[GWSG] New EVs; Norway >50% EV; orphan wells; baked-in heating; grassland emissions; big elections

[Tilley, Al]

1. In an hour and thirteen minute video, four pros (well, pro consumers) discuss what will be new to the US market this year in electric vehicles. As we move more and more quickly to electric transportation, selections in the US are filling in with crossovers, SUVs, and pickups, and in Europe with smaller sedans. Some, such as the Honda e and the Renault Zoe, are unavailable in the US at the moment. Apparently, little is known to share in the video about the two forthcoming models of Chevy Bolt, but the Porsche, Audi. Volvo, Hyundai, and other lines get a lot of attention. The VW ID-4 compact SUV has already been released and so is not covered. It’s first edition sold out immediately. In the US the Pro model will be made in Chattanooga next year and will compete with the Bolt and the Tesla Y.  After the tax rebate the ID-4 is expected to cost about what my Accord Hybrid did six years ago. Its price and cargo space--56 cubic feet--match that of the Chevy Bolt.  https://insideevs.com/features/462212/podcast-2021-ev-preview/
Electric cars are generally much longer lasting, cheaper to operate and maintain, and safer than their internal combustion counterparts. When produced and powered renewably they are part of a climate solution. Practical electric public transportation would be even more sustainable. Maybe we will develop that someday. Meanwhile, for most of us, we have cars.

2.  In Norway last year over 50% of vehicles newly registered were electric, a world leader. Norway intends to have all cars “zero emissions” by 2025. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/01/05/business/corporate-business/norway-first-reach-over-50-electric-in-2020/?utm_campaign=Carbon%20Brief%20Daily%20Briefing&utm_content=20210106&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Revue%20Daily

3. Methane emissions from abandoned oil and gas wells are a huge problem. Essentially, the millions of continuing sources are unmonitored. Thanks to Janet Stanko for the article. https://www.ehn.org/oil-and-gas-wells-methane-oceans-2649126354.html

4. A new study from the Lawrence Livermore National Lab and Nanjing University concludes that emissions already in the air will drive global heating to 2.3C, about a degree higher than we had thought. We can still control the rate at which the heat develops by lowering emissions, and by drawing down pollutants we can moderate and even reverse the trend. https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/study-warming-baked-blow-past-climate-goals-75044132?utm_campaign=Carbon%20Brief%20Daily%20Briefing&utm_content=20210105&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Revue%20Daily

5.  Natural grasslands are a carbon sink, while managed grasslands are an emissions source roughly equal to actively farmed fields. Calculation of a nation’s carbon emissions should include grasslands. https://phys.org/news/2021-01-uncovering-grasslands-climate.html

6.   If Jon Ossoff joins Raphael Warnock in representing Georgia in the senate, the US may be able to pursue an aggressive program of climate action. The 2020-21 US election season is a good candidate for the most significant political contest in world history.

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.unf.edu/pipermail/gwsg/attachments/20210106/8cbb33d0/attachment.html>