(NSC) HAVE CHINA'S EMISSIONS PEAKED?

A massive rollout of wind and solar power across China may mean the country’s emissions peaked in 2023, in what would be a historic turning point in the fight against climate change.

China’s CO2 emissions hit an all-time high in 2023 as its economy rebounded from the impacts of the covid-19 pandemic. But since then, huge amounts of wind and solar power have been added to the nation’s electricity grid, while emissions from the construction industry have fallen.

A new analysis indicates that China’s carbon emissions remained flat from July to September 2024 after falling 1 per cent in the second quarter of the year. It means 2024 emissions may remain flat on 2023 levels overall, or even fall slightly.

This would be hugely significant for global climate efforts, says Lauri Myllyvirta at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, a think tank in Finland. “China’s emissions growth has been the dominant factor pushing global emissions up for the past eight years since the signing of the Paris climate agreement,” he says.

In its climate change plan submitted to the United Nations, China promised to peak its greenhouse gas emissions before 2030, and to reach net-zero emissions by 2060. But experts warn this plan is not nearly ambitious enough given the outsize impact China has on global climate change, as the world’s largest emitter.

Peaking emissions as early as possible in China is crucial, says Myllyvirta. “That would open up the door to the country beginning to reduce emissions much faster than its current commitments require,” he says. “This would have enormous significance for the global effort to avoid catastrophic climate change.”

China is racing to ramp up electricity supply across the country and meet rapidly increasing demand for power. This demand jumped by 7.2 per cent between July and September compared with a year earlier, driven by rising living standards, as well as strong heatwaves during August and September, which increased demand for cooling.

New renewables capacity has been deployed across China at breakneck speed to help bridge the power demand gap. Solar generation rose by a phenomenal 44 per cent and wind by 24 per cent during July to September, compared with the same period in 2023. Based on current trajectories, the growth in solar power in China this year will equal the total annual power generation of Australia in 2023. More of this article (New Scientist) - link - more like this (China) - link - more like this (renewables) - link

(NAT) PRESENTING - THE TOYOTA KAYOIBAKO

Is there any vehicle more adorable than a sub-4-m (13.1-ft) Japanese micro-camper van? Maybe a next-gen micro-camper built into an ultra-versatile van platform that also works as a commercial goods-hauler, micro shuttle and mobile pop-up shop? 

And since we're looking ahead to the future, why not make it a clean-running EV? That's the Toyota Kayoibako, a concept van that paints a truly endearing picture of the future of affordable tiny van living and transport.

The Kayoibako celebrated its first birthday this month, having debuted at last year's Japan Mobility Show. The little multi-machine popped back up into our conscious, and we thought it time to have a closer look. While it doesn't appear to have a future of its own, it definitely previews how electric power and software-driven automotive architecture will help Toyota in its quest to make vehicles more configurable into personalized spaces.

The 399-cm (157-in) Kayoibako concept van borrows its name from Japan's kayoibako shipping containers, transport units designed to be customized with interchangeable interiors fit to the needs of specific loads. Toyota considers the van a "quality base unit of mobility," essentially a broad blank canvas upon which customers can brush the picture of their choosing.

Our initial choosing is the all-season adventure camper layout. Toyota showed variants all dressed up for both winter and summer action, using a full-size platform roof rack for strapping down gear and cargo, a rear ladder to access the 186-cm-high (73-in) roof, and a side rack for water/fuel canister carry. More of this article (New Atlas) - link - more like this (camper vans) - link - more like this (Toyota) - link

(ICN) THE FUTURE IS GEOTHERMAL

Earth’s crust holds an abundant supply of heat that can be turned into electricity through geothermal technology.

So far, geothermal power generation has been mostly limited to volcanic areas like Iceland, where that heat is easy to access. But advances in deep drilling technology are revolutionizing the field worldwide.

In 2006, research led by MIT for the national labs pointed to the huge opportunity of this deep geothermal as an always-on renewable that some say could be a game-changer for the climate. And recently, the Interior Department greenlit the massive Fervo Energy project in Utah that should produce as much as 2 gigawatts, enough to power more than 2 million homes.

Jamie Beard is the founder of Project InnerSpace, which aims to kickstart geothermal with drilling expertise from oil and gas. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

PALOMA BELTRAN: How would you describe the current state of geothermal energy in the United States?

JAMIE BEARD: The current state is really exciting. Geothermal has been pretty sleepy in the United States, and quite frankly, globally, because geothermal is limited geographically in where you can do it in the hydrothermal sense, but also just because there has not been a lot of awareness about geothermal and the opportunity that it presents. Because of that, there’s not been a whole lot of investment in the space. There’s not been a whole lot of interested parties who want to do projects.

That’s changing rapidly in the United States, where now we have a lot of stakeholders interested in developing geothermal projects. Technology companies are engaging in geothermal, wanting to produce geothermal energy to power data centers, and there’s also a lot of interest coming out of the oil and gas industry now in geothermal. We’ve entered this renaissance period in the United States and globally for geothermal.

BELTRAN: What would you see as the potential for geothermal in our energy landscape, especially when it comes to the idea of base load power?

BEARD: Most folks are aware when it comes to solar and wind that they’re intermittent. They’re not on all the time.

Geothermal doesn’t have that issue. Once you develop geothermal and build a power plant, it’s got a really high capacity factor, meaning how much it’s on, and it doesn’t really depend on when the sun is shining or when the wind is blowing—it’s just always there. You can even ramp it up and down, depending on energy demand at any given time.

