USA Facts: In Numbers – A nonpartisan, data-driven snapshot of the state of our union. “Article II of the US Constitution mandates that the president periodically inform Congress about the “state of the union,” including budget reports and legislative proposals. It is also a chance for the president to review their achievements, with not just… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Energy
GreenerCars
“GreenerCars is an annual assessment of every new model in the U.S. light-duty vehicle market. It is based on a lifecycle assessment of the greenhouse gas and criteria pollutant emissions from the production, use, and disposal of each vehicle. Unlike other evaluations of the health and environmental impact of vehicles that rely solely on fuel-efficiency,… Continue Reading
Why Charging Your Gadgets Over 80% Is Such a Bad Idea
IFixIt: “Charging your phone’s battery to 100% is drastically shortening its useful life. But the fix is easy, and while auto companies have known about this and mitigated its consequences for some time, now most major smartphone brands—including Apple, Samsung, and Google—are finally jumping on board. When we think about battery longevity, we think about… Continue Reading
Atrocious Air
First Street: “Since the middle of the last century, the United States has witnessed significant changes in air quality, driven by industrialization, technological advancements, regulatory measures, and public awareness. The most important of these interventions was the Clean Air Act of 1963, which served as the first federal legislation addressing air quality concerns. While air… Continue Reading
These States Are Basically Begging You to Get a Heat Pump
Wired [read free]: “You need a heat pump, ASAP. Now nine states are teaming up to accelerate the adoption of this climate superhero. Nine states have signed a memorandum of understanding that says that heat pumps should make up at least 65 percent of residential heating, air conditioning, and water-heating shipments by 2030. (“Shipments” here… Continue Reading
Secondhand EVs Are Starting to Look Like a Bargain
Bloomberg – The energy transition will falter unless consumers feel more comfortable about buying a used battery-powered vehicle. “You need at least £79,000 ($99,000) to buy a new electric Porsche Taycan in the UK; higher-specification versions of these sporty sedans cost tens of thousands more. However, three-year old Taycans are now available for less than… Continue Reading
Plastic bag bans work
EnvironmentAmerica.org: “Well-designed single-use plastic bag bans have successfully reduced plastic bag use and associated litter and pollution. Use the Single-use Plastic Bag Ban Waste Reduction Calculator to estimate the impact where you live. Single-use plastic bags pollute communities with litter, degrade in the environment and harm marine life. The good news is that states and… Continue Reading
PFAS Maryland Fish Consumption Advisory Map
“Brent Walls, Upper Potomac Riverkeeper, has become an expert on the growing issue of PFAS – toxic “legacy” chemicals – which we are finding in more and more places. He has created a map which identifies monitoring locations where Maryland’s Department of the Environment (MDE) collected fish tissue samples from various species, oyster sampling and… Continue Reading
Buried But Not Forgotten: Coal Ash in the Chesapeake
Waterkeepers Chesapeake – “The Chesapeake Bay region has a problem it thought it could bury and forget. But the solution for coal ash is not so simple. Coal ash, also referred to as coal combustion residuals or CCRs, is produced primarily from the burning of coal in coal-fired power plants. Coal ash contains hazardous pollutants… Continue Reading
Cracking the Gasoline Code
COLTURA – Using new gasoline consumption data to lift the most gasoline-burdened Americans and cut gasoline use faster and more efficiently. “The top 10% of drivers in the U.S. account for more than one-third of the nation’s gasoline use for private light-duty vehicles, according to the report. Extreme levels of gasoline use are deeply woven… Continue Reading
Plastic is everywhere, including in our food and bottled water
Ars Technica: “If we are what we eat, there’s growing evidence to help explain how nanoplastics and microplastics are in our blood, in our intestines and in some of our organs. Two new studies published this week shed further, and alarming, light on all the tiny plastic particles that people are consuming every day. A… Continue Reading
An environmental and socially just climate mitigation pathway for a planet in peril
PHSY.org: An environmental and socially just climate mitigation pathway for a planet in peril, Environmental Research Letters (2024). DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/ad059e “Oregon State’s William Ripple, former OSU postdoctoral researcher Christopher Wolf and collaborators argue their scenario should be included in climate models along with the five “shared socioeconomic pathways,” or SSPs, that are used by the… Continue Reading
