WATER: It is our natural shared element. Earth is 70% water. Our bodies are 68% water; plants as much as 90%. Water is one of our most important shared resources. Can what is shared be a passage to peace?
Throughout history, civilization advanced by sharing water. China’s Grand Canal carried water, and food, from the south to the northern capital. Italy’s Aqueducts brought fresh spring water from surrounding hills to the city of Rome. France joined the Atlantic to the Mediterranean via the Canal des Deux Mers. The Colorado River, water source for 40 million people, shares water with the United States, many original American tribal nations, and Mexico, while providing hydroelectric power. The Tennessee Valley Authority harnessed water to provide electricity with its guiding motto: “Power for All.” Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric is now building Snowy 2.0 that will re-use and recirculate water for pumped hydro energy. The Suez Canal has, in its founding firman, assurance that the waterway must be open to all nations in times of war and peace.
This year, the United Nations, convener of World Water Day adopted in 1992, offers the theme of Water and Peace. How fortunate we are that water is a renewable resource, if its wise use is designed to follow its natural system dynamics. In our time of climate change, when drought may cause water scarcity, respecting and honoring ways to sustain, renew, and share water may inspire peace. How will you honor water and peace?
Today is World Water Day 2023. This year’s theme is “Be The Change You Want To See In The World.” Here’s a list of personal commitments to solve the water and sanitation crisis. Consider actions you will take, along with your best ideas to sustain world water, and send your commitments to the Water Action Agenda at the UN 2023 Water Conference. Your voice will be heard and your ideas included in the United Nations plan for the future of world water.
Choose the actions you will take, then send your commitments and ideas NOW.
Drought affecting the Colorado River, and resultant depletion of reservoirs Lake Mead and Lake Powell, may soon bring about Tier 2 shortage conditions. When Lake Mead’s water level falls below 1,050 feet above sea level, the new normal will reduce water allotments for Arizona, Nevada, and Mexico. Arizona will face a 21% reduction. Lake Mead’s drought is so big that is it now visible from space. Water for drinking, agricultural irrigation, and industry will be affected.
Hydroelectric power is also threatened in other locations around the world. Italy recently suffered electricity reductions due to drought on the Po River. India and Pakistan share water usage, including hydroelectric access, under the terms of the Indus Waters Treaty; eight new hydropower plants have just been approved.
The Murray River of Australia, key to Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric, is now seriously affected by drought; water for drinking, agriculture, and electricity may be threatened. Brazil’s water flows into hydro dams reached a 90 year low, affecting facilities including Itaipú. The alternatives, when hydro fails to produce, may include greater reliance on fossil fuels. Many are concerned about that direction.
In a world of climate change, increasing droughts may lead to a rethinking of hydroelectric power which, in 2020, generated 1/6th of the world’s electricity. Hydroelectric facilities can be found in 150 countries, with China the largest producer. Global investment in hydroelectricity is significant, and growing; will it be a wise investment?
Hydropower is low-carbon electricity, a property valuable in a world trying to limit carbon emissions. Hydropower is also continuous, an important factor to balance intermittency of renewables like solar or wind. The future of hydroelectric power is linked to the future of water. How will recent funding of climate preservation and protection support water sustainability? Will water innovations help harness the power of water to power the future?
Brooke, K. Lusk. “Colorado River.” Renewing the World: WATER. pages 86-95. Cambridge: 2022. ISBN: 9798985035919.
National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) and American Planning Association. “Falling Dominoes: A Planner’s Guide to Drought and Cascading Impacts.” 31 October 2019. https://www.drought.gov.
Robbins, Jill. “Dry Rivers Threaten Production of Clean Energy.” 23 August 2021. Voice of America: Science & Technology.
Is it climate change, or just a heat wave? Maybe the former is intensifying the latter. This week, 60 million people in the United States are enduring extreme heat. Texas broke a heat record on June 12 as the electrical grid strained with the number of people turning on air conditioners. Families noted unusual new residents as outdoor insects crawled into any available shelter to escape sweltering heat. Wildfires sparked: more than 30 recent conflagrations burned one million American acres.