That makes geothermal quite exciting when you look at critical infrastructure and needs like data centers that really depend on firm clean power, and need a lot of it to service their demand. Geothermal as a base load is a really exciting prospect. Geothermal as a heating and cooling application is also a really exciting prospect. There are a lot of really interesting areas to explore in geothermal development.

BELTRAN: Just to be clear, this is not your mother’s backyard geothermal used for home heating and cooling. How deep are we talking about here for the next generation of geothermal?

BEARD: If you are familiar with geothermal, you very well may be familiar with geothermal heating and cooling for houses, and that’s been around. A lot of folks have what they call shallow or direct-use geothermal heating and cooling systems, and those are great. We should absolutely grow that space, too. But that is not what we’re talking about when we’re talking about next-generation geothermal.

What we’re talking about is drilling for geothermal energy at depths at least as deep as we drill for oil and gas currently, 10,000 and 30,000-foot depths. Eventually, geothermal will need to advance to very deep, very hot resources if we want to keep advancing. But there is an enormous amount of developable geothermal energy at depths that we’re already used to drilling within the oil and gas industry. So let’s go get those first; that’s the low-hanging fruit that we need to aim for.

BELTRAN: Since this system involves deep drilling similar to the kind used in oil and gas extraction, what opportunities do you see for getting the fossil fuel industry on board with the clean energy transition?

BEARD: The single biggest opportunity that we have in geothermal right now is leveraging the capabilities, the technologies and the workforce of the oil and gas industry. Also, the global scale of the oil and gas industry.

As we look to moving fast in finding climate solutions and going fast in producing clean energy, the oil and gas industry very well may be the golden ticket to that, because they already have a highly skilled and trained workforce that knows how to drill. It’s just a matter of turning a lot of that workforce and energy and technologies that are coming out of the oil and gas industry to drilling for heat instead of drilling for oil and gas. So, massive opportunity; quite frankly, it’s mind blowing.

Geothermal is currently sitting at 1% in estimates for global energy demand. But if the oil and gas industry were to throw in on geothermal and really engage and we started drilling geothermal wells at the rate that we currently drill for oil and gas wells, that’s about 70,000 wells globally for oil and gas right now. If we were to do that for geothermal between now and say, 2050, geothermal could supply almost 80% of the world’s electricity demand and more than 100% of the world’s heat demand. That’s huge. It’s a massive potential impact, but that impact is 100% reliant on the oil and gas industry really helping grow and scale the technology over the coming decades. More of this article (Inside Climate News) - link - more like this (Iceland) - link - more like this (geothermal energy) - link

(GRE) FOREST FIRES ON THE MOVE

By Matthew William Jones research fellow, University of East Anglia; Crystal A Kolden, assistant professor, University of Idaho; and Stefan H Doerr, director of the Centre for Wildfire Research, Swansea University

Fires have long been a natural part of forest ecosystems, but something is changing. Our new study shows that forest fires have become more widespread and severe amid global heating, particularly in the high northern latitudes such as Canada and Siberia where fires are most sensitive to hotter, drier conditions.

The implications of this are alarming, not just for the ecosystems affected or the cities engulfed by smoke downwind, but for the planet’s ability to store carbon and regulate the climate. The trend we discovered contrasts with declining fire extent in savannah grasslands, which may reflect the expansion of farming and changing rainfall patterns.

We established the leading causes of forest fires in different parts of the world using an AI algorithm. It grouped forest regions into distinct zones with similar fire patterns and underlying causes, uncovering the worrying extent to which climate change is fuelling the expansion of forest fires in Earth’s high northern latitudes.

Since 2001, emissions from fires in forests outside of the tropics, like parts of the boreal forest in the far north of North America and Eurasia, have nearly tripled. This rise is largely the result of hotter, drier weather occurring more frequently, combined with forests growing more efficiently in places where the cold once stunted their growth.

Climate change is creating ideal conditions for larger, more intense fires, which accelerate climate change in turn by releasing more carbon to the atmosphere. In fact, we found that global carbon emissions from forest fires have increased by 60% over the past two decades. The largest contributions come from fires in Siberia and western North America.

This trend shifts the focus of forest fire emissions from tropical forests, where fires set to make room for farmland have long contributed carbon to the atmosphere. Conservation policies have reduced deforestation rates since the early 2000s in some regions, particularly Amazonia. By contrast, increasing fires in northern forests, such as the taiga – the forest of the cold sub-arctic region – are driven by changing climate conditions and generally started by lightning, which makes them harder to prevent. More of this article (green queen) - link - more like this (forest fires) - link - more like this (Canada) - link

(NAT) DEC - 26 MW AND COUNTING

China, the undisputed global leader in wind energy, has just set another world record for the world's tallest and highest-capacity offshore wind turbine, taller than the Eiffel Tower, The Chrysler Building, and longer than the longest US aircraft carrier.

Dongfang Electric Corporation (DEC) is building these massive 1,115-foot-tall (340-m), 26-MW wind turbines at its factory in Fuzhou, Fujian Province.

The nacelle hub height sits at 607 ft (185 m), while the blade diameter is a whopping 1,107 ft (310 m). It has a blade swept area of 812,424 square feet (75,477 sq m). Do you know what else has about that much wingspan? Twelve Boeing 747s. You'd need an area the size of 14 NFL football fields, or a decent city block, to lay it down. It's a bit big.

