Global CO2 emissions have been flat for a decade, new data reveals

Source: Carbon Brief Date: 4/11/2021 Global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuels and cement have rebounded by 4.9% this year, new estimates suggest, following a Covid-related dip of 5.4% in 2020. The Global Carbon Project (GCP) projects that fossil emissions in 2021 will reach 36.4bn tonnes of CO2 (GtCO2), only 0.8% below their pre-pandemic high of 36.7GtCO2 in 2019. The researchers say they “were expecting some sort of rebound in 2021” as the global economy bounced back from Covid-19, but that it was “bigger than expected”. While fossil emissions are expected to return...

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'Clock is ticking' as U.S. vulnerable to Chinese electromagnetic attack, experts warn

Source: Washington Times Date: 11/23/2021 America’s electric grid and other key infrastructure remain vulnerable to an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack from China, North Korea or other adversary, and the U.S. is at a pivotal moment if it wants to avoid a potential doomsday scenario, a panel of experts warned Tuesday. At a major virtual forum hosted by the Universal Peace Federation, specialists warned of the growing threat of an EMP attack that could knock out communications, water and sewer services, transportation systems, retail and other central components of American society. The...

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Queen will urge world leaders to do more to protect the planet: Her Majesty is set to open COP26 with landmark intervention in climate change debate

Source: Daily Mail Date: 10/18/2021 The Queen is to make a landmark intervention in the climate change debate, urging world leaders to do more to protect the planet.  Her Majesty will open the UN climate change conference in Scotland later this month with a speech that acknowledges the scale of the environmental crisis and makes it clear she shares the profound concerns already voiced by members of her family. Around 120 past and present world leaders are expected to attend COP26 in Glasgow including President Joe Biden, former President Barack Obama and Australia's Prime Minister Scott...

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Scientist suggests eating human flesh to fight climate change

Source: NY Post Date: 9/9/2019 A Swedish scientist speaking at Stockholm summit last week offered an unusual possible tactic in combating global climate change: eating human flesh. Stockholm School of Economics professor and researcher Magnus Soderlund reportedly said he believes eating human meat, derived from dead bodies, might be able to help save the human race if only a world society were to “awaken the idea.” Soderlund’s argument for human cannibalism was front and center during a panel talk called “Can You Imagine Eating Human Flesh?” at the Gastro Summit, reports the Epoch Times....

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Massive Solar Storms May Shutdown Internet Around The World, Fears Expert

Source: India Times Date: 8/30/2021 Solar storms or coronal mass ejections are known to cause damage to electrical grids and cause blackouts, however, experts are of the belief that they could also adversely affect the internet infrastructure, causing a global internet outage. This was revealed by the University of California, Irvine’s Sangeetha Abdu Jyothi at the SIGCOMM 2021 data communication conference last week. She revealed, in her research, that even though local and regional internet infrastructure would be at low risk of damage during extreme solar storms as they mostly use fibre...

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Death Toll Rises to 210 From February Cold Wave in Texas

Source: Epoch Times Date: 7/14/2021 AUSTIN, Texas—State officials on Tuesday added 59 deaths to the toll wrought by the Feb. 14 cold wave and the ensuing collapse of the Texas electric power grid. The deaths newly tallied by the Texas Department of State Health Services boost the toll from 151 to 210 deaths, most from exposure to the sometimes-subzero temperatures. Still, some were blamed on carbon monoxide poisoning as freezing Texans sought warmth from cars and outdoor grills. The count remained preliminary and may change as more deaths are confirmed, the department said. People...

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‘This Is a Scandal’: Documents Reveal Obama’s EPA Approved Cancer-Causing Chemicals For Fracking in 2011

Source: Insider Paper Date: 7/12/2021 “We still don’t know the full extent of toxic chemicals that companies are using in their fracking operations. Why is the EPA allowing them to poison our communities without consequence?” Between 2012 and 2020, fossil fuel corporations injected potentially carcinogenic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), or chemicals that can degrade into PFAS, into the ground while fracking for oil and gas, after former President Barack Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency approved their use despite agency scientists’ concerns about toxicity. “The Obama-Biden...

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Is HAARP Firing Up? FAA Issues Warning About "Electromagnetic Radiation"

Source: Zero Hedge Date: 6/23/2021 A longstanding topic of great speculation among curious minds is HAARP, a controversial Alaska-based research facility that studies the outermost layer of Earth's atmosphere: the ionosphere.  HAARP (short for High-Frequency Active Auroral Research Program) has been at the center of wild speculation that its high-power radio frequency transmitter facility can control the weather. Though those claims have yet to be confirmed, conspiracy theorists say otherwise.    HAARP has fallen out of the news cycle in recent years for inactivity, but there's reason...

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U.N. Predicts Disaster if Global Warming Not Checked, Peter James Spielmann, June 29, 1989

Source: Energy Central Date: 9/13/2019 UNITED NATIONS (AP) _ A senior U.N. environmental official says entire nations could be wiped off the face of the Earth by rising sea levels if the global warming trend is not reversed by the year 2000. Coastal flooding and crop failures would create an exodus of ″eco- refugees,′ ′ threatening political chaos, said Noel Brown, director of the New York office of the U.N. Environment Program, or UNEP. He said governments have a 10-year window of opportunity to solve the greenhouse effect before it goes beyond human control. My Observation: That was...

