[GWSG] Problem ag; from the air; negative prices; what gets attention; Volvo goes for 0; pesticide problems

[Tilley, Al]

1. Agriculture, notably meat and dairy and predominantly beef production, accounts for a large share of our greenhouse gas emissions and is a major cause of deforestation and biodiversity loss. Many of us would rather that not be the case so that we would not have to change our diets. Few news stories mention the role of agriculture in producing the climate crisis. “Meat giant Tyson Foods spends a much bigger share of its revenue than ExxonMobil lobbying Congress to stop climate policy.” The industry is often allowed to self-report emissions, much as the methane industry has been allowed to control estimates of leakage. We can do better than this. In fact, we must. https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/23778399/media-ignores-climate-change-beef-meat-dairy

2. Humid air can generate small amounts of electricity as it passes through nanotubes. A stack of the tubes the size of a washing machine can generate 10 kwh a day, enough to run a small household in the UK. A lot must be solved, including cost, before they ae available at Home Depot. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/jul/02/it-was-an-accident-the-scientists-who-have-turned-humid-air-into-renewable-power

3. Energy prices were negative in Europe this weekend, a pattern which could continue for the summer. Blame rooftop solar, wind, and geothermal energy. Battery storage and electric vehicles are likely to thrive. It’s a kind of problem worth having.  https://climatecrocks.com/2023/07/03/european-energy-prices-dip-to-negative/

4. Of 50,000 papers on climate change published in 2020, 9% were covered in the media and 2% were mentioned more than 10 times. About half of those were long-range studies of “the rate or magnitude of climate change”—for example, how hot it will be in 2100 if we don’t do anything. Such studies comprise about 4% of published studies. We hear little about tech developments, social and political elements, or the effectiveness of suggested solutions. “The problem isn’t just that the public is only getting informed about a narrow slice of climate change research. It’s that the slice they are hearing about is more likely to lead to fear, denial, and paralysis than climate action.” https://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2023/07/the-media-covers-only-a-narrow-slice-of-climate-research-one-that-inspires-fear-over-action/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=when-it-comes-to-deciding-what-climate-science-is-newsworthy-journalism-is-burying-the-lede

5. Volvo is trying to get to zero carbon emissions by 2040, which means a 40% cut by 2025. (They want a Volvo to represent 0 embodied emissions.) One move is to substitute waste cooking oil (no palm oil allowed) for marine fuel oil in tankers wherever they can. That cuts emissions 85%. https://cleantechnica.com/2023/07/04/volvo-switch-to-renewable-fuels-cuts-emissions-84/

6. Pesticides, manufactured almost entirely from fossil fuels, cause emissions at every stage of their production, transportation, and use. Some are potent greenhouse gasses on their own. “Reducing the use of pesticides would be at least a double win in addressing nature decline and the climate crisis.”  https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/government-greenpeace-uk-chevron-shell-exxon-b2369434.html?utm_source=cbnewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=2023-07-05&utm_campaign=Daily+Briefing+05+07+2023

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