Even with such a large profile, DEC says its offshore turbines are resistant to typhoons and corrosion. It was engineered with a "dual anti-typhoon design" to allow it to withstand extreme typhoons, but details are scarce as to what the design entails.

According to Donfang, "it has the ability to withstand a Category 17 super typhoon." That entails winds of up to 137 mph (220 km/h), about the same as a Category 4 hurricane. UNICEF describes these super typhoons as having "extremely destructive power, sinking large ships, potentially causing severe damage and serious flooding." So it's certainly impressive if these whopping airfoils can survive such a maelstrom.

This record-breaking behemoth can generate about 100 GWh of electricity a year assuming wind speeds averaging 22 mph (36 km/h), making a single unit capable of powering roughly 55,000 Chinese homes – or about 9,200 American homes.

Dongfang's 26-MW turbine surpasses the previous largest turbine: Mingyang's 20-MW offshore wind turbine by a hefty amount in size and capacity.

China's current level of wind energy is right around 470 GW of wind power, more than triple that of the second-ranked USA with 148 GW of wind capacity. Germany ranks third with 69 GW of clean wind energy.

Random thoughts: Running at maximum capacity and assuming no infrastructure losses, 470 GW of electricity could theoretically power around 388 million US households. As of the 2023 US Census, there are only around 140 million housing units in the United States.

And as ridiculously massive as this turbine is, there's every chance it'll soon be dwarfed by others even bigger. As we discussed back in 2021, when our minds were boggled by a mere 16-MW Mingyang turbine, the longer a wind turbine's blades get, the greater the incentive becomes to make them even longer, since the swept area of a circle varies with the square of the radius.

Put it this way; if you double the blade length of a turbine, you get four times as much swept area and thus four times greater power generation capabilities – but if you add the same extra length again, you gain an extra five times the original swept area, and end up larger by a factor of nine.

So these might already be some of the largest machines the world has ever seen – but there's every reason to believe they're going to get a lot bigger. Amazing stuff! More of this article (New Atlas) - link - more like this (wind turbines) - link - more like this (China) - link

(SIH) IS NET ZERO AVIATION POSSIBLE BY 2050?

Aviation has proven to be one of the most stubbornly difficult industries to decarbonize. But a new roadmap outlined by University of Cambridge researchers says the sector could reach net zero by 2050 if urgent action is taken.

The biggest challenge when it comes to finding alternatives to fossil fuels in aviation is basic physics. Jet fuel is incredibly energy dense, which is crucial for a mode of transport where weight savings can dramatically impact range.

While efforts are underway to build planes powered by batteries, hydrogen, or methane, none can come close to matching kerosene, pound for pound, at present. Sustainable aviation fuel is another option, but so far, its uptake has been limited, and its green credentials are debatable.

Despite this, the authors of a new report from the University of Cambridge’s Aviation Impact Accelerator (AIA) say that with a concerted effort the industry can clean up its act. The report outlines four key sustainable aviation goals that, if implemented within the next five years, could help the sector become carbon neutral by the middle of the century.

“Too often the discussions about how to achieve sustainable aviation lurch between overly optimistic thinking about current industry efforts and doom-laden cataloging of the sector’s environmental evils,” Eliot Whittington, executive director at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, said in a press release. More of this article (singularity hub) - link - more like this (aviation) - link

(TDS) CLIMATE CHANGE - THE DAILY SCEPTIC

A sensational science paper has blown holes in alarmist claims that global temperatures are surging. Just published results in Nature show “limited evidence” for a warming surge. “In most surface temperature time series, no change in the warming rate beyond the 1970s is detected despite the breaking record temperatures observed in 2023,” the paper says.

Written by an international group of mathematicians and scientists, it is unlikely to be acknowledged in the mainstream media where general hysteria reigns over the anomalous 2023 experience. As we have seen, constant misinformation is published to scare the general public and this is exemplified by climate comedy-turn Jim ‘jail the deniers’ Dale forecasting almost daily Armageddon and exhorting people to “join up the dots”.

In science, one swallow does not make a summer and in climate science it is impossible to show a trend by picking on short periods or individual weather events. This paper is an excellent piece of climate science work since it takes the long statistical view and challenges the two-a penny clickbait alarmists looking for a headline on the BBC.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a biased body but it understands the importance of long-term climate trends by stating, much to the chagrin of Net Zero-promoting activists, that it can find little or no human involvement in most extreme weather events either in the past or in the likely immediate future. But these findings, along with the paper on the warming trend, are inconvenient to those promoting the unproven claim that humans control the climate thermostat by utilising hydrocarbons.

The paper is highly technical and mathematically-inclined readers can study the full workings out in the open access publication. It notes that global temperature datasets fluctuate due to short-term variability and this often creates the appearance of surges and slowdowns in warming. It is important to consider random noise caused by natural variation when investigating the recent pauses in temperature and the more recent “alleged warming acceleration”, it adds. In fact there have been a number of plausible explanations given for the recent spike, with attention focused on the massive Hunga Tonga submarine volcano adding 13% extra water vapour to the stratosphere, a strong El Niño and even the reduction in atmospheric particulates caused by recent changes in shipping vessel fuel. Several “changepoints” were used by the mathematicians and it was found that “a warming surge could not be reliably detected any time after 1970”. More of this article (The Daily Sceptic) - link - more like this (climate change) - link

(OFS) NOVIOCEAN LOOKS TO CROWDFUNDING

Swedish cleantech startup NoviOcean, formerly known as Novige, is gearing up to launch an equity crowdfunding campaign through R Europe, formerly Seedrs.

