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Energy

RIP fossil fuels?
24Feb By Climate 360 NewsNo Comments
Energy, Featured, Loyola Marymount University, Policy

RIP fossil fuels?

By Sebastian Ramirez Playa Del Rey Natural Gas Storage Facility down the hill from houses.Photo by Sebastian Ramirez Cars. Buses. Trucks. Trains. Planes.  What do they have in common? The majority are fueled exclusively by fossil fuels, and contribute half of all greenhouse gas emissions in California.  The state consumes 1.8 million barrels of oil and gas per day. About a third of those are produced in California, and the rest are imported. In L.A. County alone, there are 5,919 oil and gas wells, not including offshore wells.  Dr. Jason Jarvis moved to Los Angeles in 2015 from Atlanta. Previously unaware of any issues regarding the oil industry, he became invested after seeing a map showing all the active, idle and abandoned wells in L.A. County.  Ja...
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Lithium: Not as clean as we thought
14Jan By Climate 360 NewsNo Comments
Economy, Energy, Loyola Marymount University, Technology

Lithium: Not as clean as we thought

 By Alex Kim All Electric Ford F-150 Truck at LA Car Show, 2021. Photographed by James Turner.  While electric cars reduce fossil fuel emissions once they are on the road, the production of the lithium-ion batteries that power them causes more displacement and CO2 emissions than the production of regular gas-powered cars. Disposal of the batteries at the end of their life cycle is also a growing concern. “There are carbon dioxide and other greenhouse emissions that come with the process of extraction,” said Zeke Hausfather, a scientist at climate research nonprofit Berkeley Earth told Climate360. “[It's] not like CO2 comes out of the lithium, but it does take energy to mine things — today many of those systems involve emitting CO2.”&nbs...
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COP26 Week 1: Catalyst for change or performative gesture?
16Nov By Climate 360 NewsNo Comments
Economy, Energy, Loyola Marymount University, Policy

COP26 Week 1: Catalyst for change or performative gesture?

By Alex Kim The first week of COP26 was packed with action. From new agreements to failings of old ones the first week leaves us with a lot to discuss. Day One: Sunday, Oct. 31 The opening days of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) brought out representatives and activists from the global community to discuss climate change and find ways to mitigate its effects on the planet. Though not formally invited, climate activist Greta Thunberg was swarmed by hundreds of people concerned with climate change upon her arrival to the convention in Glasgow, Scotland. Representatives from around the globe were calling on world leaders to take direct action to prevent the global climate from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above  “pre-industrial levels....
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Carbon capture presents opportunities in industry-dominated states, experts say. But climate activists remain skeptical
16Aug By Climate 360 NewsNo Comments
Economy, Energy, Louisiana State University, Policy

Carbon capture presents opportunities in industry-dominated states, experts say. But climate activists remain skeptical

Photo by Chris LeBoutillier on Pexels.com By Sydney McGovern BATON ROUGE, LA – The holy grail of stopping climate change is to reduce carbon emissions across all sources to zero. One solution that holds promise is to capture carbon dioxide – the lead cause of global warming – before it’s emitted from refineries and other industrial sources. The practice, called carbon capture, utilization and storage, or CCUS, can be accomplished in many ways. Some are feasible but expensive. Others will require years of research and investment before being implemented. The technical challenges divide some researchers and advocates. Spend now to do what’s possible today, or wait for better CCUS technologies? Or jettison CCUS approaches altogether as too easy on big carbon emitters? “There’re...
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6Aug By Climate 360 NewsNo Comments
Energy, Kent State University, Policy

What you can do to help get the U.S. to net-zero

By Spencer Hayes Clean energy, otherwise known as renewable energy, is energy that is taken from resources that are naturally replenished by the Earth. President Joe Biden’s goal for the United States is to use clean energy to get to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This would mean removing greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere by using carbon removal as well as reducing human caused emissions. But what does that mean for everyday American citizens? There are many things that people can do in their day-to-day life that can help the country achieve this goal. Here are six steps you can take to keep the country on track. President Joe Biden’s goal for the United States is to use clean energy to get to net zero green house gas emissions by 2050. Photo above of Biden ...
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Controversial policies result in Ohioans paying the price for dirty energy
8Jul By Climate 360 NewsNo Comments
Energy, Kent State University, Policy, Video

Controversial policies result in Ohioans paying the price for dirty energy

By Grace Springer, Willow Campbell, Spencer Hayes, Madison Ledyard-King, Connor Fallon  Perry Nuclear Power Plant cooling tower transfers exhaust heat into the air. Photo: Willow Campbell, Climate 360 COLUMBUS, OH — What has been dubbed by Vox and other news as “the worst energy bill of the 21st century” has put Ohio behind in the transition to renewable energy.   Ohio House Bill 6 is energy legislation that provided bailouts in the form of subsidies to two nuclear power plants and two coal power plants. The bill also reformed energy efficiency standards in the state.   The legislation passed by a slim margin in 2019 after a multi-million-dollar bribery scandal. The scandal involved several Ohio politicians including f...
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Experts say education and retraining key to successful transition to low-carbon economy
23Jun By Climate 360 NewsNo Comments
Economy, Energy, Louisiana State University, Policy

Experts say education and retraining key to successful transition to low-carbon economy

ULL's Mechanical Engineering Virtual Reality Lab uses a photovoltaic power plant model to facilitate virtual hands-on learning. The application teaches users how solar power is produced, converted and transmitted. Courtesy of The University of Louisiana at Lafayette's Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Energy Center. By Sydney McGovern, Samantha Beekman, Josh Archote Traditional energy generation is declining, and renewable energy is on the rise.  The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts that wind turbine service technicians and solar panel installers will be two of the fastest growing jobs in the United States through 2029. The switch to a low-carbon economy is necessary to minimize the impacts of climate change.  But with these changes comes a complex set o...
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News Analysis: what does the transition away from natural gas look like?
22Jun By Climate 360 NewsNo Comments
Energy, Loyola Marymount University

News Analysis: what does the transition away from natural gas look like?

By Veronica Backer-Peral Protestors oppose construction related to the restoration project at the SoCalGas natural gas storage facility at the Ballona Wetlands in Los Angeles. Photo from Maddie Cindrich. Demanding that the state of California close the Playa Vista natural gas facility less than two miles from the Loyola Marymount University campus is just the start. The more challenging step is determining what comes next.  Natural gas was the most used energy source across California in 2018, amounting to a total of more than 2,000 trillion British Thermal Units (BTU) consumed every year. That’s the same amount of energy that 200 million burritos has. One of the natural gas storage facilities that provides energy to Californians was that of Aliso Canyon i...
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Five questions about natural gas, answered
22Jun By Climate 360 NewsNo Comments
Energy, Loyola Marymount University, Policy

Five questions about natural gas, answered

By Kennedi Hewitt and Maddie Cindrich  A SoCalGas storage facility sits alongside the Ballona Wetlands in Los Angeles, CA. Photo by Maddie Cindrich. A group of Los Angeles activists are demanding that SoCalGas shut down its natural gas storage facility in Playa Del Rey. They worry about a potential blowout that could harm hundreds in the nearby community. Here’s five quick things to know:  What is natural gas?  Natural gas, primarily composed of methane, is a fossil fuel mostly located deep beneath the Earth’s surface. While it is one of the most commonly found sources of energy on the planet, alongside petroleum and coal, it is considered to be one of the least sustainable energy sources.  In the 19th century, natural gas was mos...
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