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Wetlands prevent hurricane damage. Economists now know how much

Wetlands

by Eric Roston, Bloomberg Green Highlights: According to a new study, wetland preservation will be increasingly important to protect Atlantic and Gulf Coast communities against hurricanes and cyclones. The study evaluates how much wetlands are worth based on the cost of the damage caused by storms One square kilometer of wetlands is worth almost $2 … Read more

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In this new solar-powered apartment complex, all 600 units have batteries that form a virtual power plant

Solar Panel Power Generation. by mrganso found on https://www.needpix.com/photo/1123513/photovoltaic-system-solar-solar-energy-solar-panel-photovoltaic-renewable-energy-revolution-power-generation-solar-field

by Adele Peters, Fast Company Highlights: A Salt Lake City apartment complex, named Soleil Lofts, is the first to incorporate solar plus storage into every unit. The local utility will use solar and storage as a virtual power plant and will avoid using fossil fuels during peak hours The developing company, Wasatch Group, used batteries … Read more

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Fossil fuels for power at turning point as renewables surged in 2019: data

by Aaron Sheldrick, Reuters  Highlights: Electricity generation from fossil fuels in the United States, European Union, and India fell in 2019. Renewable power generation increased at a faster rate than the overall growth in power output for the first time The decline of fossil fuels is likely to accelerate due to countries trying to commit … Read more

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Wall Street is falling out of love with natural gas

by Gerson Freitas Jr and Vanessa Dezem, Bloomberg Highlights: Investors are ditching natural gas and fossil fuels in order to invest in renewable energy such as solar and wind:  Environmentalist push-back on dirty energy investments has put fossil fuel valuations at a tipping point  For the first time in about a decade, local gas distributors indices are … Read more

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The psychology of Coronavirus vs. climate change: Why we mobilize for one, not the other

by Patty Wetli, WTTW Chicago Highlights The human response to Coronavirus is more urgent because it is considered an “immediate” issue, as opposed to the climate crisis, which appears to many to be a distant threat Behavioral economist Katherine Milkman explains that our inaction on climate change and our collective mobilization on the Coronavirus is … Read more

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Op-ed: California has a long way to go on climate policy

California State Capitol by Andre m

By Jacques Leslie, Los Angeles Times Highlights California’s cap-and-trade program alone won’t be sufficient to reach the state’s goals, including its mandate to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40% below 1990 levels by 2030. Energy Innovation, a San Francisco think tank, spent more than two years developing a computer model called an Energy Policy Simulator to … Read more

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Report warns climate change could become ‘catastrophic’ global, national security threat

by Rebecca Klar, The Hill Highlights In a report released by the National Security, Military and Intelligence Panel of the Center of Climate and Security, a nonpartisan security policy institute, national security and intelligence experts warn that climate change could become a “catastrophic” threat to security and recommended quick action to be taken to mitigate … Read more

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How to deliver speed and scale greenhouse gas reductions

climate activists

by Ann Hancock, Chief Strategist and Co-founder, The Climate Center Imagine that we tackle the climate crisis in a way that actually turns things around fast. Averting climate disaster depends on the climate movement becoming much more powerful and effective, and this depends on climate advocates and leaders aligning and collaborating around an overarching strategy. … Read more

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Legislative Update for February 27, 2020

Below are several selected upcoming committee hearings and several, but not all, of the key bills we are tracking. For a complete list of the roughly 16 bills we are currently tracking in 2020, click HERE. We do expect many more bills relating to Community Choice, electricity system resilience, microgrids, the climate crisis, and other … Read more

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Global warming is speeding up Earth’s massive ocean currents- another mega-scale consequence of climate change

By Paul Voosen, Science Magazine And see here, The world’s oceans are speeding up — another mega-scale consequence of climate change Highlights: Ocean currents have been increasing in energy for the last few decades, which can affect jet streams, weather patterns, marine wildlife and the amount of heat stored in the ocean’s depths. Three-quarters of the … Read more