Originally published on the NRDC Expert Blog. By Arjun Krishnaswami The cost of energy storage is plummeting as performance is improving, and Congress is moving to help storage technologies continue to advance. Spurring innovation is far from all we need to do to address the climate crisis facing us, but it’s a necessary component and a […]
Congress Charges Ahead on Energy Storage: (BEST) Act Read More 👉
It’s honestly astounding. Take just about anything that was at the top of the ideological list for Republicans 5–10 years ago, and it is now trampled on by the Republican president and Congresspeople. It’s astounding. It’s a masterful course in propaganda, gaslighting, and essentially brainwashing. The thing I keep coming to is: What the heck
Twitter is a bit annoying — too many trolls and discussions are too shallow. But it is hella fun for political one-liners. Below are perhaps my 11 favorite political tweets of the past day, each of which are followed by in-depth explanatory two-liners. 😉 Trump's former secretary of state says he's a "moron." Trump's former
11 Top Political Tweets of the Day Read More 👉
As soon as I go home, I lock the door. Eventually, I close the blinds and curtains. I also lock the doors of my vehicles and fences. I keep my wallet to myself and no one really knows how much is in my credit union account. But when it comes to social media, Baby, I’ll
Big Companies Fight Tooth & Nail Against California Consumer Privacy Measure Read More 👉
There are only three things certain in this world: death, taxes, and that solar is unstoppable. The IRS has effectively extended solar subsidies by up to four years. Previously, to qualify for the full 30% Investment Tax Credit (ITC) solar projects had to be COMPLETED before January 1, 2020. Now, they only have to BEGIN
IRS Extends Solar Subsidies Up To 4 Years! Read More 👉
You may remember Billy Bush — he’s that Bush who went into entertainment instead of politics but still almost had a dramatic effect on US politics. He’s the guy who was chatting with Donald Trump in the leaked “Access Hollywood” recording while Trump bragged about sexual assault. Interestingly, he was on an episode of “Real
Trump Lies To You Like No One Else — When Do The Conned Get Tired Of Getting Conned? Read More 👉
If we had a show of hand right now, how many would say they completely trust their computers, handheld devices, smart TV, and other smart devices? Chances are high that practically no reader would say they do. And when it comes to the future of mobility, privacy is something we never hear much about. Ethics
Privacy, Ethics, & Silicon Valley’s Role In The New Mobility Industry Read More 👉
America’s largest brewing company, Anheuser-Busch, launched its US 2025 Sustainability Goals this week, recommitting to its goal of purchasing 100% of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2025 and committing itself to the sustainability goals launched in March by its parent company, AB InBev.
Brewer Anheuser-Busch Announces US 2025 Sustainability Goals Read More 👉
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has reached an agreement with constituent countries to put a plan into place to reduce the shipping sector’s greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% by 2050, as compared to 2008 levels. The deal follows international talks this week in London between reps from relevant countries. Notably, the final deal
The Boring Co has raised $112.5 million in new equity, the company has revealed — with 90% of that figure coming by way of Elon Musk himself. The revelation comes as the company has seemingly begun ramping up its plans to bore and develop underground transportation tunnels between various large metropolitan areas in the USA.
Boring Co. Raises $112.5 Million In Equity, 90% Coming Via Elon Musk Read More 👉
Deepwater oil and gas exploration off Egypt’s Mediterranean coast is now slated to be resumed by Royal Dutch Shell after a fairly long pause, the company’s Executive Vice President Sami Iskander was quoted recently as saying at a press conference on the matter. Owing to faltering oil production and rising energy imports, the government of
While most people like to place all of the blame for the recent about-face that the US Environmental Protection Agency has done with regard to pollutions controls on President Donald Trump, the reality is that there’s a broad amount of support for such actions throughout the government. With that in mind, the US Senate has
US Senate Has Confirmed Former Coal Industry Lobbyist As Deputy At EPA Read More 👉
In an announcement that mostly just amounts to a milking circumstance for PR purposes, the current administration in New Zealand has announced that it won’t be granting any new offshore oil and gas exploration permits or holding an associated tender process. To explain that a bit more, owing to relatively low global oil prices in
An enormous $44 billion combined oil mega-refinery and petrochemicals complex is now in the works for development on the west coast of India. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was just signed between Saudi Aramco and a large consortium of India-based firms. Those involved in the consortium just mentioned — Ratnagiri Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (RRPCL)
Various sources within Germany have been reporting in recent days that Volkswagen is now mulling the replacement of CEO Matthias Mueller with the head of the VW brand, Herbert Diess. The idea is reportedly to start fresh after the latest round of scandals related to diesel vehicle emissions. Mueller’s contract as CEO at Volkswagen had
Volkswagen Gearing Up To Replace CEO With VW Brand Head Read More 👉
By Nicolas Zart and Zachary Shahan If you ever need to see what the world of electric mobility (e-mobility) will look like, Norway offers a glimpse into our future and a template to follow. More than half of the cars sold in Norway had a plug last month. Norway Leads The Global Clean Car Sales
