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Heatmap Is Hiring a Climate Tech Reporter
The new climate media startup Heatmap News is looking for an ambitious, insightful reporter to lead its coverage of climate tech.This writer will report to the editor-in-chief and be tasked with reporting on the startups, venture capitalists, and technologies at the bleeding edge of the energy transition.Candidates should be intrepid, well-sourced reporters with a deep interest in climate tech. They should have a proven ability to go beyond press releases to report about the inner workings of startups, bringing to light in vivid detail the opportunities and challenges faced by companies as they grow. A background in climate tech...
A Climate Database Melts Away
Current conditions: Light snow is still falling in parts of Massachusetts after a storm brought 8 inches of snow to parts of the state on Sunday and Monday. Residents in Queensland, Australia, are evacuating as thunderstorms inundate towns on the coast. California is still waiting for an atmospheric river to dump rain on the state, which should start tomorrow.THE TOP FIVE1. U.S. finalizes stove efficiency rulesYesterday, the U.S. Department of Energy finalized energy efficiency rules for both gas and electric stoves that the agency says will save consumers around $1.6 billion in energy costs over 30 years, according to...
More Clean Energy Is Good, Even If It Comes From China
As nearly any six year old would be more than happy to tell you, the problem is never that there is too much ice cream, or too many toys, or too much screen time. Yet adults considering the political and economic challenges of decarbonizing energy systems continue to harp on the downsides of “overcapacity” — in China, specifically — of production for clean technologies, namely solar and batteries and EVs. As Heatmap’s own Robinson Meyer has argued, China’s monumental “overinvestment” in clean technologies may lead to trade difficulties with the United States and European Union, which are attempting to stand...
The First Big Fight of the U.S. General Election Is Over LNG
When the White House announced on Friday that it would temporarily pause the approval of new liquified natural gas export terminals, it wasn’t just a victory for climate activists. It also drew the line for the first big showdown of the longest general election in modern history. With all due respect to Nikki Haley and some guy named Ryan Binkley, who are both nominally still in the Republican race, former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden are both acting, understandably, like the primaries are already over. Trump wasted no time vowing to “approve the export terminals on my very...
Wow, It’s Hot in D.C.
The temperature rose to 80 degrees Fahrenheit in Washington, D.C. today. That is weird because it’s currently January 26, and because about four inches of snow fell last week. (Literally, D.C. public schools had a snow day a week ago.) Now the snow has melted and people are walking around in shorts and t-shirts. While it can be hard to attribute individual weather events to climate change, “freakishly warm winter days” are an exception. Washington’s winters have gotten significantly warmer lately because of climate change. Across the country, climate change is making winters warmer and less snowy. As a Washingtonian, I’ll add that these warmer days are especially odd because the sun is still at a slanty January angle. At 2 p.m. the sun was less than 30 degrees above the horizon; that’s the same height it would be at, say, 5 or 6 p.m. in June or July. So it looks and feels like a cool summer evening here — but it’s actually a bright winter early afternoon. Global weirding is right. Read more: This Is How You Die of Extreme Heat
What Is Winter Anymore?
If you’ve had the uneasy sense that winter weather isn’t what it used to be, you’re not alone — and you’re probably right. The everyday effects of climate change on the year’s coldest months are quickly becoming too blatant to dismiss. As annual heat records continue to topple year after year — 2023, now officially the hottest year on record, came terrifyingly close to averaging 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial temperatures — winter weather is responding. In some places, it’s turning snowy days into rainy ones. In others, it’s turning cold days bitterly so. So — what, exactly, is going on?...
How Wall Street Is Making Sense of Energy’s Weird In-Between Period
Every few months, corporate earnings announcements give us the chance to (pretty literally) take stock of how the energy transition is going. After a rocky end-of-year for many renewables companies, this earnings season was, perhaps, more warily anticipated than most. A bunch of energy companies reported this week, ranging from fossil fuel stalwarts to the bleeding edge of decarbonization and in between. The results indicate an industry that's a bit unsure of itself — showing promising signs overall, but with lots still to figure out, especially in how to make offshore wind a real business. Everyone expects growth, but turning...
The Rising Threat of Really Big Waves
Current conditions: Colombia declared a natural disaster after unrelenting wildfires • Tropical Cyclone Kirrily poses a unique risk to Australia due to the storm’s “irregular shape” • Washington, D.C., could hit 70 degrees Fahrenheit in January for the first time in four years. THE TOP FIVE1. Report: Biden delaying approval of major LNG export terminal The Biden administration has delayed approval of 17 new facilities for the export of liquified natural gas (LNG), according to a New York Times report. Officials are instead asking the Department of Energy to widen its review of the first of these 17 — known...
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