Climate Action Alliance of the Valley climate, energy news roundup

Here’s the January 2022 roundup from the Climate Action Alliance of the Valley. Find it and past and future editions here. Read our monthly summary of Virginia Energy and Environmental news that the Harrisonburg Citizen publishes on its Perspectives page.

This edition continues the format similar to that for the second December roundup. The emphasis will again be on articles and perspectives from sources and voices that will hopefully uplift us as we continue our journey into 2022. Alas, there’s no avoiding some reporting and opinions that are more sobering, but I limited their numbers and put them right after the action alerts, so you can easily skip them! As always, the diversity of subjects is amazing. Once you get past the not so good news, the rest should bring you some hope and inspiration, some smiles, some ideas, and some entertainment. (Be sure to scroll to the end.)

Action Alerts

• CAAV would like to hear from you. We’re looking for effective ways to distribute information to our community. Give us your preferences by filling out this quick questionnaire.
• Tell the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Metropolitan Planning Organization what you would like to see in its 2045 Long-Range Transportation Plan, by completing this brief survey.
• The US Forest Service will accept your comments through February 22 on its plans to allow telecommunications infrastructure to support rural broadband into and through the Jefferson and George Washington National Forests. You can also mail them to Joby Timm, forest supervisor, 5162 Valleypointe Parkway, Roanoke, Va., 24019.

Not So Good News

• New Yorker Magazine for January 17, 2022, ran this “Letter from Siberia” that makes clear, in excruciating detail, why the thawing of permafrost adds significantly to our existing existential threats from greenhouse gas emissions. Did anyone say “millions of years of stored carbon and methane being released into the atmosphere”?
• What if we have to keep on mining, for minerals that current “clean” technology needs? Maybe we’ll be Back to the Future. RMI presented some alternatives and countered “The Myth.” And then there’s the matter with how to recycle the solar panels that use some of these minerals when it’s time to replace them; NC is looking into that.
• NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information issued its “State Climate Summaries 2022.” Here’s Virginia’s outlook.
• A cautionary tale: Transitioning to renewables can go badly if you forget to consult with those who will have to pay for it—or supply it. And not just in the US—how about in New Caledonia? Or Chile?
• What’s a 500-year old tree in the Tongass National Forest worth? $17,500? Really? You can help.
• What did 2021 bring? “More than 40 percent of Americans live in counties hit by climate disasters in 2021.” NOAA said the US had 20 distinct billion dollar disasters. What will 2022 bring? Probably not enough good news. But here’s some: “Solar Power Will Account For Nearly Half Of New U.S. Electric Generating Capacity In 2022.”
• “How Burning Wood Pellets in Europe Is Harming the U.S. South.”
• “An Extraordinary [Antarctic] Iceberg Is Gone, but Not Forgotten…. Scientists will be studying its effects on the ecosystem around the island for some time.”
• When and where is too many trees a problem? In Norway’s Arctic area, where “trees are rapidly taking over the tundra and threatening an ancient way of life that depends on snow and ice.” They’re “turning the Arctic green.” Also, Norway’s “Svalbard Islands … are warming seven times faster than the global average. Aerial pictures from the 1930s are helping researchers understand what that means for the region’s ice.”