Heat waves add to concern about drought, an ongoing challenge. Lake Mead, the nation’s largest water reservoir, recently marked its lowest level on record since 1930. The Colorado River, source of Lake Mead’s water, recently reported historic new water shortages, triggering enforced reductions along the Upper and Lower Basin states. Now 143 feet below the target full level, Lake Mead’s drop is as deep as the Statue of Liberty is high. That water drop threatens the water supply of millions of residents, farmers, industrial operations, and others. At 36% capacity, if the water in Lake Mead continues to fall (it has been losing more than 1,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools – every day – for the last 22 years), the hydropower capability of the Hoover Dam (which formed Lake Mead) will also be threatened. Engineers and scientists are watching: if Lake Mead drops another 175 feet, the Hoover Dam will reach “dead pool” (895 feet) and the great dam will fall silent. Because 90% of Las Vegas water comes from Lake Mead, that city will not only have less electricity but very little water. (Ramirez et al., 2021)
It’s not just Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam that are of concern due to heat and drought. The Tennessee Valley Authority, one of the nation’s first hydroelectric major achievements, warned customers both residential and commercial to turn off the lights. Nashville Electric Service asked people to turn down air conditioning. Itaipú, harnessing the Paraná River, has similarly found drought threatening its hydroelectric capability.
Drought has serious consequences for agriculture, habitation, and now hydroelectricity. Hydroelectric power is one of the earliest and most widely applied methods of generating electricity from renewable sources. What happens if or when water becomes non-renewable?
Energy goals to stop climate change are clear: we must transition from fossil fuels. Chief among the priorities is coal. Transitioning from coal threatens jobs: as coal declines in use, some areas formerly active in coal mining suffer 30% unemployment. Past efforts to offer new jobs in American coal-mining towns included $7 million to open an optometry school in Pikeville, Kentucky, where miners could train and practice a new profession. As the only college of optometry in Kentucky, UPIKE offers opportunity. Another option is work reclaiming abandoned mines to prevent mudslides and collapse, threats increasing in stronger weather due to climate change. Before the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA), mining businesses were not required to clean up or reclaim sites. Since then, 46,000 open mine portals have been reclaimed with water supplies restored and renewed. But mines left open prior to the law remain a threat, and $11 billion is required to reclaim the sites.
Rebuilding coal sites with renewable energy projects seems like a natural option. Coal mines are already abandoned, but not suitable for housing developments or office buildings. There are 130,000 former coal mines available for development. What about solar plants? That’s the idea of Edelen Renewables, now building a solar facility where 300 workers will install solar panels on 1,200 acres at a pay rate of $25-30 per hour. Miners usually make about $30 per hour. Workers will also earn a certificate. Solar is the fastest-growing source of renewable electricity in the United States, and tax-credits are only increasing growth.
Coal generates 30% of world electricity. Coal power is decreasing in the U.S., but in Asia, specifically China, it is the source of 36% of energy. China recently promised to end financing of new coal plants outside its borders, but concerns remain as domestic use continues. But a new Chinese solar project in Anhui, built on a former collapsed and flooded coal mine, developed by China Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection Group (CECEP) and the French floating solar expert Ciel & Terre may be a sign of hope. Regional plans for sustainable energy infrastructure for Europe, Middle East, and North Africa include an array of renewable energy options.
COP26 Glasgow net zero emissions pledges predict fossil fuel use to peak in 2025, CO2 emissions fall 40% by 2050 – but even that will drive temperature rise to 2.1 Centigrade. Coal is the largest source of energy-related CO2 emissions (He, et al., 2020). If pledges are kept, 13 million new workers will be employed in clean energy by 2030, and double that by 2050 (IEA 2021). Coal is not the only fossil fuel driving climate change: oil is even greater. Of world energy sources, coal is 27%, natural gas is 24%, and oil is 33%. But coal is a focus because it is especially polluting, leading to environmental and health dangers. Renewable energy is increasing, costs of solar, wind, and storage are decreasing. Eight European Union countries (Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal) declared phase-out of coal by 2030.
