Planet Week: Shell’s topsy-turvy week
Welcome to Planet Week, where we highlight the last week of environmental news and what it means for our Planet.
Happy Presidents’ Day! How refreshing it is to have a normal president in the White House again — and it doesn’t hurt that he’s gone all-in on climate action in his first month.
Now on to Planet Week, where we highlight the last week of environmental news and what it means for our Planet.
Last week, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres doubled-down on his calls for polluters to step up with net-zero pledges. A study found that the world was falling behind on its emissions targets (big surprise). And some good news: Researchers showed that China’s recent emissions reductions could speed up ozone recovery.
In case you missed it, here’s what else happened around the Planet:
Sunday, February 7
Glacier burst floods India
Nearly 200 people went missing and 26 people died after a chunk of Himalayan glacier fell into a river, triggering destructive floods in Uttarakhand, a northern state in India. The resulting water, rocks, and debris crashed through a dam, wiped out villages, and trapped around 30 people in a tunnel, reports CNN.
Climate change and other human activity may have played a part in the destruction, explains The Associated Press. Warmer weather and less snowfall can accelerate ice melt, and water can build up to dangerous levels in glaciers. When a glacier bursts, as happened on Sunday, all that water shoots out.
Monday, February 8
Achoo! Climate change worsens allergy season
Another reason to hate climate change: It worsens allergy season. Rising temperatures and higher CO2 concentrations are coupled with longer, more intense allergy seasons, according to new research out Monday.
Today, allergy season is 20 days longer and has 21% more pollen than in 1990, the study finds. All this pollen can worsen health effects, like hay fever, asthma, and other respiratory conditions.
“This is a really clear example that climate change is already here, in essence, it’s here in every breath we take,” William Anderegg, co-author of the study, told The Guardian. “The health impacts are with us and likely to get worse.”
EV’s not-great secret
Do electric vehicles (EVs) have a secret downfall? According to new research, EVs in California logged half the miles of gas-powered cars in 2017 and used only a small fraction of the energy experts expected.
Researchers identified several potential driving-forces: Drivers may not trust their EVs for longer trips because of the lack of charging stations; households with more than one vehicle could view their EV as a backup; and California’s electricity rates, some of the highest in the United States, might have made fueling too expensive.
Still, the study brings into question how good of a replacement EVs are for gas-powered vehicles. E&E News has the full story.
Elon Musk’s busy, sometimes contradicting, week
Speaking of EVs, Elon Musk, CEO of electric car company Tesla, is once again the center of attention. On Monday, more details surfaced about Musk’s $100 million award for the “best carbon capture technology” (Musk previously tweeted about it).
The contest will kick off on Earth Day, April 22, and will run for four years, reports Axios. Teams are required to have a working prototype that captures at least one ton of carbon a day. The prototype will be judged on cost, permanence, environmental benefits, and scalability.
Also last week, Tesla hitched its wagon to bitcoin, investing $1.5 billion in the cryptocurrency and announcing it would soon accept bitcoin as payment for its products. But “mining” for bitcoins — when supercomputers solve complicated algorithms to verify transactions — takes up loads of energy and fuels the climate crisis. That puts the electric car company at odds with its sustainability-driven mission. The Verge has more.
Tuesday, February 9
Fossil fuel pollution causes premature deaths
Air pollution from the burning of fossil fuels prematurely killed 8.7 million people worldwide in 2018, The Independent (Ireland) reports.
The findings suggest we’ve been underestimating the health impacts of fossil fuel combustion, doubling previous estimates for deaths linked to airborne particulate matter. Parts of Southeast Asia, Europe, and the northeastern United States — where populous cities with high concentrations of gas-powered cars, fuel-heated buildings, and power plants reside — are among the hardest-hit areas.
“The health gains we can achieve from getting off fossil fuels is twice what we thought it was yesterday,” said Aaron Bernstein, director of the Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment at Harvard Chan School, in a statement. “Now more than ever we can see the healthier, more just, and sustainable world that climate actions can deliver.”
Wednesday, February 10
The kids aren’t alright
Climate action received another blow this week. On Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit declined to rehear Juliana v. the United States, the famous climate case involving 21 young plaintiffs.
The suit accuses that, by perpetuating the climate crisis, the U.S. government has failed to provide life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to younger generations. The decision by the Court of Appeals could catapult the case to the Supreme Court, where plaintiffs would face an uphill battle against a conservative-leaning court. Read more in Bloomberg Law.
Thursday, February 11
Shell’s topsy-turvy week
Shell is changing course. After saying its oil production likely peaked in 2019, the oil giant announced a new, low-carbon plan, with increased investments in renewable energy projects and cutbacks in diesel and gasoline, the Houston Chronicle reports.
Following its pledge to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, Shell plans to cut its net-carbon intensity 20% by 2030, 45% by 2035, and 100% by 2050. It will also invest heavily in carbon capture and storage projects and reforestation. The company said it would roll out hundreds of thousands of new electric charging ports, too.
But don’t let Shell off the hook just yet. It’s still spending billions of dollars each year in gas and oil exploration, and its plans to wane off fossil fuels fall behind targets set by the Paris Agreement.
Bonus
What about dinosaurs?
All Things Considered, the first news program on the American network National Public Radio, is about to turn 50 years old. Throughout the many stories shared over its lifetime, the word “dinosaur” appeared just 294 times compared to “senator,” which appeared 20,447 times — and one fan is fed up.
“I listen to All Things Considered in the car with mom. I listen a lot,” 8-year old Leo Shilda wrote to NPR. “Maybe you should call your show Newsy things Considered, since I don’t get to hear about all the things. Or please talk more about dinosaurs and cool things.”
Have a great week.
— Brandon and Sam