QUICK NEWS, April 22: Putting The Earth In Earth Day; The Clean Energy Jobs Boom
Putting The Earth In Earth Day Earth Day 2019: High temperatures, rising waters, wild weather – who is to blame? We are.
Doyle Rice and Elizabeth Weise, April 21, 2019 (USA Today)
“…There's a 99.9999% chance that humans are the cause of global warming… Humans burn fossil fuels…[That releases] carbon dioxide (CO2), methane and other gases into the Earth's atmosphere and oceans….Based on five separate data sets that keep track of the Earth's climate, the global average temperature for the first 10 months of 2018 was about 1.8 degrees above what it was in the late 1800s. That was when industry started to emit large amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere…Increasing amounts of carbon dioxide and other gases being released into the atmosphere by industry, transportation and energy production from burning fossil fuels are enhancing what's known as the planet's natural greenhouse effect.
The atmospheric carbon dioxide level for March was 411.97 parts per million and continue to rise. It has now reached levels in the atmosphere not seen in 3 million years…That's an increase of 46% from just before the Industrial Revolution in the 1800s, when CO2 levels were around 280 parts per million…Scientists say to keep a livable planet, we need to cut the level to 350 parts per million…Extreme weather events exacerbated in part by climate change killed almost 250 Americans and cost the nation at least $91 billion in 2018, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration…[W]estern states endured their costliest wildfire season on record: $24 billion in damage…Hurricanes Michael, resulting in $25 billion damages, and Florence, with $24 billion in costs, were the other two big weather disasters in 2018…” click here for more
The Clean Energy Jobs Boom Renewable Energy Job Boom Creates Economic Opportunity As Coal Industry Slumps
Silvio Marcacci, April 22, 2019 (Forbes)
“Renewable energy jobs are booming across America, creating stable and high-wage employment for blue-collar workers in some of the country’s most fossil fuel-heavy states, just as the coal industry is poised for another downturn…Economics are driving both sides of this equation: Building new renewable energy is cheaper than running existing coal plants and prices get cheaper every year. By 2025, almost every existing coal plant in the United States will cost more to operate than building replacement wind and solar within 35 miles of each plant…Multiple states and utilities are setting 100% clean energy goals, creating new demand for workers to build solar panels and wind turbines. Planning for the inevitable coal-to-clean economic transition can create new economic opportunities in every corner of the country…
The renewable energy industry has become a major U.S. employer. E2’s recent Clean Jobs America report found nearly 3.3 million Americans working in clean energy – outnumbering fossil fuel workers by 3-to-1. Nearly 335,000 people work in the solar industry and more than 111,000 work in the wind industry, compared to 211,000 working in coal mining or other fossil fuel extraction. Clean energy employment grew 3.6% in 2018, adding 110,000 net new jobs (4.2% of all jobs added nationally in 2018), and employers expect 6% job growth in 2019…U.S. coal consumption fell 4% in 2018 to its lowest point in 39 years due to accelerating coal plant closures and reduced coal plant utilization…Several states are responding with smart policy, including coal securitization legislation signed into law in New Mexico and introduced in Colorado’s state legislature to help utilities retire uneconomic coal generation and begin economic transitions in coal-dependent communities…” click here for more
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