Detroit touts first wireless-charging public road for electric vehicles in US
By Eric D. Lawrence, Detroit Free Press, November 29, 2023
Detroit has launched the first wireless-charging public roadway for electric vehicles in the United States. The quarter-mile stretch of newly paved 14th Street uses rubber-coated copper coils buried underneath the road surface to charge electric vehicles equipped with a special receiver as they move along the road. The project is part of a public-private partnership aimed at demonstrating how this type of EV charging infrastructure could work in practice.
Microbiologists at COP28 push for a seat at the climate-policy table
By Katherine Bourzac, Nature, November 30, 2023
At the base of the world’s food chains are microbiomes, an underrepresented piece of the climate change pie. The way microbiomes respond to climate change will have wide-ranging implications for biodiversity, fisheries, and agriculture. They also both produce and take up methane, carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, meaning balancing them is a delicate dance.
For more on this topic, check out the American Society for Microbiology's report on the Role of Microbes in Mediating Methane Emissions.
The Critical Minerals to China, EU, and U.S. National Security
By Bruno Venditti, Visual Capitalist, November 30, 2023
US Limits China’s Ability to Benefit from Electric Vehicle Industry
By Ana Swanson, Jack Ewing, and Alan Rappeport, The New York Times, December 1, 2023
China has issued new rules that will make it harder for foreign automakers to sell electric vehicles in the country. The rules require that foreign automakers must have a local partner and must use Chinese-made batteries in their electric vehicles. The new rules are expected to make it more difficult for foreign automakers to compete with Chinese automakers in the electric vehicle market.
EIA: CO2 emissions declined, solar was largest source of new generation in 2023
By Shawn Wolfe, Power Engineering, November 28, 2023
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has forecasted a 3% decrease in CO2 emissions from 2022 to 2023, with much of the decline resulting from lower electricity generation from coal-fired power plants due to higher generation from renewable sources such as solar power. The EIA expects solar power to be the fastest-growing generation source and the largest source of new generation in 2023.
