alternative energy – Page 3 – Desdemona Despair

Electricity fed into the German power grid from conventional and renewable sources (percent) in 2021 and 2022. Graphic: Destatis

September 18, 2022

Germany generates almost one-third of its electricity from coal as it replaces Russian gas before winter – Coal-generated electricity up 17 percent in 2022 on the same period in 2021

By Zahra Tayeb 8 September 2022 (Insider) – Germany is relying more on coal to generate electricity, as Russian gas cuts force the country to seek alternative sources of fuel before winter. The European nation produced 82.6 kilowatt-hours of electricity from coal-fired power plants in the first six months of 2022, a 17.2% rise from […]

A sunken boat that sat underwater for years has been exposed as Lake Mead continues to recede after years of chronic overuse and drought worsened by rising temperatures. Photo: Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times

September 4, 2022

Facing “dead pool” risk, California braces for painful water cuts from Colorado River – “It’s very scary. If there’s no river, then you have no community.”

By Ian James 4 September 2022 (Los Angeles Times) – California water districts are under growing pressure to shoulder substantial water cutbacks as the federal government pushes for urgent solutions to prevent the Colorado River’s badly depleted reservoirs from reaching dangerously low levels. California has the largest water entitlement of any state on the Colorado […]

Aerial view of Lake Powell in Page, Arizona on 5 April 2022, showing water levels at a historic low. Photo: RJ Sangosti / MediaNews Group / The Denver Post / Getty Images

September 3, 2022

A shrinking Lake Powell heralds an even worse water crisis in the Southwest’s future – “These trends are on a tragic collision course, underscoring the urgency once again of concerted action on climate”

By Matthew Rozsa 29 August 2022 (Salon) – As climate change worsens, Americans who live in the Southwest will be hit very, very hard: experts predict that large cities like Phoenix and Las Vegas are going to be uninhabitable within decades, as will the surrounding metropolitan areas in their home states of Arizona and Nevada. Those regions […]

A rare earth mine near the Chinese border owned by a company that has no permits. On paper, Sin Kyaing Company is owned by a local militia leader named Lagwi Bawm Lang. But like other Burmese companies in the rare earth mining industry, it is really a front for illegal investment by Chinese businesspeople. Photo: Global Witness

August 14, 2022

New evidence shows massive and rapid expansion of illicit rare earths industry in Myanmar – “China has effectively offshored this toxic industry to Myanmar over the past few years, with terrible consequences for local communities and the environment”

9 August 2022 (Global Witness) – Myanmar has seen a rapid expansion of illegal mining of heavy rare earth minerals, used in green energy technologies, smartphones and home electronics, with the industry fuelling human rights abuses, environmental destruction and funding local militias linked to the brutal military regime, our new investigation reveals today. Our report shows that […]

Satellite view of Lake Mead on 6 July 2000 and 3 July 2022. Data: Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Photo: Lauren Dauphin / NASA Earth Observatory

July 22, 2022

Image of the Day: Satellite view of Lake Mead in 2000 and 2022 – “Declining water levels due to climate change and 20 years of ongoing drought have reshaped the park’s shorelines”

By Michael Carlowicz 20 July 2022 (NASA Earth Observatory) – Continuing a 22-year downward trend, water levels in Lake Mead stand at their lowest since April 1937, when the reservoir was still being filled for the first time. As of July 18, 2022, Lake Mead was filled to just 27 percent of capacity. The largest reservoir in the […]

Change in primary energy by fuel, 2007-2021. Primary energy in 2021 grew by its largest amount in history, with emerging economies accounting for most of the increase. Primary energy grew by 31 exajoules (EJ) in 2021, the largest increase in history and more than reversing the sharp decline seen in 2020. Primary energy in 2021 was 8 EJ above 2019 levels. The increase in primary energy in 2021 was driven by emerging economies, which increased by 13 EJ, with China expanding by 10 EJ. Taking 2020 and 2021 together, primary energy consumption in emerging economies increased by 15 EJ, largely reflecting growth in China (13 EJ). In contrast, energy demand in developed economies in 2021 was 7 EJ below 2019 levels. The increase in primary energy between 2019 and 2021 was entirely driven by renewable energy sources. The level of fossil fuel energy consumption was unchanged between 2019 and 2021, with lower oil demand (-8 EJ) offset by higher natural gas (5 EJ) and coal (3 EJ) consumption. Graphic: BP

