Environment Archive

Electricity shortages could become a big problem over the next several years unless the US races to get more sources of clean energy online, The Washington Post reports. Data centers for AI and crypto mining are huge energy vampires. And the resurgence of domestic manufacturing for everything from semiconductors to EV batteries and solar panels are also expected to put extra strain on aging power grids.

Because of all the energy it consumes, AI might actually make things worse by driving up greenhouse gas emissions. There’s also the risk of AI being weaponized to spread climate disinformation. You don’t have to take my word for it; this report from the Climate Action Against Disinformation coalition brings together current research on the issue.

A new study published in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment warns that the by 2100, we could be looking at ice-free conditions between May and January if emissions remain high, or from August to October under a “low-emission scenario.” An “ice-free Arctic,” by this study’s definition, is when sea ice covers under 1 million square kilometers. That’s down from a historical average of 6.5 million sq kms seen at summer’s end.

That’s the highest it’s been since 2021, before the long, cold crypto winter brought that price crashing down to less than $20,000.

A dude in California became the first person to be charged with smuggling greenhouse gases. He was actually lugging refrigerants into the US from Mexico: Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), to be exact. HFCs are “super” greenhouse gases up to thousands of times more potent than CO2. The US and other countries have pledged to phase down the use of HFCs under the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol.

But it’s not on one of his rockets. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 is carrying MethaneSat, a satellite made to measure the potent greenhouse gas methane. The Bezos Earth Fund gave the nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) $100 million to build and launch the satellite. Google is also partnering with EDF to create a global map of methane pollution coming from oil and gas infrastructure.

The devastating Smokehouse Creek fire has already burned more than a million acres, killing at least two people, and destroying hundreds of structures. Officials are still investigating the cause of blaze. But at least one homeowner and one rancher have filed suits against utility Xcel Energy. A pole owned by Excel subsidiary Southwestern Public Service Company reportedly fell within the area where the blaze might have started.

The DOE reached a settlement with crypto miners who sued to block data collection. The agency tried to make companies disclose their energy use through an emergency data request. But a federal judge placed a temporary restraining order on it in February, saying the situation probably didn’t warrant emergency authorization. On Friday, the DOE agreed to destroy information it’s already collected. It can start over without emergency authorization, but would have to propose a new survey and give the public 60 days to comment.