More Lithium Mining, Wells Running Dry In California And EV Charging Infrastructure

This week’s Present Local weather, which each and every Saturday brings you the most recent information concerning the enterprise of sustainability. Signal as much as get it in your inbox each week.

This previous week we held the inaugural Forbes Sustainability Leaders Summit, the place we introduced in leaders from a number of industries to speak about fixing urgent environmental points whereas nonetheless guaranteeing a wholesome, vibrant economic system. I led a panel that includes Todd Brady, who has been a pacesetter at Intel in driving down its power use and carbon footprint (Intel, he informed the group, makes use of 100% renewable power in the USA); Gaurab Chakrabarti, the CEO of Solugen, a startup that’s making industrial chemical substances like hydrogen peroxide with out the messy, energy-intensive processes that make the most of oil; and Maddie Corridor, whose firm Residing Carbon is bioengineering bushes to each retailer extra carbon dioxide and to develop bushes in blighted areas the place regular bushes can’t develop.

The entire summit was energizing. However what actually hit house for me was this straightforward concept: there’s actually no battle between setting and economic system. Intel’s strikes in the direction of power conservation have been good for the corporate’s backside line. Solugen is promoting its merchandise cost-competitively, with none advertising premium for being inexperienced. And Residing Carbon’s bushes? They produce wooden that’s extra sturdy than what’s available on the market. You might be inexperienced and make inexperienced on the identical time–all it takes is a few intelligent science and engineering.

The Huge Learn

California’s Water Emergency: Satisfying The Thirst Of Almonds Whereas The Wells Of The Individuals That Harvest Them Run Dry

Broiling warmth in the midst of the worst drought in 1,200 years has strained the state’s underground water provide, pitting the Central Valley’s $20 billion agriculture trade towards lots of its personal employees.

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Discoveries And Improvements

Researchers have found out a option to construct lithium-ion batteries with out utilizing cobalt, which makes them each safer and fewer vulnerable to market volatility.

California was capable of climate a historic warmth wave with out rolling blackouts as a result of it has gone all-in on clear power know-how like wind, photo voltaic, battery storage, and demand response.

NASA scientists developed a option to weigh land lots utilizing two satellites in area, which allowed them to doc Greenland’s staggering weight reduction from melted ice.

Sustainability Offers Of The Week

Fusion Growth: The Division of Vitality introduced a brand new $50 million program to help firms, universities and different organizations in creating industrial fusion energy applied sciences.

Aluminum Bottles: Ball Company introduced that it has partnered with Boomerang Water to offer aluminum bottled water for resorts, cruise ships and different places; the bottles might be extra simply crammed and recycled than their plastic counterparts.

On The Horizon

Sustainable know-how can discover its inspiration in all places – even older applied sciences. Right here’s a dialog about the place future inexperienced tech could be going.

What Else We’re Studying This Week

For years, Chile exploited its setting to develop. Now it’s attempting to reserve it. (Well-liked Science)

Excessive Warmth Saps Billions in Employee Productiveness (Scientific American)

The Tonga Volcano Shook the World. It Might Additionally Have an effect on the Local weather. (New York Occasions)

Inexperienced Transportation Replace

The ongoing transition away from fossil fuels to electrical energy for our automobiles and vehicles is nice for carbon emissions however will possible set off shortages of key metals utilized in electrical car batteries requiring a whole lot of recent mines. That is in keeping with trade consultants who count on demand for EV batteries to spike to tens of hundreds of thousands of models yearly within the years forward.

The Huge Transportation Story

Black Founders Of EV-Charging Startups Have Extra Than Earnings On Their Minds

Sheryl E. Ponds, whose firm designs and builds electrical car charging stations, has had success touchdown enterprise from clients in search of house installations as adoption of the brand new inexperienced know-how grows. However for Ponds, who’s Black, it’s arduous to disregard the truth that these clients are usually suburban, prosperous and white. She values their enterprise, however desires to ensure the infrastructure she develops additionally reaches city and Black communities. So final yr she began pitching her service to managers of condo properties in areas the place demographics are usually extra numerous — despite the fact that gross sales have been harder to return by.

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Extra Inexperienced Transportation Information

Class 8 Hydrogen Truck Competitors Disrupted By A Canada-United Kingdom Partnership

Charging EVs At Dwelling In a single day Might Not Be The Least expensive Choice For A lot Longer

Reside Longer, Look Sexier And 43 Different Causes To Journey A Bicycle This World Automobile Free Day

Battery-Swapping Unlikely To Ruffle Fragile U.S., European Chargers

By The Numbers: How A lot Electrical Automobile Battery Vary Is Sufficient?

Amazon Will Energy Vehicles With ‘Electrofuel’ Diesel To Curb Carbon Emissions

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