April News You Can Use
Earth Day 2025
The Earth and her living systems sustain us every day. Earth’s systems are fundamental to the continuity of life. She will remind us of this, gently at first, and then with increasing urgency and ferocity. The Trump administration is annihilating scientific research of all kinds and in particular climate science. They are taking aim at non-profit organizations and even volunteers who are advocating to protect the life support systems of the planet.
Human beings are a collective species. We exist as individuals, but our survival depends on collective cooperation. Each of our well-being depends on the health of the communities and ecosystems that make our lives possible. Today we recommit to putting our health and well-being first, by taking care of the planet herself.
Minerva Ventures LLC believes:
MV and our team believe in the US Constitution and the importance of upholding the rule of law, including the rights of freedom of speech and assembly to ensure a vibrant democracy. We believe in the necessity for sound scientific research to guide policy and risk assessment. We believe that a diversity of backgrounds and perspectives makes our society more creative and resilient. Our culture, economy, and well-being depend on collaboration with people, nations, and institutions around the world. We will do all we can to defeat fascism and to build an inclusive society that works to restore healthy ecosystems, welcoming communities, and a safe and stable climate. Humanity faces challenges that we humans set into motion. It will take all of us working together to overcome those perils to build a better future.
Events
Climate Leaders Monthly Meeting
Thursday, May 15, 4:00 - 5:00 PM PT
Join the Climate Leaders Meeting to exchange resources and inspiration with others who are working to create a vibrant and healthy future.
All leaders are welcome.
This is a monthly on-line event hosted by Minerva Ventures.
Treasured Resources: Water and Music, April 30, 2025, Portland, OR
Featuring a world premiere by local composer Deena Grossman, composer- in-residence with Columbia Riverkeeper.
15-Minute Cities and Transit Oriented Development Webinar
Opportunities for Action
If You Live in CA:
The Climate Center has made it easy for you to speak out about The Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act and stopping the giveaways for Big Oil through Cap and Trade.
Domains for Climate Action
Food and Agriculture
Strategies for Strengthening Community Through Food
Some of the food-based community strategies advocated by environmental activist and author Robin Greenfield include planting Community Fruit Trees, joining or starting a community compost initiative, organizeing a gleaning effort and donating the harvest to a local foodbank, or coordinating an effort to share the bounty from local gardens.
New York City to Residents: Compost or Pay
As of April 1, participation in New York’s curbside recycling program became mandatory. In the first week of the new madate, “we picked up 2.5 million pounds of compostable material,” said Vincent Gragnani, press secretary for DSNY, “a 240 percent increase over the 737,000 pounds collected during the same week last year.” While the biggest tool used to support engagement continues to be education, the city hopes the new fines will provide a boost.
Energy
More than 40% of Global Electricity Was Clean Energy in 2024
Phil MacDonald, managing director of Ember, the energy think tank that compiles the annual report, said: “Solar power has become the engine of the global energy transition. Paired with battery storage, solar is set to be an unstoppable force. As the fastest-growing and largest source of new electricity, it is critical in meeting the world’s ever-increasing demand for electricity.” Hydropower continued to play an outsized role, providing 14% of the world’s electricity in 2024. Meanwhile electric demand, expected to have peaked in 2023, did continue to rise a small amount in 2024, a total of 4%, spurred primarily by heat waves.
An Interesting Model For Distributed Energy and Grid Security
Texas startup Base Power absorbs the bulk of the costs of equipping households with backup batteries, as long as they agree to buy power from the company and let it dispatch the batteries into Texas’ competitive energy markets managed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT. Since the commercial launch less than a year ago, they are already serving thousands of customers and earning millions of dollars in revenue, and expect to reach 100 megawatt-hours installed by mid-summer, equivalent to one of the larger utility-scale batteries operating in ERCOT. Different regulatory environments will require different strategies across the country, but Base Power is already working on them.
Finance
Circular Economy/Materials
Recycled Jeans at Affordable Price Points Have Arrived
Wrangler’s latest jeans for Walmart are the first, and hopefully not the last relatively inexpensive ($39.99) fashion product to feature a significant amount of recycled cotton from used clothes. Wrangler’s parent company, Kontoor, is working on “circular pathways” of recycling, resale, upcycling, reuse and repair, according to Dhruv Agarwal, vice president of innovation.
ECOR Global Revolutionizes Wood Products Industry
ECOR Global, in partnership with Stora Enso, has develped a fully bio-based, recyclable, and formaldehyde-free board, made of agricultural waste, not trees. Their high-performance panels replace plywood, MDF and HDF, and unlike traditional wood- based composites, ECOR contains no toxins and is fully recyclable. Last week ECOR Global won the Venture West BuiltWorlds Pitch Contest.
Water/Natural Resources/Biodiversity
Water Recycling Continues to Lag Despite Water Crisis
A new report from the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Natural Resources Defense Council finds that the seven states that rely on the Colorado River are on average recycling only a quarter of their water, despite the decline in supply. Nevada reuses 85 percent, followed by Arizona at 52 percent, California 22 percent and New Mexico 18 percent. Colorado and Wyoming recycle less than 4 percent, while Utah recycles next to nothing. And this despite the fact that the technology is safe and proven, and the water situation dire.
Built Environment
An Urban Neighborhood Without Cars
Culdesac Tempe, a new rental development outside of Phoenix, includes no resident parking, opting instead for a multi-use, walkable design that optimizes for things like shade and community spaces rather than parking and driving spaces. The people living there love it.
Transportation
Secret New EV Startup
Slate Auto, backed by Jeff Bezos and other wealthy investors, is working on an affordable two-seat electric pickup truck for around $25,000, which could bring EVs to the fore in a whole new segment of the market as soon as late 2026.
