energy production – Page 4 – Desdemona Despair

Map showing the heat index in the United States for 30 June 2023. Graphic: The Washington Post

June 30, 2023

Solar power bails out Texas grid during major heat wave – “This is what’s happening with 1 degree Celsius of global average warming. And we’re on track for 3 degrees.”

30 June 2023 (Reuters) – The Texas power grid comfortably met record demand during this week’s heat wave with abundant power supply from wind and solar plants, data from the grid operator showed. The Texas grid is a focus in the United States whenever it is tested by extreme weather after a catastrophic failure in […]

On 27 June 2023, Texas once again braced for a record spike in electricity demand as 110F heat spurred air-conditioning usage. An early heat wave gripped the second most-populous US state, buckling highways, stressing oil refineries and pushing up natural gas prices. At least two deaths were attributed to the searing temperatures and it was only expected to get hotter as the week wears on. It was not a new problem for Texas: The Lone Star State broke power-demand records 11 times in the summer of 2022. Graphic: Bloomberg

June 27, 2023

Texas power demand again forecast to peak amid Summer 2023 heat wave – “Texas is running about 2 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than it did during the 20th century”

26 June 2023 (Reuters) – Texas’ power grid operator on Monday again projected electricity use would break records this week as homes and business cranked up air conditioning amid soaring temperatures. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which operates the grid for more than 26 million customers representing about 90% of the state’s power […]

Greta Thunberg stands outside the Swedish parliament in Stockholm during her last School Strike for Climate on 9 June 2023. Photo: Reuters

June 13, 2023

Greta Thunberg takes part in her last school strike for climate – “We who can speak up have a duty to do so. … The fight has only just begun.”

By Tobi Thomas 10 June 2023 (The Guardian) – After what began as a solo protest in Sweden five years ago and grew into a movement with millions of children across the world participating, Greta Thunberg has taken part in her last “school strike” protest as she graduates from school. The protests, which led to many climate […]

Plaintiffs Mica, 14; Badge 15, Lander 18, and Taleah, 19, listen to arguments during a status hearing on 12 May 2023, in Helena, Montana, for a case that they and other Montana youth filed against the state arguing Montana officials are not meeting their constitutional obligations to protect residents from climate change. The first-of-its-kind trial began Monday, 12 June 2023, before District Court Judge Kathy Seeley in Helena. Photo: Thom Bridge /Independent Record / AP

June 13, 2023

Youth environmentalists bring Montana climate case to trial after 12 years, seeking to set precedent – “We’ve seen repeatedly over the last few years what the Montana state Legislature is choosing. They are choosing fossil fuel development. They are choosing corporations over the needs of their citizens.”

By Matthew Brown and Amy Beth Hanson 10 June 2023 HELENA, Montana (AP News) – Whether a constitutional right to a healthy, livable climate is protected by state law is at the center of a lawsuit going to trial Monday in Montana, where 16 young plaintiffs and their attorneys hope to set an important legal precedent. It’s the first […]

Illustration showing that Chevron omits more than 90 percent of its emissions in its “net zero” “aspiration”. Though Chevron is quick to proffer its “net zero” commitment as proof of its commitment to address climate change, its “net zero” pledge is 1) only an “aspiration”, as carefully stated on its website; and 2) only applies to its Scope 1 emissions (that result from operating the facilities/equipment/vehicles/buildings that Chevron owns) and Scope 2 emissions (produced from the energy Chevron uses), not its Scope 3 emissions (caused by the end-use of Chevron’s products – sold oil and gas). Graphic: Corporate Accountability

June 11, 2023

“Worthless”: Chevron’s carbon offsets are mostly junk and some may harm – “It’s clear from this report and other research that net zero as a framework opens the door for claims of climate action while continuing with business as usual”

By Nina Lakhani 24 May 2023 NEW YORK (The Guardian) – A new investigation into Chevron’s climate pledge has found the fossil-fuel company relies on “junk” carbon offsets and “unviable” technologies, which do little to offset its vast greenhouse gas emissions and, in some cases, may actually be causing communities harm. Chevron, which reported $35.5bn […]

A layer of dense smoke spread through much of Alberta during the week of 14 May 2023, caused by forest fires. The smoke that enveloped Calgary briefly gave the city one of the worst air-quality ratings in the world, as the fires to the north and west led to the evacuation of roughly 29,000 people across the province. Photo: Jen Osborne / The New York Times

May 21, 2023

Alberta is on fire, but discussing climate change is taboo during 2023 election – “It’s very tough to talk about oil and gas in Alberta because it’s sort of the goose that lays the golden egg”

By Ian Austen 20 May 2023 (The New York Times) – When I arrived in Alberta recently to report an upcoming political story, there was no shortage of people wanting to talk about politics and the provincial election on May 29. But, even as wildfires flared earlier than usual and raged across an unusually wide […]

The Glen Canyon Dam in Page, Arizona, performed high flow experiments on 25 April 2023. Video: John Farrell / The Washington Post

May 21, 2023

Lake Powell is rising more than a foot a day, but megadrought’s effects will still be felt – “It’s maybe a year’s worth of breathing room. The crisis is still very real and very much in front of us.”

By Scott Dance 11 May 2023 (The Washington Post) – Weeks after the surface of Lake Powell sunk to an all-time low, the key Colorado River reservoir is rising more than a foot a day — on track to deepen by some 70 feet in the coming months. Spring flows into the lake are among the […]

Trucks transport bauxite on a red-dirt mining road in the Boké region of Guinea. Photo: Chloe Sharrock / MYOP / The Washington Post

May 9, 2023

On frontier of new “gold rush” quest for coveted EV metals yields misery – “I am frustrated. But even more than that, I have lost hope.”

By Rachel Chason and Chloe Sharrock 27 April 2023 KAGBANI, Guinea (The Washington Post) – One of the poorest countries on Earth has become a crucial player in the world’s green-energy transition. Guinea, a West African nation of more than 13 million people, is home to the world’s biggest reserves of bauxite — a reddish-brown […]

Images taken of offshore oil and gas production facilities. (A) Small satellite facilities around a central hub facility. (B) Forward-looking infrared (FLIR) camera imagery of hydrocarbon emissions from a central hub facility. Two sources are identified: cold venting and an unknown piece of equipment. (C) Other shallow water facilities. (D) Deep water facilities with flaring. Graphic: Negron, et al., 2023 / PNAS

April 4, 2023

Gulf of Mexico oil worse for climate than thought, study – “Expanding production in shallow waters, the way it’s been done historically, would have disproportionately high climate impacts”

By Drew Costley 3 April 2023 (AP) – Offshore oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico are releasing far more climate-changing methane than official estimates show, according to a new study published Monday. Using data collected from aircraft in part, climate scientists found the additional methane coming from oil and gas platforms in the Gulf […]

The Doomsday Clock in 2023. In 2023, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists advanced the clock to 90 seconds from midnight, the closest to global catastrophe it has ever been. Graphic: Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

January 25, 2023

2023 Doomsday Clock statement: A time of unprecedented danger – It is 90 seconds to midnight

By John Mecklin 24 January 2023 (Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists) – This year, the Science and Security Board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moves the hands of the Doomsday Clock forward, largely (though not exclusively) because of the mounting dangers of the war in Ukraine. The Clock now stands at 90 seconds […]