There is a huge move toward electric vehicles.  GM is going full electric on its passenger cars.  There is a huge push to get electric long haul tricks on the roads asap.  Florida has legislation permitting is in 2020.  1.3 million Americans without a high school diploma will be displace by this move.  Bad for them, bad for people, good for those looking to make money.  They represent 1/3 of transportation costs, which is 10% of the US economy.  But a bigger question is whether all the electric vehicles, which will permit better tracking, speed control and in theory efficiency, can be supported by the electric grid.  The change to electric vehicles will create hot spots where concentrated truck usage will occur.  Given that e-commerce has upended the retail world, the potential for electric vehicles to upset the grid is a consideration.  How and when they recharge, realizing that delivery vehicles in urban areas and taxis are targets for conversion to electric fleets in addition to long haul trucks.

For more folks, note that Ford will introduce both an all-new F-150 and an F-150 hybrid version in 2020, Ford said. “The fully electric Ford F-150 is coming soon after,” it confirmed, adding that the vehicle is part of an investment of more than $11.5 billion toward global electrified vehicle investment. Keep in mind the Ford F150 pickup is the biggest selling vehicle by far in the US.  This is potentially huge.

However before we jump too fast in the conversion to electric, consider that the lack of natural gas and hydrogen fueling stations limit the potential for vehicles powered by natural gas or fuel cells, so access to the grid will limit the potential for electric vehicles.    Expect that unless plans are made, the conversion to electric vehicles will stress the grid.  Not that grid issues should change our desire to move off gasoline, despite what Koch Enterprises wants.

— Read on asee.bulletinmedia.com/

Does it sound right that methane pops up in your backyard?  Some folks in northeast Ohio don’t think so after a 2018 explosion on an XTO energy gas well exploded.  It released a lot of methane to the atmosphere, and may have been the largest methane leak in many years.  This was one of Ohio’s wells (Ohio has over 100,000 gas facilities).  It is a poster child for what is wrong with the oil and gas industry. Today a number of non-profit organizations are trying to monitor methane releases because it contributes over 25% of greenhouse gas emissions.

At the same time, a recent study found that hydropower, a supposedly clean power sources, creates carbon dioxide and methane releases from decaying vegetation in the water (it volatizes as water flows through the dam).  EDF scientist Dr. Ilissa Ocko found 200 facilities that competed with coal power/MW over a 10 years period.  Who would have thought?

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Don’t miss: When and where to see comet NEOWISE from South Florida – News – The Palm Beach Post – West Palm Beach, FL
— Read on www.google.com/amp/s/www.palmbeachpost.com/news/20200714/donrsquot-miss-when-and-where-to-see-comet-neowise-from-south-florida?template=ampart

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A recent article I re-posted noted that the critters are coming back to parts of national parks where they have not been seen in years.  That may be a challenge for new babies born in the covid-19 closing that have not seen people before but it does mean that critters will recover if human influences are reduced.  I see if in my backyard as well.  A lot more birds and butterflies around.

Other good news – wolf introduction is on the state ballot in Colorado.  3 wolves have been killed in the state in the past 10 years and a live one was sighted in Kremmling.  They are around but the numbers are tiny.  Keep your fingers crossed as they will help an overcrowded ecosystem.  The hope is that the wolves will be able to create the same relationship that exists on Isle Royale.

Three red wolves were transferred to the wild to help struggling red wolf populations in North Carolina as no wolf pups were born in 2019.  There are so few of these guys around that maybe this will help the wild population retain their numbers.

And the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Dept announced that it is in favor of restoring bison into their historical range in the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest and C.M. Russell NWR.  We will see how that works but the bison have attempted to go there.

It could be a good year afterall.

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed H.R 2, which includes H.R. 919, Bird-safe Buildings Act. This bipartisan bill is designed to reduce bird mortality by calling for federal buildings to incorporate bird-safe building materials and design features. As many as one billion birds die annually by colliding with buildings in the United States.
— Read on www.constructionspecifier.com/house-passes-the-bird-safe-buildings-act/