Sign In or Create an Account.

By continuing, you agree to the Terms of Service and acknowledge our Privacy Policy

Climate

AM Briefing: Bird Files for Bankruptcy

On the struggling e-scooter company, protecting old forests, and drinking wastewater

AM Briefing: Bird Files for Bankruptcy
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

Current conditions: Southern California is bracing for heavy rain • China's bitter cold is complicating earthquake rescue efforts • Iceland's capital of Reykjavik could be hit by pollution from a volcanic eruption.

THE TOP FIVE

1. E-scooter company Bird files for bankruptcy

E-scooter company Bird, which “put electric scooters onto the sidewalks of major cities,” is filing for bankruptcy in the U.S. Just five years ago the company reached “unicorn” status with a $1 billion valuation faster than any startup ever before. But “Bird grew too quickly — it launched in too many cities before it had a viable model,” one former employee told the Financial Times. “It was losing money on every ride, so the more cities and more rides it was doing the more money it lost.” The company went public in 2021 but its stock plummeted quickly and never really recovered. Other micromobility startups are facing similar financial challenges, and some cities are cracking down on e-scooters.

Bird

2. Biden moves to protect ‘old growth’ forests

President Biden issued a proposal yesterday to protect some of the oldest trees in America’s national forests from commercial logging. The move has climate ramifications because older trees are natural carbon sinks, so keeping them alive prevents that carbon from being released into the atmosphere and contributing to global warming. “Older forests provide the most above-ground carbon storage potential on Earth, with mature forests and larger trees driving most accumulation of forest carbon in the critical next few decades,” a group of scientists wrote in a letter to Biden last year. “Left vulnerable to logging, though, they cannot fulfill these vital functions.” The proposal doesn’t protect “mature” trees, which aren’t quite as ancient as “old growth” trees. This concession is “a middle ground between environmentalists and the timber industry,” says Lauren Aratani at The Guardian. The ban is set to come into place in 2025 and comes as part of an executive order, so whether it goes ahead could depend on the outcome of the 2024 election.

3. California will start turning wastewater into drinking water

California officials yesterday approved regulations allowing wastewater from toilets and showers to be recycled into drinking water for hundreds of thousands of people. “As we look to make our communities more resilient to drought, to climate change, this is really going to be an important part of that solution,” Heather Cooley, director of research at water think tank Pacific Institute, tells the Los Angeles Times. Colorado has similar rules in place already, and Arizona and Florida could soon follow suit. The wastewater recycling process has undergone extensive review by scientists and engineers who insist it is clean and safe. The water is filtered, decontaminated, disinfected, and monitored, making it “purer than many drinking water sources we now rely on,” says E. Joaquin Esquivel, chair of the state’s water resources board.

Get Heatmap AM in your inbox every morning:

* indicates required
  • 4. British Museum gets £50 million in funding from BP

    The British Museum, one of the most popular museums in the world, came under fire this week for accepting £50 million (about $63 million) in new funding from oil giant BP. The deal will last for 10 years and the money is expected to help pay for museum upgrades and refurbishments. The sponsorship isn’t new: BP has partnered with the museum since 1996. But it comes at a time when cultural institutions in Britain and elsewhere are under pressure from climate activists to cut ties with fossil fuel companies. One activist group has threatened legal action in response to the move, and Greenpeace called it “brazen greenwashing.” But, as the Times of London points out, most of Britain’s museums charge nothing for entrance and rely heavily on philanthropy and sponsorship. “Money needs to come from somewhere,” the paper says.

    5. VW will use Tesla’s EV charging plug

    Tesla’s EV plug, the North American Charging Standard (NACS), is one step closer to dominating the industry entirely with the announcement that Volkswagen Group has committed to using the connector starting in 2025. VW says customers will now have access to 15,000 Supercharger locations across North America. The last remaining NACS holdout is Stellantis, but it’s probably only a matter of time before the automaker “bends the knee.

    THE KICKER

    Five gray wolves were released in Colorado this week as part of a wild wolf restoration project.

    Yellow

    You’re out of free articles.

    Subscribe today to experience Heatmap’s expert analysis 
of climate change, clean energy, and sustainability.
    To continue reading
    Create a free account or sign in to unlock more free articles.
    or
    Please enter an email address
    By continuing, you agree to the Terms of Service and acknowledge our Privacy Policy
    Climate

    The Five Feet That Could Prevent the Next Palisades Fire

    California passed a new fire safety law more than four years ago. It still isn’t in force.

    A house and distance from grass.
    Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

    For more than four years, California has had a law on the books meant to protect homes and buildings during an urban firestorm like the Palisade and Eaton fires. But it’s never gone into effect.

    In theory, the policy was simple. It directed state officials to develop new rules for buildings in areas with high fire risk, which would govern what people were allowed to put within the five-foot perimeter immediately surrounding their homes. A large body of evidence shows that clearing this area, known in the fire mitigation world as “zone zero,” of combustible materials can be the difference between a building that alights during a wildfire and one that can weather the blaze.

    Keep reading...Show less
    Green
    Politics

    AM Briefing: Los Angeles Faces Its ‘Most Dangerous Day’

    On executive orders, the Supreme Court, and a “particularly dangerous situation” in Los Angeles.

    The Offshore Wind Ban Is Coming
    Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

    Current conditions:Nearly 10 million people are under alert today for fire weather conditions in southern California • The coastal waters off China hit their highest average temperature, 70.7 degrees Fahrenheit, since record-keeping began • A blast of cold air will bring freezing temperatures to an estimated 80% of Americans in the next week.

    THE TOP FIVE

    1. Los Angeles to face its ‘most dangerous day’

    High winds returned to Los Angeles on Monday night and will peak on Tuesday, the “most dangerous” day of the week for the city still battling severe and deadly fires. In anticipation of the dry Santa Ana winds, the National Weather Service issued its highest fire weather warning, citing a “particularly dangerous situation” in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties for the first time since December 2020.

    Keep reading...Show less
    Yellow