Most recent 40 articles: Guardian - Energy
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England could produce 13 times more renewable energy, using less than 3% of land – analysis - Guardian - Energy (Apr 9) |
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Apr 9 · Onshore wind and solar could provide 226GWh of electricity without impairing food production, says Friends of the Earth
England could produce 13 times more renewable energy than it does now, while using less than 3% of its land, analysis has found.
Onshore wind and solar projects could provide enough electricity to power all the households in England two and a half times over, the research by Exeter University, commissioned by Friends of the Earth (FoE), suggested.
Currently, about 17 terawatt hours of electricity comes from homegrown renewables on land. But there is potential for 130 TWh to come from solar panels, and 96TWh from onshore wind.
These figures ... Read more ...
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World’s biggest economies pumping billions into fossil fuels in poor nations - Guardian - Energy (Apr 9) |
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Apr 9 · G20 countries spent $142bn in three years to expand operations despite a G7 pledge to stop doing so, study finds
The world’s biggest economies have continued to finance the expansion of fossil fuels in poor countries to the tune of billions of dollars, despite their commitments on the climate.
The G20 group of developed and developing economies, and the multilateral development banks they fund, put $142bn (£112bn) into fossil fuel developments overseas from 2020 to 2022, according to estimates compiled by the campaigning groups Oil Change International (OCI) and Friends of the Earth US.
Canada, Japan and South Korea were the biggest sources of such finance in the ... Read more ...
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Shower power: Australian bathrooms are wasting energy and increasing your costs - Guardian - Energy (Apr 6) |
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Apr 6 · Experts say 'bare minimum’ building codes and a lack of interest from builders are making Australian bathrooms less energy-efficient
A long shower at the end of the day might be a relaxing escape from reality, but there is a reason to stay alert. Energy efficiency experts say the way Australian bathrooms are being built will drain your wallet – and the environment.
Alan Pears, a senior industry fellow at RMIT who helped develop Australia’s appliance energy star ratings, describes showers as “almost perfectly designed to waste energy and make you feel uncomfortable”. He says bathrooms lack “basic design principles” and are often cold and poorly ventilated, which ... Read more ...
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Southern frontlines: Latin America and the Caribbean - Guardian - Energy (Apr 5) |
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Apr 5 · A few years ago, as age began to take its toll, Rosa Velásquez decided it was time to leave the restaurant she owned in the coastal town of Cabo de la Vela and move back home for a peaceful retirement.. However, when she returned to the tiny rural community of Jotomana, on the arid plains of Colombia’s northernmost tip, she found the place she and her ancestors had called home for generations littered with giant wind turbines.
Towering white turbines punctuate the horizon a few miles from Cabo de la Vela. The region, in the northern state of La Guajira, is home to all of Colombia’s windfarms and its largest Indigenous population, the Wayúu.
“We live among turbines. The ... Read more ...
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China braced for rise in air pollution deaths - Guardian - Energy (Apr 5) |
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Apr 5 · Country needs to speed up environmental response to protect its ageing population, multinational study finds
In 2005 Beijing was crowned the smog capital of the world. Concerns about air pollution and athlete health overshadowed preparations for the 2008 Olympic Games and required industry and traffic shutdowns to clean the air during the event itself.
Now, a team of researchers at Chinese, German and Canadian universities have tracked the impacts of deteriorating air at that time. They found that particle pollution deaths in China were increasing at about 213,000 a year and peaked at 2.6mn people in 2005.
More positively, the impact of rapid improvements in ... Read more ...
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Mercury pollution at Eraring power plant rose 130% in 12 months - Guardian - Energy (Apr 3) |
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Apr 3 · Environment groups say increased pollution levels means it would be 'absurd and harmful’ to extend life of Eraring, which is due to close in August 2025
Mercury and particulate pollution from Australia’s largest coal-fired power station soared last year, prompting an environmental group to argue it would be “absurd and harmful” for the New South Wales government to extend its operations.
