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• Inflation Reduction Act charges positive clean-energy results in Southeast
  in Feedbag
  By outh

  Electric car recharging.  Courtesy Wikipedia Commons

  KNOXVILLE — This month marks the one-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act, the most significant clean energy and climate action legislation in U.S. history, and our region is already seeing massive economic benefits. Consider this: just one year into the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), four Southeastern states rank in the top 10 nationally for new clean energy investments:

  • Georgia: $18.83 billion with 22 new major clean energy projects, the 2^nd most in the nation
  • South Carolina: $11.71 billion with 20 new major clean energy projects, 
    the 3^rd most in the nation
  • Tennessee: $5.76 billion with 13 new major clean energy projects, the 6^th most in the nation
  • North Carolina: $9.61 billion with 9 new major clean energy projects, the 10^th most in the nation
  • Florida: $503 million with 5 new major clean energy projects

  The Southeast will also be a leading hub for electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing with more than 60,000 announced jobs, according to SACE's fourth annual Transportation Electrification in the Southeast report, produced with Atlas Public Policy, which will be published next Wednesday, September 6. The report also shows that Georgia leads all states in the country for announced EV manufacturing jobs. Join us for the webinar on September 6 at 11:00 a.m. ET to hear more highlights of the report.

  While the economic growth numbers from the first year of the IRA are encouraging, the real impacts will be measured by the people and communities that will benefit from the transition to clean energy.

  — Southern Alliance for Clean Energy

• The electric-vehicle revolution brings environmental uncertainty at every turn
  in News
  By Tim Lydon

   

  As demand for electric vehicles soars, several roadblocks have emerged

  This article was originally published by The Revelator.  

  Manufacturers, governments and consumers are lining up behind electric vehicles — with sales rising 60% in 2022, and at least 17 states are considering a California-style ban on gas cars in the years ahead. Scientists say the trend is a key part of driving down the transportation sector’s carbon emissions, which could fall by as much as 80% by 2050 under aggressive policies. But while EVs are cleaner than gas cars in the long run, they still carry environmental and human-rights baggage, especially associated with mining.

  “If you want a lot of EVs, you need to get minerals out of the ground,” says Ian Lange, director of the Energy and Economics Program at the Colorado School of Mines.

• SACE sees many silver linings in Senate climate bill; House passage expected
  in News
  By Amy Rawe

  A rainbow pierces gray skies during the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow. United Nations
  

  Climate activists stress positives of Senate climate bill despite its shortcomings 

  Amy Rawe is communications director for Knoxville-based Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.

  KNOXVILLE — The U.S. Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), an estimated $430 billion bill, of which approximately $370 billion will be allocated to investments in clean energy and to address climate change.

  It’s the single largest climate investment in U.S. history, and if it passes the House, will put the country on a path to be able to achieve roughly 40 percent emissions reduction from 2005 levels by 2030, reestablishing our influence in meeting the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. 

• Southeast electric vehicle sales increased 49 percent last year. Overall U.S. auto sales increased only 3 percent.
  in News
  By Stan Cross

  Illustration courtesy of Southern Alliance for Clean Energy

  Annual SACE, Atlas Public Policy data indicates rapidly escalating and enduring demand for electric vehicles in Southern U.S.

  Stan Cross leads Knoxville-based Southern Alliance for Clean Energy's electric transportation policy and utility reform efforts across the Southeast.

  When will the electrification of America’s cars, trucks, and buses really take off?

  Imminently, if not already. Look to the Southeast, which is experiencing impressive EV market growth despite a lack of state-level EV-supportive policies, incentives and regulations.

  The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and partner, Atlas Public Policy, updated key year-end indicator data from the annual “Transportation Electrification in the Southeast” report to capture regional and state-specific growth in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

  This is a critical time for the expanding EV market. The pandemic has exposed global supply chain weaknesses related to auto manufacturing and battery production that can only be solved by increasing domestic production of critical materials and components.

  The Russian invasion of Ukraine is once again exposing the entanglement of America’s commitment to global democracy and dependency on oil for transportation, and highlighting the national security benefits of rapidly transitioning to electric mobility powered by domestic electricity. 