Norway’s Electric Car Leadership Jacks Up To Yet Another Level Read More 👉
Why Do Fox Viewers & Trump Supporters Deny Reality So, So, So Much? First of all, apologies to any Fox viewers or Trump supporters who somehow stumbled upon this piece. It’s probably best for your emotional peace to just move along now and not read on. If you’ve been following the Trump administration and Russian
Fox News Is A Cancer On Society Read More 👉
There are a set number of ways that a deck of cards can be dealt out. As you see the cards being dealt, you’re in fact watching possibilities being destroyed and inevitabilities arising. What exactly those inevitabilities are, depends upon the cards that you have just witnessed being dealt. The deck as a whole could
The Trickster & The Trump — The Politics Of America Seen Through The Lens Of Mythology Read More 👉
Donald Trump is not that normal, but he is human. He is a human who has lived essentially all of his life with a totally stacked hand, to bring in a gambling analogy. He has still managed to lose all of his or his companies’ cash several times, but then his connections in the benevolent
Putin Puppet Donald Trump Giving Russian Oligarchs Everything He Can Read More 👉
There are several common assumptions about Republicans and the Republican Party that are simply untrue. These are major assumptions that have persisted for a long time. You would think that time and a little sunlight would reveal the truth underneath the magic trick, but a few effective practices have allowed the myth to persist in
Republican Policy Benefits The Rich At The Huge Expense Of The Poor & Middle Class Read More 👉
Aluminum production has now begun at Hydro’s HAL4e-process pilot facility in Karmøy (Norway). The Hydro-developed HAL4e aluminum production process will reportedly allow for 15% less energy use, and a much lower carbon footprint.
CDP has awarded 58 companies the title of “Supplier Engagement” leader as an acknowledgement of their climate leadership and approach to tackling the reduction of emissions in the supply chain.
CDP Names 58 Companies As Climate Leaders, Including Apple, Honda, & Microsoft Read More 👉
Danone’s widely distributed Evian brand of bottle water will have transitioned to 100%-recycled plastic use by 2025, if recent announcements from company execs are to be believed.
Evian Vows 100% Recycled Plastic Use By 2025 Read More 👉
While the western world is lingering in a limping economy and a chaotic political scene, China has used that advantage to invest in clean technologies around the world. Today it is considered to be the leading force in International cleantech investments. China Takes the International Lead on Clean Energy Investment A PDF report by the
China Is Leading International Clean Energy Investment According to IEEFA Read More 👉
A 300 MW wind power project in Lynn County, Texas has closed its financing. The project is managed by Lincoln Clean Energy, which is owned by I Squared Capital. Morgan Stanley will provide construction and term financing and long-term tax equity will come from BHE Renewables, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Energy Company. “The successful
300 MW Tahoka Wind Power Project Closes Financing Read More 👉
Originally published on EV Obsession. Are you sitting down? General Motors said this past week it plans to begin producing a fully autonomous car with no steering wheel and no pedals — not in some far off time, but next year. It says Chevy Bolts fitted with 4th generation autonomous technology will start rolling off
Self-Driving Chevy Bolts Jump Forward Without Steering Wheels, Pedals, & More Read More 👉
Five of the world’s largest oil companies are now in the process of being sued by New York City for their “contributions to global warming,” Comptroller Scott Stringer has revealed. The companies in question are: Chevron, BP, Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, and ConocoPhillips — arguably the 5 top oil firms in the world that
New York City Files Multibillion-Dollar Lawsuit Against 5 Major Oil Firms Read More 👉
How much longer does southern Florida have until real-estate values in the region collapse on the back of flagging demand? At some point the reality that the region is not long for this world will have to sink in, and when it does, demand for homes in the region will crater to a degree that
Florida — When Will Its Real Estate Market Go Underwater? Read More 👉
A Switzerland-based consumer protection group has filed a new lawsuit against Volkswagen on behalf of 6,000 owners of diesel cars manufactured by the company in relation to the “Dieselgate” emissions scandal. The organization, SKS, isn’t actually just seeking damages from Volkswagen, it should be noted, but also from the Swiss car dealer AMAG, reportedly. Also
Fiat Chrysler lawyers are now holding discussions with lawyers representing various owners and owners groups of diesel vehicles in the US that are in the process of suing the prominent auto manufacturer, in relation to allegations of excess emissions in old diesel models. The news — revealed by a court-appointed adviser at a hearing in
The coastline of Kenya has been a hotspot for tourism and fishing activities for a quite a while now — with the region also being home to fair numbers of sea turtles. Recent years, though, have made the region home to significant quantities of plastic trash and debris — much of which eventually washes into
Originally published on EV Obsession. Ontario, the most populous province in Canada, will be introducing a new electric truck rebate program — designed to provide up to 60% of the incremental purchase cost of an electric truck, as compared to a conventional diesel equivalent. There’s an upper limit of CAD$75,000 per unit. The aim of
Ontario Offering Subsidies For Large Electric Trucks Read More 👉