In an earlier energy transition, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) offered job training as well as worker housing communities. A new town, Norris, became a showroom for household uses of hydroelectricity from refrigerators to toasters. More recently, the German Coal Commission (GCC) introduced a task force on job transition along with coal plant closures. Retraining coal miners, and workers along the entire supply chain, will accelerate and strengthen environmental justice and energy transition. How can the world move towards sustainable electricity for all?
Buckley, Cara. “Coming Soon to This Coal County: Solar, in a Big Way.” 2 January 2022. New York Times.
Eller, Ronald D. Uneven Ground: Appalachia Since 1945. University Press of Kentucky, 2008 and also 2013. ISBN: 9780813142463
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, U.S. Department of the Interior. “Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act” (SMCRA). P.L. 95-87, Enacted 3 August, 1977. https://www.osmre.gov/lrg.shtm
Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Un
The long, hot summer – but it’s not August, it’s not even 2021. It’s the whole 21st century. The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released findings today. Here is a summary:
Climate change is widespread, rapid, and intensifying
Warming is speeding up
Every region of the world is facing climate change
Human influence is a major cause – and could be the cure (IPCC 9 August 2021)
It’s (almost) not too late. Can we meet the challenges? Some changes, like rising seas, may be permanent. Other results may last a century but could be eased or even reversed. There is still time to determine the future we choose (Figueres and Rivett-Carnac, 2020). Throughout history, people have responded to crisis with innovation. Energy transitions have been turning points in civilization: Tennessee Valley Authority hydroelectric power gave the world the first homes with refrigerators when the TVA opened the town of Norris. Danger led to the Manhattan Project and development of atomic energy. Geothermal, solar, wind, and wave power offer options in every region.
Regions all share climate change but conditions will vary. “For the first time, the Sixth Assessment Report provides a more detailed regional assessment of climate change, including a focus on useful information that can inform risk assessment, adaptation, and other decision-making, and a new framework that helps translate physical changes in the climate – heat, cold, rain, drought, snow, wind, coastal flooding and more – into what they mean for society and ecosystem.” (IPCC 2021) Regional information and options can be explored in detail in the newly developedInteractive Atlas here.
February 18, 2021. It’s National Battery Day. What is this genie in a bottle that we call a battery?
Lithium-ion batteries are making news. It’s a technology popularized in 1991, when rechargeable lithium-ion batteries were first used in hand-held camcorders. A decade later, Apple began using these batteries in smartphones. When electric cars entered the market (Edison worked on one, before Henry Ford invented the gasoline-driven automobile), batteries became the way to power the future. SEMATECH introduced a new industry, and now two new semiconductor materials – gallium nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SIC) are now being used in EV batteries. With General Motors (GM) pledging a full transition from gas and diesel to electric vehicles by 2035 (Ford, Tesla, Volkswagen and others in similar quests), the race is on.
