EnviroPolitics Blog

Electric Tug Sets Guinness World Record

The tug Bu Tinah has set a Guinness World Record for the world's most-powerful electric tug — *The tug Bu Tinah has set a Guinness World Record for the world’s most-powerful electric tug. Photo courtesy Damen*

By Mike Schuler, gCaptain

Damen Shipyards Group and SAFEEN Group, a division of AD Ports Group’s Maritime & Shipping Cluster, have set a new Guinness World Records title for the Most Powerful Electric Tugboat.

The record-setting vessel, named Bu Tinah, is a Damen RSD-E Tug 2513 that demonstrated an unprecedented average high peak pull of 78.2 tonnes.

The Bu Tinah, delivered earlier this year, holds the distinction of being the first fully electric tug to operate in the Middle East. The record-breaking performance took place at Khalifa Port, AD Ports Group’s flagship facility, and was announced during ADIPEC, the world’s largest energy event.

The timing of the achievement aligns with the growing emphasis on energy transition within the maritime sector. The RSD-E Tug 2513’s design prioritizes sustainability, offering zero emissions from tank to wake and playing a crucial role in reducing the industry’s environmental footprint.

“This Guinness World Record™ achievement demonstrates that the transition to alternative energy does not come at the cost of performance,” said Captain Ammar Mubarak Al Shaiba, CEO of AD Ports Group’s Maritime & Shipping Cluster. He also highlighted the vessel’s dual benefits of improving operational sustainability and cost efficiency through fuel savings.

Read the full story here

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Oil companies backing off green energy at global summit

The difference in profits companies can make from extracting oil and gas and what they can earn from harnessing wind and solar has swung sharply in favor of fossil fuels. Credit…Alisha Jucevic for The New York Times

As leaders gather for a global climate summit, investors are rewarding oil giants like Exxon Mobil that did not embrace wind and solar.

By Rebecca F. Elliott , Reporting from the COP29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, and New York

When oil and gas companies made ambitious commitments four years ago to curb emissions and transition to renewable energy, their businesses were in free fall.

Demand for the fuels was drying up as the pandemic took hold. Prices plunged. And large Western oil companies were hemorrhaging money, with losses topping $100 billion, according to the energy consulting firm Wood Mackenzie.

Renewable energy, it seemed to many companies and investors at the time, was not just cleaner — it was a better business than oil and gas.

“Investors were focused on what I would say was the prevailing narrative around it’s all moving to wind and solar,” Darren Woods, Exxon Mobil’s chief executive, said in an interview with The New York Times last week at a United Nations climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan. “I had a lot of pressure to get into the wind and solar business,” he added.

Mr. Woods resisted, reasoning that Exxon did not have expertise in those areas. Instead, the company invested in areas like hydrogen and lithium extraction that are more akin to its traditional business.

Wall Street has rewarded the company for those bets. The company’s stock price has climbed more than 70 percent since the end of 2019, lifting its market valuation to a record of nearly $560 billion in October, though it has since fallen to about $524 billion.

Read the full story here

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With Trump’s return are EVs and offshore wind dead ducks?

By Frank Brill, EnviroPolitics Editor

As political commentators assess the implications of Donald Trump potentially returning to the White House, one key question emerges: What would this mean for electric vehicles (EVs) and offshore wind energy development? Analysts agree that Trump’s policies could disrupt federal support for clean energy, though global market dynamics and state initiatives may prevent a complete rollback.

Electric Vehicles: Policy Slowdown but Global Momentum

Under a second Trump presidency, electric vehicle incentives such as those in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) could face scrutiny. Trump has criticized the IRA as a “wasteful green agenda,” suggesting he might target programs encouraging EV adoption. Analysts predict that such actions could deter investment and slow growth in the U.S. market.

Aaron Viles of the Electrification Coalition underscores the importance of EV tax credits in fostering domestic manufacturing. He warns that rescinding these incentives could shift economic opportunities to Europe and China, where EV production is booming.
Steven Cohen of Columbia University notes that uncertainty surrounding federal support has already caused automakers like Ford and GM to delay new EV models. Many are waiting to see if policies under the IRA will survive the 2024 elections .

Despite this, Nick Nigro of Atlas Public Policy argues that Trump’s potential actions might not halt global trends. Automakers see the future as electric, and international competition will continue to drive innovation and production

Offshore Wind Energy: Subsidies at Risk

Trump has consistently criticized wind energy, calling it unreliable and environmentally harmful. His return could lead to reduced federal support for offshore wind farms, a cornerstone of U.S. clean energy strategy.

