Global warming update

Oilprice.com reports: 

U.S. Battery Storage Is Booming

U.S. battery storage installations are soaring thanks to tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act. The total cost of battery storage systems has dropped significantly, further incentivizing installations.

Battery storage installations are soaring in the United States thanks to incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which offers, for the first time, tax credits for standalone storage capacity. .... In 2024, U.S. battery storage capacity could jump by 89% compared to 2023 if developers bring all of the energy storage systems they have planned online by their intended commercial operation dates, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) says. California and Texas are leading battery storage installations nationwide as the rapid growth of variable solar and wind capacity in these states supports growth in battery storage.

This is good news. We're making some progress despite the forces of climate science and global warming denial in the US.

Science News reports: 

Summer-like heat is scorching the Southern Hemisphere — in winter

Temperatures just hit a record-breaking 41.6° C (107° F) in western Australia

On August 26, a remote stretch of the coastline in Western Australia experienced the highest winter temperature ever recorded anywhere in the country: a blistering 41.6° Celsius (107° Fahrenheit).

In Bidyadanga, an Aboriginal community in Western Australia, the overnight low temperature on August 28 was a staggering 27.2° C (81° F). That’s in winter, when the long-term average nighttime temperature has been around 15° C (59° F).

The Kimberley, in remote northwestern Australia, saw some of the country’s most extreme temperatures in August. James Price Point is shown here, but another area farther north along the coast, Yampi Sound, logged the hottest ever recorded winter temperature on August 26, of 41.6° Celsius (107° Fahrenheit).

As we all know, the US is locked in a bitter democracy vs kleptocratic authoritarianism war for minds. American kleptocratic authoritarianism denies global warming and climate science generally because it gets in the way of wealth and power. American infowar propaganda tactics are all about persuasion, and failing that, fomenting discouragement and disengagement. It works to some extent. The Conversation reports:

Americans love nature but don’t feel empowered 

to protect it, new research shows

Climate change has been in the news for more than 40 years. It’s typically covered as a scientific or political issue. However, social scientists like me have found that feelings and values are what drive people toward broad, collective change – not charts, graphs or images.

Surveys confirm that the majority of Americans now believe that climate change is real. But many adults seem to feel too exhausted, defeated or powerless to do anything about it.

No sense of how to help

The way in which people talk about or portray an issue – their words, symbols, phrases or images – is called a frame. Frames highlight a subset of an issue, which then generally becomes people’s primary way of thinking about something.

Positive self-efficacy frames – in other words, a belief that people can make a difference – have been largely absent from conversations about climate change. Political or distant environmental frames are more common.

For example, prominent images typically contain political figures or distant environmental impacts, such as smokestacks or melting ice. These tend to leave people feeling powerless or feeling that they have little to offer. .... People feel longing, guilt and worry toward the environment, with virtually no mention of hope, excitement or empowerment.

Social scientists have been learning through climate change research that some emotions paralyze and others catalyze. Is it possible to reduce paralysis and match love for nature with hope? .... Our next phase of research will build on findings from this survey by examining how ethical, moral and spiritual considerations influence behavior.

Sigh. As usual, more research is needed. I wish there was some way to flog social science researchers to move faster with extreme urgency.

By Germaine: Concerned about global warming and coastal homes being converted to fish habitat