#Emissions Data

[12thwonderindia]

Navigating Sustainability: A Guide to Assessing the Carbon Footprint of Products and Operations

In the era of heightened environmental awareness, businesses are increasingly recognizing the importance of assessing and mitigating their carbon footprint. This blog post serves as a comprehensive guide, providing insights into the process of evaluating the carbon footprint of both products and operations. By understanding and quantifying these aspects, companies can embark on a journey toward sustainable practices and informed decision-making.

1. The Significance of Carbon Footprint Assessment

Understanding the Basics:

A carbon footprint assessment is a tool used to quantify the total greenhouse gas emissions, typically measured in carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e), associated with an organization’s activities, products, or services. Assessing the carbon footprint is a critical step toward identifying areas for improvement and implementing targeted strategies for emission reduction.

2. Assessing the Carbon Footprint of Products

A. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA):

Definition: Life Cycle Assessment is a comprehensive methodology used to evaluate the environmental impact of a product throughout its entire lifecycle.

Key Stages:

Raw Material Extraction: Assess the environmental impact of acquiring raw materials.

Production: Evaluate emissions associated with the manufacturing process.

Distribution and Transportation: Consider the carbon footprint of transporting the product.

Product Use: Examine emissions during the product’s use phase.

End-of-Life: Evaluate disposal and recycling processes.

B. Product Carbon Footprint Calculation:

Emissions from Materials: Consider the impact of raw materials and their extraction.

Manufacturing Emissions: Assess emissions during the production process.

Transportation Emissions: Calculate the carbon footprint of shipping and distribution.

Use Phase Emissions: Evaluate energy consumption during product use.

End-of-Life Emissions: Consider emissions from disposal or recycling.

C. Strategies for Reduction:

Material Efficiency: Optimize the use of materials to reduce extraction and manufacturing emissions.

Energy Efficiency: Implement measures to reduce energy consumption during production and use.

Sustainable Sourcing: Choose suppliers and materials with lower carbon footprints.

Recyclability: Design products with end-of-life considerations for minimal environmental impact.

3. Assessing the Carbon Footprint of Operations

A. Operational Carbon Footprint Components:

Energy Consumption: Evaluate the carbon footprint associated with electricity and heat use.

Transportation: Assess emissions from company-owned vehicles and business travel.

Industrial Processes: Consider emissions from on-site industrial activities.

Waste Management: Evaluate emissions related to waste disposal.

B. Carbon Footprint Calculation for Operations:

Scope 1 Emissions: Direct emissions from on-site activities.

Scope 2 Emissions: Indirect emissions from purchased energy.

Scope 3 Emissions: Indirect value chain emissions, including supply chain and business travel.

C. Strategies for Reduction:

Renewable Energy Adoption: Transition to renewable energy sources to reduce Scope 2 emissions.

Energy Efficiency Measures: Implement energy-efficient practices and technologies.

Sustainable Transportation: Optimize transportation methods for reduced emissions.

Waste Reduction and Recycling: Prioritize waste reduction and sustainable waste management practices.(Read more…)

[jcmarchi]

MIT scientists pin down the origins of a fast radio burst

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/mit-scientists-pin-down-the-origins-of-a-fast-radio-burst/

MIT scientists pin down the origins of a fast radio burst

Fast radio bursts are brief and brilliant explosions of radio waves emitted by extremely compact objects such as neutron stars and possibly black holes. These fleeting fireworks last for just a thousandth of a second and can carry an enormous amount of energy — enough to briefly outshine entire galaxies.

Since the first fast radio burst (FRB) was discovered in 2007, astronomers have detected thousands of FRBs, whose locations range from within our own galaxy to as far as 8 billion light-years away. Exactly how these cosmic radio flares are launched is a highly contested unknown.

Now, astronomers at MIT have pinned down the origins of at least one fast radio burst using a novel technique that could do the same for other FRBs. In their new study, appearing today in the journal Nature, the team focused on FRB 20221022A — a previously discovered fast radio burst that was detected from a galaxy about 200 million light-years away.

