China Is Doing A Lot Better On Climate Action Than Most People Realize

A friend and on-and-off collaborator on IPOs and technical innovation initiatives just returned from a month in Beijing, where he was applying machine learning against video to speed training in sports. He’s a walker, so he covered up to 20 kilometers a day on the streets of the city. He made two observations that rung true for me, as someone who has been paying attention to China, but from afar.

The first is that the air was clean and the sky was blue. While my friend was there during the cleaner air summer rather than the winter when the air quality is typically at its worst, the improvement in air quality in Chinese cities has been extraordinary over the past decade.

The second was that the streets were incredibly quiet, much quieter than the streets of Vancouver outside the coffee shop we were in as he told me about his trip. It wasn’t that the streets were empty. Quite the opposite. They were packed with cars and people. But virtually all the vehicles were electric. No engine noise. No diesel trucks rumbling past. No motorcycles revving. Just tire noise, which at the lower speeds typical to city streets is very quiet.

Read the story from CleanTechnica by Michael Barnard - “China Is Doing A Lot Better On Climate Action Than Most People Realize."

People without electricity could end up living the energy dream

MORE than 100 million people around the world now have access to electricity for the first time thanks to simple solar power systems that typically provide LED lights and a phone charger. More powerful versions include radios and even televisions.

Those who have lived without electricity could be the winners. 

The LEDs provide a clean and cheap alternative to the kerosene lamps normally used by those with no electricity. “People spend 50 cents a day on kerosene,” says Nick Hughes, co-founder of M-KOPA Solar of Kenya, which has sold 550,000 home solar power systems in East Africa. Some families spend a tenth of their income on fuel for lighting. “It’s a crazy price for a poor fuel,” says Hughes.

His firm has just raised the money it needs to finance a million more systems, and Hughes thinks they could eventually sell up to 11 million in East Africa alone. And M-KOPA is just one.

Read the New Scientist story By Michael Le Page - “People without electricity could end up living the energy dream.”

(Apologies, but the full story is only available to subscribers - Robert McLean)

Climate change: Let's talk openly and honestly

Hurricanes typically weaken before they make landfall. Not Harvey.

An abandoned truck remains on Interstate 45 in
Houston on Aug. 29 in the wake of flooding caused
by Hurricane Harvey. 

The historic storm actually grew stronger in the immediate 24 hours before it made landfall in Texas, the bathtub-warm water acting like a perfect fuel for Harvey's fury.

For decades, scientists have warned the man-made climate change could bring bizarre and unprecedented events. Harvey probably belongs on that list.

If Houston is going to be serious about keeping our city safe from Mother Nature, then we have to make global warming part of the discussion.

It will be a tough conversation. Even in the 21st century, the oil and gas industry still serves as our core economic engine. They've brought untold wealth and prosperity, but at the end of the day their product is responsible for carbon emissions that trap heat in the atmosphere.

Read the Houston Chronicle story - “Climate change: Let's talk openly and honestly.”

Farmers subject to weather vagaries; vagaries subject to climate change

A

ustralian farmers, like counterparts all around the world, are subject to the vagaries of the weather; weather that can be, and is disrupted by climate change.

Darren Gray writes in today’s Melbourne Age about how farmers have a special saving account buffer against drought, failed crops and other adverse events.

Australian farmers have more than $3.5 billion in special savings accounts as a buffer against drought, failed crops and other adverse events.

“Figures from the Department of Agriculture show Victorian farmers are the biggest users of Farm Management Deposit (FMD) accounts, with almost $830 million held in 11,143 accounts. New South Wales farmers are the next biggest users, with $800 million held in 10,737 accounts.

“But the crippling drought affecting most of Queensland and a substantial part of northern and north-west New South Wales is a likely key factor behind a $600 million drop in these savings in just nine months.

“The amounts held in these accounts have dropped in the past three consecutive quarters, from a record high of more than $4.1 billion in June 2014 to $3.54 billion in March this year. Totals typically fall in these months, but the $600 million drop is much steeper than normal,” he writes.

Gray’s story - “Cash reserves for Australian farmers top $3.5 billion” – warns about multiple seasons without incomes for many farmers.