Origin Energy’s 2,880-megawatt Eraring power station, slated by the company to close in August 2025, reported mercury pollution jumped 130% in 2022-23 compared with the previous year, according to data from the national pollution inventory. The heavy metal permanently damages brains and ... Read more ...
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The age of extinction - Guardian - Energy (Apr 3) |
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Apr 3 · Up to a third of Africa’s great apes are threatened by a boom in mining projects for minerals required for the renewable energy transition, new research shows.
An estimated 180,000 gorillas, bonobos and chimpanzees are at risk due to an increase in demand for critical minerals such as copper, lithium, nickel and cobalt, a study has found. Many of those minerals are required for clean energy technologies such as wind turbines and electric cars. Researchers say the boom in demand is driving destruction of tropical rainforests which are critical habitats for Africa’s great apes.
“Africa is experiencing an unprecedented mining boom threatening wildlife populations and whole ... Read more ...
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US aiming to 'crack the code’ on deploying geothermal energy at scale - Guardian - Energy (Apr 2) |
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Apr 2 · Recent $74m investment made alongside assessment that 10% of electricity could be generated by geothermal by 2050
A limitless supply of heat exists beneath our feet within the Earth’s crust, but harnessing it at scale has proved challenging. Now, a combination of new techniques, government support and the pressing need to secure continuous clean power in an era of climate crisis means that geothermal energy is finally having its moment in the US.
Until recently, geothermal has only been viable where the Earth’s inner heat simmers near the surface, such as at hot springs or geysers where hot water or steam can be easily drawn to drive turbines and generate ... Read more ...
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Biden marks Earth Day with $7bn 'solar for all’ investment amid week of climate action - Guardian - Energy (Apr 2) |
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Apr 2 · Funds will be targeted at disadvantaged areas to create 200,000 jobs, after last week’s oil and gas lease restrictions in Alaska
Joe Biden will mark Monday’s Earth Day by announcing a $7bn investment in solar energy projects nationwide, focusing on disadvantaged communities, and unveiling a week-long series of what the White House say will be “historic climate actions”.
The president is traveling to Virginia’s Prince William Forest Park to deliver a speech touting his environmental record, including measures to tackle the climate crisis and increase access to, and lower costs of, clean energy.
Today’s centerpiece is the announcement of $7bn in grants through the ... Read more ...
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Guardian Essential poll: voters back Labor’s Future Made in Australia plan while overestimating cost of renewables - Guardian - Energy (Apr 2) |
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Apr 2 · Results highlight the difficulties government faces in selling energy transition to sceptical public
Voters have backed Anthony Albanese’s Future Made in Australia plan but are under the misapprehension that renewables are the most expensive form of power.
Those are the results of Guardian’s latest Essential poll of 1,145 voters, illustrating the difficulty for Labor of selling the energy transition to sceptical voters.
Albanese’s net approval was steady at -5%, with 48% disapproving of the job the prime minister is doing and 43% approving.
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, received a positive rating of +3%. Some 44% approve of the job Dutton is doing, up ... Read more ...
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High interest rates could add billions to UK green energy transition, says report - Guardian - Energy (Apr 2) |
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Apr 2 · Resolution Foundation calls for fourfold increase in renewable power investment to reduce pressure on household bills
A permanent shift to higher interest rates could add billions of pounds to the UK’s renewable energy transition, a leading thinktank has warned.
Borrowing costs have soared since the easing of pandemic lockdowns and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as the world’s leading central banks raised interest rates to tackle inflation – pushing up the costs of investment in infrastructure across advanced economies including for green power generation schemes.
The Resolution Foundation said £29bn a year could therefore be added to household energy bills in 2050 ... Read more ...
