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It's time to let the fossil fuel industry die | Ilana Cohen, Connor Chung and Joseph Winters
Instead of bailing out big oil, let’s bail out ordinary people instead
On the inaugural Earth Day, Americans flooded streets and college campuses to channel their fears, desire, hopes and longings into their vision for a better future. All these years later, we have failed to heed their call.
This Monday, two days before Earth Day’s 50th anniversary, oil futures went negative for the first time in history. Buyers were so eager to offload oil commitments that they were willing to give their crude away at cost. This crash only emphasizes the inherent instability of the carbon economy and the need to create a more stable future. We need to disentangle our society from fossil fuels and let the industry die.
Continue reading...South Australia big batteries collect windfall, as wind farms duck for cover
South Australia's big batteries pocket record amounts of revenue following separation events, while wind farms went to great lengths to dodge huge FCAS fees.
The post South Australia big batteries collect windfall, as wind farms duck for cover appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Wind, solar help push grid emissions to record low, prices to four year low
Despite incredible volatility, wholesale electricity prices fell to their lowest levels since 2016, while emissions were at record lows in the first quarter.
The post Wind, solar help push grid emissions to record low, prices to four year low appeared first on RenewEconomy.
World Bank sticks to November REDD deal deadline amid virus concerns
EU lawmakers concerned over CORSIA proposal that could breach ETS directive
Cranes make comeback in Britain's wetlands
Global business group launches Singapore-based voluntary carbon trading drive
In fire-ravaged California, we know what it's like to leave 'normal life' behind
We’ve learned that there is a bigger power than humanity. Now coronavirus has shown that to communities across the world
When news of the pandemic broke out in California and we were ordered to shelter at home, many of us rifled through our closets for our bulk packages of protective N95 masks that we’d worn in last year’s fire, and the fires the year before that, and the fires the year before that, and wondered if we should donate them to the hospitals or keep them for ourselves.
This time, wearing masks was about protecting the vulnerable and at-risk from ourselves. But we will need the masks to protect ourselves from the fires that will likely come back this summer and fall. Presumably, there won’t be any N95 masks left by that time, when we’ll need protection from the smoke if we’re ordered to evacuate, as we had to last year, for more than a week, when the Kincade fire scorched 77,758 acres of our county of Sonoma.
Continue reading...NZ changes ETS rules to give oil refinery millions of dollars worth of free CO2 permits
We can't let Trump roll back 50 years of environmental progress | Elizabeth Southerland
I worked for the EPA for 33 years. We can’t let this administration obliterate half a century of environmental progress
On the first Earth Day in 1970, millions of Americans took to the streets to demand clean air, water and land, and advocate for a healthier and more sustainable environment. By the end of the year, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was founded.
Related: EPA faces court over backing of Monsanto's controversial crop system
Continue reading...GHG removal credits clear above €30 in Finnish platform’s latest auction
This Earth Day, we must stop the fossil fuel money pipeline | Bill McKibben
Taking down the fossil fuel industry requires taking on the institutions that finance it. Even during a pandemic, this movement is gaining steam
1970 was a simpler time. (February was a simpler time too, but for a moment let’s think outside the pandemic bubble.)
Simpler because our environmental troubles could be easily seen. The air above our cities was filthy, and the water in our lakes and streams was gross. There was nothing subtle about it. In New York City, the environmental lawyer Albert Butzel described a permanently yellow horizon: “I not only saw the pollution, I wiped it off my windowsills.” Or consider the testimony of a city medical examiner: “The person who spent his life in the Adirondacks has nice pink lungs. The city dweller’s are black as coal.” You’ve probably heard of Cleveland’s Cuyahoga River catching fire, but here’s how the former New York governor Nelson Rockefeller described the Hudson south of Albany: “One great septic tank that has been rendered nearly useless for water supply, for swimming, or to support the rich fish life that once abounded there.” Everything that people say about the air and water in China and India right now was said of America’s cities then.
Continue reading...Mystery bird illness investigated after German blue tit deaths
More than 11,000 cases of dead and sick birds reported in past fortnight
Thousands of blue tits have been found sick or dead in Germany, prompting an investigation by conservation groups and scientists.
More than 11,000 cases of dead and sick birds, mostly blue tits, have been reported to the German conservation group NABU in the past fortnight. Most of these are reported from the west of Germany.
The blue tit is found across Europe and is one of the most common visitors to UK gardens. They eat insects, caterpillars, seeds and nuts and can be spotted all year round in the UK, with the exception of some Scottish islands.
According to NABU, symptoms of the diseased birds include breathing problems, no longer taking food and making no attempt to escape when approached by people. The group is advising people to stop feeding or providing drinking troughs for birds to reduce the risk of transmission between them.
The first laboratory test results on the dead birds have found a bacterial infection (Suttonella ornithocola) that has been known in the UK since the 1990s and which affects birds similarly. The infection was reported in Germany in 2018. Further test results on birds are expected over the next few days.
The infection discovered causes pneumonia in tits – predominantly blue tits – and they become lethargic with fluffed-up plumage and breathing difficulties. There are no reports of this affecting any other animals apart from birds.
The urban wild: animals take to the streets amid lockdown – in pictures
Animals have started taking advantage of cities as they enter lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic. From New Delhi, India to Buenos Aires, Argentina, groups of animals including deer and lemurs have started to come out to explore – in search of food or just to play
Continue reading...Climate change: 2019 was Europe's warmest year on record
Pandemic side-effects offer glimpse of alternative future on Earth Day 2020
Coronavirus has led to reduced pollution, re-emerging wildlife and plunging oil prices and shown the size of the task facing humanity
The skies are clearing of pollution, wildlife is returning to newly clear waters, a host of flights have been scrapped and crude oil is so worthless that the industry would have to pay you to take it off their hands – a few months ago, environmentalists could only dream of such a scenario as the 50th anniversary of Earth Day hove into view.
But this disorientingly green new reality is causing little cheer given the cause is the coronavirus pandemic that has ravaged much of the world.
Continue reading...Climate strikes continue online: 'We want to keep the momentum going'
Activists hold mass video calls and share hashtags, and three-day livestream planned for Earth Day
The large crowds and brightly coloured placards of the school climate strikes became some of the defining images of 2019.
“There would be lots of chanting and the energy was always amazing,” says Dominique Palmer, a 20-year-old climate activist from London who has been involved with the strikes for more than a year. “Being there with everyone in that moment is truly an electrifying feeling. It’s very different now.”
Continue reading...Taylor to loosen Australia’s lax fuel standards to support oil sector
Angus Taylor announces plans to loosen Australia's already lax fuel standards in bid to help out oil industry hit by tumbling prices.
The post Taylor to loosen Australia’s lax fuel standards to support oil sector appeared first on RenewEconomy.
NSW amends planning laws to pave way for stand alone big battery projects
NSW legislative change paves way for big batteries to be built as stand alone systems, rather than as part of a wind or solar project.
The post NSW amends planning laws to pave way for stand alone big battery projects appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Risen Energy achieves strong results for 2019 with revenue increasing over 47%
Chinese PV leader Risen Energy Co., Ltd. (300118.SZ) disclosed its financial results for 2019 on the evening of April 17, 2020.
The post Risen Energy achieves strong results for 2019 with revenue increasing over 47% appeared first on RenewEconomy.
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