This week’s good climate news

With so much still to do to slow warming and avoid the worst impacts of climate change, it’s important to fortify ourselves by celebrating wins along the way.

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A busy city street with cars moving so fast they are blurred but the street has so many cars and it looks like New York so there's no way traffic isn't at like a complete standstill so that effect is probably misleading. Also, lots of taxis on the road.

EPA to award $250 million to cut climate pollution

The Environmental Protection Agency announced it will award $250 million in grants to slash climate pollution in U.S. cities and states, as well as Puerto Rico.

The funding comes from the Inflation Reduction Act’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program, which will make an additional $1 million available to populous metropolitan areas in the U.S. and extend $25 million to Indigenous tribes.

An electric vehicle plugged in and charging

EV range becoming more reliable

To combat worries of range anxiety, researchers looked at typical driving patterns and found small batteries can meet the needs of many drivers. This research found more than one-third of participating drivers met 100% of their needs with an electric vehicle with a relatively small battery.

A smaller battery also saves consumers money and delivers greater benefits to the environment.

A whale's mouth just hanging open above the surface letting fish swim in so it can eat them

Ancient texts show weird whale wonder actually well known

Scientists began to document a unique whale feeding behavior in the 2010s where whales open their mouths at the surface and wait for fish to swim in. Now, researchers have discovered this behavior was documented in ancient texts, dating back nearly 2,000 years ago, suggesting humans of the past were also fascinated by this mysterious practice.

This connection was only recently made because the depictions of ancient sea creatures do not much resemble whales.

A smokestack with white smoke billowing out

CO2 emissions could be plateauing

Research from the International Energy Agency shows global carbon dioxide emissions could be reaching a plateau. Carbon dioxide from energy rose less than 1% in 2022, compared to a 6% increase in emissions recorded in 2021.

And while there needs to be a 7% reduction in global emissions to meet current climate goals, these new figures deliver hope that those goals are achievable.

A stunning beach with blue-green water

Panama greatly expands marine protection

Panama will expand the size of the Banco Volcán Area of Managed Resources to more than 90,000 square kilometers. The country will designate roughly half of the zone as a marine protected area, where activities that pose harm to the environment are prohibited.

With this major contribution to conservation, Panama can now protect over 50% of its marine areas.

Let’s take action on climate together