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Major investors leading push against Woodside’s climate plans ahead of AGM - Guardian - Energy (Apr 2) |
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Apr 2 · Norway’s KLP and the UK’s LGIM among those who say they have concerns over energy giant’s carbon transition goals
Woodside Energy is facing the prospect of an overwhelming protest vote against its climate plans when shareholders meet on Wednesday, as global investors pick apart the emissions strategy of Australia’s biggest oil and gas company.
Norway’s largest pension fund, KLP, and Britain’s biggest asset manager, LGIM, are the latest investors to disclose they will vote against Woodside’s climate report, citing concerns over its carbon transition plans.
Critics have described Woodside’s strategy as overly reliant on offsets and not aligned with Paris climate ... Read more ...
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Net zero has become unhelpful slogan, says outgoing head of UK climate watchdog - Guardian - Energy (Apr 2) |
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Apr 2 · Chris Stark says populist response and culture war around the term is inhibiting environmental progress
The concept of “net zero” has become a political slogan used to start a “dangerous” culture war over the climate, and may be better dropped, the outgoing head of the UK’s climate watchdog has warned.
Chris Stark, the chief executive of the Climate Change Committee (CCC), said sensible improvements to the economy and people’s lives were being blocked by a populist response to the net zero label, and he would be “intensely relaxed” about losing the term.
“Net zero has definitely become a slogan that I feel occasionally is now unhelpful, because it’s so associated ... Read more ...
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Powering down: end times for the UK’s final coal-fired station - Guardian - Energy (Apr 2) |
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Apr 2 · At Ratcliffe-on-Soar in Nottinghamshire, the turbines will stop spinning for good this year as the UK meets its pledge to ban coal use. We meet staff proud of the site’s 56-year history
From the northernmost reaches of the River Soar in Nottinghamshire, the towers of Britain’s last coal-fired power station emerge from the flat countryside like concrete monuments to another time.
For more than half a century Ratcliffe-on-Soar has burned millions of tonnes of coal to generate the electricity needed to power the British economy. But one by one Britain’s coal power stations have closed, leaving Ratcliffe the sole survivor. In less than six months it, too, will finally power ... Read more ...
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The Guardian Essential report - Guardian - Energy (Apr 2) |
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Apr 2 · Jobs will change, communities will be affected, but we have a shot at rising to the challenge of global heating
The climate crisis has long been defined by its lies: From the original sin of science denial, to Tony Abbott’s confected carbon tax panic, to the latest yellowcake straw man. But the most damaging porky of all might be that the transition to renewable energy will be easy.
Government messaging has propagated this myth, vacillating between the torpid technocracy of targets, acronyms and megawatt hours and the sunny spin that promises “a cheaper, cleaner energy future!”.
Both gloss over the hard truth that fundamentally changing the way Australia produces, ... Read more ...
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Salt, air and bricks: could this be the future of energy storage? - Guardian - Energy (Apr 1) |
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Apr 1 · Start-ups turn to heat over batteries as they aim to industrialise the practice
Think of battery ingredients and lithium, cadmium and nickel come to mind. Now think again. What about salt, air, bricks, and hand-warmer gel? In our electricity-hungry future they’re set to provide heat to manufacturers who need it, and to help keep the lights on at times when energy is short.
Energy storage has a dual purpose: it plugs gaps when the wind drops or the sun stops shining, and it allows users to buy cheap off-peak power and use it when they need it.
Until now, the focus of storage for industry has been mainly on giant conventional batteries, which National Grid hopes to ... Read more ...
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'An energy war is being waged’: former oil boss warns of price rises after Ukraine infrastructure attacks - Guardian - Energy (Apr 1) |
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Apr 1 · Andriy Kobolyev calls for more weapons after Russia destroys one of Ukraine’s largest power plants
A dramatic rise in European energy prices is inevitable if the Russian destruction of Ukrainian energy infrastructure continues unabated, the former chief executive of Ukraine’s state-owned oil company has warned.
