Planet Week: Cyberattack shuts down Colonial Pipeline
Welcome to Planet Week, where we highlight the last week of environmental news and what it means for our Planet.
Welcome to Planet Week, where we highlight the last week of environmental news and what it means for our Planet.
Last week, the EPA warned that the United States is in unprecedented climate territory. New research found that human’s impact on land is way worse than we thought. And citing climate concerns, Elon Musk said Tesla would no longer accept Bitcoin.
In case you missed it, here’s what else happened around the Planet:
Sunday, May 9
Cyberattack shuts down Colonial Pipeline
Last weekend, the criminal hacker group DarkSide launched a cyberattack against the Colonial Pipeline, a 5,500-mile oil and gas pipeline, which carries nearly half of the fuel supplies used on the East Coast. The attack forced the pipeline to shut down for several days, causing gas shortages and price spikes across the Gulf Coast, East Coast, and Midwest.
Though the pipeline came back online Wednesday, the company said it would take several days to return to normal. Bloomberg later revealed that DarkSide, which has now folded under pressure by the U.S., received $5 million in ransom to restore the pipeline.
The attack not only sent shockwaves across the gas market — it raised concerns about the vulnerability of U.S. energy infrastructure and the importance of investing in cybersecurity, Canary Media writes.
Andres becomes earliest tropical storm in Pacific
The 2021 hurricane season is unlikely to offer a reprieve from last year’s record-breaker. On Sunday, Tropical Storm Andres became the earliest named storm on record to form in the eastern Pacific Ocean, forming six days ahead of the official Pacific hurricane season.
By Tuesday, Andres had weakened and curved southward, avoiding landfall on Mexico’s western coast. Still, the early activity over the Pacific should brace us for yet another active hurricane season. CNN has more.
Monday, May 10
Air pollution from meat production kills thousands of people a year
Raising animals for meat is deadly. According to a new study, nearly 16,000 deaths in the U.S. are linked to air polluted by farms, with air pollution from animal agriculture responsible for 80% of those deaths. The culprit is PM-2.5, a common air pollutant that can cause asthma, heart attacks, and strokes, which in this case, comes from manure and animal feed.
But we have the solutions to address this. Changing farm practices, such as improved livestock waste management and fertilizer application, can slash these emissions, and so can eating more plants — in fact, the study finds that shifting to vegetarian, vegan, or flexitarian diets could prevent 10,700 deaths a year.
“The food system has really flown under the radar as a source of deadly pollution,” Jason Hill, lead author of the report, told The Washington Post. “But what we eat affects not just our own health, but the health of others.”
Tuesday, May 11
First U.S. offshore wind farm approved
American wind energy got a huge boost last week. On Tuesday, the Biden administration approved the nation’s first major offshore wind farm. The farm, located 12 miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts, adds 800 megawatts of electricity to the grid, enough to power 400,000 homes.
To put that in context, the U.S. currently has two small wind farms that together produce 42 megawatts. The move is part of Biden’s goal to develop 30,000 megawatts of electricity from offshore wind by 2030, while creating thousands of jobs in the process.
“A clean energy future is within our grasp in the United States,” said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland in a statement. “The approval of this project is an important step toward advancing the Administration’s goals to create good-paying union jobs while combating climate change and powering our nation.” The Conversation gives us some perspective.
The renewable boom is here to stay
Speaking of renewables, solar and wind are booming and are only expected to grow, according to a new analysis by the International Energy Agency. The report finds that renewable energy installations jumped 45% from 2019 to 2020, the largest year-to-year jump in two decades.
Globally, 90% of new power capacity expansion came from renewables. The world is expected to see similar jumps in renewable energy in 2021 and 2022, setting a pathway for a booming industry in the coming years.
“2020 will be remembered in multiple ways because of Covid, but for renewables I think it will be remembered as a step change for growth,” Heymi Bahar, lead author of the report, told The Independent. “This is really the main takeaway — that the ‘new normal’ after 2020 will be for much faster growth.”
Wednesday, May 12
Cities aren’t ready for climate change
The climate crisis presents unprecedented challenges for global cities — and very few are prepared to meet them. One new survey of 800 cities found more than 90% face serious climate risks, yet as of last year, nearly half did not have any plan for adaptation.
Estimates for projects in 422 of these cities reached $72 billion, so it’s understandable that researchers listed budgetary restraints as the key reason for 25% of cities’ missing plans. Read more in The Guardian.
Many wealthy nations have the funds to adapt to the climate crisis, and as we wrote in Planet Days this week, it’s time for them to start sending resources to places that need it most.
Thursday, May 13
Exxon’s disturbing comms campaign
If you thought your ex was a professional gaslighter, wait until you hear this. Internal and external communications from ExxonMobil show the company has subtly shifted from out-right denial of the climate crisis to blaming consumers for it.
Exxon’s language specifically emphasizes “climate risks” alongside “consumer energy demand,” making it seem inevitable that the need for oil and gas would continue for decades to come, according to researchers. And Exxon’s PR campaign not only shifts the blame behind climate change, it also shifts who’s responsible for “solving” it.
“What they’ve done is skew the conversation and make it much more about you and me than about them,” Geoffrey Supran, the study’s co-author, told Grist. “And that’s very problematic and misleading.”
Bonus
Feel-good stories
There’s a lot of doom and gloom in the news lately, especially in the environmental sphere. But Deutsche Welle did us all a favor and compiled five feel-good stories to start the week. Read more about Britain’s admittance that animals have feelings, the comeback of French forests, and hugging.
Have a great week,
Brandon and Sam