July News You Can Use
On June 20, 2024 I was on the Acela train from DC to NYC that broke down just east of Newark, NJ for over an hour without electricity in a 100 degree F heat-dome that overheated the overhead electrical lines. We were rescued by a N.J. transit train pulled by a diesel engine. Just one example of travel being disrupted by a heating planet. On July 5, Bill McKibben, author, advocate and founder of 350.org and Third Act spoke to a Portland, OR audience, on another hot day, along with 3 youth leaders. Calling for intergenerational action, bringing together the structural power, resources and knowledge of older generations and the energy, passion and determination of young people. Together we must act! There is no time for complacency!
Is degrowth an idea whose time has come? As long time students of Dennis and Donella Meadows, the authors of “The Limits to Growth”, we are avidly interested in how these ideas are coming to the fore. In her piece in the New York Times, “Shrink the Economy, Save the World?” Jennifer Szalai points out that degrowth, long considered fringe, is now gaining traction, as evidenced by its appearance in multiple books, podcasts, journals and conferences. In one of those books, Jason Hickel’s “Less Is More: How Degrowth Will Save the World,” the author writes: “Degrowth is about reducing the material and energy throughput of the economy to bring it back into balance with the living world, while distributing income and resources more fairly, liberating people from needless work, and investing in the public goods that people need to thrive.”
Send us new technologies, resources, stories and insights.
Events
Wednesday, September 4, 2024, 5:30 to 7:30 in-person in Silicon Valley
~Innovation in Sustainable Aviation Fuel~
Hosted by Japan’s NEDO Silicon Valley Representative Office
SAVE THE DATE
Climate Leaders Monthly Meeting
Thursday, July 18, 4:00 - 5:00 PM PT
Join the Climate Leaders Meeting to exchange resources and inspiration with others who are also taking action to create a vibrant and healthy future.
All leaders are welcome.
This is a monthly on-line event hosted by Minerva Ventures.
Silicon Symphony: Harmonizing
New Materials for Innovation
U.S.-Japan Material Alliance of the Future
Wednesday, July 10th, 4:00 – 5:30 pm
Digital Garage | 717 Market St #100, San Francisco, CA 94103
Hosted by NEDO and Japan Society of Northern California
July 10–13 in Seattle
The Bloomberg Green Festival will convene innovators, policymakers, entrepreneurs, artists, activists, musicians, and more explore new solutions spanning the entire climate spectrum. There are a limited supply of free passes available.
Opportunites for Action
Climate Emergency Day, 7/22/24
It is #TimeToEndFossilFuels and #TimeToFundOurFuture.
On Monday July 22 2024, the Climate Clock will tick down below five years for the first time. Join or organize one of the synchronised actions around the world, demanding an end to fossil fuels, and pushing leaders to #ActInTime to accelerate real climate solutions.
Help Get the Word Out about “Unnatural Disasters”
Too many people appear to believe that the devastating weather events happening across the globe are just “natural disasters.” But they’re not. They are UNNATURAL DISASTERS caused by fossil fuel pollution. That’s the message the Potential Energy Coalition is working to disseminate, and we can help. As they say, “with the right messages, we can help people understand how climate change already impacts the people and places we love today, and we can dramatically increase support for action on the right solutions.”
Help Promote Insurance Solutions for Emerging Tech
Most of the technologies required to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 are still in the early phases of commercialization and are therefore difficult to insure today. That's why InnSure and NYSERDA have launched the $5 million Insurance Innovation Prize, which aims to promote the launch of insurance solutions that fill insurance coverage gaps in the nation's most emissive sectors: energy, buildings, and transportation. Want to learn more? Check out the Prize webpage for additional information or to learn how to apply.
Take Action On the Farm Bill
The once-every-five-years Farm Bill authorization process is in full swing! This presents an historic opportunity to lower the nearly one third of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions spewed by the food system and reshape food production and distribution
toward justice and equity. Call your legislators and let them know how important these issues are to you.