Andriy Kobolyev, a former head of Naftogaz, said in an interview with the Guardian: “Russia is trying to wage a global energy war and Ukraine is part of that war and if the markets perceive that Russia is winning that war the consequences will be very serious. You will see a spike in prices all round the globe”.
He said there would be no point holding any ... Read more ...
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Biden administration moves to restrict oil and gas leases on 13m acres in Alaska - Guardian - Energy (Apr 1) |
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Apr 1 · Environmentalists celebrate new rules but Alaska politicians call it an 'illegal’ attack on state’s livelihood and predict lawsuits
The Biden administration said on Friday it will restrict new oil and gas leasing on 13m acres (5.3m hectares) of a federal petroleum reserve in Alaska to help protect wildlife such as caribou and polar bears as the Arctic continues to warm.
The decision – part of an ongoing, years-long fight over whether and how to develop the vast oil resources in the state – finalizes protections first proposed last year as the Biden administration prepared to approve the controversial Willow oil project.
The approval of Willow drew fury from ... Read more ...
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Clean energy’s dirty secret: the trail of waste left by India’s solar power boom - Guardian - Energy (Apr 1) |
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Apr 1 · Under the scorching sun, a sea of solar panels gleams in the semi-arid landscape. Pavagada, 100 miles north of Bengaluru in southern India, is the world’s third-largest solar power plant, with 25m panels across a huge 50 sq km site, and a capacity of 2,050MW of clean energy.
India has 11 similarly vast solar parks, and plans to install another 39 across 12 states by 2026, a commitment to a greener future.
Yet this solar boom has a downside: the waste it generates from the panels, made of glass, aluminium, silicon, rare-earth elements; as well as power inverters and wiring.
“While manufacturers claim decades of longevity, degradation of these panels sets in much ... Read more ...
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Clean-up of Indian coal-fired power plants 'could have saved 720,000 lives’ - Guardian - Energy (Apr 1) |
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Apr 1 · Six hundred coal power plants generate more than 70% of India’s electricity. Despite regulations passed in 2015, fewer than 5% of these plants operate with modern systems to clean up air pollutants from their chimneys. In China, 95% of coal-fired power plants were fitted with clean-up technologies by 2013.
Dr Asif Qureshi of the Indian Institute of Technology in Hyderabad and his team used a computer simulation of air pollution across India to test what would have happened if new technologies had been fitted to the power plants. They looked at two different technologies and found that controlling sulphur was the most effective single step, but applying both technologies ... Read more ...
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Funding Australia’s renewable transition isn’t 'picking winners’ – it’s securing our future - Guardian - Energy (Apr 1) |
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Apr 1 · Government support for green manufacturing is actually the easy part. To truly reduce emissions, we must stop digging up and burning fossil fuels
Last week Anthony Albanese finally announced the government’s major plan for the transition to a renewable energy economy. The Future Made in Australia plan was quickly derided by critics as “picking winners”, in the misguided view that the market is better at deciding how to tackle the climate emergency and that the market is in any way free or lacking distortions.
It’s an article of faith among many economists and commentators that governments should not try to “pick winners”, despite the fact that Australia has a long and ... Read more ...
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Income and power from cow manure - Guardian - Energy (Apr 1) |
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Apr 1 · Joy Clancy suggests anaerobic digesters could transform the waste into biogas and liquid fertiliser
There is a well-established solution to preventing cow manure spews into our rivers: anaerobic digestion (Most UK dairy farms ignoring pollution rules as manure spews into rivers, 19 April). The manure is put into a closed container and the micro-organisms, already present in the cow’s gut, break down any organic material, in the absence of oxygen, to form a combustible gaseous mixture of methane and carbon dioxide (known as biogas), and a liquid fertiliser.
The gas can be burned to produce heat or to generate electricity. The fertiliser can provide extra income. Enclosing ... Read more ...