This initiative will offer investors a chance to acquire equity in the company as it drives forward the commercialization of sustainable wave power technology. The campaign, which marks a significant step in NoviOcean’s growth, invites supporters to participate in its mission to revolutionize renewable energy by securing guaranteed equity stakes.

In September, the Swedish company unveiled it was looking for funding to scale its operations and integrate the technology into offshore wind farms. NoviOcean aims to co-locate the wave power plants alongside offshore wind farms to increase overall energy output while sharing infrastructure costs, ultimately making the solution more economically viable.

The full-sized NoviOcean wave power plant is 38 meters long and includes six vertical wind turbines that generate 300 kW of power, alongside solar panels contributing an additional 50 to 80 kW, said NoviOcean. The plant has a total output of around 1 MW, with an estimated capacity factor of 40%.

Designed for a lifespan exceeding 40 years, the system is expected to provide long-term reliability. Additionally, NoviOcean has proposed a 20-year delivery priority for major partners who commit early to the venture. More of this article (Offshore Energy) - link - more like this (offshore wind) - link

(ICN) EARTH IS CHANGING COLOUR

Earth is made up of a kaleidoscope of colors—from the lush greens of tropical forests to the glistening turquoise of coastal shores.

But over the past few decades, many of the hues that people have come to expect in nature have been thrown out of whack or changed altogether. In some cases, climate change may be to blame, a growing body of research shows.

Warming global temperatures can have rippling effects on ecosystems, altering nutrient levels, chemical composition or biological processes. Sometimes these changes manifest themselves in a visual way, a cue that scientists are using to track climate trends across the globe.

Leaf Peeping: Many people across the U.S. associate the crimson reds and vibrant yellows of changing leaves with the first signs of fall each year. However, in some regions, warming temperatures are disrupting this annual transformation.

Typically, as the days get colder and shorter during autumn, leaves are exposed to less sunlight. This slows down the production of chlorophyll, which helps plants create their own food through photosynthesis and gives them a natural green color. With less food fueling their sun-powered diet, that green is replaced with other primary colors.

But warmer fall nights may be delaying the start of this process, according to a recent analysis by the nonprofit Climate Central. For example, in Maine’s Acadia National Park, peak foliage season now occurs almost two weeks later than it did in the 1950s.

“What we thought we knew about fall foliage is really up in the air right now,” Aaron Bergdahl, a forest pathologist with the Maine Forest Service, told Maine Public Radio. “The seasons are a little bit different and our growing seasons are less predictable and generally have a little bit more stress than what we recognized 10, 20 years ago.” More of this article (Inside Climate News) - link - more like this (climate change) - link - more like this (Maine) - link

(NAT) GATEWAY TO HELL

Whether you're a John Carpenter fan or a biology enthusiast, you shouldn't need much convincing to know that the melting of subterranean permafrost at the poles is not a good thing. 

Last year, scientists gave us one more thing to lose sleep over, reviving a 48,500-year-old 'zombie virus' unearthed from Arctic permafrost – and it was not the first time. It's one more sting in the tail of climate change – the threat of ancient diseases that have lain frozen and dormant for millennia.

Now, new research has detailed the rate at which Siberia's massive Batagaika crater is devouring the surface of the Earth, expanding at a rate of 35 million cubic feet each year. Currently, it measures around 1 km (0.6 mi) long and 800 m (0.5 mi) across at its widest point. And it's speeding up.

Batagaika crater, located in the Chersky Range in northeastern Siberia, is not actually a crater but a thermokarst depression – a kind of sinkhole or 'mega-slump' driven by the collapse and fracturing of land due to permafrost loss. It was only discovered in 1991, after this underground opening split further and took with it a large section of hillside.

Permafrost, despite its name, is not actually permanent; it's essentially ground that's remained at 32°F (0°C) or colder for more than two years. A quarter of the Northern Hemisphere's land surface is made up of this rock-hard frozen dirt that can vary between a a few feet deep to almost a mile.

So why is Batagaika – which is in a fairly remote area of Siberia – causing such alarm? Its rapid expansion is now fueled by warming air temperatures, which has set off a positive feedback loop that's unlikely to slow down as long as there's ice to thaw.

When the permafrost layer degrades, or melts, it goes from concrete consistency to a muddy mass, which is unable to support the vegetation on the surface. As the edges of the expanse collapse into it, the ground loses the canopies of trees shielding it from the sun (and heat). At this point, newly-exposed organic matter, no longer preserved in ice, breaks down and releases carbon into the atmosphere to further fuel atmospheric warming. This, of course, results in increasingly more permafrost loss. More of this article (New Atlas) - link - more like this (thawing permafrost) - link

(TST) JAPAN AIMING FOR 20% NUCLEAR

FUKUI/FUKUSHIMA – The Mihama nuclear power station in Fukui prefecture, which started operations in the 1970s, is one of Japan’s oldest.

It was suspended in 2011 after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, along with all other nuclear plants in the country.

But as Japan pushes to achieve energy security and affordability in a climate-friendly way, the government is looking to restart more plants – just like the Mihama plant, which resumed operations in 2021 after implementing measures to meet enhanced safety regulations.

The East Asian nation was among more than 20 countries that signed a pact at COP28, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, in December 2023 to triple nuclear energy capacity globally by 2050.

