(MOT) OLD EV BATTERIES GO SOLAR

Repurposed electric vehicle batteries at B2U Storage Solutions.B2U Storage Solutions/Grist

On a 20-acre parcel outside the tiny Southern California town of New Cuyama, a 1.5-megawatt solar farm uses the sun’s rays to slowly charge nearly 600 batteries in nearby cabinets. 

At night, when energy demand rises, that electricity is sent to the grid to power homes with clean energy.

To make renewable energy from intermittent sources like solar and wind available when it is most needed, it’s becoming more common to use batteries to store the power as it’s generated and transmit it later. But one thing about the Cuyama facility, which began operations this week, is less common: The batteries sending energy to the grid once powered electric vehicles.

The SEPV Cuyama facility, located about two hours northeast of Santa Barbara, is the second hybrid storage facility opened by B2U Storage Solutions. Its first facility, just outside Los Angeles, uses 1,300 retired batteries from Honda Clarity and Nissan Leaf EVs to store 28 megawatt-hours of power, enough to power about 9,500 homes. This article at Mother Jones - link - GABRIELA AOUN ANGUEIRA - link - more like this - link

(PIN) PET GREENWASHING

The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC), backed by environmental groups Client Earth and Environmental Coalition on Standards (ECOS), has taken action against major water bottle producers, such as Coca-Cola, Danone and Nestlé Waters/Nestlé, for alleged greenwashing.

Consumer groups from 13 countries have submitted an external alert to the European network of consumer authorities (CPC-Network) demonstrating that claims of “100% recycled” or “100% recyclable” on plastic water bottles can be misleading.

The legal action follows the publication of a report by ECOS and Client Earth, which found evidence that recyclability and PCR content claims are only partially valid for most plastic bottles, and scientific methodologies like LCAs are usually flawed.

“Be it about buying new clothes, opening a bank account or buying water bottles, consumers increasingly want to make the most sustainable choice and seek reliable information to do so. However, they are bombarded with incorrect and deceptive claims, so they do not know which claim or label to trust,” says Ursula Pachl, deputy director general of BEUC.

“Using ‘100% recycled/recyclable’ claims or displaying nature images and green visuals that insinuate that plastic is environmentally friendly is misleading consumers. Such claims, however, can be found on many water bottles sold across Europe. The problem is that there’s no guarantee it will be fully recycled once it’s in the bin. This greenwashing must stop.” more on this from Packaging Insights - link - more like this - link

(SIM) SWITCHBLADE FLYING CAR - FLIES

The Samson Sky Switchblade, one of the most sought-after flying cars, marked a major achievement in its development as it completed its maiden flight in Washington State. 

While the flight was relatively short, The Samson Sky team will reportedly use the flight's data to finalize the production of several prototypes.

Known as "The Flying Sports Car," the Switchblade is designed to shave down 10-hour road trips into three-and-a-half-hour trips from door to door. The milestone comes after 14 years spent designing the flying car, which is estimated to start at $170,000.
Conducting the first flight

The Switchblade's first flight occurred at Grant County International Airport, where Boeing and other aircraft manufacturers typically perform flight testing. Robert Moehle, a veteran test pilot, was at the command of the experimental aircraft, according to Samson Sky. Moehle reportedly devoted years of work on the Switchblade to make creator, designer, and CEO Sam Bousfield's dream of a true high-performance flying car possible. Channing Reid - link - Simple Flying - link - more like this - link

LEST WE FORGET - PRIVATE ALFRED MONK

LEST WE FORGET - LINK