[GWSG] Ant. ice down; BLM conservation proposal; gas down in AUS; $10K EV; ionic cooling; role of LDES

[Tilley, Al]

1. Antarctic sea ice is at historic lows for this winter season. Though the causes are unclear, the effect is likely to be higher sea level rise. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/29/something-weird-is-going-on-search-for-answers-as-antarctic-sea-ice-stays-at-historic-lows

2. About 10% of US land is under the Bureau of Land Management. These lands have been accorded multiple uses, from wilderness to livestock grazing, oil and gas production, and mining. New regulations are under consideration which put conservation on an equal footing and would make it much easier for hundreds of millions of acres to become part of the effort to rewild 30% of our land by 2030. The decision is a few months away. (If we eat more beans, as we must, we will need less land for livestock and only a little of the former corn and soybean animal feed land for our beans. If we burn less fossil fuels, as we must, we don’t need to produce them. The land is destined for a higher disuse.)  https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/conservation-could-get-huge-boost-millions-acres?suppress=true&utm_source=greenlife&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter

3. Power from commercial gas on Australia’s main grid halved in June. It used to be thought that gas would be brought in to replace coal as it diminished, but South Australia shows that coal is more readily replaced by renewables. One influential report envisions 82% renewables in Australia by 2030. “A new scenario, Green Energy Exports, assumes a zero carbon grid as early as 2032.” Price gouging by the gas industry is helping things along. https://reneweconomy.com.au/power-from-fossil-gas-plunged-by-50-pct-in-june-on-australias-main-grid/

4. Chinese car manufacturer BYD is releasing the Seagull, an electric vehicle with a 190-252 mile range which costs from $10,200. It will not be for sale in the US anytime soon. The cheapest EV here is the Bolt EV, which starts at $26,500, minus the $7,500 tax credit. The electrification of transportation just received a bump.  https://news.yahoo.com/chinese-company-releasing-ultra-cheap-104500309.html?fr=yhssrp_catchall
The Seagull has a sodium-ion battery, a top speed of 81 mph, and a 0-62 mph time of 13 seconds. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BYD_Seagull

5. A new cooling technology published in Science uses ionized particles to shift the phase changes of a substance so as to release or absorb heat. No greenhouse gasses, lots of energy efficiency, and as much as 45F of cooling. The process is still in the lab but promises to break out. Thanks to Hank Williams for the lead. https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-invented-an-entirely-new-process-for-refrigerating-things

6. As conventional power sources fail in the heat, renewables backed by batteries are keeping the power on in Texas. Long duration energy storage (LDES) can help in times of extreme strain. The state is expected to develop almost a quarter of US grid-scale batteries. LDES pilot installations are under development to help avoid the health nightmare of power failure during heat danger. https://electrek.co/2023/07/31/texas-big-battery-storage-ldes/

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