From mic.com:
This map traces the ideal deployment of solar energy plants in the Sahara Desert to generate electrical power for the world's population. It might not look like a lot, but there are some major caveats here. For one, this map seems to assume 100% efficiency. In reality, current solar panel technology is only able to capture around 20% of solar energy, even in the desert. So the 254-by-254 kilometer area in the Sahara Desert that could theoretically absorb enough rays to power the entire world would have to be five times larger. Second, large amounts of electric power are lost over large transmission distances, meaning that a single power plant could never really power the entire planet.
Still, this map is a good illustration of how little space would be needed to power the entire planet. According to May, some 3.49 million square kilometers are available for solar thermal power facilities in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt alone. Worldwide, the potential high-energy solar sites far outstrip any plausible need.
Carbon emissions from energy production decreased by 89 million metric tons (MMmt), from 2015 to 2016, an annual percent change of 1.7%.
The 1.7% drop in emissions occurred despite an increase in real gross domestic product (GDP) of 1.5% over that period. Other factors, most significantly greater use of energy sources (like renewables and natural gas) that emit less carbon dioxide than coal, more than offset the growth in GDP.
Emissions have declined in 6 out of the past 10 years, and energy‐related CO2 emissions in 2016 14% below 2005 levels.
Everglades (and south Florida, including Miami) with 2ft of sea level rise
Look at that wind and solar growth
Even as global carbon dioxide emissions hit a record high in 2012, CO2 emissions from energy generation in the United States fell to 1994 levels. This is a 13% decrease over the past 5 years. President Barack Obama has set a climate goal of lowering greenhouse gas emissions 17% from 2005 levels over the next decade. By the end of last year, levels were down 10.7% from the 2005 baseline, meaning America is more than halfway towards that goal.
The reductions come from a variety of places. It is, in part, because of new energy-saving technologies. In part because of a weakened economy. In part because of a growing share of renewables in the energy sector. And in part because cleaner natural gas is displacing carbon-rich coal.
While this is good news, there are some important caveats. 1.) This is only the U.S. Emissions are rising rapidly in other parts of the world. 2.) This is only CO2 emissions from energy production. This is a big source of greenhouse gas emissions, but not the only one. 3.) This rate of decline is probably not fast enough to avert the worst of climate change.
CO2 emissions from coal, oil, and gas worldwide - the Washington Post
Growth of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
Source: https://imgur.com/cK5xOR9
Conservation status of reptiles, which include snakes, lizards, turtles & tortoises, tuataras and the crocodilians
As Trump casts himself as a savior for the coal industry, the red states that voted for him are adding most of the nation’s clean energy,
From JUSTIN GILLIS and NADJA POPOVICH in the New York Times:
The five states that get the largest percentage of their power from wind turbines — Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota, Oklahoma and North Dakota — all voted for Mr. Trump. So did Texas, which produces the most wind power in absolute terms. In fact, 69 percent of the wind power produced in the country comes from states that Mr. Trump carried in November... These red states are not motivated by a sudden desire to reduce greenhouse gas emissions... their leaders see tapping the wind, and to a lesser degree the sun, as an economic strategy. The clean energy push allows their utilities to lock in low power prices for decades, creates manufacturing jobs, puts steady money in the hands of farmers who host wind turbines, and lures big employers who want renewable power.
A visual exploration of environmental problems, movements and solutions.
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