According to the International Energy Agency, about 8 per cent of Japan’s energy generation in 2023 came from nuclear power – down from 30 per cent before 2011.

Almost 64 per cent came from fossil fuels – coal, oil and gas. Burning fossil fuels emits carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which contributes to global warming and climate change.

But the nuclear reactions that produce energy do not release such emissions as by-products.

Japan wants to increase the share of nuclear power in the energy mix to at least 20 per cent by 2030.

Mr Satoru Yasuraoka, director for international affairs at the nuclear energy policy division of Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, told The Straits Times that while the Japanese government plans to increase the amount of renewable energy deployed, its ability to tap more renewables is constrained by geography.

“Japan has decided under our (energy policy) to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality. Nuclear energy is expected to contribute to our goal of achieving energy sufficiency, affordability and environmental (considerations) – but with maximum safety,” he said. More of this article (The Straits Times) - link - more like this (nuclear power) - link - more like this (Japan) - link

(INE) MONEY FOR NOTHING?

In April 2024, the Prime Minister’s register of interests showed that he had received £16,200 worth of “work clothing” from Lord Alli, who is a former chair of online clothing retailer Asos.

The Labour peer also gave him “multiple pairs of glasses” the same month which were valued at £2,485, according to Starmer’s register of interests.

Between 29 May and 13 July 2024, Starmer received accommodation from Lord Alli to the value of £20,400.

Alongside accommodation costs and work clothes, Lord Alli has also donated costs directly to the running of Starmer’s office.

Most recently, he gave £10,000 in October 2023, £6,000 in February 2024 and £16,200 in April 2024 described as “private support for the Office of the Leader of the Opposition”.

In April 2020, during the race to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour Party leader, he also gave £100,000 to Starmer’s campaign, having previously given £50,000 to Rayner and £54,000 to Emily Thornberry to support their candidacies.

Between October 2023 and March 2024, he gave Angela Rayner £17,650 which she stated was intended “to support me in my capacity as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party”, as well as a separate unspecified “donation in kind” of £3,550 in July 2024 “for undertaking parliamentary duties”.

The Labour peer contributed £12,500 to David Lammy in November 2023, £10,000 to Ed Miliband in April 2023 and £10,000 to Wes Streeting in August 2021 while all three were members of the shadow cabinet, with the donations earmarked for supporting the hiring of additional staff.

Donations of £10,000 in November 2023 and £4,000 in December 2023 were also made to Bridget Phillipson while she was shadow Education Secretary which she stated was “to host a number of events, including on behalf of the Shadow Education Team”. More of this article (inews) - link - more like this (big brother) - link

(GRE) WWF TOOL TO BOOST PLANT BASED FOOD SALES

The World Wildlife Fund has launched a tool for supermarkets to align their sales with their climate goals, urging them to sell more plant-based food than animal protein.

With retailers playing a key role in the food system’s emissions and its transition towards a low-impact industry, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is helping them with a new methodology to enable the protein transition.

Meat and dairy take up 57% of agrifood emissions, and up to a fifth of the world’s total emissions, while also using up 80% of farmland and 30% of the global freshwater supply. But despite this disproportionate use of resources, livestock farming only supplies 17% of the world’s calories and 38% of its protein.

Experts have suggested that emissions from the food system alone will blow us past our 1.5°C budget, and maybe even the 2°C mark – there’s no way for us to meet our climate targets without addressing agriculture.

On the flip side, vegan diets have been found to reduce emissions, land use and water pollution by 75% compared to those rich in meat. And even if we replace just half of our meat consumption with plant-based alternatives, it can lower farm and land use emissions by nearly a third, while halting deforestation and reducing hunger by 3.6%.

Hence, the protein transition – i.e., the shift away from animal- to plant-based food sources. Dietary change is the most effective lever in lowering greenhouse gas emissions, and as gatekeepers of both sides of the supply chain, retailers play a crucial role in enabling this shift.

“Retailers are critical in accelerating the transition to healthy and sustainable diets, particularly in countries with high consumption-related environmental impacts,” said Brent Loken, global food lead scientist at WWF. “This transition requires a rapid transformation of food environments and for healthy and sustainable foods to be made more affordable and accessible to all.” More of this article (green queen) - link - more like this (animal husbandry) - link - more like this (arable farming) - link - more like this (arable farming) - link

(IEN) ROBOT ART

Ai-Da, the world’s first ultra-realistic robot artist, is poised to make art history as her latest work, a portrait of computing pioneer Alan Turing, goes under the hammer at Sotheby’s London next month.

This moment marks the first time a humanoid robot’s artwork will be sold at a major auction house.

The portrait, titled AI God, is a striking 7.2-foot-high painting of Turing, widely regarded as a foundational figure in the development of modern computing. With an estimated value ranging from £100,000 to £150,000 ($130,000 to $196,000), the painting captures Turing’s complex legacy.

The auction, which will take place online from October 31 to November 7, is part of Sotheby’s Digital Art Sale, a showcase that explores the intersection of art and cutting-edge technology.

Ai-Da, created in 2019, is the brainchild of British gallerist Aidan Meller, who collaborated with artificial intelligence experts from the universities of Oxford and Birmingham to bring her to life. Ai-Da’s advanced design includes AI algorithms, cameras embedded in her eyes, and bionic hands, all of which allow her to paint autonomously.

She is capable of creating her artwork without any human intervention, using complex machine-learning techniques to guide her brushstrokes.