The team zeroed in further to determine the precise location of the radio signal by analyzing its “scintillation,” similar to how stars twinkle in the night sky. The scientists studied changes in the FRB’s brightness and determined that the burst must have originated from the immediate vicinity of its source, rather than much further out, as some models have predicted.

The team estimates that FRB 20221022A exploded from a region that is extremely close to a rotating neutron star, 10,000 kilometers away at most. That’s less than the distance between New York and Singapore. At such close range, the burst likely emerged from the neutron star’s magnetosphere — a highly magnetic region immediately surrounding the ultracompact star.

The team’s findings provide the first conclusive evidence that a fast radio burst can originate from the magnetosphere, the highly magnetic environment immediately surrounding an extremely compact object.

“In these environments of neutron stars, the magnetic fields are really at the limits of what the universe can produce,” says lead author Kenzie Nimmo, a postdoc in MIT’s Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research. “There’s been a lot of debate about whether this bright radio emission could even escape from that extreme plasma.”

“Around these highly magnetic neutron stars, also known as magnetars, atoms can’t exist — they would just get torn apart by the magnetic fields,” says Kiyoshi Masui, associate professor of physics at MIT. “The exciting thing here is, we find that the energy stored in those magnetic fields, close to the source, is twisting and reconfiguring such that it can be released as radio waves that we can see halfway across the universe.”

The study’s MIT co-authors include Adam Lanman, Shion Andrew, Daniele Michilli, and Kaitlyn Shin, along with collaborators from multiple institutions.

Burst size

Detections of fast radio bursts have ramped up in recent years, due to the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME). The radio telescope array comprises four large, stationary receivers, each shaped like a half-pipe, that are tuned to detect radio emissions within a range that is highly sensitive to fast radio bursts.

Since 2020, CHIME has detected thousands of FRBs from all over the universe. While scientists generally agree that the bursts arise from extremely compact objects, the exact physics driving the FRBs is unclear. Some models predict that fast radio bursts should come from the turbulent magnetosphere immediately surrounding a compact object, while others predict that the bursts should originate much further out, as part of a shockwave that propagates away from the central object.

To distinguish between the two scenarios, and determine where fast radio bursts arise, the team considered scintillation — the effect that occurs when light from a small bright source such as a star, filters through some medium, such as a galaxy’s gas. As the starlight filters through the gas, it bends in ways that make it appear, to a distant observer, as if the star is twinkling. The smaller or the farther away an object is, the more it twinkles. The light from larger or closer objects, such as planets in our own solar system, experience less bending, and therefore do not appear to twinkle.

The team reasoned that if they could estimate the degree to which an FRB scintillates, they might determine the relative size of the region from where the FRB originated. The smaller the region, the closer in the burst would be to its source, and the more likely it is to have come from a magnetically turbulent environment. The larger the region, the farther the burst would be, giving support to the idea that FRBs stem from far-out shockwaves.

Twinkle pattern

To test their idea, the researchers looked to FRB 20221022A, a fast radio burst that was detected by CHIME in 2022. The signal lasts about two milliseconds, and is a relatively run-of-the-mill FRB, in terms of its brightness. However, the team’s collaborators at McGill University found that FRB 20221022A exhibited one standout property: The light from the burst was highly polarized, with the angle of polarization tracing a smooth S-shaped curve.  This pattern is interpreted as evidence that the FRB emission site is rotating — a characteristic previously observed in pulsars, which are highly magnetized, rotating neutron stars.

To see a similar polarization in fast radio bursts was a first, suggesting that the signal may have arisen from the close-in vicinity of a neutron star. The McGill team’s results are reported in a companion paper today in Nature.

The MIT team realized that if FRB 20221022A originated from close to a neutron star, they should be able to prove this, using scintillation.

