Climate Highlights for the Week Ending 6/11/23
Smoke, heat, lithium, and wheat!
It was a big week of climate news last week. Check out these briefs on NYC smoke, Siberian heat, lithium technology, and wheat supplies.
NYC Smoke
The biggest headlines in the Americas was the wildfire smoke choking New York City and the rest of the east coast. The photos were astonishing and the breathing difficult. Earlier in the week, we had a small dose of bad air where I live in Wisconsin and I went biking anyway—not a good idea. My lungs took about a week to clear out. I have written a lot about dangerous heatwaves as potentially killer climate events, but I confess I had not considered that smoke from wildfires could also be so dangerous. Future preparedness for surviving wildfire smoke events is now something we need to be thinking about.
Siberia Swelters in Record-Breaking Temperatures
In a sign of the heat to be endured coming our way, Siberia was having its worst heat wave ever last week. The town of Verkhoyansk, which is well above the Arctic Circle, hit temperatures above 100°F last week in an all time record heat wave. Indeed, much of Siberia is engulfed in this heat wave. Such heat waves are occurring all over the world now. A few weeks ago, Vietnam hit 111°F, it’s all time hottest recorded temperature. Las April, the US had a stealth heatwave that hit during a mild time of the year. Temperatures were about 30°F above normal, shattering records in over a hundred cities, some by as much as thirty degrees! It seems that no matter where you live, an intense heat wave is coming your way. If you haven’t seen my recent article here on preparing for it, check it out.
New Lithium Extraction Technology Enables the Shift to EVs
This report is another illustration that creative human beings are finding solutions that go beyond the naysayers’ complaints. Lithium production has been problematic with traditional methods of evaporation and huge ponds used to help the lithium precipitate out of a brine, and ramping up to meet the demand for EVs powered by lithium-based batteries has had many people concerned about the environmental impacts. But the report illustrates that several companies are experimenting with a much more efficient method called direct lithium extraction (DLE), and Chile, which has a lot of lithium, has established a requirement that all new lithium mining operations use this approach. With DLE, there are no more evaporating ponds. DLE is more environmentally sound, too, and provides access to the high levels of production needed right now for the EV industry.
If you want to understand the technology, read the report. The point is that this method can increase lithium production, thus enabling the ongoing battery and EV revolutions, and help the world continue to move to an emissions-free future. Just because something isn’t possible one day doesn’t mean it will not become possible. This proves the point.
World’s Wheat Supply at Risk of Shock
A study was published last week contemplating the outcome of a worst case scenario—drought or other climatic conditions that led to a wheat crop failure in both the US and China. The result would be shortages and price increases. It was enough to get the attention of NBC News as well.
I don’t see how people miss this connection between inflation and climate change. Price increases due to shortages are just as much “inflation” as price increases for any other reason, yet people are loathe to say that climate change will cause inflation. Of course it will! It will cause crop failures, shortages, and higher prices. So how is that not a cause of inflation? No one wants to admit that climate change is having an enormous impact on inflation, and therefore the economy, but it is. This study shows, again, how it could play out.
A Few More Things
If you have not gotten your emissions calculator for comparing EV and gas burning car emissions, you can get it here. The emissions savings are very dependent on key variables, including the model of the EV, the model of the car, and the mix of your electricity sources. This calculator figures them all out. And if you are wondering about the logic behind it, you can read about that here.
Carbon 350—Optimism on Climate
If you haven’t subscribed, please do. If you are in a position to get a paid subscription, I will appreciate it and send you the EV-gas burning emissions calculator for free. The whole purpose of Carbon 350 is to showcase the hope we have while not denying the urgency of our situation, and to guide individuals on the best we can do to make a difference. Survive, thrive, and have an impact. That’s what Carbon 350 is all about.
Anthony Signorelli