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China earthquake: Powerful 7.4 magnitude quake rocks central China - latest updates

Source: Express Date: 5/22/2021 The quake struck Qinghai, China, at 2.04am on Saturday (6.04pm GMT), the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) said. The quake was at a depth of 10 km (6.21 miles). It is not yet known if there are any injuries. A powerful 7.4 magnitude quake has rocked central China (Image: USGS) People in the area were warned to "stay away from buildings" (Image: USGS) The latest quake came after two people were killed when a 6.4 magnitude struck in Yunnan earlier today, according to Chinese state media. The quake hit at a depth of 12 kilometres...

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Protecting the Grid From Blackouts—and Communism

Source: Epoch Times Date: 5/5/2021 Commentary You’d think the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) would know better than to mess with Texas. But a planned wind turbine facility in West Texas owned by Chinese with links to the CCP exposes just how vulnerable our electric grid is to national and cybersecurity threats. Legislation filed in Texas to ban power plants owned by hostile nations offers a model other states should follow to protect our electric grids not just from blackouts, but from a sea of red. Let’s start with the facts. The Xinjiang Guanghui Industry Investment Group,...

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April 6, 2021 - Georgia’s election reform law

Georgia’s election reform law is far too weak and soft to ensure real ballot integrity! Election Day is supposed to be Election Day, not Election Week or Election Month. Far too many days are given to vote. Too much “mischief” can happen during this very long period of time. You saw that in the 2020 Presidential Election. How’s Ruby Freeman doing? Governor Brian Kemp and Georgia Secretary of State should have eliminated no-excuse, widespread mass Mail-In Voting, gotten rid of the dangerous and unsecure Drop-Boxes, and should have kept and EXPANDED Signature Verification to do matches against...

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Cybersecurity of Wind Power a Growing Concern

Source: Epoch Times Date: 4/2/2021 Commentary The Biden White House’s March 29 announcement that it will expedite development of offshore wind projects along the Atlantic Coast of the United States underscores the administration’s commitment to move the nation away from fossil fuels to increased dependence on renewable energy. But the prospect of giant wind turbines sprouting up in coastal waters stretching from New England to Florida may further complicate cybersecurity concerns that are already being raised about wind power. Wind energy recently surpassed 7 percent of U.S....

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Texas Senate Unanimously Approves Bill Addressing Electric Grid Issues

Source: Epoch Times Date: 3/30/2021 The Texas Senate on Monday unanimously approved a sweeping proposal that addresses issues with the state’s electric grid, after February’s deadly blackouts that left millions of people without electricity and heat for days in subfreezing temperatures. Senate Bill 3, which now heads to the House, would impose daily fines of up to $1 million against natural gas and electricity firms that object to the process of weatherizing facilities or upgrading equipment for extreme weather. It would also establish a system to alert Texans about the risk of potential...

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Texas Ensures Forgiveness of $29 Million in Unpaid Electric Bills After Griddy Files for Bankruptcy

Source: The Epoch Times Date: 3/16/2021 Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said on Tuesday that about 24,000 former customers of Griddy Energy LLC will be released from paying $29.1 million in unpaid electric bills incurred during last month’s winter storm after the power retailer filed for bankruptcy. Paxton said his office has been negotiating with Griddy after the state filed a lawsuit against the energy company for deceptive advertising. Griddy has since filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after the state grid operator cut off the company’s access to customers for unpaid bills. The...

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Texas Commission Details Efforts Related to Winter Storm Grid Event

Source: T&D World Date: 3/17/2021 Eight areas of focus guiding agency's response to February grid event. In a recent open meeting, the Public Utility Commission (PUC) of Texas detailed eight key areas of focus that are guiding Commission work in response to the February 2021 winter weather event. As part of the related discovery process, inputs were invited from all interested parties. The areas of focus, detailed in a memo from Connie Corona, PUC deputy executive director, are: Generation weatherization and emergency operations: Led by the PUC's infrastructure division, the review...

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ERCOT Lists Generators Forced Offline During Texas Extreme Cold Event

Source: Power Magazine Date: 3/4/2021 The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) in freshly revealed data on March 4 reported that the Texas grid suffered 1,796 generating or energy storage outages or derates as winter storm Uri bore down on the state in mid-February.  The grid operator made the list public in a letter it sent to lawmakers in the Texas Legislature. (A spreadsheet is available here.) The move is extraordinary for ERCOT, which typically keeps generator outage data confidential for 60 days after each applicable operating day. As Woody Rickerson, vice president of ERCOT...

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Texas Power Retailer Griddy Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

Source: The Epoch Times Date: 3/15/2021 Texas power retailer Griddy Energy LLC on Monday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after the state grid operator cut off the company’s access to customers for unpaid bills following a rare deep freeze in the state. Griddy sold power to customers at market rates. When power prices spiked to $9,000 per megawatt hour (MWh) and remained at that lofty level for days during the extreme cold in February, some customers received monthly bills of over $10,000. That compares with an average price for power of $22 per MWh in 2020 in the Electric Reliability Council...