For A Script and Calling Instructions
Domains for Climate Action
Food and Agriculture
Ozone Nanobubbles Could Drastically Reduce Food Waste
En Solucion has a big mission: reducing food waste, and the estimated $10B per year cost of US Food recalls with their affordable, chemical-free sanitization via ozone nanobubble wash water. Current chemical solutions like chlorine are inadequate and expensive. In recognition of their work, this May En Solucion received the EarthX E-Capital Summit Climate Tech Prize.
Grazing Sheep Under Solar Panels Improves Productivity
Grazing sheep under solar panels has a plethora of benefits: the sheep keep the grass short, farmers get supplemental income, solar panels don’t displace other land uses, sheep have shelter under the panels, condensation on the panels waters the grass underneath when rain is scarce, all of which can increase wool production and livestock health. However more advance planning and coordination is required to make this a widescale reality.
Energy
In California, Renewable Energy Has Crossed a Major Threshold
For part of almost every day since early March, “A combination of solar, wind, geothermal, and hydropower has been producing more than a hundred per cent of the state’s demand for electricity. Some afternoons, solar panels alone have produced more power than the state uses. And, at night, large utility-scale batteries that have been installed during the past few years are often the single largest source of supply to the grid—sending the excess power stored up during the afternoon back out to consumers across the state,” according to Bill McKibben, in an article in The New Yorker.
Battery Ingredient Breakthrough
Researchers from Stanford have discovered a new “liquid battery” to augment renewables on the electrical grid. “We are developing a new strategy for selectively converting and long-term storing of electrical energy in liquid fuels. We also discovered a novel, selective catalytic system [using cobaltocene] for storing electrical energy in a liquid fuel without generating gaseous hydrogen,” according to Robert Waymouth, professor of chemistry at Stanford.
Enhanced Geothermal Coming to California’s Grid
Fervo Energy, a startup using advanced geothermal technology to produce electricity at utilitiy scale, just announced a contract to provide 320 MW of clean, reliable power to Southern California Edison from a plant under construction in Utah. The geothermal startup uses horizontal drilling techniques and fiber-optic sensing tools from the oil and gas industry access heat from deep underground. This type of geothermal energy exists around the globe, as compared to previous geothermal technologies that relied on a limited supply of volcanic conditions for energy production.
Hydrogen from Plastic Waste
A research team from Rice University has developed a process for transforming plastic waste into hydrogen fuel and graphene, in a low emissions process that, given the price of graphene, would make the hydrogen essentially free, according to Kevin Wyss, a Rice University’s doctoral alumnus and lead author of the study.
Finance
Climate Change And Rising Prices
A study from scientists at the European Central Bank and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research indicates that climate change could be responsible for 1.2 percentage points of annual global inflation by 2035. Clearly the impacts are already being felt in some areas. Drought in Europe has devastated olive harvests, heavy rains and extreme heat in West Africa caused cocoa plants to rot and wildfires, floods and more frequent weather disasters have increased insurance costs. Soaring temperatures and extreme weather events will increasingly hinder production and disrupt supply chains. Food is particularly vulnerable, but all parts of the economy are likely to be affected. More here.
Circular Economy/Materials
Reducing Waste with A Clothing Library
At a library in Dover, New Hampshire, patrons can check out occasion wear (think formal attire, ski clothes) for 2 weeks at a time. The trial project is seeing excellent acceptance, with 65 people checking out items in the first weekend, and returning them clean and in good condition. Like clothing swaps, clothing libraries can reduce waste, reduce expense, and promote community. Perhaps it’s something you could set up at your own local library?
Water/Natural Resources/Biodiversity
Keeping Paris’ Water Clean With Organic Farming
Rather than relying on expensive water treatment plants, the French capital is protecting its water supply at the source. Agricultural chemicals and pesticides have been polluting waterways that provide drinking water in France for many decades. Until now, costly water treatment plants were the response. Now, another solution is underway, protecting water supplies at the source by financially supporting the transition to organic farming. “We have to take a more sober approach to water use,” says Dan Lert, deputy mayor of Paris in charge of the ecological transition, climate plan, water and energy. “We cannot afford to be wasteful and polluting in the time of a climate crisis.”