In their new study, Nimmo and her colleagues analyzed data from CHIME and observed steep variations in brightness that signaled scintillation — in other words, the FRB was twinkling. They confirmed that there is gas somewhere between the telescope and FRB that is bending and filtering the radio waves. The team then determined where this gas could be located, confirming that gas within the FRB’s host galaxy was responsible for some of the scintillation observed. This gas acted as a natural lens, allowing the researchers to zoom in on the FRB site and determine that the burst originated from an extremely small region, estimated to be about 10,000 kilometers wide.

“This means that the FRB is probably within hundreds of thousands of kilometers from the source,” Nimmo says. “That’s very close. For comparison, we would expect the signal would be more than tens of millions of kilometers away if it originated from a shockwave, and we would see no scintillation at all.”

“Zooming in to a 10,000-kilometer region, from a distance of 200 million light years, is like being able to measure the width of a DNA helix, which is about 2 nanometers wide, on the surface of the moon,” Masui says. “There’s an amazing range of scales involved.”

The team’s results, combined with the findings from the McGill team, rule out the possibility that FRB 20221022A emerged from the outskirts of a compact object. Instead, the studies prove for the first time that fast radio bursts can originate from very close to a neutron star, in highly chaotic magnetic environments.

“These bursts are always happening, and CHIME detects several a day,” Masui says. “There may be a lot of diversity in how and where they occur, and this scintillation technique will be really useful in helping to disentangle the various physics that drive these bursts.”

This research was supported by various institutions including the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Toronto, the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, the Trottier Space Institute at McGill University, and the University of British Columbia.

[you-need-not-apply]

“But co2 levels have always changed-!”

Not this much this rapidly. Currently we are at roughly 427 ppm per latest count (July 2024).

[blimbo-buddy]

Man you know this lecture I'm listening to right now about global warming makes it even crazier that there are people who straight up don't think it's a thing, an actual "fuck you mean 'nuh-uh?' moment

[12thwonderindia]

Embarking on a Green Journey: A Step-by-Step Guide to Getting Started with Emissions Tracking Software

As businesses increasingly embrace sustainability, the need for accurate emissions tracking becomes paramount. Transitioning from manual processes to advanced emissions tracking software is a crucial step toward achieving environmental goals. In this blog post, we’ll guide you through a step-by-step process to seamlessly set up emissions tracking software, empowering your organization to quantify, manage, and reduce its carbon footprint effectively.

Step 1: Define Your Goals and Scope

Before diving into software setup, clarify your emissions tracking goals. Identify the specific scopes (Scope 1, 2, and/or 3) you plan to measure. Establishing clear objectives will guide your software setup process and ensure you focus on relevant emission sources.

Step 2: Choose the Right Emissions Tracking Software

Considerations:

Scalability: Ensure the software can scale with your business as it grows.

User-Friendly Interface: Opt for software with an intuitive interface for seamless navigation.

Comprehensive Reporting: Look for features that support comprehensive reporting across different emission scopes.

Step 3: Gather Emission Data Sources

Identify all potential emission sources within your organization. This includes energy consumption, transportation, industrial processes, and any other activities contributing to your carbon footprint. Gather historical data to establish a baseline for comparison and goal setting.

Step 4: Implement Data Integration

For a streamlined emissions tracking process, integrate the software with existing systems that generate relevant data. This may include energy bills, transportation logs, and other sources of emission-related information. Automation and integration reduce manual data entry errors and ensure real-time tracking.

Step 5: Customize Emission Categories

Tailor the software to your organization’s specific emission sources. Create categories that align with your business activities, making it easier to track and manage emissions effectively. Common categories include energy consumption, transportation, industrial processes, and waste generation.(Read More…)

[jcmarchi]

Q&A: Claire Walsh on how J-PAL’s King Climate Action Initiative tackles the twin climate and poverty crises

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/qa-claire-walsh-on-how-j-pals-king-climate-action-initiative-tackles-the-twin-climate-and-poverty-crises/

Q&A: Claire Walsh on how J-PAL’s King Climate Action Initiative tackles the twin climate and poverty crises

The King Climate Action Initiative (K-CAI) is the flagship climate change program of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), which innovates, tests, and scales solutions at the nexus of climate change and poverty alleviation, together with policy partners worldwide.

