When you report on the news affecting a landscape in immediate mortal peril, readers often ask you this: “Is there any good news?”

Well, there is. And today I’ll share it.

No, there has been no dramatic change in Louisiana’s current storyline: Our bottom third remains heading for a watery grave before the end of the century unless the world rapidly reduces carbon emissions that are causing the fastest acceleration of sea level rise in 2,000 years.

But there has been a steady stream of developments that give some hope. For instance:

• There’s been a breakthrough in green hydrogen technology. Hydrogen is the ideal clean energy source because it’s produced from water and when it burns it emits only water vapor. But large-scale hydrogen production has always used fuels that release greenhouse gases or require them to be captured and stored. The green process uses only clean energy such as solar or wind to run the process. Recently green hydrogen producers formed a partnership to reduce costs at scale, and think they can increase production 50 fold in the next six years. If it happens, it could help dramatically reduce emissions.
• A bipartisan group of U.S. senators is backing a bill to expand the existing tax credit for electric vehicle charging infrastructure, such as charging stations. Cars produce roughly 30% of all U.S. emissions, which are the second-most in the world by volume and the highest per-capita. Marketing shows Americans are ready to go electric, if they can be assured of a place to recharge.
• A rapidly expanding move by automakers toward electric fleets is one reason for that bipartisanship. General Motors says it will introduce at least 30 electric models worldwide next year and plans to end production of gas or diesel cars and light trucks by 2035. Next year Ford is introducing an all-electric version of the F-150 pickup — the largest selling vehicle in the U.S. for the last 44 years — to go with its already available electric Mustang. The U.S. is not alone; every major carmaker in the world has accelerated plans to go electric.
• Major airlines announced their commitment to reduce emissions, too. The first step is developing and using “sustainable alternative fuels,” which currently involves lower-emitting synthetics but green hydrogen may be just around the corner.

Read the rest of the article at The Times-Picayune.

SHARE IT: