A wind farm in the town of Setana on Japan’s Hokkaido island. Energy produced by such turbines can go to waste if it can’t be stored.
By Nicolás Rivero and Emily Wright, Washington Post
SAPPORO, Japan — Ocean winds whip across the beaches, hillsides and sprawling plains of Hokkaido. There’s enough wind energy here for Japan’s northernmost island to power itself and export clean electricity to the rest of the country.
But Hokkaido can’t harness all of that power unless it has a way to store energy when breezes are blowing and use it later when the gusts die down.
So, the island is turning to a new generation of batteries designed to stockpile massive amounts of energy— a critical step toward replacing power plants fueled by coal, gas and oil, which create a third of global greenhouse gas emissions.
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MIDDLETOWN — Hurricanes have flooded Cathy Rogers’ homes in Port Monmouth and destroyed everything she owned.
Twice.
But on Monday morning, 84-year-old Rogers looked forward to a future that is safer from flooding for her and her neighbors in this stretch of Middletown.
Outside of the Port Monmouth Community Church on Main Street, elected officials and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers personnel marked the beginning of the final phase of construction that will finish a series of flood walls and gates that will protect this low-lying area from the storm surges and hammering waves of future storms.
Behind them, the hum of construction equipment muffled their conversations as workers added new pieces to the existing seawall that protects homes on Main Street from flooding at the Compton Creek.
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Following a public engagement process spanning several years, coupled with careful review and consideration, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection today released a map clearly delineating legal roads for driving vehicles within Wharton State Forest.
Designated roads shown on the map, called the Wharton State Forest Visiting Vehicle Use Map, enhance the visitor experience and public safety by supporting State Park Police patrols and the ability to conduct routine maintenance and improving access for emergency response personnel. Further, the map serves to ensure the protection of wildlife habitat and rare plant species found within the forest. Additional signage will be installed to support the map and clarify areas for vehicle access and those closed to vehicles.
To learn more about how the Wharton State Forest Visiting Vehicle Use Map was developed, a video is available explaining the process, details, enforcement and future adaptations.
“Wharton State Forest is the perfect place to experience the famed and ecologically unique New Jersey Pinelands,” said Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette. “With the release of this map, we are taking a crucial measure to ensure visitors can continue to enjoy all the forest has to offer but in a more responsible way that preserves its natural and historical resources for future generations.”
The map is available online and is also offered as a georeferenced PDF, allowing drivers to use their mobile device to determine their location on the map in real time, including in areas with limited or no cellular service. Additionally, printed copies are now available at the Atsion and Batsto offices within the forest.
“The release of the Wharton State Forest Visiting Vehicle Use Map is a milestone for enhancing both visitor safety and natural and historic resource protection and conservation throughout New Jersey’s state parks and forests,” said John Cecil, Assistant Commissioner for State Parks, Forest & Historic Sites. “By clearly defining safe, legal vehicle roads, we’re improving access for responsible exploration while protecting Wharton’s diverse natural and cultural treasures, minimizing impacts on sensitive habitats and supporting the integrity of our shared public lands.”
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“These stronger standards are necessary to better protect nearby communities’ health, and the power sector has already shown that the additional pollution controls can affordably and reliably do the job,” said Joseph Goffman, the E.P.A.’s assistant administrator for air and radiation, in a statement.
The proposal was created to limit nitrogen oxide emissions from all new turbines built at power plants and industrial facilities, along with any existing turbines that are modified or reconstructed after the proposal takes effect.
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The U.S. Department of Justice this week said it found police officers in Trenton use excessive force and unlawfully stop, search and arrest people, but social justice advocates are skeptical that much will change.
In the wake of the federal department’s release of its report, several advocates said the DOJ’s proposed reforms don’t push hard enough, and they feared the monitoring will ultimately lose strength in the next Trump administration as well.
“Just the same old routine script is not going to work for us at the NAACP,” said Trenton NAACP’s Austin Edwards. “What we want to see is a lot more changes.”
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There’s a shiny new addition to Pakistan’s dusty agricultural heartland: rows upon rows of solar panels.
Imports of solar equipment from China in the first nine months are well ahead of those for the whole of 2023, according to data compiled by BloombergNEF. The $1.7 billion of purchases would equate to 17 gigawatts of generation, more than a third of Pakistan’s total power capacity, if it’s all deployed on rooftops and farms across the country, according to industry estimates.
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