miscellaneous

What we learned this week

I did a bit of a double-take this week when I read that both Dale Vince of Ecotricity and Greg Jackson of Octopus – two leaders in green energy in the UK – had followed the Conservatives’ in calling for support for oil and gas production in the North Sea. One of the main arguments for this is that domestically produced gas is cleaner than imported LNG. So here’s your regular reminder that 77% of our gas comes from Norway, which is not LNG.

A while back I posted a list of 10 climate podcasts that I enjoyed. Since then seven of those 10 have been discontinued, so I’m in the market for recommendations. Rare Earth from the BBC is one that would make the list if I repeat the exercise.

The biggest coal company in India is rapidly diversifying into solar as the economics of coal power changes. Similar things are afoot in South Africa, where the leading producer of coal-powered electricity is shifting to solar.

Our World in Data featured a chart showing oil spills over the last fifty years, and I was pleased to learn that they are down by a factor of 30.

After a pause, Bookloop is back. You can sell your secondhand books for credit that you can spend at Earthbound Books.

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What is plug-in solar?

Earlier this year I wrote about alternatives to rooftop solar, and all the many ways you can benefit from solar power without investing in a full scale installation. The most intriguing of those alternatives is balcony solar, which has been booming in Germany over the last couple of years. Known as balkonkraftwerk, there are now…

Five roles you can play in climate action

What can I do about climate change? That’s a very common question, and it’s an important one. Climate change is a global phenomenon that is unfolding over decades. It can be hard to find a useful role for individuals when the problems are so clearly systemic. Some climate campaigns directed at individuals feel shallow at…

How war drove Moldova’s energy transition

Moldova is surrounded on three sides by Ukraine, with Romania to the West. Like many countries in Eastern Europe, its energy systems are a legacy of the Soviet era. Infrastructure runs East towards Russia. For decades Moldova has run on Russian gas piped through Ukraine, and cheap gas provides both heat and electricity. You can…

1 comment

  1. I hope you do redo your podcast list. I’ve just been converted to the joy of podcasts, having refused to go down that rabbit hole for many years. I would be interested if there was one, solid, well-researched climate/green issues podcast I could listen to. I look forward to your thoughts!

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