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Category: Climate, Environment & Pollution (Page 5 of 10)

Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. Since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas.

PFAS Chemicals » US outdoor sports retailer REI will ban cancer-causing ‘Forever Chemicals’ from clothes and cookware it retails by 2024

2023-07-10 /

Grist »

After more than a year of pressure from environmental groups, the major outdoor retailer REI announced on Tuesday that it will ban hazardous “forever chemicals” from all its clothing and cookware by fall 2024.

REI’s new product standards will require its suppliers to eliminate all per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, from the pots, pans, apparel, shoes, bags, packs, and similar gear sold by the retail chain. Suppliers of heavy-duty apparel like professional-grade raincoats will have until 2026 to make those products PFAS-free.

Related » Patagoina is doing the same.

Ireland and Sweden join countries calling for moratorium on extraction of metals from seabed

2023-07-09 /

Karen McVeigh and Chris Michael, The Guardian »

Much is at stake. Scientists have warned of large-scale, severe and irreversible harm to global ocean ecosystems, already threatened by the climate and biodiversity crises, if deep-sea mining goes ahead. Too little is known about the ocean’s abyss even to draw up regulations, they say.

Last month, the European Academies Science Advisory Council warned of the “dire consequences” for marine ecosystems and against the “misleading narrative” that deep-sea mining is necessary for metals required to meet the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Time to deGoogle my perfectly good Pixel 4a smartphone

2023-07-09 /

When released, Google guaranteed software and security updates for the Pixel 4a smartphone for 3 years.

When I checked this morning, Google hadn’t extended support for the Pixel 4a beyond August 2023. That’s less than three weeks from now.

 

Android version updates and security updates

When will you get Android version updates and security updates

Aside from the reviews of the Pixel 4a, one of the main reasons I purchased one was the smaller size. Quality smartphones of this size were, and still are, difficult to find.

Almost immediate I purchased a protective case for it and  it’s still in great shape. So it would be wrong – on so many levels – to chuck it and be forced to purchase a new phone.

So, I have started researching how to #deGoogle my Pixel and replacing it the with GrapheneOS (Wikipedia), /e/ (Wikipedia), and the ever popular Lineage OS (Wikipedia).

My recent experience with Linux on the laptop, and the welcoming open-source community, surpassed my expectations and I expect similar results moving away from Google and commercial operating systems that don’t track my location, movements, habits, friends, for their profit.

There is no perfect solution, however deGoogle-ing the Pixel 4 will extend the Pixel 4a’s life, make it more private, and more secure. I’m interested to see what, if any conveniences I need to give up.

When the time comes that I’ll need different hardware, I’ll be buying from a company that cares about people and our planet, and walks the talk. Right now, that looks to be Fairphone, which makes user repairable smart phones and has been receiving 10/10 iFixit repeatability ratings.

US federal government approves largest-ever offshores wind project, expected to generate around 1,100 megawatts of clean energy

2023-07-06 /

Quartz »

Biden’s wind power goals, by the digits

  • 380,000: Homes the Ocean Wind 1 project can power with its energy, according to the interior department
  • 3,000: “Good-paying” jobs the New Jersey project will generate “through development and a three-year construction cycle,” the federal agency said
  • 98: The number of wind turbine generators the Ocean Wind 1 project has permission to construct, according to the Record of Decision (ROD) documents. Additionally, it can build three offshore substations within its lease area
  • $695 million: How much Ørsted expects to spend on the Ocean Wind 1 project in New Jersey. It has some federal help—the New Jersey legislature narrowly approved a bill last week to let Ørsted keep federal tax credits to insulate it from rising costs due to inflation and the covid-19 pandemic hangover
  • 30 gigawatts (GW): President Biden’s offshore wind power generation goal by 2030, which will power 10 million homes, and create 77,000 jobs

The environmentally conscious, deGoogled, Fairphone 4 smartphone is now available in the US

2023-07-06 /

The user repairable Fairphone 4 has been a hit in Europe for the past two years.

It’s now available in the U.S. from Murena, starting at around US$630. No word yet when or if Murena will ship the Fairphone 4 to Canada, but their other models already do, so …

The Verge »

Fairphone is partnering with Murena, a company best known for de-Googling Android phones, to launch the US pilot of the Murena Fairphone 4 — a variant of the handset that runs on a privacy-oriented Android-based operating system: /e/OS.

