Month: August 2024

Posted on

Why Californians Have Some of the Highest Power Bills in the U.S. (WSJ)

Utilities are investing billions to upgrade infrastructure and build out green energy, passing budget-breaking costs to households; trying to keep the chocolate from melting

BORREGO SPRINGS, Calif.—California is doing all it can to expand renewable energy production and rebuild its electrical infrastructure after flaws led to a series of devastating wildfires. 

The state’s big utilities are spending billions to bury power lines and insulate wires, while at the same time moving quickly away from fossil fuels by building big solar and wind farms and transmission lines to carry the power. 

As a result, resident Jessica Simpson Nehrer, who lives in Borrego Springs, near San Diego, has seen her electricity bill for her ranch-style house soar. It hit $1,873.90 in June, far exceeding her $1,200 rent and around double what it was two summers ago. 

https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/why-californians-have-some-of-the-highest-power-bills-in-the-u-s-a831b60e?st=dffqel35pudxsh2&reflink=article_email_share

Posted on

BlackRock Support for Climate, Social Proposals Hits New Low (FundFire)

The firm’s backing for such shareholder proposals plummeted from a high of 47% in 2021 to 4% over the twelve months ending in June amid a political backlash.

BlackRock has drastically cut back its support for proposals put forth by shareholders on environmental and social issues, the Financial Times reports.

The world’s largest asset manager backed just 4%, or 20 of the 493 environmental proposals put forward by shareholders in the twelve months ending in June. That compares to the firm’s peak support of 47% of ESG proposals in 2021, the FT reported, citing an annual stewardship report BlackRock released Wednesday.

https://www.fundfire.com/c/4602324/609264/blackrock_support_climate_social_proposals_hits?referrer_module=emailMorningNews&module_order=1&code=WTIxbGNtdGxja0J5ZDJKaGFYSmtMbU52YlN3Z05UYzNPREU0TXl3Z01UWTFNamMzTmprMk53PT0

Posted on

Racked by Extreme Heat, One Worker Died on the Job. His Story Is a Warning. (WSJ)

Justin “Cory” Foster, a lineman who often traveled to storm-ravaged communities to help restore electricity, was used to working in searing summer weather as he perched atop utility poles to install wires. But as the heat index climbed to 113 degrees Fahrenheit on a job in Marshall, Texas, last year, the temperature baked his body.

https://www.wsj.com/us-news/climate-environment/racked-by-extreme-heat-one-worker-died-on-the-job-his-story-is-a-warning-9fa063c6?st=zzchy9ikqbvb1xb&reflink=article_email_share

Posted on

Wildfire intensity rises across northern hemisphere (FT)

Wildfires burning across the northern hemisphere in parts of Canada, Russia and the US since the start of the summer have led to a surge in carbon dioxide emissions and smoke trail as their intensity rises. Scientists at international agencies have been tracking emissions and monitoring a significant increase in daily total fire radiative power, which indicates the intensity of the fires. Western Canada is enduring an “extreme fire year”, said the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (Cams), with estimated emissions at levels comparable with the previous highest years of the past two decades, only surpassed by the record set in 2023.

https://www.ft.com/content/8a63bec7-048c-40fb-b3ae-717419f4469f