Who’s Who (a partial list) in Electric-Vehicle Batteries:
CATL or Contemporary Amperex Technology Col, Limited, founded in 2011 in China, announced an increased investment of $4.5 billion on 4 February 2021. CATL will open a new plant in Zhaoqing, Guangdong Province, upgrade a plant in Yibin, Sichuan Province, and expand a joint venture plant with automaker China FAW Group. A new plant in Germany is also under construction. (300750:CH)
LG Chem in South Korea, world’s biggest EV battery manufacturer, just announced its battery division would now be a stand-alone business. LG counts GM, Geely Automotive Holdings Shanghai Maple Guorun Automobile Co., Hyundai Motor Group, and Tesla among its customers. Tentative name for the new business: LG Energy Solutions. (LGCLF)
Nissan Motor Co. and American Electric Power are competitors with a different strategy: reusing old EV batteries with a technology to extend lithium-ion battery life by over 30%. The experiment uses Nissan Leaf expired-batteries with a method developed by Melbourne-based Relectrify. BMW AG and Toyota are also reusing cells in EV charging. (NSANY)
Novonix is working with Dalhousie University on battery material research, noting new deals with Tesla on synthetic graphite. (NVNXF)
Panasonic. Tesla is in talks with Indonesia to build a battery cell factory with Panasonic. (PCRFY)
QuantumScape is introducing solid-state batteries lithium-metal batteries, offering a faster charge, longer life, and increased safety. The San Jose, California company filed with the SEC for a new development on 1 February 2021. (QS)
Tesla. Bringing battery production in-house has been a goal for Elon Musk who introduced a ‘tab-less’ battery called 4680 that will produce a 16% increase in range for the company’s electric vehicles. They new cells measure 46 millimeters by 80 millimeters. (TSLA)
The oldest battery known to history was found in Baghdad: a clay pot containing a metal tube and rod. But when Alessandro Volta discovered that zinc and coper, placed in a saline or acid solution, could transform zinc into a negative pole and copper into a positive pole, the action began. Chevrolet named one of its early EV models a “Volt.”
Battery storage may transform hydroelectric power In Chile, a 50 megawatt-hour (MWh) battery energy storage project (think the equivalent of 5 million iPhones) will be paired with a hydroelectric facility, to store generated energy without need to construct a dam or reservoir. Will the Hoover Dam explore this technology, with consideration to drought affecting Lake Mead? It was hydroelectric power that first fascinated Nikola Tesla who, looking at a photo of Niagara Falls, said: “Someday I’ll harness that power.”
Battery Council International. “It’s national battery day.” www.batterycouncil.org
Hareyan, Armen. “Rumor says Tesla may have completed 1st round of Indonesia battery talks involving Panasonic.” 12 February 2021. Torque News. https://www.torquenews.com/1/rumor-says-tesla-may-have-completed-1st round-indonesia-battery-talks-involving-panasonic
Hawkins, Andrew J. “Tesla announces ‘tabless’ battery cells that will improve the range of its electric cars.” 22 September 2020. The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/22/21449238/tesla-electric-car-battery-tabless-cells-day-elon-musk
Kawakami, Takashi. “EV-battery giant CATL to boost capacity with $4.5bn investment.” 4 February 2021. NikkeiAsia.com. https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Automobiles/EV-battery-giant-CATL-to-boost-capacity-with-4.5bn-investment
Kubik, Marek. “Adding Giant Batteries To This Hydro Project Creates A ‘Virtual Dam’ with Less Environmental Impact.” 23 May 2019. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/marekkubik/2019/05/23/adding-giant-batteries-to-this-hydro-project-creates-a-virtual-dam-with-less-environmental-impact
Schmidt, Bridie. “EV battery material firm Novonix strengthen ties with Dalhousie University.” 15 February 2021. The Driven. https://thedriven.io/2021/02/15/ev-battery-material-firm-novonix-strengthen-ties-with-dalhousie-university
Semiconductor Review. “How Semiconductor Advancements Impact EV Batteries.” 26 October 2020. Semiconductor Review. https://www.semiconductorreview.com/news/how-semiconductor-advancements-impact-ev-batteries-nwid-124.html
Stringer, David and Kyunghee Park. “Top Electric-Car Battery Maker Wins Approval for Company Split.” 30 October 2020. Bloomberg News and Transport Topics. https://www.ttnews.com/articles-top-electric-car-battery-maker-wins-approval-company-split
Stringer, David. “Companies Explore Using Old Electric Car Batteries to Cut Costs.” 24 January 2020. Transport Topics. https://www.ttnews.com/articles/companies-explore-using-old-electric-car-batteries-cut-costs
Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unp
Alice is a bit unusual looking. But she may be just what the world is looking for. The name, given to a new aircraft build by Eviation, Alice is a plane powered by three rear-facing push-propellers. It’s electric, and it promises to transport nine passengers, and two crew, at 276 mph (440 km/h) for 650 miles. Eviation, located in Israel, may be soon flying between Boston and Hyanis; Cape Air has ordered a number of Alice aircraft. The market for short-range air travel is considerable, but environmentally questionable. Alice may change that: using electricity. It’s also cheaper: using conventional fuel, 100-mile flight costs $400; with electricity, $8-$12: overall cost per hour is estimated at $200. The market is developing quickly. MagniX is working with Vancouver’s Harbour Air to electrify their fleet. Rolls Royce, Airbus, Siemens, and United Technologies are all working on electric aircraft; Zunum Aero, backed by Boeing, uses a French engine from Safran; EasyJet is using Wright Electric for potential flights from London to Amsterdam.
