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Category Archives: Energy

If you’ve got an EV, Google Maps is about to become much more valuable

Washington Post [no paywall]: “Google has announced new features in its Maps app designed to help electric car drivers find a charge. The updates include a tool to help drivers find nearby chargers with real-time information about availability and charging speed, the ability to find charging stops on longer road trips and more detailed instructions about how to find chargers within parking lots and garages. Google expects to start rolling out these features “in the coming months,” according to a blog post. Some will come first to people who drive a car that comes with “Google Built-in,” the company’s driver-assistance software. Google updated its other route-finding app, Waze, with information on EV chargers last month…”

Staggering quantities of energy transition metals are winding up in the garbage bin

Grist: “To build all of the solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehiclebatteries, and other technologies necessary to fight climate change, we’re going to need a lot more metals. Mining those metals from the Earth creates damage and pollution that threaten ecosystems and communities. But there’s another potential source of the copper, nickel, aluminum, and rare-earth… Continue Reading

80 Percent of Global CO2 Emissions Come From Just 57 Companies

Smithsonian Magazine: “A new analysis released last week by the international non-profit InfluenceMap reveals an overwhelmingly unequal share of fossil fuel pollution worldwide. From 2016 to 2022, 80 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions were produced by just 57 companies. Shared in the think tank’s Carbon Majors Database, which is authored by some of the… Continue Reading

WHO The state of the climate in 2023

WHO Climate Report – Climate change indicators reached record levels in 2023. The state of the climate in 2023 gave ominous new significance to the phrase “off the charts.” Key messages: State of Global Climate report confirms 2023 as hottest year on record by clear margin Records broken for ocean heat, sea level rise, Antarctic… Continue Reading

The Global E-Waste Monitor 2024

UNITAR: “The world is experiencing significant electronification, including a digital transformation, with technologies profoundly changing the way we live, work, learn, socialize, and do business. Many people own and use multiple electronic devices, and the increasing interconnectivity of urban and remote areas has led to a rise in the number of devices and objects linked… Continue Reading

PowerOutage.us

“PowerOutage.us is an ongoing project created to track, record, and aggregate power outages across the United States. Find out about us on our About page. Click on a state to see more detailed info. Data is updated site wide approximately every ten minutes.” Continue Reading

The Lie-brary

Center for Climate Integrity: “Evidence shows that Big Oil & Gas knew as early as the 1960s that their products would lead to climate change, and that it could have disastrous impacts worldwide. This collection of internal company documents has been compiled thanks to the work of journalists, independent researchers, and academics. They Knew Scientists… Continue Reading

State of the science on plastic chemicals

PlastChem – Identifying and addressing chemicals and polymers of concern. “Chemicals are a central aspect of the plastics issue. Although there is a wealth of scientific information on plastic chemicals and polymers to inform policymakers, implementing this evidence is challenging because information is scattered and not easily accessible. The PlastChem report and database address this… Continue Reading

Leaded aviation gasoline exposure risk and child blood lead levels

Leaded aviation gasoline exposure risk and child blood lead levels, PNAS Nexus, Volume 2, Issue 1, January 2023, pgac 285, https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgac285. Published: 10 January 2023. “Lead-formulated aviation gasoline (avgas) is the primary source of lead emissions in the United States today, consumed by over 170,000 piston-engine aircraft (PEA). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates… Continue Reading

Report – AI likely to increase energy use and accelerate climate misinformation

The Guardian – Claims that artificial intelligence will help solve the climate crisis are misguided, warns a coalition of environmental groups – “Claims that artificial intelligence will help solve the climate crisis are misguided, with the technology instead likely cause rising energy use and turbocharge the spread of climate disinformation, a coalition of environmental groups has… Continue Reading