[GWSG] New diet guide; UK emissions; US 1/3 renewable; Rio Tinto goes renewable; a range of diets

[Tilley, Al]

1. The Scientific Report of the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee recommends across multiple life stages a diet which sounds like the Planetary Health Diet. https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/sites/default/files/2024-12/Scientific_Report_of_the_2025_Dietary_Guidelines_Advisory_Committee_508c.pdf
2. The UK has almost halved its greenhouse gas emissions since 1990, replacing most of its dirty industrial sources. Now it is turning its attention to sheep and cows. They will need to be reduced by 38% and the land the use converted to forest for the country to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. The necessary dietary shift from meat and dairy is already underway. https://phys.org/news/2025-02-uk-big-diets-farming-net.html
3. Renewables are now a third of total US generating capacity. In spite of Trump, the next three years should see continued growth of renewable power capacity. By February 2028, if small scale solar power were added to figures just released by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission “the mix of all renewables would then exceed 40% of total installed capacity while the share of natural gas would drop to about 37%.” New solar in the pipeline could drive its share even higher.  https://electrek.co/2025/03/20/ferc-solar-wind-set-for-a-strong-3-year-run-despite-trumps-sabotage/
4. The cost of solar plus battery storage has dropped to the point that large industrial users such as Rio Tinto are now using renewable energy for aluminum smelting and other such applications. We appear to have passed a significant tipping point. The article mentions robotic solar farm installation as a factor.  https://reneweconomy.com.au/why-solar-and-batteries-are-now-the-engine-room-of-the-energy-transition/
5. A new article in Nature Food found that a range of vegan, vegetarian, and flexitarian diets observe planetary limits while achieving health goals. The diets all depend on grains, legumes, and nuts as the primary protein sources. https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-025-01133-y


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