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ERCOT Lists Generators Forced Offline During Texas Extreme Cold Event

Source: Power Magazine Date: 3/4/2021 The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) in freshly revealed data on March 4 reported that the Texas grid suffered 1,796 generating or energy storage outages or derates as winter storm Uri bore down on the state in mid-February.  The grid operator made the list public in a letter it sent to lawmakers in the Texas Legislature. (A spreadsheet is available here.) The move is extraordinary for ERCOT, which typically keeps generator outage data confidential for 60 days after each applicable operating day. As Woody Rickerson, vice president of ERCOT...

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Texas Watchdog Says Grid Operator Made $16 Billion Error

Source: Bloomberg Date: 3/4/2021 A firm hired to monitor Texas’ power markets says the region’s grid manager overpriced electricity over two days during last month’s energy crisis, resulting in $16 billion in overcharges. Amid the deep winter freeze that knocked nearly half of power generation offline, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, known as Ercot, set the price of electricity at the $9,000-a-megawatt-hour maximum -- standard practice during a grid emergency. But Ercot left that price in place days longer than necessary, resulting in massive overcharges, according to Potomac Economics,...

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The Front Lines of the Cyber War

Source: T&D World Date: 2/23/2021 Hostile nation states are actively attempting to break into the electric grid and to develop weapons to disrupt or disable industrial control systems. The electric energy sector is the backbone of the United States and the engine that drives all other critical infrastructure sectors. Every aspect of life is completely dependent on reliable delivery of electricity. The United States ceases to function without electricity. The cornerstone of reliable, electric service are the ICS’ (Industrial Control Systems) that operate the generators and the substations...

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Top Executives of Texas Electric Grid Operator Resign After Widespread Power Outages

Source: Epoch Times Date: 2/24/2021 Five board members of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), Texas’s power grid operator, resigned Tuesday after the state power system failed during a deadly winter storm, leaving more than 4 million customers losing electricity amid subfreezing temperatures. All of the five board directors live outside Texas. Their resignations are effective Wednesday, just a day before Texas lawmakers are expected to question grid managers and energy officials about the failures during hearings at the state Capitol. ERCOT Chair Sally Talberg, Vice Chair...

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Joe Biden Lies, Snubs Texas – Denies Statewide Major Disaster Declaration After Historic Freeze

Source: American Conservatives Date: 2/23/2021 A historic freeze killed at least 21 people in Texas and surrounding states last week and left millions without power in the Lone Star State. An Arctic air mass descended over much of the country, pushing temperatures to historic lows last week. Dallas broke a record set in 1903 of minus 1 degree. Last week President Joe Biden assured governors of hard-hit states that the federal government “stands ready to offer any emergency resources needed.” But that was a lie. Joe Biden denied statewide assistance to Texas on Monday, despite the record...

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Texas Commission Launches Investigation of Grid Event, Adjusts Rules

Source: T&D World Date: 2/24/2021 PUC approves a series of steps designed to protect retail electric customers feeling the financial effects of the ERCOT grid event. In an emergency open meeting, the Public Utility Commission (PUC) of Texas recently launched an investigation into the factors that combined with the devastating winter weather to disrupt the flow of power to millions of Texas homes. The commission also unanimously approved a series of steps designed to protect retail electric customers feeling the financial effects of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) grid...

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Winter Weather: Ice Storm Freezes Entergy's Infrastructure

Source: T&D World Date: 2/18/2021 Freezing rain, snow, and sleet arrived in the Entergy Texas service territory the evening of Feb. 14 and into the next morning. Due to record-cold temperatures, load forecasts approached an all-time peak, exceeding the polar vortex of January 2019. As a result, Entergy Texas asked its customers to voluntarily reduce their electricity usage, especially between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. as the demand could exceed the available generation. The company’s reliability coordinator, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), made this request to Entergy and...

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Four Unaffiliated ERCOT Board Members to Resign

Source: T&D World Date: 2/24/2021 Unaffiliated directors, including board chairman and vice chairman, step down following widespread outages caused by Texas winter storm. Four unaffiliated and out-of-state directors on the board of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) will resign, following widespread outages caused by a severe winter storm that swept over the Central United States. The storm brought snow, ice, and extreme cold temperatures from the Canadian border as far south as Texas, impacting power generation, including natural gas and wind facilities. ERCOT, an independent...

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Texas and California built different power grids, but neither stood up to climate change

Source: Politico Date: 2/22/2021 Texas and California may be worlds apart in their politics and climate policies, but they have something in common: Extreme weather crashed their power grids and left people stranded in the dark. The two sprawling, politically potent states have devoted massive sums to their power networks over the past two decades — California to produce huge amounts of wind and solar energy, Texas to create an efficient, go-it-alone electricity market built on gas, coal, nuclear and wind. But neither could keep the lights on in the face of the type of brutal...

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