ROME, 4 June 2021 (FAO) – Global food prices rose in May at their fastest monthly rate in more than a decade, even as world cereal production is on course to reach a new record high, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported today. The FAO Food Price Index averaged 127.1 points in […]
By Sam Courtney-Guy 15 May 2021 (MetroUK) – A huge chunk of the world’s solar panels production depends on forced labour from China’ Uighur Muslims, according to new research. An investigation by Sheffield Hallam University estimates almost half of global supplies of polysilicon are produced by Uighurs under conditions ‘tantamount to enslavement’ in their home […]
24 September 2020 (CCAF) – The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) at the Cambridge Judge Business School today published the third edition of its Global Cryptoasset Benchmarking Studywhich highlights the industry’s efforts to address regulatory concerns over anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT), but cautions that efforts to address issues such […]
Dr. Robert Rohde 17 March 2021 (Twitter) – Due in large part to the burning of fossil fuels, carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have now risen about 50 percent above the preindustrial level. At recent rates of growth, we would reach double the preindustrial by around 2075. Dr. Robert Rohde on Twitter
By Eimi Yamamitsu 10 March 2021 IWAKI, Japan (Reuters) – With a moment of silence, prayers, and anti-nuclear protests, Japan on Thursday mourned about 20,000 victims of the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan 10 years ago, destroying towns and triggering nuclear meltdowns in Fukushima. Huge waves triggered by the 9.0-magnitude quake – one […]
By Michelle Chapman and David Koenig 1 March 2021 (AP) – The largest and oldest power cooperative in Texas is filing for bankruptcy protection, citing last month’s winter storm that left millions without power, and it is unlikely to be the last utility to seek shelter in the courts. Brazos Electric Power Cooperative serves distributors […]
25 February 2021 (ERCOT) – [The following report is excerpted from the ERCOT slide presentation, Review of February 2021 Extreme Cold Weather Event (pdf), presented by ERCOT CEO Bill Magness to the Texas Senate Business and Commerce Committee House Joint Committee on State Affairs and Energy Resources on 25 February 2021. –Des] Overview of Cold […]
By Josh Lederman 17 February 2021 WASHINGTON (NBC News) – A devastating winter storm that has plunged Texas into an electricity crisis offers warning signs for the U.S. as the Biden administration seeks to prepare for a future in which extreme weather is a greater risk and America is almost entirely powered by renewable energy. Generating energy is one challenge. But […]
By Ari Kahan 3 February 2021 (EIA) – The United States will likely take years to return to 2019 levels of energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions following the impact of COVID-19 on the U.S. economy and global energy sector, according to projections in the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Annual Energy Outlook 2021 (AEO2021). […]
By David Agren 15 February 2021 SAN JUAN DE SABINAS, Mexico (The Guardian) – The men on the midnight shift smoked cigarettes and cracked jokes in the glow of their helmet lights as they prepared to go underground. They were loading safety equipment and coils of pipe onto wheelbarrows, in readiness for a second shift […]