Carl Meyer, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
After the world failed to meet a single target last decade to stop the disappearance of the natural world, the leaders of several nations, including Canada, met for a virtual summit on Monday and committed to safeguarding biodiversity in future.
Continue reading Trudeau among world leaders ‘reconciling humanity with nature’When the world went into lockdown, the global demand for electricity dropped 20%. By the end of March, 50% of the traffic disappeared from city streets. The demand for fossil fuels evaporated. Coal fired generation has suffered its’ largest drop since World War II. A new International Energy Agency (IEA) report suggests the post COVID energy world could be far more carbon free.
Continue reading The Post COVID Energy WorldBy Roy L Hales
The Guardian‘s headlines say it all. “Biggest Polluters Back Tougher Warming Target.” As EU spokeswoman Carole Dieschebourg said, “We have a difficult week ahead. All the major issues are unresolved.” The United States, China and Canada have joined the push for a 1.5 degree ceiling in Paris.
Continue reading The Push for A 1.5 Degree CeilingBye Roy L Hales
American critics of Energiewende regularly announce its approaching demise. A hypocritical article in the Wallstreet Journal announced that Germany will spend €1 trillion on its’ renewable energy experiment by 2040, without mentioning that a large portion of that money was for electric grid upgrades that would be needed anyway. Nor did the author disclose the fact an even larger sum (€90 billion a year) would have gone to fossil fuels. Similarly, Forbes mocked Germany’s slight rise in CO2 levels, without mentioning they are already 23% lower than the 1990 benchmark set by the Kyoto Accord. (The author’s country, the US, is still 5% above that target.) Their carping does not explain how Germany became Europe’s powerhouse and the fourth largest economy in the World. Nor does it do justice to the nation the Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index (RECAI) ranks #3 for renewable investments. Energiewende will succeed because it is embraced by the German people.
Continue reading Energiewende Will Succeed
Germany was not the first European nation to install offshore wind farms. There were plants in Denmark and England years before the first turbine was erected a mere 500 meters off the quay wall of the Rostock international port in 2005. Tracing the story of Germany’s offshore wind farms, we repeatedly found references to the independent project planning company WIND-projekt GmbH, whose portfolio includes everything from on and offshore-wind turbines to energy storage.
Continue reading Tracing the story of Germany’s Offshore Wind Farms