• University of Tennessee climate panel: Scientists say don’t despair. Yet.
  in News
  By Thomas Fraser

  Scientists discuss climate challenges and solutions during 2021 One Health Day

  As climate experts and scientists huddled in Glasgow in an international effort to stem potentially disastrous global environmental changes, a panel of doctors representing multiple disciplines at the University of Tennessee and beyond offered their assessments of climate challenges and solutions.

  Their take on climate change? We have problems, but we also have solutions. Hopelessness will drive you crazy. Stay healthy, stay informed and do your part to mitigate the long-term environmental consequences of a changing Earth. 

  Above all: Don’t despair and don’t lose hope.

  The panel, held Nov. 3 at the UT Student Union and presented by the UT One Health Initiative, consisted of the following experts:

  — Dr. Gus Engman, Department of Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture 

  — Dr. Kate Evans, Computational Sciences and Engineering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

  — Dr. Joshua Fu, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Tennesse

  — Dr. Sindhu Jagadamma, Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture

  — Dr. Kristina Kintziger, Department of Public Health, University of Tennessee

  Answers have been edited for clarity and brevity and don’t include the full response. Questions were submitted ahead of time or during the panel discussion. 

  What do you see as the largest threats of climate change, especially related to your individual research interests?

  Engman: Changing precipitation patterns are something I think about a lot.

  Pretty much all the rivers in the world are expected to have changes to their flow regime.

  These changes in droughts and floods are a really large issue.

  I think a lot about aquatic communities. If we are scarce on drinking water, we are always going to prioritize people having that water, over the fish or the bugs in the streams. 

  There are all kinds of impacts to life histories and interactions with communities in streams. 

  When animals are stressed because of these changes in precipitation patterns and changes in flow patterns, they might become more susceptible to other stressors, like disease. 

  Changes in algal community composition can impact the entire water quality of a stream, and that might happen because of these changes in precipitation patterns.

  These places that are experiencing these extreme droughts really worry me. The Colorado River already doesn’t even flow all the way to the ocean anymore. That’s a huge change. Because we take up so much water for agriculture. 

  If a stream runs out of water, it’s not a stream anymore.

  Evans: From a meteorological perspective, the biggest event that hurts people's health is actually heat waves. A lot of press goes to tornadoes and hurricanes and storms but in fact these large domes of hot air (are deadly), which happen because of changes in the large-scale weather patterns.

  The greenhouse effect insulates the earth, it makes it more uniform in temperature and so that changes the flow patterns that go around the earth. That changes those big weather systems that come in and how long they stick around. 

  When you talk about these long droughts, we know that’s what's we have to understand: Will they last longer, be more humid, less humid, and that has huge impacts for human health as well as the food they eat and the plants that grow. 

  Kintziger: Heat also has a bigger impact on a more indirect pathway to human health. Not just heat-related illness but also cardiovascular impacts, renal impacts and even mental health impacts.

  Heat is the one that keeps me up at night. We are seeing increasing temperatures globally and we also have this urban heat island affect. 

  Our vulnerable populations in the cities — inner cities with lower-income housing, homeless populations — they are going to experience heat very differently than people who live in newer buildings with better cooling and infrastructure and have better capabilities for adapting to heat. 

• Report: Electric vehicles could add $47 billion annually to Southeast economy
  in News
  By Stan Cross and Heather Pohnan 

  Because most electricity is generated locally, shifting to electric transportation might save consumers money at the plug.

  (This story was reported and written by the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy).

  Electrifying transportation could provide an economic boon for Alabama, Georgia, Florida, North and South Carolina, and Tennessee. That’s what the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) reveals in a new analysis, “Retained Transportation Fuel Spending in the Southeast: Electric vs. Internal Combustion Vehicles.”

   

  SACE analyzed how much consumers spend on gas and diesel and how much of that transportation fuel spending remains in a given Southeast state and how much leaves. The analysis then looked at what happens if all on-road gas and diesel-powered cars, trucks, and buses are replaced with vehicles that drive entirely on electricity.

  DOWNLOAD THE REPORT
  WATCH THE REPORT WEBINAR

  What We Found: $47 Billion on the Table

  FUELING TRANSPORTATION IS EXPENSIVE

  Southeast consumers spend approximately $94 billion on gas and diesel fuels annually. And because the region has nearly no oil production or refining operations, only about one-third of that amount — approximately $30 billion — is retained in our region’s economy, and the rest leaves to pay for the imported fuels. That adds up to $64 billion leaking out of our region’s economy every year. 

