three times larger than government spending put forward during and after the 2008-2009 global financial crisis and enough for every adult in the […]

Environmentalism

As Wind, Solar, surge, Renewables to be Globe’s largest Source of Electricity by 2025

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The International Energy Agency just issued a report concluding that wind and solar are growing rapidly, unlike beleaguered fossil fuels, and that in only five years they will be generating a third of the world’s electricity, overtaking coal. They will overtake natural gas sooner, in 2023. Coal is the dirtiest […]

Climate Crisis

Europeans express relief, hope for climate cooperation after Biden win

Clean Energy Wire

By Kerstine Appunn, Charlotte Nijhuis, Benjamin Wehrmann and Julian Wettengel | – ( Clean Energy Wire ) – European leaders, researchers and media commentators breathed a collective sigh of relief following Joe Biden’s victory in the US presidential elections and expressed hope for a new partnership on combating climate change. The news fuelled expectations that […]

Congress

If Biden-Harris win sans Senate, They Could still enact Green Energy by out-politicking McConnell

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Even if Joe Biden becomes president, he may well not have a Democratic majority in the Senate. The shape of the Senate may not even be known until January. This is a huge problem, because majority leader Mitch McConnell waged war on President Obama from the Senate, refusing to let […]

Climate Crisis

A Solar Germany? Renewables are Covering Half of Germany’s Electricity Demand

Clean Energy Wire

By Edgar Meza | – (Clean Energy Wire ) – Germany has already surpassed last year’s record amount of solar power by late October, according to an analysis by the energy provider E.ON. “In total, more than 43 billion kWh of solar power have already been fed into the grid since the beginning of January […]

Acidification of Oceans

The Black Hole of Depressions: Doing nothing about Climate Emergency could cost more than all the Wealth in the World

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – A study in Nature Communications has found that if you add in variability to calculations of the impact of climate change, the upper range of the damage it could do to property is $563 trillion.* That is in the worst case scenario where the world does virtually nothing to stop […]

Climate Crisis

Big Oil’s Funeral: Pure Electric Car Purchases in Germany skyrocket 260%

Juan Cole

By Sören Amelang | – ( Clean Energy Wire ) – A record number of car buyers in Germany have opted for electric vehicles in September. The number of new purely electric vehicles rose to 21,188 last month, an increase of 260 percent compared to a year ago, the country’s Federal Motor Transport Authority KBA […]