The U.S. set out to widen more highways, even though traffic planners know it never reduces congestion. Parking lots were falling out of favour, major U.S. subway systems were falling apart, Toronto’s transit plan was falling far short, Toronto’s parking authority fell for the idea of an EV charging network, and urban transit advocates wanted a federal strategy for zero-emission transit, intercity coaches, and rail.
A Guardian blogger asked why traffic reduction plans attract so many conspiracy theories.
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U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) reminded former White House physician Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX), aka Candyman, that nitrous oxide exposure can cause cognitive decline, after Jackson said the White House would have to pry his gas stove out of his cold, dead hands. New York State considered the first state-wide ban on new gas appliances in buildings, and a demonstration project in Massachusetts will allow up to 10 cities and towns to do the same, after years and decades of studies pointed to indoor gas as a health risk. The Rocky Mountain Institute looked at heating and cooling choices to maximize students’ health and learning ability.
Veteran climate organizer Bill McKibben declared a March 23 day of action to shut off the flow of cash from Big Banking to Big Oil, and the chief of staff to Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) took a job with the American Petroleum Institute. Banking giant HSBC tried to defend loaning $340 million to the company building a new coal mine in Germany, a month after setting off shockwaves by announcing its withdrawal from fossil fuel finance. U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said his institution won’t be an instrument of climate policy, but Treasury Secretary Janice Yellen said she would stay on the job to oversee billions in climate investment. Big U.S. and European investment houses took different views on climate performance, EU trade deals emerged as an opportunity for climate action, and the World Economic Forum looked into unlocking clean energy finance for emerging economies.
A Prince Edward Island company invested millions in green hydrogen, new wind farms in Nova Scotia were still on track despite utility cutbacks, a Concordia University engineering professor got excited about rooftop wind turbines, and Volkswagen looked to Ontario for its North American battery factory. Utility-scale solar set a record in Australia last month. Iron ore, steel, and fossil giants lined up to develop A$70 billion worth of green industrial projects in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, and the International Energy Agency heralded a new age of clean technology. Net-zero targets forced Taiwan chipmakers to consider relocating, data centres needed microgrids to prevent outages that can cost them tens of thousands of dollars per minute, and 86% of seaports faced multiple hazards due to climate change, risking $70 billion in annual losses.
Still with reliability, there was deep shock and an Energy Mix sarcasm alert when the troubled and costly Vogtle nuclear plant in Georgia had to delay its opening. Again. Geothermal offered an affordable alternative to a risky, expensive nuclear project in Utah, and Japan was months away from releasing radioactive wastewater into the Pacific Ocean from the site of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
A Quebec lithium mine will supply raw material to Tesla. Western consumers stood to gain after Sweden discovered a major, new deposit of rare earth metals, Corporate Knights reported a race to mine mining waste, and the Canadian Standards Association turned its attention to battery recycling standards. Environmental groups in Maryland promoted offshore wind and First Nations in British Columbia filed suit to stop an $885-million liquid petroleum facility.
Drought threatened food production, but researchers found that “climate-friendly, nutrition-sensitive interventions” could close the global nutrition gap while cutting emissions. Pakistan wasn’t getting nearly enough money for flood relief, snowpack in the Alps was at a 600-year low, homeless people struggled to survive the California storms, a Boston-area organizer helped communities prepare for killer heat waves, high heat put nearly 30 million British workers at risk, and a climate scientist said traditional Inuit knowledge can advance Arctic research. PR giant Edelman dropped the ball on its promise to dump “environmentally irresponsible” clients.