The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, which outlines a conservative policy roadmap, proposes cutting federal funds for renewable energy projects. While Trump has distanced himself from the document, it reflects his administration’s past efforts to prioritize fossil fuels over renewables

However, projects already funded might continue due to legal and financial safeguards. Analysts note that states like New York and Massachusetts, which lead in offshore wind development, could sustain progress even without federal backing.

The Bigger Picture: Challenges and Opportunities

While Trump could slow clean energy transitions, outright halting them is unlikely. Many IRA-funded projects have bipartisan support, particularly in red and swing states that benefit from job creation. Furthermore, global competition and market demand will push companies to continue investments, especially as consumers increasingly favor sustainable energy solutions

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Opinion: As struggle against climate change flounders, Trump enters

*US President Donald Trump arrives to attend the G20 summit in Hamburg, northern Germany, on July 7, 2017.*

By Ishaan Tharoor with Kelsey Baker, Washington Post

Even before the imminent return of Donald Trump to the White House, global climate action was in a tricky spot. Major gaps exist between countries in the developed and developing world over how to collectively bring down emissions, mitigate the calamitous effects posed by a warming planet and fund these efforts. Within some Western democracies, there’s a growing backlash to green policies, with voters resenting onerous carbon taxes, the loss of fuel subsidies and the prospect of stricter environmental regulations that raise household costs.

All the while, the planetary warnings are blaring at full pitch. Scientists expect this year to be the hottest on record, supplanting 2023, the titleholder. “It will also probably be the first full calendar year when temperatures rose more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above the preindustrial average — a critical line signaling that Earth is crossing into territory where some extreme climate effects may be irreversible,” noted my colleague Kasha Patel.

World leaders, activists, policymakers and corporate executives are in Baku, capital of oil-rich Azerbaijan, for the annual U.N.-backed climate conference. The two-week mega-summit, dubbed COP29, opened Monday, but many prominent heads of state, including President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, have skipped it. (For some, the session of the Group of 20 major economies in Brazil takes precedence.)

COP29 is not going smoothly. Inside, attendees vent their frustration with the slow pace of negotiations over a new deal intended to raise $1 trillion in climate financing for poorer nations. Outside, campaigners lament the presence of more than 1,700 lobbyists from the fossil fuel industry. Swedish activist Greta Thunberg said it was “beyond absurd” that such a critical meeting was being hosted by “an authoritarian petrostate.” But that’s now par for the course for the COPs — the previous two summits were held in the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.

And then there’s the shadow of Trump.

Read the full story here

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Walk this way. How ants broadcast trails to the best food finds

From Science Daily

It’s a common sight — ants marching in an orderly line over and around obstacles from their nest to a food source, guided by scent trails left by scouts marking the find. But what happens when those scouts find a comestible motherlode?

A team of Florida State University researchers led by Assistant Professor of Mathematics Bhargav Karamched has discovered that in a foraging ant’s search for food, it will leave pheromone trails connecting its colony to multiple food sources when they’re available, successfully creating the first model that explains the phenomenon of trail formation to multiple food sources

Read the full story here

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Drag your beach chair outside at midnight tonight and look skyward

By Kara Seymour, Patch Staff

The Leonid meteor shower peaks this weekend, giving Pennsylvania residents the chance to see one of the best shooting star shows of the year — weather permitting.

Right now, the National Weather Service forecast through the weekend calls for clear skies throughout the Philadelphia region. Some clouds could surface in the western part of the state, potentially obstructing the view for residents in that area.

The full beaver supermoon will appear to be full through the weekend and could interfere with the peak of the Leonid meteor shower peak Saturday through Monday. But the Leonids aren’t ordinary meteors, so it’s still worth a trip outside.

These sometimes colorful meteors travel at an extremely fast 44 miles per second and are known for impressive fireballs with persistent streaks that meteor experts say could peek through the moonlight.

Because the moon will stay bright all night during peak activity for the Leonids Saturday through Monday, the darker the sky, the better the chances of seeing shooting stars and fireballs.

Read the full story here

Drag your beach chair outside at midnight tonight and look skyward Read More »

Electric Tug Sets Guinness World Record

Oil companies backing off green energy at global summit

With Trump’s return are EVs and offshore wind dead ducks?

Electric Vehicles: Policy Slowdown but Global Momentum

Offshore Wind Energy: Subsidies at Risk

The Bigger Picture: Challenges and Opportunities

Opinion: As struggle against climate change flounders, Trump enters

Walk this way. How ants broadcast trails to the best food finds

Drag your beach chair outside at midnight tonight and look skyward

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