[GWSG] Deeper geothermal; climate guests; EV costs; no ICE loans; new storage; broader diet; stranded assets

[Tilley, Al]

1. A new technology used by Quaise, a company with its past at MIT, is intended to produce geothermal energy from deeper within the earth than previously, so that it could be sited about anywhere—at old coal plants, for example. The article does not address cost but in the medium run it could be a significant source of reliable energy. https://climatecrocks.com/2022/08/17/geothermals-new-tech-could-make-it-a-front-runner/

2. An extract from Gaia Vince’s Nomad Century: How To Survive the Climate Upheaval conveys the scale of the migration crisis in which most people will be caught, either as newcomers or as hosts. https://www.theguardian.com/news/2022/aug/18/century-climate-crisis-migration-why-we-need-plan-great-upheaval

3.  The cost of the average new car in the US is about $48,000. You can get a Chevy Bolt electric vehicle for about half that. The new Chevy Equinox EV, coming next year, will start at about $30,000, close to the base cost for the VW ID.4 EVs now being manufactured in Chattanooga, or the base cost of the Aptera EV, due from CA in the next few months. Maintenance costs for EVs are expected to be under half that of your standard gas burners, and the fuel is much less expensive. Because electric engines are so much less complex than gas engines, EVs are expected to last significantly longer. You will have to replace the battery—every 200,000 miles or so (about 70,000 miles after the average gas car has turned up its tires). Resist the flood of bull about how EVs are for the wealthy elite.  https://cleantechnica.com/2022/03/23/chevy-equinox-ev-30000-300-mile-range-coming-in-2023/
On the expected lifetime of EV batteries: https://www.myev.com/research/ev-101/how-long-should-an-electric-cars-battery-last

4. Bank Australia, which is customer-owned, will cease offering loans on new gas cars in 2025. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/19/bank-australia-to-steer-customers-towards-electric-vehicles-with-halt-to-loans-for-fossil-fuel-cars-in-2025

5. A 14-minute video, a couple of shorter ones, and a story report on new developments in power storage to cope with the growing dependence on solar and wind power. Take a look at the iron-air battery, which stores and releases energy by de-rusting and rusting iron pellets. Dead coal plants can be revived as pumped water power storers. The fourth largest power storage unit in the world is also a contender for the world’s most beautiful—a manmade lake in Michigan.  https://climatecrocks.com/2022/08/18/energy-storage-making-a-huge-leaps-forward/

6. Humans have cultivated over 6,000 plant species, but now eat mostly rice, wheat, and corn. The story describes five other drought-resistant plants which we may well be eating: amaranth, fonio, black-eyed peas (or cow peas), taro, and kernza, recently developed in Kansas from wheatgrass. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/20/ancient-crops-climate-crisis-amaranth-fonio-cowpeas-taro-kernza

7. Most of the known fossil fuel reserves must remain in the ground to avert the worst effects of the climate crisis. Now an MIT study evaluates those stranded assets—up to $33 trillion by 2050. Investment managers would be wise to take note.  https://phys.org/news/2022-08-stranded-assets-exact-steep-fossil.html

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