Ice Caps Are Melting Faster, Nikola-Tesla Rivalry Heats Up And Making Green Hydrogen

This week’s Current Climate , which every Saturday brings you the latest news about the business of sustainability. Sign up to get it in your inbox every week. R esearchers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory have found that coastal glaciers in Antarctica are melting at a faster rate than previously thought.

When the ice from these glaciers leaves the land and moves into the ocean, they serve as the primary driver of sea level rise around the world. Over the past 25 years, the net loss of Antarctic ice has been an area about the size of Switzerland. Things aren’t looking much better on the top of the world.

A new study published Thursday found that the Arctic has warmed nearly four times as quickly as the rest of the planet since 1979. That’s a finding that doubles previous estimates, with researchers noting that the region is “more sensitive to global warming than previously thought. ” Those warmer temperatures lead to a number of knock-on effects, including making water levels hard to predict and melting permafrost on land areas.

The Panama Canal is a conduit for 6% of the global maritime traffic. But climate change is disrupting that trade. While high temperatures and little rain are the primary causes, four hurricanes over seven years have been equally devastating.

Read more here. A new study suggests over half of infectious diseases could be worsened by climate change , as warming temperatures, droughts, wildfires and other weather phenomena that displace people make it easier for pathogens to spread. The U.

S. has experienced four separate flooding events this summer that each qualify as 1-in-1,000 year rain storms , as parts of the country across the Midwest and the West experienced flash flood warnings, mudslides, road closures and even death. Engineers at MIT have developed a way to boost the output of existing wind farms without making any physical changes to them by optimizing the turbines for the wind flow of the area.

Semiconductor company Energous announced that it’s received FCC approval for its wireless power transmitter WattUp PowerBridge to deliver up to 15W of energy as well as data to sensors and other IOT devices. Financial services firm Standard Chartered has executed a $500 million Green Trade Export Letter of Credit with agricultural giant ADM , which will be geared towards ADM’s efforts to expand sustainable farming and supply chain development. The African development arm of the Private Infrastructure Development Group, InfraCo Africa , is investing $43 million into Climate, Energy Access and Resilience, a climate-focused fund aimed at investing in companies working to meet climate goals.

Kansas City-based electric truck manufacturer Orange EV announced that it has closed a $35 million funding round led by S2G Ventures and CCI. For the first time, Forbes will convene the boldest business leaders who are driving a new wave of sustainable growth through disruptive processes, products, policies and people. Join us on September 20th in New York City to learn from and meet the changemakers who are taking the economy into the next century and into a greener, healthier world.

Corporations Join the Nuclear Fusion Craze (Bloomberg) How to Recognize Heat Illness and Stay Cool during Extreme Weather (Scientific American) A decked out laser truck is helping scientists understand urban heat islands (Popular Science) W hen it comes to powering electric vehicles (and energy systems and steelmaking), batteries aren’t the only option. Electron-rich hydrogen is another tool for cutting carbon emissions, and billions are pouring into new ways to turn the universe’s most abundant element into fuel. But to live up to the hype, it’s got to be the right color: green .

The market for electric trucks is just starting to take shape but Nikola and Tesla are making moves to position themselves as key players in clean commercial vehicles: Nikola is getting a new CEO with extensive automotive experience as it ramps up production and Elon Musk has claimed his long-delayed Tesla Semi will finally arrive this year. Read more here. Nikola Shares Jump On News Of CEO Mark Russell’s Retirement Portable EV Charger Aims To Reduce Range Anxiety Misplaced European Opposition Undermines Plug-In Hybrids, But U.

S. Prospects Stronger Baidu Begins Paid Robotaxi Service In China With No Employee Aboard Electric Vehicles Or Hydrogen Fuel Cell Cars? The Inflation Reduction Act Will Fuel Both For More Sustainability Coverage, Click Here. .