In Between Times 2-9-2023
Honda expands hydrogen engines to trucks, Permitting reform, Tracking plastic, What the Speaker of the House debate should have focused on
Honda is expanding hydrogen powered engines to their commercial vehicles, Let's celebrate this development!
Honda has been a leader in the development of hydrogen fuel cell engines, which are emission waste free. It is a companion technology to the charged EVs emerging in the global vehicle market. Let's congratulate Honda on expanding this tech to their heavy duty trucks and construction equipment by signing this petition.
Click here to sign the petition!
Japan’s Honda outlines hydrogen power plans to go green
*Our philosophy on “action” petitions
In Between Times counts on its readers for support. If you enjoy In Between Times and you are not yet a PAID subscriber please consider becoming one now.
For less than a cup of coffee you can help promote civil discussion at a time when the world desperately needs it.
What is permitting reform? A primer
Permitting reform is an area where many Republicans and many Democrats can come together to actually do something good, for the country, the economy, and the environment. We need to be able to build things like transmission lines if we want to electrify and greenify the economy. But right now it is very difficult to do practically anything infrastructure oriented due to permitting regs. Once a significant project is proposed a phalanx of lawsuits and complaints usually arises out of nowhere. Projects that should take a year take 5 years. Projects that should take 2 take 10.
Many of these objections come from the environmental community. But the tendency of some activists to throw wrenches into the gears of worthwhile projects often does far more harm than good over the medium to long term. If one can’t transfer the wind energy from the front range of the Rockies to the cities of the Midwest because activists keep holding anything and everything up, the end result will be cities that continue to rely solely on fossil fuels for energy.
Permit reform is a challenge that can be solved on a bi-partisan basis.
(From Inside Climate News)
At a groundbreaking ceremony last month for the Ten West Link transmission line, Vice President Kamala Harris praised the project for what it means for the fight against climate change. “To create our clean energy future,” she said, “we must construct thousands of miles of new high-voltage transmission lines all across our country.”
But the line, which will stretch 125 miles between Arizona and California once completed, is also a reminder of how difficult it is to build big energy projects. Developers of Ten West Link filed their initial application with the federal government in 2015 for a project that won’t be fully online until 2025, and much of that time has been taken up by waiting for regulatory approvals.
“We put a man on the moon in less than that,” said U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), speaking about Ten West Link this week in a committee hearing. “Does that seem like a healthy permitting and regulatory system to anyone?”
Click here for the article.
New tech enables packaging tracing through a circular economy
Supply lines are living things. They shift this way and that. Prices change. Suppliers change. Materials change.
Supply lines present a particular challenge for companies looking to do a better job on the recycling front. Where did their plastic come from? Where did it go? One company believes that it has a solution for this sort of tracking.
(From Circular)
Polytag says the technology, developed in partnership with researchers at the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, will provide key stakeholders in the packaging supply chain with access to packaging lifecycle data, including where and when it was produced, and the percentage of recycled materials it contains.
The two-part technology consists of UV 2D printing capabilities and a UV tag reader, a “fully ruggedised” unit installed in recycling centres, Polytag says.
Polytag says the technology can aid compliance with Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) by providing brands with the data to ”describe, tag and trace” their plastic packaging through the circular economy, while also streamlining their packaging and recycling operations.
Click here for the article.
Thailand, “The world’s dumping ground for plastic”
Here’s what was missing from the debate about the Speaker of the House
This country is divided. Or at least that is what we are told. This even though polling shows us that a large majority of Americans can come together to discuss issues civilly and perhaps on occasion even solve difficult problems despite very real partisan differences.
But division is profitable for the Washington machine. If we are at each other’s throats the focus is on the “other” not necessarily on making the country a better place. It’s easier to be angry and offended than it is to actually do the hard work of solving problems. Better to snipe at each other and wish the other guy ill. It’s way more fun.
Aren’t you having fun? No?
(From Allsides)
What was missing from the debate about who the next speaker would be is how we can heal and unite the country. As Benjamin Franklin reminded delegates at the Constitutional Convention in 1787, the job of Members of Congress and their staff is “to consult, not to contend, with each other.”
What I’ve learned over nearly eight years of running Liberatus with the vision of American unity is that we often choose division on purpose. Whether we give in to our compulsive emotional responses or because we don’t trust the other side, it’s often easier to avoid working together. Freedom though isn’t only political and economic; it’s also relational.
What I’ve also learned is that there are three actions that we can all take to choose unity. First, we must be inclusive of other people and their viewpoints and lived experiences. Second, we should stay grounded in wisdom, which means always searching for it instead of proving loyalty to a partisan or ideological position. Third, we should create new solutions and culture and manage our time and energy to fuel our creative purpose.
Click here for the article.
Listen to last week’s A Moment of BS with Bill Shireman
Event
The EarthX Expo is the world’s largest green gathering held annually around Earth Day in Dallas, Texas. Our Congress of Conferences highlights a wide range of environmental & sustainability-related topics.
It has grown to become the largest event of its kind in the world, bringing together environmental organizations, businesses, academic institutions, government agencies, speakers, interactive programming, and subject matter experts.
EarthX Expo also features live music, art and food to help create a fun and engaging atmosphere for thought and experiential learning.