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Industry to face 'strict tests’ for public funding to incentivise green energy, Jim Chalmers says - Guardian - Energy (Apr 1) |
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Apr 1 · Treasurer offers more detail on forthcoming Future Made in Australia plan after concerns raised by productivity commissioner
Tax breaks and subsidies may be offered to industry as part of the government’s yet-to-be-detailed Future Made in Australia plan – but Jim Chalmers says there will be “strict tests” on public funding for the green energy strategy.
The treasurer says there must be “generational change” in Australia to match similar major green economy programs being undertaken by other nations including the US.
“We’re looking for where we can make our businesses more competitive, build the capacity of our people and our regions,” Chalmers told the ABC’s ... Read more ...
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Protesters slam gas group’s use of customers’ money to thwart climate efforts - Guardian - Energy (Apr 1) |
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Apr 1 · A group of advocates and Democratic senators gathered in Washington DC on Tuesday to decry utilities’ practice of spending customers’ money to advance a pro-fossil fuel agenda.
“Americans are already paying the price of climate change,” said Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts at a gathering at the US Capitol. “They shouldn’t have to pay the salaries of those who are fueling it.”
The event marked the launch of a campaign by the non-profit Gas Leaks Project targeting the American Gas Association, the largest trade group for gas companies which represents some 200 utilities.
In an emailed statement, the CEO of the American Gas Association, Karen Harbert, said: “Any ... Read more ...
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Shell says it 'lobbies for energy transition’ during climate ruling appeal - Guardian - Energy (Apr 1) |
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Apr 1 · Company is fighting Dutch court ruling that says it must emit 45% less CO2 by 2030 than in 2019
Shell has argued that it “lobbies for, not against, the energy transition” on the final day of its appeal against an important climate ruling.
The fossil fuel company is fighting the decision of a Dutch court in 2021 that forces it to pump 45% less planet-heating CO2 into the atmosphere by 2030 than it did in 2019. In court on Friday, Shell argued the ruling is ineffective, onerous and does not fit into the existing legal system.
Lawyers for Milieudefensie (Friends of the Earth Netherlands), which brought the case against Shell, repeated their calls for the company to ... Read more ...
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Study identifies where wind is most reliable for generating power - Guardian - Energy (Apr 1) |
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Apr 1 · About 6.5% of the world’s electricity is generated by wind. By 2050 this could rise to more than a third
Where in the world does the wind most reliably blow, and where is it fickle in nature? About 6.5% of the world’s electricity is now generated by wind, and by 2050 this could rise to more than a third. Knowing where the steadiest winds are to be found is crucial for keeping the lights on. A new study has identified the locations that are prone to “wind droughts” and those areas that are reliably windy.
Enrico Antonini, from the Carnegie Institution for Science in Stanford, US, and colleagues analysed global climate data dating back to 1979, calculating wind power, ... Read more ...
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UK heat pump adopters open up homes to encourage others to ditch gas boilers - Guardian - Energy (Apr 1) |
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Apr 1 · VisitAHeatPump service allows householders to look and ask questions about low-carbon system
UK householders considering swapping their gas boiler for an electric heat pump could see how they work by visiting an early adopter in their area.
A new service aims to help would-be heat pump owners to book a visit with households that already have one installed, through a website launched by the innovation charity Nesta.
The site, VisitAHeatPump.com, allows users to locate one of 150 households that have signed up to host interested visitors to look at their low-carbon heating systems.
Currently London and central Scotland have the highest concentration of heat ... Read more ...
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World’s coal power capacity rises despite climate warnings - Guardian - Energy (Apr 1) |
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Apr 1 · Increase of 2% last year driven by plant expansion in China and slowdown in US and Europe closures
The world’s coal power capacity grew for the first time since 2019 last year, despite warnings that coal plants need to close at a rate of at least 6% each year to avoid a climate emergency.
A report by Global Energy Monitor found that coal power capacity grew by 2% last year, driven by an increase in new coal plants across China and a slowdown of plant closures in Europe and the US.