Originally published on EV Obsession. One of the largest package delivery companies in the world, UPS (United Parcel Service Inc), has placed a pre-order for 125 units of the recently unveiled Tesla Semi Truck, the company has revealed. The new reservations constitute the largest pre-order of the Tesla Semi to date — with the order eclipsing
As we reported recently, an ex-security analyst at Uber had written a letter to the company’s in-house lawyer back in May that spoke of a unit that existed “expressly for the purpose of acquiring trade secrets, codebase, and competitive intelligence,” and also of a separate unit that “frequently engages in fraud and theft.” Uber execs
The China-based auto manufacturer BAIC Motor Corp is now aiming to cease sale of its self-developed and self-branded conventionally powered cars by 2025, China Daily has reported. “On the morning of December the 9th, 2017 at the inauguration of the Beijing New Energy Vehicle Technology Innovation Centre, the president of BAIC Group promised to end the sales
Chinese Automaker BAIC To Stop Selling Its Non-Electric Cars By 2025 Read More 👉
The German luxury auto manufacturer BMW has denied allegations from the environmental group DUH that engine management software cut power to a system filtering nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions during real-world road testing of a 3-Series diesel car — thus allowing for NOx emissions some 7 times higher than the legal limit. The German environmental group’s
When billionaires and others in the top 1% get tax cuts, who do you think is losing out? That’s right — not the 1%! It’s simple, yet apparently still too easy to ignore. If the 1% is paying less in tax, that money isn’t going to go somewhere. In particular, that money isn’t going to
Dude, Republicans Just F***ed You Read More 👉
A few weeks back, I met Søren Ekelund. We were both invited to a Halloween party at the house of the first people who travelled around the globe in an electric car — a car that Søren himself had helped build. The car was a converted Nissan Qashqai and it had some trouble charging. After
What are you afraid of? The wrong things — according to Søren Ekelund Read More 👉
There’s a lot of chatter about Russia and Trump. It keeps going and going and going, doesn’t it? Come on, who believes that? Why can’t our political system be more like a reality TV show than a crime mystery? … It seems like there were 1,000 meetings between top Russians and core Trump associates in
17 Signs Your Country Wasn’t Stolen By Russians Read More 👉
Norway, which is still a monarchy, has two sovereign wealth funds. The Government Pension Fund Global, also known as the Oil Fund, was established in 1990 to invest the profits from the country’s petroleum sales. As of September of this year, it was valued at more than $1 trillion, equal to $192,307 per Norwegian citizen. The other
Norwegian Oil Fund Ready To Divest From Oil & Gas Read More 👉
So, Donald Trump yet again said something mind-blowingly insane this week. He said he believed that Putin believed that he and his cronies didn’t try to influence the US election. Trump sort of, kind of, lamely clarified that he didn’t necessarily believe that Putin and Russia didn’t try to influence the election, just that he
2 Ways To Look At Trump’s Stupid Or Lying Comments About Putin & Russian Hacks Read More 👉
The United States is now the only country in the world not committed to the carbon reduction goals announced in Paris at the COP21 climate change summit in 2015. But that doesn’t mean all Americans have abandoned the fight. At the COP23 climate conference in Bonn, Germany, last week, more than 100 people from the
America’s Pledge — To Stop Global Heating Read More 👉
A few months ago, Amazon (AMZN) bought Whole Foods at a whopping $13.4 billion, with a promise to bring cheap, organic, nutritious, low carbon*, and pesticide-free food to the masses. Soon after the acquisition, Whole Foods cut prices by as much as 43%, bringing prices of organic food at or below non-organic food. Currently, Amazon
Amazon and the Future of Food Read More 👉
Hello, my name is Zach Shahan, and I have a problem. I’m a political nut. More seriously, I’ll admit that I’m strongly drawn to politics, follow policy & politics closely (some might say obsessively), and have sometimes struggled with how much time and emotion I invest into all of that. If I step back a
Why Republican Policy Sucks Read More 👉
Immediately after the last US general election, despite the fact that the Republican Party “won,” I wrote about Republican Party “civil war” and asked in the title of an article, “Can The GOP Survive?“ It may have seemed odd to write about political civil war in a party that just won a presidential election, but
Republican Civil War (Dancing With The Devil Leads To This) Read More 👉
I feel bad for the people who voted for Donald Trump thinking that he would improve their lives, that he’d help them with health care, to get jobs, to get unfathomably rich and famous. No, being born a millionaire works well for that, but being a poor or middle class voter and expecting Donald Trump
4 Trump Campaign Promises & Current Results (Obvious Failures) Read More 👉
While everyone is talking about electric cars and autonomy as a huge disruptor to the global economy, there is another elephant in the room that not many people seem to notice — lab-grown meat! A few days ago news broke that China bought $300 million worth of lab-grown meat from three Israeli-based companies — SuperMeat,
Talk About Disruption — Lab-Grown Meat Has Arrived! Read More 👉
When you think of insecticides you probably think of dangerous chemical compounds that allow modern industrial agriculture (and its high yields) to occur, but that also have some negative effects on the environment and also on human/animal health. The effects of a certain class of insecticides on honeybees, for instance, may well be what comes