Earth Wise

The part of the year between the chill of winter and the heat of mid-summer tends to be when renewable energy systems perform best. Longer, milder days when electricity demand is relatively low are when wind and solar power are ramping up and can account for greater shares of grid energy consumption.

Lithium is the key metal for electric vehicle and energy storage batteries. Viewed as a way to strengthen U.S. energy independence, there has been a growing rush for lithium across the country. By 2030, at least six new mining projects are projected to be underway and another 13 will soon follow, mostly in the Southwest. There are more than 100 U.S. projects to which companies have staked claims. Worldwide, there are over 500 proposed lithium mines as the need for batteries skyrockets.

Tire pollution consists of a toxic mix of microplastics and heavy metals that are shed into the air, soil, and water as tires wear down as they travel on roads. Over six million tons of rubber and particles are shed from tires globally every year.

Mangrove forests play a vital role in the health of our planet. They protect coastal regions by acting as natural barriers against storms, erosion, and flooding. Although they cover less than 1% of Earth’s surface, these coastal ecosystems also hold an estimated 15% of the carbon stored in ocean environments, much of it buried in the soils beneath their roots.

There is organized opposition to renewable energy. Most of it comes from the fossil fuel industry whose market share and business models are threatened by renewables. There is also opposition from conservative political groups, although that opposition doesn’t really have an ideological basis. And then there is NIMBYism: opposition to renewable energy because people don’t want any of it near where they live.

Microplastics have been found pretty much everywhere on Earth, from the highest mountain peaks to the deepest parts of the ocean. They have also been detected in rivers, lakes, wildlife, and even in the human body.

Rising sea levels around the world is one of the most visible consequences of human-caused climate change. As global temperatures rise, oceans absorb more heat and expand, while melting glaciers and ice sheets add even more water to the seas.

The Trump administration is trying very hard to prop up coal power in the US. The Department of Energy is keeping struggling coal plants on life support, costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. The Department of the Interior is blocking wind and solar developments that involve public lands. But in spite of all this, coal power is fighting a losing battle.

The UN estimates that 2.2 billion people lack safely managed drinking water. Across the globe, over 300 million people rely on desalinated water for part or all of their daily needs. There are more than 22,000 desalination plants around the world. In the U.S., about 5 million people receive water from desalination, mostly in states like California and Florida.

Over the past 50 years, there have been a couple of significant efforts to move the U.S. towards the widespread adoption of clean energy such as solar power. The first, during last decades of the 20th century, was driven by values. The term “tree huggers” was used to describe the people who believed that protecting the environment was simply the right thing to do. But even after four decades of moral-based clean energy advocacy, only a tenth of one percent of U.S. electricity came from solar power.