QUICK NEWS, December 22: GETTING READY FOR CLIMATE CHANGE; NEW ENERGY GOES BIGGER THAN OIL; FORD UPS ITS BET ON ELECTRIC

GETTING READY FOR CLIMATE CHANGE Report card shows which states are best prepared for climate change; Readiness for extreme heat, droughts, wildfires, flooding among factors considered

Thomas Sumner, December 22, 2015 (Science News)

“…[S]ome U.S. states are better prepared for climate change threats than others… [According to States at Risk; America’s Preparedness Report Card, eighteen states got an overall D or worse…on factors such as extreme heat, summer droughts, wildfires and flooding. The letter grades are tabulated by comparing what precautionary steps a state has taken relative to the climate threats it is expected to face in the future…California was the only state with a far-above-average level of preparedness for coastal flooding as sea levels rise. The top five states on the list are [California, New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut]…Arkansas earned itself a dunce cap, with three F grades and a D. The state has taken fewer actions to prepare for wildfires than any state studied despite having more than 1.3 million residents living in areas with an elevated wildfire risk…The five states with the lowest grades [are Missouri, Mississippi, Nevada, Texas, and Arkansas]…” click through for interactive map

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NEW ENERGY GOES BIGGER THAN OIL What Just Happened in Solar Is a Bigger Deal Than Oil Exports; The impact: $73 billion in new investment in the U.S.

Tom Randall, December 17, 2015 (Bloomberg News)

“The clean-energy boom is about to be transformed. In a surprise move, U.S. lawmakers agreed to extend tax credits for solar and wind for another five years. This will give an unprecedented boost to the industry and change the course of deployment in the U.S…The extension will add an extra 20 gigawatts of solar power—more than every panel ever installed in the U.S. prior to 2015, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF)…The wind credit will contribute another 19 gigawatts over five years. Combined, the extensions will spur more than $73 billion of investment and supply enough electricity to power 8 million U.S. homes…By the time the new tax credit expires, solar and wind will be the cheapest forms of new electricity in many states across the U.S…

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“The tax credits, valued at about $25 billion over five years, will drive $38 billion of investment in solar and $35 billion in wind through 2021…Stocks soared. SolarCity, the biggest rooftop installer, surged 34 percent yesterday. SunEdison, the largest renewable-energy developer, climbed 25 percent, and panelmaker SunPower increased 14 percent…[The tax credits came as] part of a broader budget deal that also lifts the 40-year-old ban on U.S. oil exports…” click here for more

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FORD UPS ITS BET ON ELECTRIC Ford Adds Another $4.5 Billion To Its Electric Car Ambitions

Kristen Korosec, December 10, 2015 (Fortune)

“Ford is betting big on electric vehicles by promising to invest another $4.5 billion and add 13 new electric cars to its lineup by 2020 along with expanding research into batteries... In just five years, more than 40% of the company’s models will come in electrified versions…The 2017 Ford Focus Electric, the first of the 13 new electric cars, will start production late next year with a battery that has a 100-mile range. The vehicle will also be able to charge to 80% in 30 minutes, about two hours faster than the current model Focus Electric. This will be the first Ford electric car to have a fast-charging capability…Ford currently sells three electric cars: the Focus is all-electric, the Fusion is available as a hybrid and plug-in hybrid, and C-Max is available as a hybrid and plug-in hybrid…[but] has already started to expand its electric vehicles research and development program…By 2020, most major automakers will have an all-electric vehicle—or more plug-in hybrids— in their car lineups…” click here for more

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