Seaweed: A Powerful Solution to a Multitude of Problems
Seaweed, kelp in particular, has so much going for it. It can be turned into a multitude of products, plastic substitutes and food supplements. It causes very little environmental damage, requires no land, uses no pesticides and diversifies ocean life. It’s one of the fastest-growing forms of biomass on the planet. Kelp Crofters, a Scottish company, has begun cultivated seaweed farming, with the potential for industrial-sized yields. “Seaweed has everything it needs – no fertilisers, pesticide or land required. We just leave it to grow and while it’s growing it’s also providing a habitat for fish – and it’s cleaning the water of harmful heavy metals,” says founding partner Kyla Orr. Exactly what the best uses of the harvested kelp has yet to be determined, and quite a few other companies have sprung up in the vicinity to try and capitalize on the potential. Be on the lookout for more kelp products coming soon.
Built Environment
Google, Amazon and Harvard Create “Living Buildings”
The International Living Future Institute (ILFI) has created this certification for regenerative buildings that meet criteria in seven building performance areas, from energy and water to health, happiness and beauty. Amazon’s Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle boasts all-electric systems completely powered by onsite solar or offset by purchased and retired renewable energy credits. Google’s new Silicon Valley campus is a 1.1 million square foot all-electric building that isf net water-positive – i.e., all of its non-potable water comes from water reused on-site. The building’s roof is coated with a first-of-its-kind building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) system that can be installed on curved surfaces. Harvard chose to use NO toxic chemicals in the construction of it’s Science and Engineering Complex, resulting in some manufacturers removing harmful materials from their products, such as hexavalent chromium, made infamous by the Erin Brockovich lawsuit. The project catalyzed 200 success stories, illustrating the value of these organizations stepping up to lead the way.
Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates Launch
The next phase of funding from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is rolling out this summer, as states across the nation are approved for Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates. Funding can be used by eligible low and middle-income homeowners for a range of improvements, from electric wiring and panel upgrades, to heat pumps.
Cute (but sexist) Video: I’m Your Heatpump
Transportation
Hawaii Settles Lawsuit with 13 Youth Climate Activists
This is the “world’s first youth-led constitutional climate case seeking to address climate pollution from the transportation sector,” according to the governor’s office and the firms involved in the suit, Our Children’s Trust and Earthjustice. The settlement requires the state to create a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Hawaii by increasing the use of zero-carbon fuels for ground, air and marine transportation, as well as expanding alternative transportation options, from public transit to pathways for pedestrians and bikes. More here.
Health
Health Impacts of Gas Appliances
Climate impacts from gas appliances definitely matter, but they appear to not be enough to ignite (pun intended) a widespread movement to replace them. Perhaps focusing on the health impacts will be more productive. As it turns out, pollution from gas appliances are very bad for health. One pollutant, benzene, can cause leukemia, and can leak even when the appliances are off. Other pollutants result from burning the gas: carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and fine particulates. And it all adds up. For example, one study estimated that more than 12% of cases of childhood asthma are linked to gas stoves. California lawmakers are working on requiring warning labels for all new gas stoves sold in the state. Advocates have filed a lawsuit against GE Appliances to get warning labels on their gas stoves. Hopefully the switch to electric will accelerate as a result.
Climate Interventions:
Regeneration, Methane, Geoengineering, CCUS
New Methane Initiative from the Biden Administration
With $850 million in funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, this new initiative will “help mitigate legacy air pollution, create good jobs in the energy sector and disadvantaged communities, reduce waste and inefficiencies in U.S. oil and gas operations, and realize near-term emissions reductions.” It will fund small oil and natural gas operators methane emissions reductions, and the transition to available and innovative methane emissions reduction technologies, while also supporting partnerships that improve emissions measurement and provide accurate, transparent data to impacted communities. EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan announced, “These investments from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda will drive the deployment of available and advanced technologies to better understand where methane emissions are coming from. That will help us more effectively reduce harmful pollution, tackle the climate crisis, and create good-paying jobs.”