When electricity first began to be used for commercial and consumer applications, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) built a new town just to demonstrate the new power source for refrigerators, toasters, and porch lights. The Town of Norris was the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) of its time. Now electricity will see a new era, as battery storage improves through innovation. According to UBS, aviation will soon move to hybrid and electric aircraft. Zero emissions; cheaper; quieter – it’s an answer to the environmental and financial costs of regional travel. Electricity may be looking up: go ask Alice.
Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported Licen
Nations, and industries, are steadily reducing carbon emissions; the June 2019 European Union (EU) meeting signaled progress. Finland and Norway have resolved to achieve energy net-zero (state where input and output result in a zero balance) by 2035; others pledged 2050. The COP21 Paris Agreement advocated all signatory countries (over 190) reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% from 1990 levels by 2030. Recently, Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General, urged the European Union to cut beyond that to 55%. Contributing to that goal is the phasing out of burning coal, and terminating approval of new coal-fired power plants after 2020. European Union nations failed to reach agreement on net zero by 2050; they did agree, however, to study ways to achieve that goal. One stopping point: some EU nations are more dependent upon fossil fuel systems; for example, Poland relies upon coal for 80% of its energy and many of its jobs.
Energy Jobs: Renewable energy jobs are quickly growing and may soon overtake fossil sources. In a report by Climate Nexus, in the United States, “more people (over 3 million) work in wind, solar, efficiency and other clean energy fields than are employed as registered nurses and just shy of those working as school teachers.” Globally, people working in renewable energy reached 10 million in 2017 and continues to grow, attracting investment in technologies like solar photovoltaic. Hot job markets? By 2026, wind technician jobs will increase 96% and solar installer positions will grow 106%.
Energy innovations have always stimulated investment and jobs. The Tennessee Valley Authority was both a federally-owned electricity utility that served seven states, as well as a regional employment program: 9,000 people were hired in the first year. Will the TVA divest its 8 coal plants? There are also 30 hydroelectric facilities, 16 natural gas plants, 3 nuclear powerhouses, 14 solar energy sites and one wind energy farm. It’s still the biggest power campus in the United States. Also noteworthy: the muscle shoals sound.
Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric hired 100, 000, recruiting locally in Australia and also inviting war-displaced migrants to move for work and opportunity: “You won’t be Balts or Slavs…you will be people of the Snowy!” promised Sir William Hudson, first commissioner of the project. As renewable energy grows, the world may experience improvements in climate, innovation, migration, and employment.
Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported Licen
The Planetary Health Diet needs a planet-related symbol, small enough to display next to a menu item. Many dietary icons like K and GF are surrounded by a circle, easy for the eye to spot on a busy menu. What if the Planetary Heath Diet icon were a circle we all know? Would you recognize the Blue Marble as a menu icon?
A diet that could feed 10 billion, ease the suffering of 11 million who go hungry, improve the health of 2 billion whose diet choices cause diabetes and cardiovascular ills, save health care costs, improve productivity, halt climate change, help achieve the Paris Agreement COP21, and advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), might be of interest to the World Economic Forum, meeting in Davos. The World Economc Forum could agree upon a global menu logo for the Planetary Health Diet.
“Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT-Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems.” 16 January 2019. The Lancet. https://www.thelancet.com/commissions/EAT
Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported Lice