Continue reading

Earth is getting ‘hotter, drier and more flammable’ due to climate change

2023-07-06 /

Euronews »

“Projections indicate that if Spain does not cut severely the emissions that cause global warming, the country will become hotter, drier, more arid and flammable,” says Maria José Caballero, Unit Head of Rapid Response at Greenpeace Spain.

“It will experience more floods and high-intensity fires and the impacts of sea-level rise. The data in the report shows the urgency of cutting emissions and tackling the climate crisis by taking ambitious measures, to which all political parties must commit.”

Monday may have set a global record for the hottest day ever. Tuesday was even hotter. Wednesday may break it again. [Updated]

2023-07-05 /

AP »

The planet’s temperature spiked on Tuesday to its hottest day in at least 44 years and likely much longer, and Wednesday could become the third straight day Earth unofficially marks a record-breaking high, the latest in a series of climate-change extremes that alarm but don’t surprise scientists.

The globe’s average temperature reached 62.9 degrees Fahrenheit (17.18 degrees Celsius) on Tuesday, according to the University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer, a common tool based on satellite data and computer simulations and used by climate scientists for a glimpse of the world’s condition. On Monday, the average temperature was 62.6 degrees Fahrenheit (17.01 degrees Celsius), breaking a record that lasted only 24 hours.

~~~

For two straight days, the global average temperature spiked into uncharted territory. After scientists talked about Monday’s dramatic heat, Tuesday (July 4th, 2023) temperatures soared 0.17 C hotter, which is a huge temperature jump in terms of global averages and records.

National Observer » Unofficial record for hottest days in human record keeping smashed for two days running

AP | Washington Post | NBC | PBS | The Guardian

Toyota claims solid-state battery breakthrough with a possible range of 1,200 km that charges in 10 minutes

2023-07-05 /

The Guardian »

David Bailey, a professor of business economics at the University of Birmingham, said that if Toyota’s claims were founded, it could be a landmark moment for the future of electric cars.

“Often there are breakthroughs at the prototype stage but then scaling it up is difficult,” he said. “If it is a genuine breakthrough it could be a gamechanger, very much the holy grail of battery vehicles.”

FT | The Driven | CleanTechnica

BYD Co. will invest 3 billion reais (US$624 million) in Brazil to build its first electric-car plant outside Asia

2023-07-05 /

Bloomberg »

The Chinese electric-car juggernaut plans to build a production complex in the northeastern state of Bahia to produce both hybrids, EVs, and chassis for electric buses and trucks, as well as to process lithium and iron phosphate.

The BYD factory will have an initial annual capacity of 150,000 units, with the potential to reach 300,000 units. It will be the second facility dedicated exclusively to electric and hybrid cars in Brazil. Two years ago, Great Wall Motors agreed to buy a Daimler AG factory in Sao Paulo, pledging investments of 10 billion reais by 2032.

In Chile, BYD is building a $290 million lithium cathode factory.

Climate » Monday, July 3, 2023 » World’s hottest day ever recorded [Updated]

2023-07-04 /

Reuters »

Monday, July 3, was the hottest day ever recorded globally, according to data from the U.S. National Centers for Environmental Prediction.

The average global temperature reached 17.01 degrees Celsius (62.62 Fahrenheit), surpassing the August 2016 record of 16.92C (62.46F) as heatwaves sizzled around the world.

The southern U.S. has been suffering under an intense heat dome in recent weeks. In China, an enduring heatwave continued, with temperatures above 35C (95F). North Africa has seen temperatures near 50C (122F).

BBC | The Hill | AFP via ScienceAlert | The Guardian | France 24

Meanwhile » June was UK’s hottest on record » The Guardian | VoA | France 24

Automakers enjoyed stronger sales than previously predicted for the first half of 2023

2023-07-03 /

The Detroit Bureau »

Most analysts predicted sales for the full year 2023 would be between 13 million and 14 million units, with 6.5 million for the first half. However, the actual numbers are going to be closer to 8 million vehicles sold in the U.S. in the first six months, with the second quarter outperforming the first quarter.

“We came into 2023 concerned about affordability, supply constraints, and a fragile economy,” noted Cox Automotive Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke. “But the jobs market has remained healthy, and consumers have found a way to buy new wheels.

“As we close the first half, the market is showing signs of being more balanced, with smaller, more predictable changes in sales and less news about big price changes. A year from now, we might look back at this point as the beginning of a return to normal.”

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