Good News

• Maybe the feds aren’t doing much but there’s hope based on these six ambitious 2021 laws and this hopefully realistic headline: “States Set to Lead the Climate Charge in 2022.” Even so, let’s pin some hope on the new climate action “hawk” from NM who just arrived in the House of Representatives.
• New Year’s Eve is over but you can still tell your friends about these “5 clean energy stats.”
• Bringing back the American chestnut—let’s hope.
• Solar and Wind are growing, and the US Energy Information Agency says “Solar power will account for nearly half of new U.S. electric generating capacity in 2022.” These scientists dispel myths about these technologies and the grid. The US has lots of suitable land for solar. And what about abandoned coal mines? A new $500 million joint venture “says it’s cracked the code on how to make community solar projects [in disadvantaged communities] financially successful.”
• Wind-powered cargo ships are coming. And more EVs are coming. “In the Year of the Electric Truck, Some Real Talk from Texas Auto Dealers.”
• The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) saw “significant progress” in 2021 but also “more to do.” ACEEE noted separately that “Energy Efficiency Stands at Crossroads in Arizona, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire.” The Biden Administration just launched an initiative to partner “with two states and several cities [with the aim of] reducing planet-warming emissions from buildings.” The Dutch think they’ve got a way to greatly speed up the process of retrofitting buildings.
• A battery recycler made a $43 million dollar investment in Newton County, GA; it recycles lithium ion batteries. To the extent that such batteries will be with us for a while yet, it’s hopeful that “US geothermal lithium offers significant potential. U.S. scientists have assessed the viability and potential supply chain impact of extracting lithium from geothermal brines, and they have reported promising results.”
• “The Sunshine State’s first solar community is still shining four years after its foundation.”
• A new law in France bans plastic packaging for fruits and vegetables. Now, if we could also get rid of those obnoxious plastic stickers grocery stores put on organic produce….
• Ecuador is expanding the no-fishing zone around Galapagos, “creating ‘a new highway’ for sea life.”
• NC’s Governor issued an executive order to “expand emission goals and seek environmental equity.” In light of this step, Duke Energy is revising its strategy around carbon reduction in both NC and SC.
• The National Science Foundation reported on recently developed “stable sodium battery technology” that’s rechargeable, offering a way to replace the current lithium-ion battery.
• “Goldman Sachs just made a record-setting investment in long-duration [underground] energy storage.”
• NPR: “A federal judge canceled major oil and gas leases [in the Gulf of Mexico] over climate change.”
• Over 500 acres of “Redwood Forest in [Mendocino County] California … was returned to 10 sovereign tribes who will serve as guardians to ‘protect and heal’ the land.”
• “The Biden administration … canceled two [copper and nickel mine] leases near Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness — a remote, lake-pocked region at the center of a blistering fight over whether to mine near one of the nation’s most popular wilderness destinations.”

Climate Solutions and Adaptations (and the communities working on them)

• Conservative “eco-righters”—many of them young people—are speaking up: Bi-partisanship is a must. Really. Conservatives can “win” on climate. Why climate action needs conservatives’ solutions. Conservatives “get it” that Americans are worried about climate change, some—predictably—more than others. This North Dakota Senator understands. NIMBYs are a problem. “Bipartisan Lawmakers Prioritize Climate Resilience in New Bill.” “Drop party loyalty and get loyal to the planet.” “Conservatives want answers on climate change.”
• “Hope is not passive: How activism keeps optimism alive.” Check out how. An example: “How the Indigenous landback movement is poised to change conservation.” Another: “Black farmers are rebuilding agriculture in coal country.”
• Get “rural Americans involved in climate crisis: See them for who they are.” A report said big box store roofs are Ideal for Solar Farms and that “superstores can meet half their electricity needs with rooftop solar.” Maybe large distribution centers too? Solar and agriculture are not mutually exclusive. Rockingham County and Walmart, are you listening? Interested in agritourism and checking out area farms for interesting products and activities? There’s an app coming from the Farm Bureau to help you.
• The Scots are nothing if not ingenious. Dancers’ body heat as a renewable energy source? And, the Scots are also working to restore their massive peat bogs.
• Kelp Farming and the Oceans—what’s this about?
• What do railroads and solar have in common? The Germans are coming up with some answers.
• What’s “One way to clean up dirty trucks and ships? Design smarter routes.”
• “Original caretakers: Indigenous groups team up with conservationists to protect swaths of US.” Indigenous peoples in the Southwest and Appalachia want a “new economy for their coalfield communities”, and they’re collaborating and focusing on water. In NV, even “green” energy “raises troublesome questions about tribal rights and biodiversity.”
• Heard of these homes? Off Grid, Climate Resilient and… Made of Trash?
• What’s a “closed loop pumped hydropower storage project”? Find out.
• A “wildfire lab” in Oregon “Is Helping Foresters Prepare for a Hotter Planet.”
• Generation 180 offered five ways to make a big climate impact in 2022.
• The good news: There is an “expanding vision of Everglades restoration: a tool to fight climate change in South Florida.” The bad news: Climate change effects may hamper the efforts.
• What if a “gas burning power plant” really didn’t emit carbon?
• “Climate in Peril: A Coastal NC Farmer’s Perspective.”
• DOE is loaning money for a new hydrogen plant. It’s also funding efforts for “Accessing Geothermal Potential from Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells.”
• A US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) study concluded that “‘Large quantities of energy storage’ can balance the US grid all-year-round.”
• “New York City says goodbye to gas [in new buildings], establishing a blueprint for other communities.”
• We can accomplish the complementary goals of “protecting half the planet and transforming human systems,” said a group of scientists who study how to do that.
• 60 scientists say the world should “ban solar geoengineering.” What is it and why do they believe it’s not a good idea?

