[GWSG] Grass peas; out of control; 61K in EU; hot water; general disaster; rescue blockers; new EV battery; sugar batteries

[Tilley, Al]

1. The grass pea grows in drouths which would kill other food crops but can cause paralysis. Scientists have discovered the genetic conditions producing the poison and hope to provide a healthy-to-eat grass pea to feed a heating world. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/jul/08/uk-scientists-could-make-poisonous-grass-pea-a-valuable-food-crop

2. The UN Secretary General said that with the out-of-scale heat in past days the climate is “out of control.” (He did not say that it was impossible or even difficult to control, just that we are not controlling it now.  We could cease to burn fossil fuels, which would cause disturbance, but disturbance out of scale in a good way with the current heat. 1800 well-placed SeaChange machines will capture and sequester a year’s worth of carbon at current rates of emission; if we do that for ten years, along with whatever other carbon removal works, enjoy a plant-based diet, and keep fossil fuels as banned as we can manage, we will be getting on toward somewhere more pleasant, though still coping with the absence of species we have doomed with our greed, ignorance, and folly. If we do not do those things, the alternative is becoming clear.) https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/07/un-climate-change-hottest-week-world

3. At least 61,000 Europeans were killed by last summer’s heat wave. A study in Nature Medicine describes the excess deaths as expected. By summer 2030 68,000 excess deaths are projected in Europe. Women and older people are especially vulnerable to harm.   https://www.carbonbrief.org/heat-related-deaths-56-higher-among-women-during-record-breaking-2022-european-summer/?utm_source=cbnewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=2023-07-12&utm_campaign=Daily+Briefing+12+07+2023

4. It’s 97F in the water off the southern tip of Florida—not only a record, but a new level of heating, and part of a global pattern. https://climatecrocks.com/2023/07/12/floridas-marine-heat-wave-is-next-level-and-part-of-a-global-pattern/

5. Insurers in FL are failing or fleeing the state; reinsurers are refusing to provide coverage. VT is generally flooded. The heat dome continues in the southern US. These stories, and others like them for all parts of the planet, are widely reported. https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2023/jul/12/us-extreme-weather-live-vermont-phoenix-california-arizona-texas-nevada-heatwave-flooding-latest-updates

 6. Republicans in the house and senate are blocking proposals to fund climate action and attempting to sabotage funding already approved. (I would like to see that story referenced at the tail of every report on current climate catastrophes in the US: “Meanwhile, Republicans continue to try to block climate actions, as they are paid to do by the oil, coal, and gas industries.” When the statement is no longer true it can be dropped.) https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/13/us-republicans-climate-funds-extreme-heat

7. The Chinese EV Nio ES6 is on the market with a 577-mile range, thanks to its solid-state battery. We may not see the Nio in the US, but we will surely see its battery or one like it (unless, of course, problems emerge). The solid-state battery is now being manufactured in China and could be manufactured here. The impact is likely to be a dramatic increase in EV ownership and, as charging times drop to 10 minutes or so and ranges increase, a moderation of the need for public charging stations. https://insideevs.com/news/676131/nio-solid-state-battery-577-miles-range/

8. Adding sugar to your flow battery produces cheap, safe, durable energy storage on the grid scale. https://cleantechnica.com/2023/07/12/new-flow-battery-lasts-all-year-on-simple-sugar/

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