QUICK NEWS, February 27: Heartland City Leaders Face Climate Change; EVs Nearer To Going Plug-Free; Politics Block Farmers From Growing Solar

Heartland City Leaders Face Climate Change Red state rural America is acting on climate change – without calling it climate change

Rebecca Romsdahl, February 26, 2017 (The Conversation via Business Insider)

“President Donald Trump has the environmental community understandably concerned…[but even] if the Trump administration withdraws from all international climate negotiations and reduces the EPA to bare bones, the effects of climate change are happening and will continue to build…In response to real threats and public demand, cities across the United States and around the world are taking action to address climate change. We might think this is happening only in large, coastal cities…[but research of over 200 local governments in 11 states of the Great Plains region shows] local leaders in small- to medium-size communities are already grappling with the issue…[Their] strategies can provide insights into how to make progress on climate policy under a Trump administration…[Many of these policy activities are specifically not framed as climate actions but to broader concerns with] dirty water and dirty air…” click here for more

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EVs Nearer To Going Plug-Free Wireless electric cars about to hit the road

Rob Nikolewski, February 24, 2017 (San Diego Union Tribune)

“…Car buyers are familiar with plug-in hybrids and all-electric vehicles, but companies such as Qualcomm seek to jump-start the transition from internal combustion to zero-emission cars with “inductive” charging…Instead of charging a vehicle with a plug or cable, the driver using a wireless system aligns the car over a charging pad and an electromagnetic field does the rest…The technology has been talked about for years but, starting with the hybrid version of the 2018 Mercedes-Benz S550e, wireless vehicle charging technology will make its debut…A slew of other car makers are about to enter the wireless-charging market as well…[T]ech companies such as Evatran, Momentum Dynamics, Witricity and Wireless Advanced Vehicle Electrification offer versions of wireless vehicle charging…Expect charging pads to be seen first in the garages of electric vehicle (EV) owners…Models from some makers run as low as just under $1,500…” click here for more

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Politics Block Farmers From Growing Solar New farmland harvest – solar energy – creating political sparks

Jan Ellen Spiegel, February 21, 2017 (CT Mirror)

“…[Farms around Connecticut can relieve economic pressure by hosting solar projects but face an emerging] controversy over siting solar on farm and forestland…pitting farmer against farmer and environmental interest groups against one another, putting state departments at odds, and raising the always explosive issue of private property rights versus state policy…[It is] a collision of two well-intentioned environmental policies. One pushes and provides financial incentives for more renewable power – solar being the vastly favored choice in Connecticut. The other preserves farmland and forestland for agriculture and open space…Farmland is clear, well-drained, usually large, often south-facing – just what solar needs…[It] tends to be less expensive for solar developers…[but the land] is a finite resource…[Compromise legislation] would inventory available land and other facilities to determine which are best suited for solar…” click here for more

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