Adaptation and Resilience
Water Positive Carbon Removal
This new technology can turn wastewater into potable water, while at the same time removing CO2 from the atmosphere and creating valuable chemicals. While most direct air capture technology first absorbs CO2 from the air and then requiring energy to get it out of the absorbent, Capture6 has one main step—the solvent it makes from the brine leftover from wastewater treatment reacts with CO2 to form a mineralized carbonate. The CO2 doesn’t have to be removed again. The carbonate can be used by the water treatment plant to replace some of the chemicals it normally uses, reducing emissions from its supply chain. The process, which can run on renewable energy, saves so much energy throughout the supply chain that it offsets its own direct energy use.
Enhanced Rock Weathering for Carbon Removal Gains Traction
Around the world farmers are spreading crushed rocks on their fields, typically provided for free by companies that are funding by carbon removal credits. The crushed rock adds chemicals that enhance the growing environment, while at the same time they literally grab carbon out of the air. This type of carbon removal has significant advantages over other forms of carbon removal. It uses much less energy (mainly for grinding and transporting the rock) and requires no changes in land use patterns and consumes very little if any additional water. Steps do need to be taken to ensure it doesn’t release toxins such as heavy metals into soils and the food supply. That said, it is currently being tried on lands across multiple continents, and the potential to help draw down atmospheric carbon is huge, as much as a fifth of the IPCC’s maximum estimate for needed removals according to one study.
What Will My Local Climate Be Like in 60 Years?
This interactive map can help you understand how climate change is likely to impact the place where you live. While it’s a long-range and not highly accurate prediction, it can provide support to thinking about future conditions and how livable your current home will be.
Climate News
What The End of Chevron Doctrine Means for the Environment
Speaking of several recent rulings by the Supreme Court, Including the reversal of Chevron, Ian Fein, a senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, told the New York Times, “These are among the worst environmental law rulings that the Supreme Court will ever issue, They all cut sharply against the federal government’s ability to enforce laws that protect us from polluters.” Patrick Parenteau, an expert on environmental law at Vermont Law School said, “These decisions mean that Biden, if he gets a second term, is not going to be able to do much else on the environment, particularly on climate.” The decisions will likely make it difficult to enforce the regulations that limit carbon emissions, among others. And it’s not over. Next term the Court will hear a case that could limit the reach of National Environmental Policy Act, the 1970 law that requires environmental reviews. More coverage on this from The NY Times, including how reversing Chevron will impact everything from food safety to healthcare, and from Inside Climate and The Washington Post.
What a Trump Win Might Mean
Analysis by Carbon Brief estimates that an extra 4bn tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO2e) would be emitted by 2030, causing global climate damages worth more than $900bn, based on the latest US government valuations. It would negate – twice over – all of the savings from deploying wind, solar and other clean technologies around the world over the past five years. Additionally, President Biden’s landmark climate law could be repealed, jeopardizing $488 billion in American investments.
When Are We Likely To Surpass the 1.5°C Threshold?
According to recent analysis by Carbon Brief, using both the latest global surface temperature data and climate model simulations estimates the threshold will be crossed approximately two years earlier than a similar analysis predicted in 2020, The current projection puts it most likely to happen in the late 2020s or early 2030s – rather than in the next few years. The analysis examines results from a variety of approaches to reach this conclusion. Read more.
Key Takeaways from Bonn Climate Summit
In preparation for COP29, nation representatives gathered in Bonn to hash out who should pay to shift the world to a low-carbon economy and cope with the impacts of climate breakdown. In addition to aligning on a new goal, there is the issue of where the financing should come from. Rich countries want more to come from the private sector, carbon markets, taxes on fossil fuels, wealth taxes, frequent flyer levies, shipping levies and the like. There is also the question of what countries should contribute, as many have moved from poor to rich in the 30 years since the original distinctions were drawn, and have yet to begin contributing. Other areas of focus include GHG reductions, geopolitics and the loss and damage fund. Read more.
Landmark EU Law To Protect Nature
In an effort almost derailed by farmer protests, the EU Parliament adopted a target to restore at least 20% of the EU’s land and sea by the end of the decade. It passed by the thinest of margins. Pieter de Pous, an analyst at the climate thinktank E3G, said: “No other part of the world has this little nature left, needed this law more and got so close to not having it.”