Claire Walsh is the associate director of policy at J-PAL Global at MIT. She is also the project director of K-CAI. Here, Walsh talks about the work of K-CAI since its launch in 2020, and describes the ways its projects are making a difference. This is part of an ongoing series exploring how the MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences is addressing the climate crisis.

Q: According to the King Climate Action Initiative (K-CAI), any attempt to address poverty effectively must also simultaneously address climate change. Why is that?

A: Climate change will disproportionately harm people in poverty, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, because they tend to live in places that are more exposed to climate risk. These are nations in sub-Saharan Africa and South and Southeast Asia where low-income communities rely heavily on agriculture for their livelihoods, so extreme weather — heat, droughts, and flooding — can be devastating for people’s jobs and food security. In fact, the World Bank estimates that up to 130 million more people may be pushed into poverty by climate change by 2030.

This is unjust because these countries have historically emitted the least; their people didn’t cause the climate crisis. At the same time, they are trying to improve their economies and improve people’s welfare, so their energy demands are increasing, and they are emitting more. But they don’t have the same resources as wealthy nations for mitigation or adaptation, and many developing countries understandably don’t feel eager to put solving a problem they didn’t create at the top of their priority list. This makes finding paths forward to cutting emissions on a global scale politically challenging.

For these reasons, the problems of enhancing the well-being of people experiencing poverty, addressing inequality, and reducing pollution and greenhouse gases are inextricably linked.

Q: So how does K-CAI tackle this hybrid challenge?

A: Our initiative is pretty unique. We are a competitive, policy-based research and development fund that focuses on innovating, testing, and scaling solutions. We support researchers from MIT and other universities, and their collaborators, who are actually implementing programs, whether NGOs [nongovernmental organizations], government, or the private sector. We fund pilots of small-scale ideas in a real-world setting to determine if they hold promise, followed by larger randomized, controlled trials of promising solutions in climate change mitigation, adaptation, pollution reduction, and energy access. Our goal is to determine, through rigorous research, if these solutions are actually working — for example, in cutting emissions or protecting forests or helping vulnerable communities adapt to climate change. And finally, we offer path-to-scale grants which enable governments and NGOs to expand access to programs that have been tested and have strong evidence of impact.

We think this model is really powerful. Since we launched in 2020, we have built a portfolio of over 30 randomized evaluations and 13 scaling projects in more than 35 countries. And to date, these projects have informed the scale ups of evidence-based climate policies that have reached over 15 million people.

Q: It seems like K-CAI is advancing a kind of policy science, demanding proof of a program’s capacity to deliver results at each stage. 

A: This is one of the factors that drew me to J-PAL back in 2012. I majored in anthropology and studied abroad in Uganda. From those experiences I became very passionate about pursuing a career focused on poverty reduction. To me, it is unfair that in a world full of so much wealth and so much opportunity there exists so much extreme poverty. I wanted to dedicate my career to that, but I’m also a very detail-oriented nerd who really cares about whether a program that claims to be doing something for people is accomplishing what it claims.

It’s been really rewarding to see demand from governments and NGOs for evidence-informed policymaking grow over my 12 years at J-PAL. This policy science approach holds exciting promise to help transform public policy and climate policy in the coming decades.  

Q: Can you point to K-CAI-funded projects that meet this high bar and are now making a significant impact?

A: Several examples jump to mind. In the state of Gujarat, India, pollution regulators are trying to cut particulate matter air pollution, which is devastating to human health. The region is home to many major industries whose emissions negatively affect most of the state’s 70 million residents.

We partnered with state pollution regulators — kind of a regional EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] — to test an emissions trading scheme that is used widely in the U.S. and Europe but not in low- and middle-income countries. The government monitors pollution levels using technology installed at factories that sends data in real time, so the regulator knows exactly what their emissions look like. The regulator sets a cap on the overall level of pollution, allocates permits to pollute, and industries can trade emissions permits.