Ai-Da’s choice of subject, Alan Turing, is particularly poignant. Known for his pivotal role in cracking the German Enigma code during World War II and laying the theoretical groundwork for computer science, Turing also expressed concerns about the potential dangers of artificial intelligence in the 1950s.

These warnings resonate deeply in today’s world, where AI technology has become both a powerful tool and a source of ethical debate. More of this article (Interesting Engineering) - link - more like this (art) - link - more like this (AI) - link

(GRE) ONE MAN'S MEAT IS ANOTHER MAN'S NUTS

Did you know that you can eat peanut shells? Better yet, were you aware that you can make planet-friendly meat from them?

That’s what scientists from the US are proposing, in a move they say can cut food waste, promote human health, boost food security and farm economies, reduce emissions, and thus meet several Sustainable Development Goals.

In a review published in the Frontiers journal, researchers outline how about 22% of the 46 million tonnes of peanuts produced annually is waste from the shells, resulting in a loss of over 6.5 million tonnes of dietary fibre and 595,000 tonnes of plant protein.

While peanut shells are most commonly upcycled into animal feed, a dry complete material for packaging and industrial fillers, and potentially biofuel, the study suggests that this is a “missed opportunity” since these hulls are edible to humans. It proposes methods to recapture nutrients (like protein and fibre) and process these hulls into functional ingredients for a variety of foods, including plant-based and cultivated meats.

The scientists argue that the valorisation of peanut byproducts would significantly increase the amount of food available from current land, water and energy use, addressing hunger and benefitting farmers (who could sell the shells at a premium compared to low-cost animal feed).

Most of the greenhouse gas emissions from peanut production come from on-farm activities, and the hulls alone represent a quarter of the potential energy output. But overall, these groundnuts generate 97% fewer emissions per kg than beef, and use up 97% less land too – so using the shells to produce food for human consumption illustrates a highly sustainable way to increase food security. More of this article (green queen) - link - more like this (food) - link 

(NAT) ROBOTS IN TRAINERS

A few months back, China's Robot Era demonstrated the strolling capabilities of its XBot-L humanoid by setting it loose on the Great Wall of China. Now the company has released video footage of two flagship Star1 models racing through the Gobi Desert.

Robot Era is a fairly recent addition to the humanoid robot space, having incubated from Tsinghua University in August 2023. But the company already has a number of humanoids in its robot ranks, has developed a dexterous human-like hand, and become quite adept at showing off its creations in fun promo videos.

The latest footage was shot late last month and features the company's new flagship humanoid robot, Star1. Well two of them actually, racing against each other on rocky routes, grassy vistas and winding roads along parts of the Gobi Desert. One runs "bare-footed" while the other benefits from a snazzy pair of sneakers.

Sadly, we don't know a great deal about the flagship running bot, but we can tell you that it stands 1.71 m tall (5.6 ft) and tips the scales at 65 kg (143 lb). Its odd running gait sees the body remain straight-backed upright while its jointed legs push out front in a style that would likely gain full approval from the Ministry of Silly Walks.

The company reports that the sneaker-clad humanoid started late but quickly caught its opponent before taking the lead, running at 3.6 meters per second (8 mph) for 34 minutes. More of this article (New Atlas) - link - more like this (robots) - link - more like this (made in China) - link

(BBC) SAVE THE ISABELLE PEPIN ONE

An MP has questioned a woman's £500 fine for leaving an Ikea storage system on a pavement for interested passers-by to collect.

Isabelle Pepin left the item in front of her house in Southbourne, Bournemouth, and said she had hoped someone else in the community could still make use of it.

A contractor working for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council issued the fine, saying the furniture had been left on a public highway rather than Ms Pepin's own property.

Ever since I joined the waste management industry I've always understood the concept of throwing something away as 'discarding' it - that's what the government says anyway:-

When a material is waste – discard

A material is waste if the holder has discarded it. The holder is the person or legal entity who has the material at the time it’s discarded.

When Isabelle Pepin put her piece of IKEA furniture on the pavement in front of her house, it could be argued that she was being 'untidy' or 'foolish' but was she actually discarding it? Apparently not. Isabelle was waiting to see if anyone wanted it as there was "still life left in it".

As the IKEA unit had not been discarded, it was never technically waste. Not being waste, it cannot be dealt with under any waste/fly tipping legislation. More of the original article  (BBC) - link - more like this (waste) - linklink

In my opinion, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council was/is wrong.

(F24) ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER LOOMING

For years, scientists have held onto the hope that even if global temperatures temporarily exceed climate targets, the planet could eventually cool back down. However, a major academic study released on Wednesday has cast doubt on that idea.

The report highlights the dangers of "climate overshoot"– a temporary breach of the 1.5°C warming limit set in the 2015 Paris Agreement. While world leaders have committed to keeping the global temperature increase below 1.5°C, emissions continue to rise, making this goal increasingly difficult to achieve.

The study emphasises that even a brief overshoot could lead to long-term impacts, including rising sea levels and other lasting effects that may persist for thousands of years.

At the 2015 Paris Agreement, several strategies were agreed upon in order to meet climate goals, such as halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

Yet, these pledges have not been matched by action, and the idea of overshoot has even been embraced by some world leaders as a fallback plan.

False promises

At the 2023 climate negotiations in Dubai, COP 28 President Sultan Al Jaber promised to uphold the 1.5°C goal, stating the United Arab Emirates was guided by a "deep sense of urgency".

