"More than 400 weather stations around the world beat their all-time highest temperature records in 2021, according to a climatologist who has been compiling weather records for over 30 years.
…
A few continental and planetary records fell too: Africa had its warmest June and September ever. August brought 48.8C (119.8F) in Syracuse, Italy, the highest temperature ever recorded in Europe. July had already brought 54.4C (130F) in Furnace Creek in the US’s Death Valley – the highest reliably recorded temperature on Earth. (A temperature recorded as 129.9F in 2020 was also rounded up to 130F.)

But there were a few specific events that particularly stood out for experts. For meteorologist Patricia Nying’uro, a co-founder of Climate Without Borders and based at the Kenyan Meteorological Department, the two consecutive failed rain seasons in Kenya were unusual, and forced the government to organise for food aid for the first time in many years.
…
China experienced its hottest ever year, according to the China Meteorological Administration. But it was the rain that hit the central province of Henan that really shocked: the region was hit by more rain in three days than it normally receives in an entire year. Hundreds died, crops and homes were destroyed, and the cleanup continues.
…
Other key unusual weather events last year were the Siberian heatwave in the summer, and the deep freeze in Texas in February. Nearly 200 people died, millions of homes were without power, and the fallout led to huge political rows.
…
But the key event of 2021 for the meteorological and climatological community was the extreme heatwave that struck the west coast of the US in June/July, led to a heat dome and broke records by up to 5C in some places. At the time, Geert Jan van Oldenborgh (who died in October 2021) of the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute called it “way beyond the upper bound” and “surprising and shaking”.

“Of course 2021 was full of extreme events,” said Herrera. “But if I have to name one, I’ll name what struck every single climatologist and meteorologist in the world.” Herrera nicknamed the event “the mother of all heatwaves”.

“I confess, I would have never believed this to be even physically impossible. The magnitude of this event surpassed anything I have seen after a life of researching extreme events in all modern world climatic history in the past couple of centuries.”
"

Link

www.theguardian.com

More than 400 weather stations beat heat records in 2021

Maximiliano Herrera, watcher of extreme weather, says last year likely to be in top five or six hottest in history

Good pop science article on next steps to find out what is going on with Thwaites:

"The team is part of the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration, which has spent the past few years documenting what’s going there. Their findings have been, to put it lightly, pretty unnerving. Poking and prodding the glacier and ice shelf that extends over the Amundsen Sea have revealed warm water rapidly carving channels deep into the ice and pushing farther inland. In a summary of their findings given late last year, researchers revealed that parts of the ice shelf are receding as fast as 1.2 miles (2 kilometers) per year, and the glacier could become completely unmoored from the bedrock it sits on by the time we’re ringing in the new year in 2030.
…
“Before we get more data, what we only know is that the ocean is melting the ice shelves,” Rob Hall and Yxi Xheng, scientists at the University of East Anglia, and Rob Larter, a researcher with the British Antarctic Survey, wrote in a joint email while en route to Thwaites. “So we’re expecting to find signal[s] of meltwater discharge from the base of ice shelves. But how much and how fast the ice shelves are melting are still uncertain. We want to get more data showing how much heat is transported toward the glaciers, and at the same time to get data showing how the ocean conditions are changing due to the melting glaciers.”
…
All this effort will help us understand what’s going on with Thwaites Glacier and refine projections of sea level rise. The fate of humanity really is in Thwaites’ icy hands. The glacier is a key buttress against West Antarctica, a region that contains enough ice to raise sea 10 feet (3 meters) globally. While all that ice wouldn’t immediately pour into the ocean if Thwaites disappeared, it would certainly speed up the transition from the “fucking around” to the “finding out” phase of climate change.
"

Link

gizmodo.com

Boaty McBoatface Prepares to Dive Under Antarctica's Doomsday Glacier

Scientists are dispatching the autonomous sub and a host of other instruments to get a detailed view of the what's going on under Antarctica's Thwaites Glacier.