In 2019, researchers in the J-PAL network conducted the world’s first randomized, controlled trial of this emissions trading scheme and found that it cut pollution by 20 to 30 percent — a surprising reduction. It also reduced firms’ costs, on average, because the costs of compliance went down. The state government was eager to scale up the pilot, and in the past two years, two other cities, including Ahmedabad, the biggest city in the state, have adopted the concept.

We are also supporting a project in Niger, whose economy is hugely dependent on rain-fed agriculture but with climate change is experiencing rapid desertification. Researchers in the J-PAL network have been testing training farmers in a simple, inexpensive rainwater harvesting technique, where farmers dig a half-moon-shaped hole called a demi-lune right before the rainy season. This demi-lune feeds crops that are grown directly on top of it, and helps return land that resembled flat desert to arable production.

Researchers found that training farmers in this simple technology increased adoption from 4 percent to 94 percent and that demi-lunes increased agricultural output and revenue for farmers from the first year. K-CAI is funding a path-to-scale grant so local implementers can teach this technique to over 8,000 farmers and build a more cost-effective program model. If this takes hold, the team will work with local partners to scale the training to other relevant regions of the country and potentially other countries in the Sahel.

One final example that we are really proud of, because we first funded it as a pilot and now it’s in the path to scale phase: We supported a team of researchers working with partners in Bangladesh trying to reduce carbon emissions and other pollution from brick manufacturing, an industry that generates 17 percent of the country’s carbon emissions. The scale of manufacturing is so great that at some times of year, Dhaka (the capital of Bangladesh) looks like Mordor.

Workers form these bricks and stack hundreds of thousands of them, which they then fire by burning coal. A team of local researchers and collaborators from our J-PAL network found that you can reduce the amount of coal needed for the kilns by making some low-cost changes to the manufacturing process, including stacking the bricks in a way that increases airflow in the kiln and feeding the coal fires more frequently in smaller rather than larger batches.

In the randomized, controlled trial K-CAI supported, researchers found that this cut carbon and pollution emissions significantly, and now the government has invited the team to train 1,000 brick manufacturers in Dhaka in these techniques.

Q: These are all fascinating and powerful instances of implementing ideas that address a range of problems in different parts of the world. But can K-CAI go big enough and fast enough to take a real bite out of the twin poverty and climate crisis?

A: We’re not trying to find silver bullets. We are trying to build a large playbook of real solutions that work to solve specific problems in specific contexts. As you build those up in the hundreds, you have a deep bench of effective approaches to solve problems that can add up in a meaningful way. And because J-PAL works with governments and NGOs that have the capacity to take the research into action, since 2003, over 600 million people around the world have been reached by policies and programs that are informed by evidence that J-PAL-affiliated researchers produced. While global challenges seem daunting, J-PAL has shown that in 20 years we can achieve a great deal, and there is huge potential for future impact.

But unfortunately, globally, there is an underinvestment in policy innovation to combat climate change that may generate quicker, lower-cost returns at a large scale — especially in policies that determine which technologies get adopted or commercialized. For example, a lot of the huge fall in prices of renewable energy was enabled by early European government investments in solar and wind, and then continuing support for innovation in renewable energy.

That’s why I think social sciences have so much to offer in the fight against climate change and poverty; we are working where technology meets policy and where technology meets real people, which often determines their success or failure. The world should be investing in policy, economic, and social innovation just as much as it is investing in technological innovation.

Q: Do you need to be an optimist in your job?

A: I am half-optimist, half-pragmatist. I have no control over the climate change outcome for the world. And regardless of whether we can successfully avoid most of the potential damages of climate change, when I look back, I’m going to ask myself, “Did I fight or not?” The only choice I have is whether or not I fought, and I want to be a fighter.