Health
Climate Interventions:
Regeneration, Methane, Geoengineering, CCUS
A New Carbon Capture Approach For Data Centers
Orbital Materials is piloting a unique sorbent for carbon capture specifically developed for the heated environment of data centers. They estimate their costs at $200/ton, and hope to gain interest from the big data center proprietors like Amazon.
Adaptation and Resilience
Investing In Resilience Makes Good Business Sense in Africa
Around the world, resilient infrastructure is the hot new investment class, with more than $2tn in assets under management. Africa sees climate adaptation as a framework for protecting infrastructure, securing food systems and creating new business and job opportunities. The Africa Adaptation Acceleration Programme (AAAP) has directed more than $15bn into projects to securing the livelihoods of nearly 60 million vulnerable people in 40 countries while creating almost one million jobs. The investments pay for themselves many times over with a major “resilience dividend.”
Could AI Help The Climate?
There are many ways AI can actually help slash emissions. It is already helping improve electric grid efficiency, reduce fuel use in shipping and identify otherwise invisible methane leaks. AI is also helping mining and steel making, some of the most difficult to decarbonize sectors, reduce their emissions.
Policy
Many Cuts Planned By the New Administration
Here is a quick summary of a few of the major cuts, gathered by CarbonBrief: Reuters reports on an executive order blocking the enforcement of state laws to reduce the use of fossil fuels and combat climate change. ProPublica revealed that the EPA is planning to cut requirements for industrial facilities to collect and report their greenhouse gas emissions. The White House is also ending funding for the US Global Change Research Program, which produces the federal government’s “pre-eminent climate report”, according to the Guardian.
Keeping Power Plants Open, No Matter the Cost
A new executive order gives the Department of Energy the power to keep unprofitable and polluting coal plants open in the name of reliability — and stick utilities, customers, and communities with the hefty financial and health costs.
Big Oil Appears Worried about “Climate Superfund” Laws
Based on their actions targeting Rachel Rothschild, who’s memo laying out the legal justification that inspired laws passed in New York and Vermont allowing the states to force oil and gas companies to pay for climate damages, it appears they think this strategy could be an effective one.
Strategies to Support the US Energy Grid
A conference of energy sector leaders at Stanford in February discussed strategies for securing the US electricity supply and issued a report focused on six big ideas for federal and state energy policymakers to consider. Some of the ideas floated include encouraging market-driven production from all available electricity sources: renewables, nuclear, natural gas, and energy storage; supporting a national grid by creating publicly backed financing for a national transmission system, granting federal regulators authority, and upgrading key transmission lines with higher-capacity cables; and streamlining the permitting process.
Climate News
James Hansen: 2025 Will To Be Another Year At or Near 1.5°C
From his latest report, in which he reviews multiple studies, he points out weaknesses in the IPCC’s estimates, and provides more evidence for his on-going concern that we have already crossed the 1.5°C threshold. In addition, he provides evidence that “the land temperature change is double the ocean temperature change and 1.5 times larger than the global temperature change. Thus, present global warming of more than 1.5°C (2.7°F) is more than 2.25°C (4.05°F) where people live, i.e., on land.”
Four Senate Republicans Stand Up For IRA Tax Credits
In a letter addressed to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), four senators, Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), John Curtis (Utah), Thom Tillis (N.C.) and Jerry Moran (Kan.) stated, “While we support fiscal responsibility and prudent efforts to streamline the tax code, we caution against the full-scale repeal of current credits, which could lead to significant disruptions for the American people and weaken our position as a global energy leader.” Their stand could be enough to block Republicans’ budget reconciliation bill from moving forward with these cuts.
Administration May Remove Greens Non-Profit Status on Earth Day
According to multiple reporting outlets, the Trump administration may revoke environmental groups' tax-exempt status on Earth Day. Environmental groups potentially effected are taking it very seriously, and preparing for legal action and other measures, according to various reports.
America’s Climate Anxiety is Not Evenly Distributed
While the map above may look like a sea of purple, "it's crucial to remind people that the vast majority of the population exists in some of these green places," says Jennifer Marlon, executive director of the Yale Center for Geospatial Solutions and senior research scientist at the Yale School of the Environment.These findings Yale's interactive page features an array of local climate opinion data.
America’s Clean Energy Transition Won’t Be Stopped
Two new studies one from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) and the other from BloombergNEF, both conclude that even if President Trump repeals environmental regulation and slashes green energy subsidies, the transition to clean energy and away from fossil fuels will slow, but will continue.
About Minerva Ventures:
Are you concerned about climate change and seeking ways to take action? Business survival depends on addressing competitive challenges every day. Leaders attend to urgent business matters while counting on tomorrow’s weather and operating conditions to be similar to yesterday’s. What happens when underlying conditions change as climate consequences become more severe? It is hard to adjust to a disruptive future while you are focused on competing today.
Minerva advises clean tech companies on strategic and business development. We help you find customers, new markets, and new investors to build your momentum and success. Minerva helps established companies create strategies to identify and contend with climate risks to your business. Discover how you can protect your operations, assets, products, and services. Understand how climate risk will affect your suppliers, customers, and partners. Determine how you can strengthen your company to navigate change and seize opportunities as markets reconfigure in the face of the coming changes. Find innovative ways to change your operations, products, and services to help address climate change. Consider policy measures that your industry can pursue that will help address shared risks.
Minerva can help you find new solutions that will make your business more resilient and adaptable to change. Your company will be advancing climate solutions rather than just reacting to disruptions to your industry and markets.
Visit Minerva Ventures’ website at MinervaVentures.com!
Newsletter Editor: Dinyah Rein, Consultant, Minerva Ventures, LLC
Managing Partner: Marianna Grossman, Minerva Ventures, LLC
Copyright (C) 2024 Minerva Ventures. All rights reserved.
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