Juggling Dynamite

The age of batteries is just getting started. In the latest episode of our animated series, Sooner Than You Think, Bloomberg’s Tom Randall does the math on when solar plus batteries might start wiping fossil fuels off the grid. Here is a direct video link.

Also see Lithium-Ion Battery Inventor introduces new technology for fast-charging, noncombustible batteries:

A team of engineers led by 94-year-old John Goodenough, professor in the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin and co-inventor of the lithium-ion battery, has developed the first all-solid-state battery cells that could lead to safer, faster-charging, longer-lasting rechargeable batteries for handheld mobile devices, electric cars and stationary energy storage.

Aiding and abetting environmental damage is not partisan, individuals, institutions and governments on the right and left have been remiss in making necessary behavior, consumption and policy changes. At the same time, allowing vested corporate interests to purchase political protection for their harm-inflicting businesses while using the profits gained to limit and confuse public understanding on the issues, is criminal and a threat to democracy, health and personal security everywhere.  Following the money here is easy.

A documentary special reveals how climate change science has been under systematic attack; the multi-million dollar campaign allowed a climate change denier to be elected president. Here is a direct video link.

TRNN SPECIAL: Trump, The Koch Brothers and Their War on Climate Science from The Real News Network on Vimeo.

Canada is falling behind in electric vehicle sales at least in part due to a lack of any federal “zero-emission vehicle” policies, leaving responsibility to the provinces. This means no federally issued rebates or supply-side policies aimed at making the electric vehicle market more efficient.

Canadian auto manufacturing associations have indicated significant opposition to a zero-emissions vehicle mandate, which would set a target for the number of electric vehicles government would like to see on the road.  In June, the chief economist for the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association told the National Observer that “we’re very strongly against that.”

…On Tuesday, five organizations — the Toronto Atmospheric Fund, Clean Energy Canada, Environmental Defence, Equiterre and Simon Fraser University’s Sustainable Transportation Research Team — launched an online social media campaign called EVchoice.ca to counter that corporate pressure and encourage the federal government to implement a zero-emissions vehicle mandate. (Ottawa has said previously that it won’t implement such a policy.) Here is a direct video link.