To continue reading
Create a free account or sign in to unlock more free articles.
By continuing, you agree to the Terms of Service and acknowledge our Privacy Policy
Welcome to Heatmap
Thank you for registering with Heatmap. Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our lives, a force reshaping our economy, our politics, and our culture. We hope to be your trusted, friendly, and insightful guide to that transformation. Please enjoy your free articles. You can check your profile here.
subscribe to get Unlimited access
Offer for a Heatmap News Unlimited Access subscription; please note that your subscription will renew automatically unless you cancel prior to renewal. Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing period. We will let you know in advance of any price changes. Taxes may apply. Offer terms are subject to change.
Subscribe to get unlimited Access
Hey, you are out of free articles but you are only a few clicks away from full access. Subscribe below and take advantage of our introductory offer.
subscribe to get Unlimited access
Offer for a Heatmap News Unlimited Access subscription; please note that your subscription will renew automatically unless you cancel prior to renewal. Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing period. We will let you know in advance of any price changes. Taxes may apply. Offer terms are subject to change.
Create a Free Account
Unlock your free articles
Welcome to Heatmap
Thank you for registering with Heatmap. Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our lives, a force reshaping our economy, our politics, and our culture. We hope to be your trusted, friendly, and insightful guide to that transformation. Please enjoy your free articles. You can check your profile here.
Subscribe to get unlimited Access
Hey , you are out of free articles but you are only a few clicks away from full access. Subscribe below and take advantage of our introductory offer.
Login
To continue reading login to your account.
Forgot your password?
Please enter the email address you use for your account so we can send you a link to reset your password:
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.
The Biden administration unveiled this morning the names and locations of seven hydrogen hubs that will receive a slice of $7 billion in funding as part of a big push to turn hydrogen into a viable alternative to fossil fuels. The projects are scattered across the country in strategic geographical locations, and their energy sources and objectives – beyond the broad mission of advancing clean hydrogen – vary in fascinating ways. Taken as a whole, the announcement paints a picture of a national experiment to see what works, and what doesn’t, in the advancement of this potentially powerful green fuel.
Here’s a quick rundown of the hubs, listed by region:
Mid-Atlantic — Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey
Energy sources: renewables and nuclear
Goals: test the feasibility of repurposing oil infrastructure for hydrogen production
Appalachia — West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania
Energy sources: natural gas (with carbon capture)
Goals: develop new infrastructure and experiment with carbon capture and storage
California
Energy sources: renewables and biomass
Goals: provide a “blueprint” for hard-to-decarbonize sectors like public transport, heavy duty trucking, and shipping ports
Gulf Coast — Texas
Energy sources: natural gas (with carbon capture) and renewables
Goals: reduce cost of hydrogen and make it scalable by tapping into the region’s abundance of natural gas and renewable energy
Heartland — Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota
Energy sources: unclear
Goals: decarbonize fertilizer production, test hydrogen as an energy source for space heating, find ways of equity ownership with tribal groups and farmers
Midwest — Illinois, Indiana, Michigan
Energy sources: renewables, natural gas (with carbon capture), and nuclear
Goals: decarbonize big industrial sectors like steel, power generation, refining, heavy-duty transportation, and sustainable aviation fuel
Pacific Northwest — Washington, Oregon, Montana
Energy sources: renewables
Goals: make electrolyzers cheaper and more accessible
A version of this article first appeared in Heatmap AM, a daily briefing on the most interesting and important news in climate. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every morning:
Jessica Hullinger is a freelance writer and editor who likes to think deeply about climate science and sustainability. She previously served as Global Deputy Editor for The Week, and her writing has been featured in publications including Fast Company, Popular Science, and Fortune. Jessica is originally from Indiana but lives in London. Read More
Read MoreA new report forecasts a future where reefs go over a “tipping point.”
Coral reefs are a thing of wonder, both organism and underwater infrastructure that houses thousands of species of fish. They are also, as you might already know, in grave danger. Climate change is contributing to massive waves of coral bleaching around the world, from the Great Barrier Reef to the ocean off of Florida, where an extreme oceanic heat wave this year turned mile after mile of reef a ghostly white.
We’ve known about coral bleaching for years, but a new report out Wednesday draws fresh attention to corals’ plight, including reefs — along with ice sheets, rainforests, and ocean currents, among others — on a list of imminent climate “tipping points.” And if they go over the brink, the consequences could reach far beyond the ocean floor.
According to the report, about a billion people, or 13% of the world’s population, are estimated to live within 100 kilometers of a coral reef. Together, those reefs provide $9.9 trillion of economic value each year. Reefs are sources of both nutrition and income; in Australia, the Great Barrier Reef is estimated to create 68,000 jobs and 5.7 billion Australian dollars of revenue each year, mostly from tourism. This means the risk to coral is a risk to humans, as well.
There’s still a lot we don’t know — “There are numerous pathways by which coral reef degradation may cascade into social and economic tipping points,” the authors write — starting with how exactly coral loss affects fish. Some studies have found that species like butterfly fish and parrot fish were negatively affected when their local coral bleached; other studies have shown fish communities getting on just fine.
But those bleaching events were limited. The authors of the “Global Tipping Points” report — led by Tim Lenton at the University of Exeter’s Global Systems Institute, in collaboration with a couple hundred researchers from around the world and received funding from the Bezos Earth Fund — suggest that coral could soon suffer something catastrophic and nearly irreversible on a worldwide scale.
“Documented impacts of coral cover declines include a loss of fish species, reductions in overall fish biomass and productivity, and potential destabilization of the food web,” the authors write. “If reefs are forced by climate change into low-productivity states, and if these states in turn force fish communities across a tipping point into a less diverse and less productive state, many coastal human communities will be forced to modify their lifestyles in significant ways.”
It’s yet another example of the sort of compounding disaster that climate change tends to bring, and a reminder of the interconnectedness of the ecosystems we live in and rely on, even if we can’t always see them. As Benji Jones writes in Vox, scientists are doing their best to find ways to save coral reefs; soon, however, their jobs could turn entirely to resurrection.
Sign up for our free Heatmap Daily newsletter.
