So, let's talk green: Tsunami of support after Trump exits Paris accord
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about how Trump tricked, tripped and trumped the Americans, in a play of pure politics. What I did not speak about is the fact that Trump is a business man, and a capitalist who will go for anything that makes business sense. Now that he is a full blown politician, he needs to walk the political tight rope of his business sense and the promises he made to his electorate who eventually elected him. The only condition, he seems to have set is that it should be done quietly.
Quietly he is working behind the scenes. Going to his Mexican wall story, he recently envisioned securing US borders with a wall topped by solar panels. He hopes that renewables can pay for themselves. Will it have the ability to pay for the massive wall is doubtful, but let's grant him his grandiose thought on this one! Importantly, this gives us an indication that renewables exist somewhere in his radar screen, which is the ray of hope that all environmentalists are looking for.
To put more smiles of hope, his administration made some positive moves. It is now moving ahead with another round of funding for small business, a good chunk of which is going to support companies with big plans for pushing renewable energy. The Office of energy efficiency and renewable energy put out this headline on June 21st, on its website, 'Department of energy (DOE) announces nearly US $32 million for innovative small businesses focussed on clean energy technologies'.
The companies selected for the funding includes a diverse group, with some focussing on reducing waste and pollution from fossil operations. For example, one company is developing an energy efficient desalination process that deploys "low quality" solar thermal energy. The system can also treat brackish water, so there's a potential for the oil and gas industry to deal with its wastewater problems, including wastewater related to fracking as well as conventional drilling. On the "pure" solar side, a California based company was awarded funds to develop software that will enable commercial properties to get the most out of their on-site solar arrays. Among the projects related to electric vehicles, one project is focused on silicon carbide, with a line of products designed to reduce energy loss associated with electric drives. A materials specialist company is developing a "lean" concept for low cost manufacturing aimed at lithium-ion batteries. A technology company is involved in carbon capture and recycling by working on a "breakthrough" low-cost manufacturing process that will take carbon dioxide and convert it into low-cost, high quality graphite specifically for use in EV-sized Li-ion batteries.
While we can softly applaud Trump's team for what little that DOE is doing, other administration officials are putting more pressure on the system. More than 250 mayors have adopted a new bipartisan climate change resolution that includes a push for US cities to commit to 100% renewable energy by 2035, further widening the divide between US cities and Trump.
The resolution was adopted at the 85th Annual Meeting of the United States Conference of Mayors, which was held from June 23 to 26 in Miami Beach. Specifically, the US mayors agreed to support onshore and offshore wind energy production, concluding that "The United States Conference of Mayors supports greater federal, state, and local investment in the development of wind energy" and "supports a continuation of the Investment Tax Credit (ITC)] for as long as necessary to secure the long-term viability of the domestic wind energy industry, including the offshore wind energy industry, and more specifically, the passage of the Offshore Wind Act."
It seems God created Trump and made him walk out of the climate pact, to engineer a tsunami of support from many influential groups in the US, which were ambivalent until now. The planet needs all the help it can get to reverse the effects of global warming and the resulting climate change resulting in extreme weather events. All efforts need to be applauded, even from unexpected places, like the DOE and the Mayors of the US.
