Green Lights June 30: Top stories this week
Don't miss a single story: The best from Callaway Climate Insights
. . . . Welcome to Green Lights, our weekly roundup of the best of Callaway Climate Insights. This week, columnist Bill Sternberg highlights a devil’s bargain: America’s nuclear utilities need Russia’s enriched uranium to run their reactors, while Vladimir Putin needs cash to finance his war and maintain his increasingly tenuous grip on power. We also have news on the EV sector’s endgame, and what’s ahead for the renewables sector. Here are the highlights in a simple and convenient format that makes it easy for our readers. It’s also easy to subscribe.
. . . . As the Texas electric grid strains under the pressure of an unprecedented heat dome this week, grid operators around the country — and the world — are watching for valuable lessons in both renewable energy and grid management, David Callaway writes. Solar and wind stocks, mostly weak the past few years as the energy trade became unpopular, at some point are going to react to the tremendous increase in renewable production. But only if all that energy can be absorbed by our grids, which need a massive overhaul.
. . . . Sanctions? What sanctions?, asks Bill Sternberg in his column this week about how the U.S. is paying billions to Russia for nuclear fuel. Surprising? Well, America’s reactors need enriched uranium from Russia. And Putin needs dollars for his war in Ukraine.
. . . . Falling EV prices are likely to spur greater sector growth, writes Matthew Diebel, as fading supply chain issues and government incentives adjust the market.
. . . . This week’s bankruptcy filing of Lordstown Motors was expected. But an interesting development in the story of rival Lucid Group should give investors in the EV startup class of 2020 some hope for more positive outcomes for some of the rest as the endgame approaches, David Callaway writes.
. . . . El Niño can make it hard for forecasters to accurately predict how many major storms are in the cards for this year’s Atlantic hurricane season. But as Mike Molinski reports, a single storm, such as Hurricane Wilma (above, aiming for Cancun, Mexico), can be devastating. And climate change is making these storms more intense.
. . . . The Darvaza gas crater, also known as the “Gateway to Hell,” is a burning pit in Turkmenistan that has been spewing methane into the atmosphere for about 50 years. Interestingly, the fact that the methane is on fire is better than if it was not burning. But it’s still an environmental problem.
More greenery . . . .
‘Animal manure has a lot of energy in it’: Detroit Zoo turns poop into electricity
From Texas, with chutzpah: As the state roasts, its climate-denying politicians are asking for federal help
From smoky New York: Hochul says ‘We are truly the first generation to feel the real effects of climate change’
From Europe: EU is looking into tech like blocking out the sun, as climate efforts falter
Who do you think will win? Folks who place bets — literally gamble — on a climate prediction market change their opinions on climate change
Pew Research Center: Most American prioritize renewable energy and support efforts to solve climate change issues
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