"The contributions of single greenhouse gas emitters to country-level climate change are generally not disentangled, despite their relevance for climate policy and litigation. Here, we quantify the contributions of the five largest emitters (China, US, EU-27, India, and Russia) to projected 2030 country-level warming and extreme hot years with respect to pre-industrial climate using an innovative suite of Earth System Model emulators. We find that under current pledges, their cumulated 1991–2030 emissions are expected to result in extreme hot years every second year by 2030 in twice as many countries (92%) as without their influence (46%). If all world nations shared the same fossil CO2 per capita emissions as projected for the US from 2016–2030, global warming in 2030 would be 0.4 °C higher than under actual current pledges, and 75% of all countries would exceed 2 °C of regional warming instead of 11%. Our results highlight the responsibility of individual emitters in driving regional climate change and provide additional angles for the climate policy discourse."

Link

www.nature.com

Responsibility of major emitters for country-level warming and extreme hot years - Communications ...

Under current pledges, greenhouse gas emissions between 1991 and 2030 from the five largest emitters—China, the US, EU-27, India and Russia—will substantially increase the number of countries ...

"One of the key problems with lithium-ion batteries is that, over time, they do lose some of their battery life. This is why recycling them is so important. But what if there was a way to bring them back to life? And by this, I mean make them as good as new without recycling them. What if you could not only bring them back to life but extend the battery’s life by up to 30%?
…
As lithium batteries cycle, they collect these little pockets or islands of inactive lithium that are cut off from the electrodes. This decreases the battery’s capacity to store charge. Think of this as dead lithium. The research team found that they could make the dead lithium practically creep forward like a worm toward one of the electrodes until it reconnects. Kind of like creating a zombie, but without all of the blood and gore, yet with the added benefit of partially reversing an unwanted process.

When an island of dead lithium metal travels to the anode of a battery and reconnects, it is brought back to life and adds electrons to the battery’s current flow and lithium ions for storing charge. Researchers were able to get the island to move by adding lithium metal at one end and dissolving it at the other end, essentially driving the island’s growth in the direction of the anode by adding a short, high-current discharging step just after the battery charges. They found that adding this extra step slowed the degradation of their test battery while increasing its lifetime by almost 30%."

Link

cleantechnica.com

Stanford Researchers Bring "Dead" Lithium Back To Life

One of the key problems with lithium-ion batteries is that, over time, they do lose some of their battery life. This is why recycling them is so important. But what if there was a way

"The accelerating melting of the Himalayan glaciers threatens the water supply of millions of people in Asia, new research warns. The study concludes that over recent decades the Himalayan glaciers have lost ice ten times more quickly over the last few decades than on average since the last major glacier expansion 400-700 years ago"

Link

www.sciencedaily.com

Himalayan glaciers melting at 'exceptional rate'

The accelerating melting of the Himalayan glaciers threatens the water supply of millions of people in Asia, new research warns. The study concludes that over recent decades the Himalayan glaciers ...

"A new solar technology introduced yesterday at CES could bring power-producing roofs mainstream by relying on an old building material—nails.

For years, homeowners who wanted solar power have stripped their old roofs of shingles, added new ones, and then slapped large solar panels on top using sturdy frames. It’s a model that works well, but it also creates a two-step process that engineers have been striving to simplify.

Plenty of companies have offered their own take on solar roofs, but so far, they’ve remained niche products. GAF Energy is hoping to change that with the Timberline Solar Energy Shingle that looks strikingly like typical asphalt shingles. But their key feature isn’t so much that they emulate the look of asphalt shingles, but that they’re installed in nearly the same way. Roofers can slap the flexible sheets down and nail the top strip to the roof, just like they do for traditional roofs.

By relying on the shingle installation process, GAF Energy is counting on the scale of the roofing industry to make solar more accessible. “The roofing ecosystem is 20–30 times larger than solar. In the United States, 200,000–300,000 people get a new solar system each year. Over 5 million get a new roof,” Martin DeBono, CEO of GAF Energy, told Ars. “Our innovation is you now have a nailable solar roof, which fits the way that the majority of roofs are installed."
…
Engineers changed the wiring layout based on the company’s experience with previous generations of solar roof. “With our current product, Decotech, the wires are underneath,” DeBono said. “It’s a bear when the inspector wants to see the wiring—you’re taking off flashing. And similarly for other built-in photovoltaic roofs if the inspector says, ‘I want to see all the connections are made,’ you’re going to be popping up the waterproof layer to show them.” With the new top-mounted system, installers just have to pop off a waterproof cover. It’s an approach that should also make troubleshooting and repairs simpler.
…
“A homeowner won’t pay any more for a GAF solar roof than they would if they were to get a new roof and have someone put solar on it. That’s our benchmark,” he said. “We’re half the cost of a Tesla solar roof in any given market right now.”
…
“What we say,” he said, “is that with this roof, mister and misses customer, you can generate enough electricity that it will not only pay for the solar system, but also pay for the roof itself. And that’s a very compelling value proposition.”
"

Link

arstechnica.com

New solar roof emulates asphalt shingles, right down to the nails

Streamlined installation should cut costs over competing solar roofs.