About 69.5 gigawatts (GW) of coal plant capacity came online last year, of which two-thirds were built in China, according to the report. There were also plants built in Indonesia, India, ... Read more ...
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Oil industry has sought to block state backing for green tech since 1960s - Guardian - Energy (Mar 8) |
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Mar 8 · The oil industry has fought against government support for clean technologies for more than half a century, the Guardian can reveal, even as vast subsidies have propped up its polluting business model.
It lobbied lawmakers to block support for low-carbon technologies such as solar panels, electric cars and heat pumps as far back as the 1960s, analysis shows. Trade associations in the US and Europe stymied green innovations under the guise of supporting a “technology neutral” approach to avoiding the damage done by burning their fuels.
The same incumbents were happy to lobby for government support when they were getting started, and had continued to benefit from it since, ... Read more ...
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The Coalition wants nuclear power. Could it work – or would it be an economic and logistical disaster? - Guardian - Energy (Mar 7) |
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Mar 7 · The prospect of Australia trying to build nuclear reactors at soon-to-be-closed coal plants raises many questions. Here’s what we know
The prospect of Australia turning to nuclear power has been little more than a politically radioactive thought bubble – until the Coalition this week confirmed it wants to put reactors at the sites of soon-to-be-closed coal plants.
Energy experts have previously derided the idea, saying some of the technologies being touted did not exist, and that nuclear would be too slow, too expensive and unnecessary in a country with so much free solar and wind available to harness.
But as the Coalition promises to take a pro-nuclear policy to ... Read more ...
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UK’s green power industry receives surprise £10bn pledge - Guardian - Energy (Mar 7) |
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Mar 7 · Potential investment by NatPower would create largest portfolio of battery storage projects in Britain
Britain’s under-pressure green power industry has received a surprise fillip after a renewables developer pledged to plough £10bn into what would become the largest portfolio of battery storage projects in the country.
NatPower, a UK startup that is part of a larger European energy group, is poised to submit planning applications for three “gigaparks”, with a further 10 to follow next year.
Battery storage projects are seen as a key part of the jigsaw to decarbonise Britain’s power grid, allowing electricity generated by wind turbines and solar panels to be stored ... Read more ...
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Hunt faces Scottish MPs’ revolt over energy firm windfall tax extension - Guardian - Energy (Mar 6) |
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Mar 6 · Scottish Conservatives leader vows to vote against chancellor’s decision to lengthen levy to 2029
Jeremy Hunt is facing a revolt by the Scottish Conservative leader and at least one junior minister after he ignored their pleas and extended the windfall tax on energy companies.
Douglas Ross, who is also the MP for Moray, near Aberdeen, said he would vote against the chancellor’s “deeply disappointing” decision to prolong the tax until 2029 because it damaged Tory claims to champion North Sea oil and gas jobs.
It was “a step in the wrong direction”, Ross said, winning support from Andrew Bowie, a junior energy minister who holds the neighbouring seat of West ... Read more ...
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Campaigners get go-ahead to challenge plans for oilfield in Lincolnshire Wolds - Guardian - Energy (Mar 4) |
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Mar 4 · Permission granted for judicial review after Planning Inspectorate overturned local council’s decision to reject plan
Campaigners have been given permission to challenge plans for a new oilfield in an area of outstanding natural beauty – which they say threatens one of England’s “hidden rural treasures”.
The proposed oil-drilling operation is in Biscathorpe in the Lincolnshire Wolds, an important habitat for nature and wildlife that has been officially designated an area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB).
The plans were rejected by the local council in 2021 but the oil company Egdon appealed against the decision and in November it was overturned by the ... Read more ...
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Fury after Exxon chief says public to blame for climate failures - Guardian - Energy (Mar 4) |
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Mar 4 · The world is off track to meet its climate goals and the public is to blame, Darren Woods, chief executive of oil giant ExxonMobil, has claimed – prompting a backlash from climate experts.