Ideas, Events, Entertainment and Information

Listen, Watch, Read, and Learn …

• CAAV’s Chair, Jo Anne St. Clair, penned this opinion piece on why VA should remain part of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
• Bloomberg Law’s detailed (but not too lengthy) explanation of the “Mountain Valley Pipeline’s Up-And-Down Legal Journey.” This analysis includes the January 25th US Appeals Court “blow”, disapproving the federal government’s water crossing permits.
• Earth champions lost to us: “Edward O. Wilson, Harvard naturalist often cited as heir to Darwin, dies at 92.” “Thomas Lovejoy, Wide-Ranging Ecologist and Amazon Rescuer, Dies at 80.” “They saw bigger things.”
• This wonderful multi-media story about an ambitious idea—“Greening the Sinai”—and how it could happen, if only we try. Click on the orange icons on the left to move through the text and pictures.
• How Greta Thunberg got to where she is now.
• PBS produced the documentary “Earth Emergency.”
• Give up meat for salads and other plant-based food? Who, Me?
• New York Times 2021 Climate News Review, in case you missed it. Also, after “Tracking Climate Change in 193 Countries”, 40 NYT opinion writers, editors, and photographers produced this interactive assessment, “Postcards from a World on Fire.”
• The Guardian offered its 2021 review.
• “When Can Climate Change be Comedy?” Not everyone loved “Don’t Look Up.” The director talked about why he made it and what his message is. Ever heard of Soylent Green, an eco-thriller from 1973? “[T]he dystopia portrayed in [this movie] got a few predictions right, including a hotter planet, an acidifying ocean, and lots of people wearing cloth masks.”
• Everything you wanted to know about federal solar tax credits, or maybe more.
• TED Talk: “Use your voice, vote and wallet for climate action.”
• TED Talk: “How we could better predict and stop floods.”
• TED Talk: “Language shouldn’t be a barrier to climate action.”
• Katherine Hayhoe—Climate Scientist, Christian Evangelical, and Mother—examined “What Went Wrong?” She also spoke about “why she cares about climate change and her fears about who will be hit hardest.”
• NPR multi-media story: “The Western megadrought is revealing America’s ‘lost national park’.”
• Video: NC’s huge hog farm operations and their hazards. The EPA is investigating the NC biogas industry “for discrimination.”
• Video: “How to Transform Climate Anxiety into Climate Action.”
• A long-timer forest ranger in the UK uses TikTok to describe his experiences. He has quite a following. Here he discusses how to protect peatland.
• Marine scientists studying coral reefs in Tahiti/French Polynesia came upon this amazing sight: “Stretching along the ocean floor for nearly 2 miles and covered with rose-shaped coral, the reef is one of the largest such discoveries at depths of more than 30 metres.” A marine biologist was astonished to spot an “Extremely rare ‘rainbow-like’ blanket octopus … in the wild on Great Barrier Reef.” An author and self-described “whale nerd” was elated at “Seeing 1,000 glorious fin whales back from near extinction … [as] a rare glimmer of hope.” Stunning!

Compiled by Joy Loving, CAAV Steering Committee Member