[GWSG] New battery; rewilding moves; rewilded tuna rebound; water saving energy; bike subsidies; Thwaites in trouble

[Tilley, Al]

1. Salient Energy’s zinc-ion battery is cheaper and safer than lithium-ion batteries. They intend to market it as a home storage system in association with HWS Homes of Texas. https://cleantechnica.com/2022/10/19/new-zinc-energy-storage-system-beats-supply-chain-blues/

2. The US is committed to rewilding 30% of the US by 2030. One owner of 170 acres in Utah began by kicking out the cattle and letting the beavers do their work. The project was a success. A paper by 20 ecologists and biologists recommends the move, and adds wolves. (We won't miss the cows because we are going to need less meat and dairy anyway, if we are to cope with our new climate.) A political collision between conservation which allows human use such as pasturage (the stated aim of the Biden administration’s 30% preserve target) and rewilding without human use is in prospect.   https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/grand-vision-rewilding-west-beavers-and-wolves?utm_source=greenlife&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter

3. Catches of tuna within 600 miles of a large no-fishing area surrounding the northwestern Hawaiian islands soared “drastically.” The 580,000 square mile area was created in 2006 and expanded in 2016.  It has already been found that near-stationary populations such as lobsters and coral can recover in preserves; now we know that migratory species can as well . https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-03352-w?utm_source=Nature+Briefing&utm_campaign=02099aa5a0-briefing-dy-20221021&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c9dfd39373-02099aa5a0-47505448

4. Renewables save a lot of money, and they save a lot of water, too. A study in Texas found that renewables have avoided enough water use to meet the needs of about 14 million Texans. https://climatecrocks.com/2022/10/21/in-texas-renewables-save-huge-amounts-of-precious-water/

5. Denver’s subsidies for electric bicycles have succeeded more emphatically than expected. The program includes improved bicycle lanes and new charging stations. Supported by a tax initiative to fund climate action, the subsidies are snapped up as soon as they are offered. Similar programs are underway in Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Hawaii, and, at the state level in Colorado. Thanks to Jerold and Jeanne Huebner for the story. https://www.fastcompany.com/90797714/denver-spent-4-1-million-to-get-more-people-on-e-bikes-it-worked

6. Recent discoveries on the Thwaites ice shelf indicate that it could collapse quite soon, leading to a rapid destabilization of the ice sheet behind it and of other associated sheets in the West Antarctic. No schedule of expected events is given, perhaps because we have little experience on which to base expectations. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/antarcticas-collapse-could-begin-even-sooner-than-anticipated/

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