June 28, 2022

BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2022: Carbon emissions rebound after pandemic dip – Coal prices surge – “The world remains on an unsustainable path”

By Spencer Dale 28 June 2022 (BP) – The challenges and uncertainties facing the global energy system are at their greatest for almost 50 years, at the time of the last great energy shocks of the 1970s. Most immediate is the impact of the terrible events taking place in Ukraine, with its tragic toll on […]

Climate activists Elizabeth Wathuti of Kenya, Vanessa Nakate of Uganda and Helena Gualinga of Ecuador attend the climate protest alongside the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, 26 May 2022. The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum took place in Davos from May 22 until May 26, 2022. Photo: Evgeniy Maloletka / AP Photo

May 29, 2022

At Davos, climate activists say major issues ignored – “Many people here are disconnected from the reality. They are in a bubble. They are in their own world.”

By Peter Prengaman 26 May 2022 DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) – At a small plaza in Davos, a picturesque Swiss town in the middle of the Alps, about 50 climate activists gathered on Thursday to bring attention to issues they said were largely ignored during this week’s World Economic Forum meeting. They said more attention needed […]

Map showing land surface temperature across most of India, 29 April 2022. In Spring 2022, India faced a prolonged heatwave, with temperatures exceeding 42°C in numerous cities across the country. This came just weeks after India recorded its hottest March since the country’s meteorological department began its records over 120 years ago. This image, produced using data from the Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission, shows the land surface temperature across most of the nation. According to the India Meteorological Department, maximum air temperatures reached 43-46°C over most parts of Rajasthan, Vidarbha, Madhya Pradesh and East Uttar Pradesh; in many parts over Gujarat, interior Odisha; and in some parts of Madhya Maharashtra on 28 April 2022. Graphic: ESA

May 23, 2022

A hot, deadly summer is coming in 2022 with frequent blackouts – “We really expect these problems to get worse in the next five years”

By Dan Murtaugh, Rajesh Kumar Singh, and Naureen S. Malik 22 May 2022 (Bloomberg) – Global power grids are about to face their biggest test in decades with electricity generation strangled in the world’s largest economies. War, drought, shortages, historically low inventories, and a pandemic backlash: energy markets across the planet have been put through […]

Racking systems to hold solar panels sit empty on top of an old strip mine in Portage, Pennsylvania, on Monday, 25 April 2022. The fallout from a trade probe is rippling through the US solar industry, delaying projects and threatening to slow the renewable energy transition. Photo: Justin Merriman / Bloomberg / Getty Images

May 7, 2022

Solar energy projects are grinding to a halt in the U.S. amid investigation into parts from China – “We’re getting crushed because we literally can’t buy a module today”

By Ella Nilsen 6 May 2022 (CNN) – The solar energy industry has been thrown into a panic and projects are grinding to a halt after the Biden administration launched an investigation that some solar CEOs worry could tank the industry. The Commerce Department launched the probe in March into whether four countries in Southeast Asia that supply […]

Drought has reduced the water level in Lake Mead so much that Southern Nevada Water Authority's original water intake valve in Lake Mead -- in service since 1971 -- was visible above the water line in April 2022. The original intake is no longer in use since it cannot draw water. Photo: Southern Nevada Water Authority

May 7, 2022

Lake Mead plummets to record low, exposing original 1971 water intake valve – Dead man found in barrel at lake bottom, authorities say more bodies likely to turn up – “This is a crisis. This is unprecedented.”

By Stephanie Elam 29 April 2022 (CNN) – The U.S. West is in the grips of a climate change-fueled megadrought, and Lake Mead — the largest manmade reservoir in the country and a source of water for millions of people — has fallen to an unprecedented low. The lake’s plummeting water level has exposed one of the reservoir’s original water […]