As the world’s largest investor-owned oil company, Exxon is among the top contributors to global planet-heating greenhouse gas emissions. But in an interview, published on Tuesday, Woods argued that big oil is not primarily responsible for the climate crisis.
The real issue, Woods said, is that the clean-energy transition may prove too expensive for consumers’ liking.
“The dirty secret nobody talks about is how much all this is going to cost and who’s willing to pay for it,” he ... Read more ...
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Seascape: the state of our oceans - Guardian - Energy (Mar 4) |
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Mar 4 · To a visitor driving through Polesine in north-east Italy on a winter morning, the area might seem blessed with an abundance of wildlife. The biodiversity is among the richest in Italy, with 400 species of bird, lagoons, marshes and reed beds that have created a true natural labyrinth. Yet, it soon becomes obvious that something is not right: houses and fields are all lower than the road, visibly sunken, protected by embankments about four metres high. The reason? Without those barriers, they would be under water.
The entire area of Polesine, a strip of land between the Po delta and the Adriatic Sea, has long suffered the consequences of subsidence, but it was aggravated by ... Read more ...
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'It’ll be a shortlist of one!’ Villagers in England fear nuclear dump proposal - Guardian - Energy (Mar 3) |
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Mar 3 · Plans for a new wave of atomic power have not factored in local concerns over the safety of the waste sites the schemes entail
When Ian Harrison returned to the Lincolnshire coast to care for his parents a decade ago, he didn’t expect to spend his own retirement fighting plans to dig a £50bn nuclear waste dump near the beaches of his childhood.
Harrison, 67, lives a mile from the village of Theddlethorpe, one of three sites in England being examined for a possible geological disposal facility (GDF) to handle decades of nuclear waste from the power and defence industries. The cavernous dump will feature a series of tunnels and vaults dug 200-1,000 metres underground, ... Read more ...
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ExxonMobil accused of 'greenwashing’ over carbon capture plan it failed to invest in - Guardian - Energy (Mar 3) |
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Mar 3 · Investigation reveals project oil giant promoted may never leave drawing board and has received no licence or government support
Motorists concerned about the impact on the planet of petrol and diesel cars may be comforted by Esso’s marketing campaign on “thoughtful driving”.
One of its most eye-catching initiatives is a proposal to trap carbon dioxide at a vast oil refinery and petrochemical complex on the south coast and store it under the seabed of the English Channel.
The oil refinery at Fawley, a village in Hampshire, is operated by the US firm ExxonMobil, Esso’s parent company. The oil firm says the scheme will mean drivers can “fill up with less impact” and ... Read more ...
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AI’s craving for data is matched only by a runaway thirst for water and energy - Guardian - Energy (Mar 2) |
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Mar 2 · The computing power for AI models requires immense – and increasing – amounts of natural resources. Legislation is required to prevent environmental crisis
One of the most pernicious myths about digital technology is that it is somehow weightless or immaterial. Remember all that early talk about the “paperless” office and “frictionless” transactions? And of course, while our personal electronic devices do use some electricity, compared with the washing machine or the dishwasher, it’s trivial.
Belief in this comforting story, however, might not survive an encounter with Kate Crawford’s seminal book, Atlas of AI, or the striking Anatomy of an AI System graphic she composed ... Read more ...
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Government documents 'blow gaping hole’ in its case for Cumbrian coalmine - Guardian - Energy (Mar 2) |
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Mar 2 · Michael Gove said UK needed coal to make steel, but business department papers drafted around same time say it will not
Previously unseen documents have emerged that appear to contradict the government’s case for a new coalmine in Cumbria.
When Michael Gove, the levelling up secretary, approved plans to build the Woodhouse Colliery near Whitehaven in December 2022, he said the UK would need the coal in order to carry on making steel.
But the newly revealed documents, drafted around the same time at the then Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), say the opposite. According to these papers, officials predict with “high certainty” that ... Read more ...
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