The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) just launched its Energy Star NextGen Certified Homes and Apartments program. For decades, Energy Star has certified efficient products from kitchen appliances to washers, dryers, air conditioners, and heat pumps. Now, it’s also starting to certify homes and apartments that are at least 20 percent more efficient than typical builds.
Shell sold millions of carbon credits that were supposed to represent CO2 emissions captured in Canada. But only half of those credits were linked to real eductions in pollution, according to documents obtained by Greenpeace and shared with the Financial Times. It’s an explosive investigation into carbon capture tech fossil fuel companies are using to make sustainability claims that might not pass the smell test.
[FinancialTimes]
A dam in the Philippines dried out, revealing the flooded town of Pantabangan. This is the sixth time the town has emerged, but Philippine officials believe this is the longest it has been visible.
Asia was named the most disaster-prone region in the world. Sweltering temperatures forced government officials in the Philippines to close schools.
The move is supposed to save the average household at least $100 a year in lower utility bills. As new water heaters are shipped out over 30 years, energy savings from the tougher standards are also expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 332 million metric tons. That’s like erasing the annual planet-heating pollution of nearly 43 million homes, the Department of Energy says.
[The New York Times]
By simplifying the permitting process, the Biden administration hopes to speed the deployment of solar and wind farms and other energy projects crucial to meeting US climate goals. At the same time, the new rules are designed to make potential impacts on local communities (environmental justice) a bigger consideration when permitting new projects.
Earth Month is coming to a close, but there’s still time to catch up on The Verge’s package of stories from Costa Rica on turning cattle ranches into forests, Indigenous leaders fighting for their land back, and how the country runs on nearly 100 percent renewable electricity. On the ground in Costa Rica, we found reasons to be hopeful about solutions to climate change.
They brought forests back to life in Costa Rica. Their next challenge? Restoring ecosystems in a warming world.
Paging Helen Hunt. Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton to Twister, please.
The Verge spoke to EPA administrator Michael Regan about the agency’s new rules for power plant pollution.
One of the biggest residential solar companies announced today that it’ll lay off 1,000 people. It’s also shutting down its direct sales business and residential installation locations.
“We need to achieve financial viability, which includes simplifying our business structure, transitioning away from areas where we have been unable to sustain profitable operations, and improving financial controls,” SunPower Executive Chairman Tom Werner told employees.
[SunPower Newsroom]
Costa Rica gets more than 99 percent of its electricity from renewables — it’s still not enough.
There are plenty of great stories to read today from our sister site, Vox — on everything from more efficient (and yet controversial) appliances to how phones affect kids’ experiences in nature and how climate change is transforming our sense of home.
And stay tuned this week for more reporting on reforestation in Costa Rica from The Verge. We published the first story — about restoring Indigenous territories — in our Earth Week package today.
[Vox]
These women took back their land in Costa Rica, and now they plan to reforest it.
that caused catastrophic flooding in Dubai, experts tell AP. People falsely blaming cloud seeding are also spreading disinformation about climate change. So, you know, don’t believe everything you see on social media.
That means breaking waves could be a major source of PFAS pollution in the air, according to a new study. For decades, manufacturers used forever chemicals (AKA PFAS) in everything from food packaging to carpet cleaners to make things water, stain, and heat resistant. We’re just starting to understand how prevalent these chemicals have become in the environment and the health risks that could pose.
It’s using three times as much “clean electricity” now as it did in 2020, Apple said today. It’s part of the company’s commitment to become carbon neutral across its operations and supply chain by 2030. By the same date, Apple also plans to replenish fresh water it uses in drought-stressed areas — spending $8 million on that task since 2023.
The European Space Agency plans to find out with a project called Solaris. Scientists and engineers have been trying to figure out how to make space-based solar power work since the 1960s. And the rise of the commercial space industry is finally bringing launch costs down enough to really put the technology to the test.
Newsweek notes that renewable energy hit a milestone in California, meeting 100 percent of the state’s electricity demand for up to 6 hours nearly every day of the past month.
There’s obviously still a lot of progress needed to hit the state’s goal of running entirely on carbon-free electricity by 2045, but Stanford engineering professor Mark Jacobson says this is a sign that California is well on its way there.
That includes chemicals used to make rubber, sterilize medical equipment, and more. The new regulations are expected to slash releases of smog-forming volatile organic compounds by 23,700 tons annually, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This is a big deal for communities bordering industrial facilities, including Louisiana’s Cancer Alley.
