Henry Harrell"s Blog: March 21 Energy News

Headline News:

The world’s oceans are a giant heat sink, and they work to modulate the world’s air temperatures to a large degree. With that in mind, the findings of a new study from the National Center for Atmospheric Research are somewhat unsettling. The world’s oceans may be storing as much as 13% more heat than was previously estimated. [CleanTechnica]

Measuring the warming ocean (Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization)

Opinion: “California Waiver Trumps EPA Dirty Fuel Rule” • It’s starting to look like our democracy is better defended against strong-man autocracy than I feared. The constitution, the fourth estate, the rule of law, have all taken massive hits, but are even eking out surprising wins after literally “unpresidented” assaults from the Oval Office. [CleanTechnica]
Chemists from the University of Glasgow report in a new paper in Science on a new form of hydrogen production that is 30 times faster than the current state-of-the-art method. The process also solves common problems associated with generating electricity from renewable sources such as solar, wind or wave energy. [Laboratory Equipment]
Carbon emissions from electric generation could be eliminated by 2060, according to a report by the International Renewable Energy Agency. That emissions cut is necessary to prevent global temperatures from rising by more than 2° C above pre-industrial levels, generally considered the threshold for irreversible climate change. [Green Car Reports]
Google’s “Project Sunroof” tool revealed a vast untapped potential for rooftop solar installations in the US. Since 2015, the project has analysed around 60 million buildings across the US concluding that 79% are technically viable for generating solar power. Percentages range from 60% in cloudier northern states to 90% in sunnier. [Climate Action Programme]

Henry Harrell"s Blog