[hbrns]

Data: The New Black (and Green, and Blue)

In a world where even your toaster is collecting data, it's clear that we're living in the age of information. But it’s not just about the quantity of data we have, it’s what we do with it that truly counts. Data collection and analysis have become the cornerstones of progress, allowing us to monitor, understand, and address some of the most pressing challenges facing our planet. From tracking the effects of climate change to conserving biodiversity and optimizing energy consumption, data is the unsung hero that's quietly changing the game.

Climate Change – Decoding the Planetary Puzzle

When it comes to climate change, data is our most crucial ally. We often hear about rising temperatures and extreme weather, but behind these headlines lies a vast network of data collection efforts. Global temperature records, sea-level measurements, greenhouse gas concentrations, and ice melt rates are all meticulously tracked (1). This data is not just about identifying problems, but also about monitoring our mitigation efforts. Models like the Global Change Analysis Model (GCAM), an open-source tool developed by the Joint Global Change Research Institute, uses data to simulate future scenarios based on different policies and technological developments. These models help us understand what impact current policies will have on climate. The European Environment Agency (EEA) also offers numerous resources, including case studies and country profiles, to help understand climate change impacts and adaptation strategies (2). Furthermore, remote sensing data is increasingly being used to monitor methane emissions, particularly from the waste sector. Tools like the EPA’s Non-CO2 Greenhouse Gas Data Tool, set to be updated in 2025, will provide more detailed non-CO2 emissions projections. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) also uses data from different scientific communities to give us a comprehensive picture of climate change, informing us of how far we have come and how much more work we need to do. It also provides useful data to aid with making crucial political decision with the ultimate goal of limiting global warming (3). Data is therefore not just a collection of facts; it's a powerful tool that shapes policy, directs innovation and drives climate action.

Biodiversity – Mapping the Web of Life

The biodiversity crisis is another area where data collection and analysis play a pivotal role. Understanding how species are responding to environmental changes requires systematic monitoring of animal populations, habitats, and ecosystems. The use of camera traps, for instance, has revolutionised the way we study terrestrial mammals, providing standardised animal sampling while simultaneously quantifying local human activity. One such study, using data from 102 survey sites across 21 countries, showed how changes in human activity, such as those experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, affected wildlife behaviour. This demonstrates that animals respond differently to increased human activity depending on their size and place in the food chain. The study also demonstrated the need for localised information on human activity that matches the animal data, highlighting the value of continuous monitoring of various animal assemblages. Initiatives like the 30x30 target, which aims to protect and conserve at least 30% of the world’s ocean by 2030, depend heavily on data to track progress and ensure effective protection of marine biodiversity. The 30x30 Progress Tracker, created by the nonprofit organisation SkyTruth, is an example of a tool that provides accessible, transparent and easy-to-use data, demonstrating how important standardised data collection is for achieving conservation goals. This data is not just about tracking how species are doing; it's also about identifying hotspots of biodiversity, understanding threats to ecosystems, and informing conservation strategies. For example, the Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative is a finalist for the Earthshot Prize for their work in protecting and restoring nature. The Bloomberg Ocean Initiative has also invested heavily to restore and protect critical ocean ecosystems to support the 30% ocean protection goal. These initiatives show how data collection and analysis guide conservation efforts, making sure our actions are as effective as possible.

Energy – Powering a Sustainable Future

In the energy sector, data analysis is crucial for optimizing energy usage and transitioning to sustainable solutions. The growth of solar power, for example, has been incredible, leading to a surplus of electricity at certain times (4), (5), (6). Data on electricity generation and demand are essential for managing grids efficiently and accommodating the increasing amounts of renewable energy. The European Electricity Review, for example, provides annual data on the EU power sector and its transition from fossil fuels to clean energy. The International Energy Agency (IEA) offers a wealth of data, including reports on renewable energy progress and the COP28 Tripling Renewable Capacity Pledge (7). They also provide data on energy efficiency. This type of data allows us to understand the challenges and opportunities of the ongoing energy transition, allowing us to make the right changes to how we power our world. For example, data can be used to understand how power systems become increasingly dominated by solar power, which can drive down prices to zero or even negative at times. The growth of battery storage is the perfect solution to this as it allows the storage of surplus electricity. Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows that the US is expanding renewable energy production on federal lands, which could potentially power more American homes by 2035. Data analysis can also help with the implementation of BIPV (Building-integrated photovoltaic) technologies, by identifying locations where they could be the most effective. Furthermore, research into thermal energy storage using materials like clay-phosphate ceramics and industrial waste heat recovery can also benefit from data analysis. By analysing real-time data, we can optimize energy grids, reduce wastage, and accelerate the adoption of clean energy technologies.