"-Renewable energy prices have fallen far more quickly than the industry anticipated,
-They are fast becoming cheaper than fossil fuels.
-A rapid transition to emissions-free ‘green’ energy could save many trillions of dollars in energy costs – and help combat climate change.

The global energy sector has an impressive record of scaling-up renewables like wind and solar – but it is not so good at predicting future price changes of the clean energy these renewables produce, according to a new report.

Researchers at the University of Oxford’s Institute of New Economic Thinking suggest early pricing prediction models have consistently underestimated both how far the costs of renewable energy sources might fall, and the benefits of an accelerated switch to clean energy.

Solar power is a good example of renewable energy. As the chart above shows, price forecasts in the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) World Energy Outlook reports consistently underestimate the real-world fall in solar energy prices.

Early renewable energy price forecasts failed to account for the substantial infrastructure cost improvements of technologies like solar photovoltaic installations and wind turbines, the report notes. Annual solar energy prices were forecast to fall 2.6% on average in the decade following 2010, for example, with all forecasts predicting a less than 6% price reduction.

But solar prices fell 15% – more than five times the predicted annual rate – during this period, which could have serious implications for investment and policy decisions based on these misleading predictions.
…
The findings show that compared to continuing with today’s carbon-intensive, fossil-fuel-based system, a rapid transition to emissions-free ‘green’ energy could produce overall net savings of many trillions of dollars. And that’s without considering the impact of climate damage or the positive co-benefits of climate policy.
…
In 2010, the price of one megawatt hour (MWh) – a weighted average cost of electricity – of solar electricity was $378, which fell to $68/MWh in 2019 – a more than five-fold decrease in the cost of solar energy. Offshore and onshore wind also saw dramatic price reductions.

Despite being the world’s largest source of electricity, over the same period, the global price of power from new coal fell from $111 to just $109.

While the price of solar fell 89% and wind power fell 70%, the cost of electricity from coal saw a comparatively slight 2% reduction.
…

“Today, renewables are the cheapest source of power,” said IRENA’s Director-General Francesco La Camera. “Renewables present countries tied to coal with an economically attractive phase-out agenda that ensures they meet growing energy demand, while saving costs, adding jobs, boosting growth and meeting climate ambition.”

Link

www.weforum.org

Renewable energy is cheaper than previously thought, says a new report - and could be a gamechanger ...

Technological innovation has led to dramatic price reductions of wind and solar energy and helped to boost demand. But will prices continue to fall?

"There are 13 new battery cell gigafactories coming online in the US by 2025, according to the Department of Energy.

These factories are ushering in a new era of battery production in the US.

Aside from Tesla and Panasonic’s Gigafactory Nevada, which supplies battery cells for the production of Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles, there has been limited battery cell production in the US.

Asia – especially China, Japan, and South Korea – is where most battery cells for electric vehicles are coming from.

With more electric vehicle production coming to the US, it’s important that battery cell production also comes to the country, and several companies have made announcements to address the situation.

Now the Department of Energy has issued a report listing all the battery factory projects in the US:

“In addition to electric vehicle battery plants that are already in operation in the United States, 13 additional plants have been announced and are expected to be operational within the next 5 years. Of the 13 plants that are planned, eight are joint ventures between automakers and battery manufacturers. Many of these new plants will be located in the Southeast or Midwest.”
…
This is going to be a massive wave of battery cell production coming to the US that is essential to the new electric and battery-powered economy taking over several industries.

It’s also bringing a lot of good manufacturing jobs to the US, directly and indirectly.

With those factories, there are a number of associated needs, such as a supply chain of minerals necessary for the batteries.

It’s tough to quantify the impact of those 13+ new battery factories coming to the US in the next four years, but I think it’s going to be massive."

