“Ten Ways to Confront the Climate Crisis without Losing Hope” by Rebecca Solnit.
A Post-Carbon Institute free webinar with Richard Heinberg, “Implications for the Future," to be held this Monday the 29th at 10 am. Barbara, Ray and I are definitely going. I will forward the info, you need to register to attend.
Biden Gulf Oil Sale Means More Drilling Within Legacy Chemical Dump Site
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/biden-gulf-lease-sale-chemical-dumping-ground_n_619e828be4b0f398af0e55b8
Here is another suggestion for discussion starter: perhaps you have heard or read reports about EV "dirty secrets" with the gist being that EVs aren't really greener than ICE. MIT created a chart regarding the relative carbon emissions of specific vehicles over their lifetimes, emissions that include everything related to the production and operation of the vehicle over it's life. This chart also takes into consideration the cost of the vehicle. The chart is interactive if you want to explore some
https://www.carboncounter.com/#!/explore
What's on my mind:
Thinking about the toxic nature of producing batteries and solar panels for renewable energy among other substantial problems we are facing in this transition, I can't help but think of the injustice of the wealthier countries past and present carbon pollution versus the 3rd world and developing countries that are already facing the effects of climate change without really contributing much at all to the problem. In discussions with my own family, and even professors like Dr. Perona from Portland, I'm finding that Americans, at least, are not willing to sacrifice their current lifestyles even in the overwhelming evidence that business as usual cannot continue. This brought me to an internet search for Personal Carbon Budgets, which I was happy to find have been studied in the 1990's and are being looked at again as a serious contender for an approach to mitigation. This article explains how they would work.
Cement is responsible for 8% of global emissions—but it doesn’t have to be The 30 billion tons of concrete that the world makes each year have a massive carbon footprint. Cement, the main ingredient, is responsible for around 8% of global emissions—meaning that if it were a country, it would be the third-biggest climate polluter on the planet.
Read in Fast Company: https://apple.news/AY2L7S8Y_SRiZ4Db6XmQA5w
The second is along the lines of what Linda was talking about:
A Power Struggle Over Cobalt Rattles the Clean Energy Revolution
:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-021-00756-w