Data: Our Crystal Ball

In conclusion, data collection and analysis are not just technical necessities but also powerful tools that drive progress in various fields that have a direct impact on our future. From understanding the intricacies of climate change to protecting vulnerable ecosystems and building a sustainable energy future, data provides the foundation for informed decisions and effective actions. It is the foundation of our progress and will be key to our future. So, to all the tech leaders out there, remember that in the data-driven world, the future is not just bright; it’s also meticulously measured, carefully analysed, and constantly evolving. Now, go forth and make some insightful and planet-saving data magic!

References

European Environment Agency (EEA)

International Energy Agency (IEA)

Mammal responses to global changes in human activity vary by trophic group and landscape | Nature

Today in Energy | US Energy Information Administration

New interagency study finds renewable energy production expansion on Federal lands could power more American homes by 2035 | Energy Global

Hausfather, Z. (2025). An assessment of current policy scenarios over the 21st century and the reduced plausibility of high-emissions pathways. Dialogues on Climate Change, 0(0).

Zhang, Y., Jackson, C. & Krevor, S. The feasibility of reaching gigatonne scale CO2 storage by mid-century. Nat Commun 15, 6913 (2024)

[istoppedlurkingforthis]

Honestly, the thing that gets me, beyond the blatant disregard for privacy, is how wasteful all this data collection is.

Sure, I have benefitted from long search histories. But I don't think most people actually understand how much we've killed privacy through complying with this sort of creep into our lives (or actively invited it with Sir, Alexa and fitbit esque technology). Either because they don't pay attention, or they are too young to remember before it happened.

But the unspoken side issue is the cost of this data. As in the energy cost. Our data has to be stored somewhere. It doesn't matter if its in the cloud or (as is likely on multiple oft backed up) physical servers [well the cloud needs physical servers too but its less centralised]. It costs energy, it costs carbon, to store all this information. To trade that information.

Litteraly, one of the energy saving tips I was told in my old job was to notleave tabs i was finished with open because it takes up energy to run. That little bit of static and probably fixed data (as opposed to running a video in the background) was considered worth mentioning as an energy reducing, carbon emission reducing technique.

Those servers that hold all your historic data? That hold EVERYONES data? Are never turned off. And, likely, never scrubbed. So you have *an ever growing* data storage and energy consumption requirement that includes the data of ghosts.

And like, sure, I should care about my privacy more, but at the end of the day? I've accepted that casualty to "progress".

I haven't accepted the environmental cost.

Via @iamdylancurran (Twitter)

[artemtechnologie]

Carbon Emission Data

The shift towards environmental responsibility requires businesses to prioritize sustainability, and carbon emission data plays a key role in this transformation. By accurately tracking carbon emission data, companies can measure their environmental impact, ensuring they meet both regulatory requirements and sustainability goals. As global pressure to combat climate change intensifies, having reliable carbon emission data is not just a necessity for compliance, but a strategic advantage for companies committed to a more sustainable and eco-conscious approach.

[pekasnugs]

Understanding air pollution from space

🧬 ..::Science & Tech::.. 🧬 Arlene Fiore uses satellite data paired with ground observations to refine our understanding of ozone smog and interactions with meteorology and climate

[movingtothefarm]

6 videos - Weathered by PBS Terra

[nuadox]

China has launched the world’s largest sodium-ion battery unit

- By Nuadox Crew -

China has launched the world's largest sodium-ion battery energy storage system (BESS) in Qianjiang, Hubei province.

