Hi, it’s been a while. I know I haven’t posted in a few weeks and I wanted to give you a small personal update and touch on a few of the things that have happened since my last post.
First, I should say that the reason for my absence is two-fold. I took on a new role at work starting in December, I was actually doing part of two jobs at once because they hadn’t backfilled my old role and there were some essential functions I did that only I knew how to do. The woman who recruited me to switch departments, and who was training me, suddenly turned in her notice in late January. So, for the last 3 weeks, I’ve been doing part of 3 jobs. I’m fortunate that people at my company have helped out, but there’s only so much they can do. Needless to say, I haven’t really had the energy to think, let alone write.
The second, more exciting reason, is that my wife and I bought a house, and I’ve been shopping for mortgages. We’re going to make a big announcement on social media next week, but we’re moving closer to our families and will be homeowners for the first time. It’s all very exciting, but as anyone who has ever bought a house can tell you, it’s also quite a lot of work.
The good news is, I see a light at the end of this tunnel. The mortgage stuff seems to be settled for now and we are flying down next week to look at our homesite (it’s a new construction project so we aren’t moving for a while). We finally hired my replacement and he started this week. I may end up getting a new manager sooner or later and I can focus on my actual job. However, I’ve learned that in the solar industry, nothing is constant and only fools predict the future. We call it the “solarcoaster” for a reason.
That being said, I’ve at least been paying attention. A lot has happened since my last post. Here are three climate things that really stood out to me.
The most obvious event is probably the war in Ukraine. While it isn’t the most important part of this conflict, we should keep in mind that EU reliance on Russian oil and gas is constraining its efforts to help Ukraine. In fact, without oil and gas revenues, Russia may not even be capable of the invasion. It’s just one more benefit to ditching fossil fuels. Nonetheless, we should also keep in mind that heating in the winter, especially in northern climates, is still a challenge for renewable energy. We need investments in things like green hydrogen and long duration energy storage to really break our reliance on natural gas.
The second thing that happened is the IPCC released the next part of its assessment. This is part 2 out of 3 and it was not exactly optimistic. We are not ready for the effects of climate, and the most vulnerable are also the least able to adapt. Poor, low-lying countries and communities, as well as arid places will bear the brunt of this. But, there was a glimmer of hope, if we radically reduce our emissions, we still have time to stave off a catastrophe. Though, even the authors admit that’s unlikely to happen.
There was also a report released by the US government regarding sea level rise. It said that US average sea level will rise by 10-12 inches in the next 30 years. That’s as much as the previous 100 years, representing a significant acceleration of sea level rise. I say “average” because it won’t be the same across the country, places like the Gulf Coast will see more (18-24 inches). It also predicted at least 1 more foot of rise between 2050 and 2100. That’s the best case scenario. The worst case is 7 total feet between now and 2100. Surprisingly, this actually represents an improvement. A few years ago, the worst case scenario was 8 feet. So, we are in fact moving the needle in the right direction, ever so slowly.
That’s all for now. I have no idea when I’ll get back to a regular schedule. It really depends on how everything plays out. I may move to a biweekly schedule or something like that, just to stay consistent.
Be safe and have a great weekend!
The Mangrove 