Green Lights March 29: Top stories this week
Don't miss a single story of the best from Callaway Climate Insights.
. . . . Welcome back to Green Lights. Here’s our weekly roundup of the best of Callaway Climate Insights. This week, David Callaway reports from both London and Paris, looking at what’s ahead for the next UK election and the summer Olympic games in Paris. He also reads between the power lines of the annual investor letter from BlackRock’s Larry Fink. Take a peep. Here are the highlights in a simple and convenient format that makes it easy for our readers. It’s also easy to subscribe.
. . . . Bike lanes everywhere, solar panels on the Seine, an opening ceremony on boats, an experimental A/C system, and an entire process powered by renewables-fed electric generators instead of dirty diesel. That’s the promise of French officials this summer for the City of Light’s first Olympic games since 1924. Paris’s transition for the summer games is a sneak peak at what all historical cities will have to undertake in coming years.
. . . . In this year’s annual letter to investors, BlackRock’s Larry Fink buried the lead several hundred words down in a crafted anecdote about family and retirement savings. The good news is that he’s still bullish on the climate transition, especially energy infrastructure deals. David Callaway says Fink’s trying to reconcile with Texas politicians, but he couldn’t help pushing this one bullish energy story.
. . . . Among London’s historic pubs, none is more politically famous than the Red Lion in Westminster, just a few blocks from Parliament. David Callaway went there this week to remember past political drama and look forward to a general election later this year that will bring the opposition Labour Party to government for the first time since 2010. The chattering among pundits is that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will call a general election by October, one month before the U.S. presidential election. How the candidates will handle the question of a green transition vs energy security will provide valuable clues about the priority of climate change among voters in Europe and America. . . .
. . . . Swedish wine? Finnish wine? Norwegian wine? English wine? Yes, drinkable wines are now being produced in those northern climes, writes Matthew Diebel. And it’s due to global warming. Which makes it more difficult — with heatwaves and droughts — to make wine in the traditional areas. A new study reveals how bad it could get.
. . . . The threat of Chinese EVs that can spy on us — a worry that consumed the Biden Administration last month — has spread to Westminster, where UK government officials are in a full panic this week over a new report that China has spied on the British electorate and politicians for years. Bad news, unless you’re Tesla.
. . . . Spring has sprung, whether you count the days from meteorological spring (March 1) or the spring equinox (March 19). Don’t put your umbrella away just yet. The Farmer’s Almanac predicts April showers may produce some severe weather for areas in the Southeast and South Central regions. The Northwest will see a very cloudy and cool start to the spring season. Check the local forecast for your Easter egg hunt on Sunday, your antics on April Fool’s Day, or the best viewing opportunities of the April 8 total solar eclipse.
More greenery . . . .
Science for the peeple: The World’s Finest Science-Themed Peeps Diorama Contest (NASA, who else?)
‘Garbage Lasagna’: Dumps Are a Big Driver of Warming (The New York Times)
Silent assassin: Extreme heat is stealthily claiming lives (Al Jazeera.com)
It’s a timey-wimey thing: How climate change is affecting global timekeeping (Nature.com)
Spring is early: Keeping Track of Climate Change in Your Backyard (Slate)
What’s in your neighborhood?: Homeowners in these U.S. cities face the greatest threats (The Hill)