[GWSG] Solid battery; battery costs drop; forcings down, temps up; H non-case; Granholm for DOE; McCarthy for WH climate chief

[Tilley, Al]

1.  Toyota aims to present a protype electric car next year with a new solid-state battery which will double the range of current batteries and charge in ten minutes.  If all goes well they would begin production soon after the prototype is out. https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1130632_toyota-ev-with-solid-state-batteries-10-minute-full-charge-prototype-reportedly-due-in-2021

2. EV battery costs have gone down by half since 2016, dropping to the point that initial costs for an EV are comparable to those for an ICE vehicle (one with an internal combustion engine). EVs are on track to become “demolishingly cheap” compared to gasburners. https://cleantechnica.com/2020/12/14/ev-battery-packs-50-cheaper-than-in-2016/

3. While global temperatures continued to accelerate last year, forcings (emissions plus solar irradiance) decreased. The acceleration in the absence of forcings could be due to a drop in aerosols, which arise partly from the burning of fossil fuels and have a shading effect in the atmosphere, bouncing radiation back to space (an effect often called global dimming). The Hansen and Sato article, which Hansen appears to be publishing himself, is a good (though challenging) introduction to the calculation of global warming. https://mailchi.mp/caa/global-warming-acceleration?e=6b45dc359d

4. Paul Martin, a chemical engineer, reviews the reasons to use hydrogen as a fuel replacing methane and finds little case to be made.  “In summary, it seems to me quite clear that hydrogen’s role as a replacement for natural gas has more to do with a need for gas production and distribution companies to stay in business by having something to sell than any real GHG emissions benefit or significant technical need.”  https://cleantechnica.com/2020/12/14/can-hydrogen-replace-natural-gas-looking-at-the-numbers/

5. Jennifer Granholm, Biden’s nominee to head the Department of Energy, is a strong advocate for the renewable energy industry who served two terms as the governor of Michigan. Three stories discuss the happy choice.  https://climatecrocks.com/2020/12/16/granholm-will-be-energy-secretary/

6. Gina McCarthy will be the new White House climate coordinator. She is expected to be the domestic counterpart to John Kerry, the international climate envoy, in coordinating the US climate effort. (The EPA director has not yet been announced, though Michael Regan, Secretary of the North Carolina Dept. of Environmental Quality, is said to be a leading candidate.) https://www.npr.org/sections/biden-transition-updates/2020/12/15/945937035/biden-to-name-gina-mccarthy-former-epa-chief-as-domestic-climate-coordinator

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