I’ve done a lot of work on this topic, but I learned a whole lot from this short piece.
Excellent research, top notch graphics.
Month: December 2024
New Geothermal Tech Ready to Rock
Insurance Cracking Under Climate Stress
The Senate Budget Committee, chaired by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, held hearings on the impact of climate amplified weather extremes on homeowner insurance, December 18, 2024.
The insurance crisis spreading across the United States arrived at Richard D. Zimmel’s door last week in the form of a letter.
Mr. Zimmel, who lives in the increasingly fire-prone hills outside Silver City, N.M., had done everything right. He trimmed the trees away from his house, and covered his yard in gravel to stop flames rushing in from the forest near his property. In case that buffer zone failed, he sheathed his house in fire-resistant stucco, and topped it with a noncombustible steel roof.
None of it mattered. His insurance company, Homesite Insurance, dumped him. “Property is located in a brushfire or wildfire area that no longer meets Homesite’s minimum standard for wildfire risk,” the letter read. (Homesite did not respond to a request for comment.)
Mr. Zimmel has company. Since 2018, more than 1.9 million home insurance contracts nationwide have been dropped — “nonrenewed,” in the parlance of the industry. In more than 200 counties, the nonrenewal rate has tripled or more, according to the findings of a congressional investigation released Wednesday.
As a warming planet delivers more wildfires, hurricanes and other threats, America’s once reliably boring home insurance market has become the place where climate shocks collide with everyday life.
Continue reading “Insurance Cracking Under Climate Stress”Montana Verdict Could Rock Climate Law
Big Montana Supreme Court decision on a case brought by young people concerned about the impacts of climate change.
Whoa—the Montana Supreme Court holds that its state constitution protects the right to “a stable climate system,” and strikes down a law that barred consideration of greenhouse gas emissions when permitting new fossil fuel projects.
The Montana constitution includes the right to a “clean and healthful environment.” Today the court holds that residents have standing to challenge laws that threaten this right by accelerating climate change and invalidates one such statute. A big decision.
Continue reading “Montana Verdict Could Rock Climate Law”Big if True: First Grid Scale Fusion Reactor Could Come Soon
Somewhat gobsmacking claim that I certainly hope is true.
Virginia company says they are ready to start generating grid scale fusion power.
Are we on the cusp of a paradigm shift? I’m skeptical, and the available info so far is sparse – but absolutely want this to be true.
Virginia is for fusion lovers.
Today, Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) announced the location for our first fusion energy power plant, ARC. We’ll build it in Chesterfield County, Virginia, an area near Richmond that has a growing economy, skilled workforce, and a big appetite for clean, firm energy.
This will mark the first time fusion power will be made available in the world at grid scale. We’ll plug 400 megawatts of steady fusion power into the state’s electrical grid starting in the early 2030s. We expect ARC will create hundreds of jobs to build and operate the power plant. We’re pleased by the reception we’ve had so far, and we’re looking forward to more engagement with our neighbors and the surrounding community.
The company is deep into building SPARC, a machine called a tokamak that’ll demonstrate net fusion energy, a milestone called Q>1. Our next act is financing, building, owning, and operating the ARC power plant — a big step after that to deliver fusion energy’s promise. Fusion is the last energy source humanity needs, with cheap and abundant fuel, inherently safe operations, and no greenhouse gas emissions. Now ARC has a place to happen.
Senate Budget Committee Hearings on Climate and Insurance Risks
Climate, Hurricane Helene and Extreme Precipitation
More from my interview with Jim Kossin , recently retired NOAA expert on extreme weather, who was a lead author the IPCC chapter on extreme events.
IPCC AR 6 Summary for Policymakers:
The frequency and intensity of heavy precipitation events have likely increased at the global scale over a majority of land regions with good observational coverage. Heavy precipitation has likely increased on the continental scale over three continents: North America, Europe, and Asia. Regional increases in the frequency and/or intensity of heavy precipitation have been observed with at least medium confidence for nearly half of AR6 regions..
Teaching Science in the US South has Challenges
National Center for Science Education is a bulwark against fundamentalist BS being forced on our educational system, and worthy of your support.
Oklahoma has amended its request for 55,000 Bibles to be placed in public schools that initially matched a version of the holy book endorsed by former President Donald Trump.
The request was amended Monday and no longer requires the Bibles to include U.S. historical documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution — requirements that match the “God Bless the USA Bible” that Trump endorsed this year and that are several times more expensive than similar Bibles that don’t include the U.S. documents.
The new request says the historical documents may be included together or separately and extends the deadline for offers to supply the items by one week, from Oct. 14 to Oct. 21.
The request is part of State Superintendent Ryan Walters’ efforts to require Bibles in public school classrooms, which has been met with resistance by some of Oklahoma’s largest school districts.
PBS: Arizona Farmers Confront Water Scarcity
You wouldn’t know about Arizona’s recently imposed limits on housing development by driving through Queen Creek. Banners wave on the fronts of spacious model homes inviting buyers to come look. Construction crews are busy erecting whole new neighborhoods.
On a recent morning, Paul Gardner, Queen Creek’s utility services director, stopped by one of the town’s newest master-planned communities.
“In Queen Creek we probably have a dozen subdivisions similar to this at similar phases, and we’re averaging somewhere between 1,200 to 1,500 homes a year of new move-ins,” Gardner said.
Queen Creek is the fastest-growing city in Arizona and the 14th fastest-growing city in the nation, according to U.S. census data. In his nearly 40-year career managing water in the town, Gardner has witnessed that boom firsthand.
“In 1985, we had 500 customers, today we have close to 40,000 customers, so it’s been tremendous growth,” Gardner said. “You just do the mad rush to make sure you have enough facilities, make sure you have enough water, and that you’re going to be able to meet the growth that you know is coming,”
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Below, Hydrologist Brad Udall has insights on climate and “Hot droughts”.
Continue reading “PBS: Arizona Farmers Confront Water Scarcity”Big: China’s Oil Demand May Have Peaked
China’s refined oil consumption peaked in 2023 at 399 million metric tons (7.98 million barrels per day) and is expected to fall 1.3% to 394 million tons in 2024, CNPC Economics & Technology Research Institute said on Friday.
As a result, crude oil imports are expected to fall to 544 million tons this year, according to a presentation by the research arm of China’s largest oil producer, although the world’s top importer still accounts for a quarter of global imports.
CNPC’s forecast underscores expectations that China’s crude oil imports are on track to peak next year as transport fuel demand begins to decline for the world’s top crude buyer, ending the country’s decades-long run as the dominant driver of expanding oil consumption.
By 2035, China’s overall refined products consumption is expected to fall by 25-40% to 240 million to 290 million tons in 2035 from the 2023 peak, CNPC said.
Continue reading “Big: China’s Oil Demand May Have Peaked”