Vermont’s New Law Requires Oil Companies to Pay For Damage
While state and local leaders scramble to find money to repair and protect communities from disasters fueled by climate change, Vermont has taken a bold step which, if it holds up to court challenges, could set a new precedent. After catastrophic climate-fueled flooding last year, Vermont is the first state in the nation to pass a law holding oil companies accountable. The law, modeled on the 1980 federal Superfund law, authorizes the state to charge major polluters a fee for the share of greenhouse gas emissions they produced between 1995 and 2024. It “tasks the state treasurer with assessing the damage Vermont has suffered from climate change and what it will cost to prepare for future impacts. The final tally is expected to be comprehensive, factoring in an array of possible costs from rebuilding and raising bridges and roads to lower worker productivity from rising heat.”
COP29 Might Not Be Safe for Journalists
Western journalists were denied entry to the recent Energy conference in Azerbaijan. Several reported feeling unsafe after intimidating encounters with event organizers. Recent research by Human Rights Watch revealed at least 25 instances of the arrest or sentencing of journalists and activists in Azerbaijan over the past year, almost all of whom remain in custody. Mai Rosner of the climate advocacy group Global Witness, said: “Free press and civil society are critical in the fight against climate breakdown. Azerbaijan is attempting to silence both – demonstrated most dramatically by the beating and imprisonment of Gubad Ibadoghlu, a prominent critic of the Azeri fossil fuel industry. Authoritarian petrostates cannot be in charge of climate negotiations.”
Resource for Corporate Planning
Ceres' Blueprint for Implementing a Leading Climate Transition Action Plan is an innovative tool for companies to develop and implement leading climate transition action plans (CTAPs). CTAPs outline the actions companies can take across their business to achieve their sustainability goals and transition to a cleaner, more just economy. Ceres’ guidance focuses on 6 action areas: 1) setting goals and science-based targets, 2) decarbonizing the business, 3) ensuring a just transition, 4) advocating for public policy, 5) supporting integration and accountability, and 6) tracking and reporting progress.
Resources for Careers in Climate
Gen Z in particular, but much of the workforce more generally, are seeking careers “in climate” that help address the looming crisis. But knowing how to pursue this goal, how to chart a climate career path, what skills are needed, etc., isn’t always clear. However more and more resources and organizations are emerging to assist. Organizations like Work On Climate, Terra.Do, Climate Drift, and EDICT from Elemental Excelerator are a good place to start. And this article on LinkedIn has aggregated a lot of resources as well.
Book Recommendations
Solvable: How We Healed the Earth, and How We Can Do It Again is a new work by Susan Solomon, the researcher whose earlier work brought the world’s attention to the hole in the ozone layer. Having played a major role in solving that crisis, her insights and analysis prove very interesting, as can be seen in these quotes from a recent interview with the Guardian:
“The thing I like to tell my students is: don’t imagine that industry is going to do the right thing just because it’s the right thing to do, that’s not their job. Their job is to make money and your job is to hold them to account. So that’s why the public and consumer actions are so important.”
“the market may find the most cost-effective solution. And the cost is the key thing there, and whether it’s best or not depends on your values, because if the market finds a solution that eliminates nature, some people would care about that. And what is actually the value of nature? And what’s the value of your child not getting asthma? How do we put a price on that? We don’t put a price on that, because they depend upon our values. This whole idea of, we’ll do it the cheapest way and don’t pay attention to your values – we just have to get past that.'“
“For goodness sake, let’s not give up now, we’re right on the cusp of success. That’s the fundamental message of the book.”
Future of Denial by Tad DeLay takes quite an opposite position, examining the ways in which we are, collectively, in denial about the climate crisis, and how this is perhaps psychologically unavoidable. According to the Guardian, DeLay makes that case that “denial doesn’t only amount to rejecting the evidence, it also consists of denying our role in the climate crisis; absolving ourselves through “carbon offsets, hybrid cars, local purchases, recycling”. And in this, far more of us are implicated.” He asks us all to reflect on the fact that whenever we hear the economy is doing well, that means fossil fuels are “doing great”.
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
Copyright (C) 2024 Minerva Ventures. All rights reserved.
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