The first phase, a 50MW/100MWh project, is now operational and will eventually double in capacity to 100MW/200MWh. The system includes 42 BESS containers with 185Ah sodium-ion batteries, 21 power conversion system units, and a 110kV booster station.

Developed by Datang Hubei Energy Development, a state-owned enterprise, this project is part of China's effort to diversify energy storage technologies away from lithium. Sodium-ion batteries are seen as a promising alternative due to their potential to ease supply chain issues, despite their lower energy density and higher initial costs compared to lithium-ion.

Sodium-ion batteries offer advantages such as better efficiency and durability under extreme conditions. China is heavily investing in this technology due to its limited lithium reserves but abundant sodium resources. HiNa Battery predicts a significant growth in the sodium-ion battery industry, potentially reaching terawatt-hour scale by 2030.

Header image credit: Image Creator from Microsoft Designer/DALL.E (AI-generated)

Read more at Energy-Storage.news

--

Other recent news

AI and Emissions: Google’s AI operations have significantly increased emissions by 48% due to the high energy consumption of their data centers.

[nando161mando]

Temperatures 1.5C above pre-industrial era average for 12 months, data shows

[artisticdivasworld]

The AI Revolution: Transforming American Salespersons in the Trucking Industry

New blog alert!

Renee Williams, PresidentFreightRevCon, a Freight Revenue Consultants, LLC. company The trucking industry is experiencing a seismic shift, driven by the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced technologies. This transformation is reshaping the landscape for American salespersons, particularly in logistics and transportation jobs. As we delve into this evolution, we’ll explore…

[pebblegalaxy]

Google's Greenhouse Gas Dilemma: Balancing AI Expansion and Climate Goals #GoogleEmissions #ClimateChange #AI #Sustainability #GreenTech

Google’s Greenhouse Gas Dilemma: Balancing AI Expansion and Climate Goals In recent years, Google has been at the forefront of technological advancements, driving innovations that have reshaped industries and everyday life. However, its latest environmental report reveals a troubling trend: a significant rise in greenhouse gas emissions. This surge poses a serious challenge to Google’s ambitious…

[12thwonderindia]

Navigating the Green Wave: How the Regulatory Landscape is Driving the Adoption of Carbon Accounting Software

In the fast-evolving world of business, environmental responsibility is no longer just a moral imperative but a legal requirement. As global awareness of climate change intensifies, governments and regulatory bodies worldwide are tightening their grip on carbon emissions reporting. In this blog post, we’ll explore how the shifting regulatory landscape is propelling businesses to adopt carbon accounting software to not only comply with regulations but to thrive in a sustainable future.

1. The Rise of Emissions Regulations: A Global Phenomenon

Around the world, governments are implementing stringent regulations aimed at curbing carbon emissions. Whether it’s the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), the United States’ Clean Energy Standard, or other regional initiatives, businesses are under increasing pressure to accurately measure, report, and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

2. The Mandatory Reporting Mandate: A Game-Changer for Businesses

Many jurisdictions are making carbon emissions reporting mandatory for businesses of all sizes. This shift forces companies to move beyond voluntary sustainability efforts and adopt robust carbon accounting practices to meet legal obligations. Failure to comply not only risks penalties but can also tarnish a company’s reputation in an era where environmental accountability is under intense scrutiny.

3. The Role of Carbon Accounting Software in Compliance

Enterprises grappling with the complexities of emissions reporting are turning to advanced carbon accounting software to streamline compliance efforts. These tools not only automate data collection but also offer real-time insights, making it easier for businesses to stay ahead of regulatory requirements and submit accurate reports.

4. From Compliance to Competitive Advantage

While regulatory compliance is the primary driver, savvy businesses are realizing that adopting carbon accounting software is not just about meeting legal obligations — it’s a strategic move that can confer a competitive edge. Demonstrating a commitment to sustainability through accurate emissions reporting can enhance brand reputation, attract environmentally conscious customers, and even open doors to new business opportunities.(Read More …)