However, as CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Al Jaber was simultaneously overseeing plans for a major expansion in fossil fuel production.

This is one of the many contradictions between public promises and private actions. Many policies claiming to align with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C target are underpinned by the flawed belief that climate overshoot can be reversed without radically reducing emissions or the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

“Our research highlights that hoping to overshoot and then return to safer levels is delusional,” said Joeri Rogelj, a professor of climate science at Imperial College London and one of the co-authors of the study.

The research, spanning three years, outlines how exceeding the 1.5°C global temperature target could lead to consequences lasting for centuries.

The paper shows overshooting could trigger the thawing of permafrost, releasing vast amounts of greenhouse gases that would further accelerate climate change. Furthermore, it indicates that for every 100 years the temperature exceeds 1.5 °C, there is an associated increase in sea-level rise by approximately 40 cm by the year 2300, which presents a significant danger to island nations.

“Climate overshoot would leave an irreversible legacy,” said Carl-Friedrich Schleussner, lead author of the study and science advisor to Climate Analytics and Honorary Professor at Humboldt University Berlin. “It may not be reversible, even if global temperature increase might actually be reversed." More of this article (France 24) - link - picture (New Scientist article) - link - more like this (COP) - link - more like this (Abu Dhabi) - link

(GRE) DEFENDING FOSSIL FUEL

In May, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall and 18 of his Republican colleagues launched their bid to block lawsuits that several Democrat-led states including California have brought against energy giants for deceiving the public while fueling the global climate emergency. Multiple U.S. municipalities have filed similar suits against Big Oil.

Although justices have rejected the oil and gas industry’s efforts to shift those suits from state to federal court, six of them are right-wingers with a record of anti-environment rulings. A spokesperson for Marshall told Reuters that the new request of Prelogar is “an encouraging sign that the justices are taking seriously the complaint of 19 states.”

Meanwhile, Richard Wiles, president of the Center for Climate Integrity (CCI), took aim at the Alabama-led case, saying in a statement that “this meritless, politically driven request is an obvious attempt to shield fossil fuel companies from facing accountability for their climate lies and the monumental damage they’re causing.”

“It should be a no-brainer for the solicitor general to oppose this petition and for the Supreme Court to reject it,” he added. “Communities deserve their day in court to hold Big Oil accountable.”

Wiles responded similarly in June, when the Supreme Court asked Prelogar to weigh in on a case brought by the City and County of Honolulu.

Alyssa Johl, CCI’s vice president of legal and general counsel, said at the time that “lawsuits like Honolulu’s are not seeking to solve climate change or regulate emissions—these plaintiffs simply want Big Oil to stop lying and pay their fair share of the damages they knowingly caused. The solicitor general should make clear that federal laws do not preempt the ability of communities to hold companies accountable for their deceptive claims under state law.” More of this article (green queen) - link - more like this (Biden) - link - more like this (fossil fuels) - link

(IAN) OXFORD 206

More like this - Oxford - link

(ICN) LIES, DAMN LIES AND MISINFORMATION

Fossil fuel interests are working to kill solar in one Ohio County. The hometown newspaper is helping.

A retired gas industry executive, a shadowy “grassroots” group and a controversial media company are spreading misinformation while turning residents against a proposed solar farm— and each other.

Word tends to spread fast in rural Knox County, Ohio. But misinformation has spread faster. The first article in the Mount Vernon News last fall about a planned solar farm simply noted that residents were “expressing their concern.” But soon the county’s only newspaper was packed with stories about solar energy that almost uniformly criticized the project and quoted its opponents.

Then a new “grassroots” organization materialized and invited locals to an elaborate event billed as a town hall, with a keynote speaker who denied that humans cause climate change.

Someone sent text messages to residents urging them to “stop the solar invasion” and elect two county commission candidates who opposed the solar farm. And one day this past March, residents received an unfamiliar newspaper that contained only articles attacking Frasier Solar, a large project that would replace hundreds of acres of corn and soybeans with the equivalent of 630 football fields of solar panels. More of this article (Inside Climate News) - link - more like this (solar) - link - more like this (Ohio) - link

(IAN) OXFORD 205

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(DRI) TESLA ROBOTAXI

Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk have unveiled the long promised Robotaxi prototype at its much ballyhooed “We, Robot” event in Hollywood, to showcase what it says will be the future direction of the world’s best-selling EV brand.

Musk took time out from his pro-Trump political campaigning to launch the new products at the Warner Bros studios in California.

His presentation, which started nearly an hour late – ostensibly due to a medical emergency in the crowd – lasted just 20 minutes and was short on detail, but long on hype, and Musk’s vision of a future world where “everyone will want” their own robot.

The first product to appear, with Musk inside, was the two-door Robotaxi with no steering wheel, and no pedals. The styling of this model seems to be inspired by the Cybertruck and Tesla’s Roadster sportscar, and Musk said it would likely be sold for less than $US30,000.

He said unsupervised fully autonomous trials would begin in California and Texas – pending regulatory approval – in 2025, using Model 3 and Model Y cars. Musk said that the Robotaxi would not likely be in production until 2026, or maybe 2027. More of this article (The Driven) - link - more like this (electric cars) - link - more like this (Tesla) - link

(NAT) BETWEEN TRACK SOLAR

Even on busy rail networks, the gap between lines can spend much of its time doing little but face skyward, so why not put that space to good use? Swiss startup Sun-Ways is looking to do just that by installing solar panels in between railway tracks.

