February 17, 2021. On Tuesday, large parts of the central and southern United States were without power. Texas was the worst hit, with over 4 million people affected. The blackouts were the result of a power grid not designed for the cold, unprepared grid operators and a lack of backup capacity. How climate change could continue to cripple the U.S. power grid in the future is described by Brad Plumer in the New York Times.
International Press Articles
According to the press release of the European Parliament, MEPs criticize the risky launch of the Belarusian nuclear power plant Ostrovets and demanded the stop of its commissioning. Emergency shutdowns attempted to be concealed from the public and the lack of minimum implementations lead to strong safety concerns of the EP. Despite this, the power plant went into operation in November 2020 and will be connected to the commercial power grid in March this year. Neighboring EU countries such as Poland, Latvia and Estonia are within the reactor's danger radius.
8.7 million people died in 2018 due to fossil fuel emissions. 20% of all global deaths can be attributed to air pollution. The study by Harvard University, the University of Birmingham, the University of Leicester and University College London shows that industrialized nations around the globe are feeling the dramatic consequences of the fossil fuel industry. Oliver Milman reports on the incredible death toll from burning fossil fuels and many other dire consequences in the Guardian.
Environmentalists and oil and gas producers' labor unions were both supporters of Biden's campaign. But to get to net-zero carbon emissions, the president is making decisions against the labor unions. Biden already canceled the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline permit. Read the full article at aljazeera.
Solar is booming not only in the financial market, but loans for solar systems are also fueling the U.S. market. Solar stocks are generating good revenue, even in times of Corona, Wall Street figures show. Loanpal, the leading U.S. lender for residential solar, generated about $361 million in revenue in 2020, according to CNBC.