Link

electrek.co

13 battery gigafactories coming to the US by 2025 – ushering new era of US battery production

There are 13 new battery cell gigafactories coming online in the US by 2025, according to the Department of Energy. These factories are ushering in a new era of battery production in the US. Aside ...

"Last weekend, Sen. Joe Manchin threw a wrench into discussions of the Build Back Better (BBB) Act by indicating he does not currently support its passage – imperiling the bill's future and delaying the urgent funding it would provide to support families reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic and take crucial climate action.

In response, the United Mine Workers of America (which represents, among others, West Virginia's coal miners) issued a statement noting BBB would provide critical support for workers as the inevitable decline of coal industry jobs continues, as well as create new opportunities for jobs in the clean energy-based economy, to which the world must transition quickly to prevent the worst impacts from climate change.

The U.S. coal industry has been declining for years; over the last decade, market forces such as low natural gas prices and rapidly expanding solar and wind energy (as well as the expanding use of automation in coal production) have turned coal mining into a shadow of what it once was. At the end of 2020, there were only 43,180 coal miners remaining in the United States, and communities from West Virginia to Montana to Kentucky are feeling the economic pain of coal's decline (as well as its lingering pollution). As these workers – many of whose families have spent years or even generations in this industry – look toward the future, they deserve assurance that they won't be abandoned by their employers and left with no economic opportunities.

But a transition that supports fossil workers and communities is not going to happen on its own. We need intentional policies that invest in these workers and communities.

The hundreds of billions of dollars of investment in clean energy and climate actions included in the BBB bill will be a net win for the economy and American jobs; the Economic Policy Institute projects that it will support 3.2 million jobs over the 10-year budgeting period. The BBB act would ensure that federal investments go to communities that disproportionately bear the burden of pollution and those that are dependent on the fossil fuel sectors that are in decline. "
…
We are already seeing what the collapse of the coal industry looks like when there are no protections in place – but it doesn't have to be this way. Among its massive other benefits, passing the BBB act will help manage this essential economic transition to create a zero-carbon world – without leaving coal miners and other workers behind.

Link

thehill.com

Build Back Better is crucial to boost climate action without leaving coal miners behind

The United Mine Workers of America highlighted how BBB would provide critical support for coal workers as the industry declines.

"Flinders University researchers may have discovered what ultimately led to the extinction of the last of Australia’s massive thunder birds, Genyornis newtoni.

The clue came with the discovery of a rare fossil. The find, by researchers at Flinders University, unveiled severe bone infections in several dromornithid remains mired in the 160 sq km beds of Lake Callabonna fossil reserve, 600km northeast of Adelaide.

At 230kg Genyornis weighed around five or six times as much as an emu and stood about two metres tall, but becoming stuck in the treacherous mud of the lake wasn’t the only concern facing the giant birds.

It appears some also had a painful disease, which lead researcher Phoebe McInerney says would have hampered their mobility and foraging.

“The fossils with signs of infection are associated with the chest, legs and feet of four individuals,” the PhD candidate said. “They would have been increasingly weakened, suffering from pain, making it difficult to find water and food.

“It’s a rare thing in the fossil record to find one, let alone several, well-preserved fossils with signs of infection. We now have a much greater idea of the life challenges of these birds.”

The study found about 11% of the birds were suffering from osteomyelitis.
…
Study co-author associate prof Lee Arnold dated the salt lake sediments in which genyornis was found, linking them with a period of severe drought beginning about 48,000 years ago.

At the time, the thunder birds and other megafauna, including ancient relatives of wombats and kangaroos, were facing major environmental challenges.

As the continent dried, large inland lakes and forests began to disappear and central Australia became flat desert.

With conditions worsening, associate prof Trevor Worthy believes food resources would have been reduced, placing considerable stress on the animals.

“From studies on living birds, we know that challenging environmental conditions can have negative physiological effects,” he said. “So we infer that the Lake Callabonna population of genyornis would have been struggling through such conditions.”

It now appears the effects of severe drought phases included high rates of bone infection, with weakened individuals more likely to become mired in the deep mud and die.

With no conclusive evidence to suggest Genyornis newtoni survived much past this time, it’s likely protracted drought and high disease rates contributed to its eventual extinction."

Link

www.theguardian.com

Rare ‘thunder bird’ fossil gives researchers clue to demise of Australian species of megafauna

At 230kg Genyornis newtoni weighed around five or six times as much as an emu and stood about two metres tall