Despite many household and business rooftops rocking solar panels, and dedicated "farms" also soaking up the Sun's energy, there's still huge potential for harvesting much more.

Sun-ways is looking to tap into the estimated 1-TWh annual energy potential from the 5,000-km of railroad tracks in Switzerland by laying removable PV panels between them. The company states that this could potentially meet the electricity needs of almost a third of the country's public transport sector, while making yearly CO2 savings of more than 200,000 tons.

Each "full black" panel measures 1 x 1.7 m (3.3 x 5.5 ft) and features an anti-reflective filter to prevent glare. This is mounted as a multi-array format in a frame where all components and wiring are housed within. The current setup is designed to fit track gauges of 1.43 m (4.6 ft), though this can be adapted for non-standard installations.

The multi-panel modules can be installed and connected manually by engineers, but railway maintenance company Scheuchzer SA has developed a machine capable of installing up to 1,000 m2 of Sun-Ways panel arrays per day.

The "solar power plant" has been designed so that the panel modules can be temporarily removed while railway engineers perform track maintenance, and then put back down when work has been completed. And the setup has been tested for stability for trains passing overhead at up to 150 km/h (93 mph), and can withstand 240-km/h (150 mph) winds. More of this article (New Atlas) - link - more like this (solar power) - link - more like this (Switzerland) - link

(MOT) CATASTROPHIC IS THE NEW NORMAL

Something’s shifted. And it’s not just the climate.

Even before being named a tropical storm, I knew that what would become Mean Helene was set on a mission to be yet another multibillion-dollar disaster. I knew that it would undergo rapid intensification and become a catastrophic hurricane. And I knew that a calamitous rainfall event would unfold in the Southeast many hours after landfall.

So, I did what I’ve done during my entire 40 year career—I tried to warn people. Except that the warning was not well received by everyone. A person accused me of being a “climate militant,” a suggestion that I’m embellishing extreme weather threats to drive an agenda. Another simply said that my predictions were “an exaggeration.”

But it wasn’t an exaggeration.

The storm surge from Helene was widespread and up to 15 feet deep. The windstorm sliced through the Southeast with gusts up to 100 miles per hour. And the rains were, as I predicted, “biblical.”

Helene became a major hurricane on September 26 amid a rapid intensification (RI) cycle in which it attained 55 mph greater windspeeds in a span of 24-hours—just short of the “extreme” RI threshold of 58 mph in 24 hours. It was the second time since it formed that maximum sustained windspeeds had increased by at least 35 miles per hour in a day.

As a result, Helene went from an 80 mph low-end Category 1 hurricane one day to a 140 mph Category 4 cyclone the next. According to the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, Category 1 hurricane damage would be expected to be “minimal,” while Category 4 hurricane damage would be “devastating.”

Helene was the second major hurricane (Cat 3 or higher) of the 2024 season. Record-setting Hurricane Beryl preceded it as the earliest-forming Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic basin’s history. Beryl became a major hurricane in the month of June east of the Lesser Antilles, the first time that’s ever happened during the first month of hurricane season since record-keeping began in 1851. More of this article (Mother Jones) - link - more like this (extreme weather) - link - more like this (flooding) - link

(RCH) HENLEY BUSINESS SCHOOL SECURES RMD FUNDING

A new AI platform is set to aid in the early detection of rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases.

A team led by Henley Business School, University of Reading, has secured a £1.2 million grant for the development of RMD-Health.

This machine learning system aims to enhance the early detection and referral of rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMD).

The project will be piloted at the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust (RBFT) and Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH) over the next three years. The initiative is partially funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and will focus on preparing the product for regulatory approval and commercial use.

Rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases affect up to a third of the UK population and are leading causes of disability, including inflammatory arthritis, and one of the biggest contributors to sick days and unemployment.

Professor Weizi Li, the project's lead and Professor of Informatics and Digital Health at Henley, said: "With an estimated annual cost of £1.8 billion in sick leave and work-related disability for rheumatoid arthritis alone, the current RMD referral system faces huge challenges."

The new machine learning system is designed to help doctors refer patients more accurately and quickly, leading to faster and more effective treatment. Between 2019 and 2021, general practitioners had only 40 per cent accuracy in suspected early inflammatory arthritis referrals.

This also led to delays in patients accessing the correct clinics and treatments, often resulting in multiple consultations with GPs. More of this article (Reading Chronicle) - link - Elizabeth Scott (reporter) - link - more like this - (University of Reading) - link - more like this (University of Oxford) - link

(ELN) EFW MEETS HVO

Encyclis has announced the completion of the ‘UK’s first’ energy-from-waste plant to use hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO) instead of diesel for its start-up process.

The milestone was achieved at the Newhurst Energy Recovery Facility in Leicestershire following a year-long research and development programme aimed at reducing fossil fuel emissions in the waste-to-energy sector.

The use of HVO, produced from sustainable waste vegetable oil, eliminates fossil carbon dioxide emissions during plant start-up and shutdown phases, which traditionally rely on diesel or natural gas.

HVO is now used to fuel the plant’s auxiliary burners, vehicles and emergency generators, further contributing to carbon reductions.

Following successful trials at the Newhurst facility, Encyclis plans to expand the use of HVO across its energy recovery facilities.

The project was developed in collaboration with Saacke, the German manufacturer of the plant’s burners, and involved extensive testing to ensure efficiency and safety. More from Energy Live News - link - more like this (waste) - linklink - more like this (vegetable oil) - link