QUICK NEWS, January 31: Trump Country Farmers Fight Climate Change And Deny It; Politics Can’t Hold Back New Energy; New Energy Grows Jobs Way Faster Than The Economy

Trump Country Farmers Fight Climate Change And Deny It In America’s Heartland, Discussing Climate Change Without Saying ‘Climate Change’

Hiroko Tabuchi, January 28, 2017 (NY Times)

Editor’s note: This is a long article entirely work some time. But is it about resisting reality or extreme reality?

“…Doug Palen, a fourth-generation grain farmer on Kansas’ wind-swept plains, is in the business of understanding the climate. Since 2012, he has choked through the harshest drought to hit the Great Plains in a century, punctuated by freakish snowstorms and suffocating gales of dust…To adapt, he has embraced an environmentally conscious way of farming that guards against soil erosion and conserves precious water. He can talk for hours about carbon sequestration — the trapping of global-warming-causing gases in plant life and in the soil — or the science of the beneficial microbes that enrich his land. In short, he is a climate change realist. Just don’t expect him to utter the words ‘climate change.’…Here in north-central Kansas, America’s breadbasket and conservative heartland, the economic realities of agriculture make climate change a critical business issue. At the same time, politics and social pressure make frank discussion complicated. This is wheat country, and Donald J. Trump country, and though the weather is acting up, the conservative orthodoxy maintains that the science isn’t settled…So while climate change is part of daily conversation, it gets disguised as something else…” click here for more

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Politics Won’t Hold Back New Energy Why Donald Trump won't hold back solar and wind power

Tom DiChristopher, 24 January 2017 (CNBC)

“President Donald Trump's full-throated support for fossil fuel production and his climate change denial have raised concerns about the future of renewable energy projects in America, but some investors believe the president cannot hold back solar and wind energy deployment — or alternative energy stocks…[because] goals adopted by more than half of U.S. states are what's driving growth in renewable energy projects, and Trump will have little effect on these…

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[Also,] more corporations are pledging to draw power from renewable sources, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle last month renewed subsidies for solar and wind energy firms…In its latest Annual Energy Outlook, the U.S. Energy Information administration projected renewable energy consumption will grow faster than any other source through 2040, because capital costs fall as more solar and wind farms crop up and federal and state policies encourage their construction…” click here for more

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New Energy Grows Jobs Way Faster Than The Economy Renewable Energy Is Creating Jobs 12 Times Faster Than the Rest of the Economy

Kate Samuelson, January 27, 2017 (Fortune)

“The solar and wind industries are each creating jobs at a rate 12 times faster than that of the rest of the U.S. economy, according to [Now Hiring: The Growth Of America’s Clean Energy & Sustainability Jobs…It reports] that solar and wind jobs have grown at rates of about 20% annually in recent years, and sustainability now collectively represents four to four and a half million jobs in the U.S., up from 3.4 million in 2011…The renewable energy sector has seen rapid growth over recent years, driven largely by significant reductions in manufacturing and installation costs. Building developers and owners have been fueled by state and local building efficiency policies and incentives…[T]hese gains are in contrast to Trump's support for fossil fuel production, his climate change denial and his belief that renewable energy is a ‘bad investment’…[A report author said the new president’s approach ignores an entire industry that has grown up over the decade]…” click here for more

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