Henry Harrell"s Blog: November 20 Green Energy News

Headline News:

Western fires are getting bigger and hotter. When researchers from Penn State’s Earth and Environmental Systems Institute studied the history of western fires, they found that the changes in land management had trumped climate in much of the 20th century, but stronger fire-climate relationships have developed since the mid-1980s. [Arizona Daily Star]

Prescribed burn in northern California (CN Skinner / US Forest Service)

The next head of the UN global climate talks appealed for the US to “save” Pacific islands from the impacts of global warming. Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said that the islands needed the US now as much as they did during World War Two. He called on to the next US president to step away from climate scepticism. [BBC]
African consumers are opting for off-grid solar solutions. According to International Energy Agency projections, almost one billion people in sub-Saharan Africa will gain access to the grid by 2040, but by that time 530 million will remain off-grid, almost comparable with the 600 million who cannot access power today. [TODAY.ng]
After discussing details during the past week on how to meet the Paris Agreement’s goals successfully, some diplomats have suggested that the US should be punished with measures like a carbon-pollution tax on imports of American-made goods, if it withdraws from the agreement as president-elect Donald Trump has promised. [PerfScience]
In a recent study out of Texas, researchers predicted that the state could reduce its coal-generated electricity to 6% in under 20 years. If the study’s proposals are even partly accurate, they would represent a turning of the tide in electricity generation, one that is not welcome in places like Wyoming, where coal is produced. [Billings Gazette]

Henry Harrell"s Blog