• Knoxville electric bus fleet expands; furthers city efforts to reduce its carbon footprint
  in News
  By Thomas Fraser

  Grant to expand electric fleet will help city advance its emissions-reduction goals

  The federal government kicked down a $4.8 million grant to Knoxville for additional electric transit buses. It will expand the current Knoxville Area Transit electric fleet by six vehicles, the city announced July 12. That means KAT could have a total of 18 electric buses operating on routes across the city by the end of next year.

  The funds were disbursed from the federal Low and No Emission Vehicle Grant Program, which helps municipal transit agencies acquire low- or zero-emission buses and other transit vehicles, according to the city. Sen. Bill Hagerty and Rep. Tim Burchett supported the grant application. 

  KAT wants to electrify its entire 71-bus fleet within eight years. 

  “This will go a long way in helping KAT transition to an all-electric fleet,” Mayor Indya Kincannon said in the news release. “With each new electric bus, we are reducing our carbon footprint. We are moving closer toward our goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions associated with City operations by 50 percent by 2030 — and a communitywide reduction of 80 percent by 2050.”  

  The grant furthers a city goal of replacing aging KAT diesel buses “with state-of-the-art electric buses that are about three times more fuel-efficient than a standard diesel bus (13 MPGDE vs. 4.4 MPG),” according to the city. 

  “Knoxville Area Transit provides an important service for folks in Knoxville, which is why earlier this year I asked the Federal Transit Administration to give KAT’s Low-No application grant full consideration,” Burchett said in the city release. “I’m glad this grant was awarded to our community so KAT can modernize its fleet to be more efficient and environmentally friendly.” 

• Technical Society of Knoxville Centennial Celebration
  in Event Archive
  By GreyW

  Jun 14  ^{6:30 p.m. EST}

  The Turning Point: Things were never the same after 1921, when technology was changing the city in several surprising ways

  Jack Neely, Executive Director of the Knoxville History Project

  Technical Society of Knoxville (TSK)

  Charity Banquet at Crowne Plaza for the Charles Edward Ferris Engineering Endowments at University of Tennessee, Knoxville - the public is invited - RSVP by June 8

  Ferris was the first Dean of UTK’s College of Engineering.

  More details on the event, sponsorships, and reservations

  The Technical Society of Knoxville was founded in 1921. It has met over 4,000 times to discuss the application of technology from early Knoxville’s coal smoke and traffic problems to present Knoxville’s transportation air pollution and the impact of electric car technologies.

• Electric Vehicle Virtual Ride & Drive with race car driver Leilani Münter
  in Event Archive
  By GreyW

  Apr 24  ^{1-2 p.m. EDT}

  Natural Resources Defense Council and Southern Alliance for Clean Energy

  Zoom Webinar - Free and open to the public - RSVP

  Leilani will take us through the paces in her electric car and explain why she’s an advocate for electric transportation powered by clean energy. Following the virtual ride, Leilani will answer live questions posed by viewers. Make sure to register to hold your reservation.

• Ecological Society of America honors Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists for sustainability research
  in News
  By Thomas Fraser
   

  ORNL researchers receive 2021 Sustainability Science Award for mapping human influence on U.S. river and stream changes 

  Researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory mapped and quantified hydrological changes throughout the country due to urban development, energy production and other human factors and won a prestigious award for their efforts.

  The team’s analysis was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and received the 2021 Sustainability Science Award from the Ecological Society of America.

  “The Sustainability Science Award recognizes the authors of a scholarly work that make a substantial contribution to the emerging science of ecosystem and regional sustainability through the integration of ecological and social sciences. The researchers will be recognized during the society’s annual meeting in August,” according to an ORNL release announcing the award.

  The research coupled U.S. Geological Survey stream-flow records with geospatial modeling to quantify human impact on national water resources and concluded the 7 percent of affected aquatic systems hold 60 percent of North American freshwater fish, mussels and other species.
  
  “This work exemplifies how ORNL’s interdisciplinary research in environmental and geospatial science helps equip decision makers with the tools needed to move our nation toward a more sustainable future,” Stan Wullschleger, associate laboratory director for ORNL’s Biological and Environmental Systems Science Directorate, said in the release.

  Lead author Ryan McManamay, an aquatic ecologist and faculty member at Baylor University, was with ORNL’s Environmental Sciences Division at the time of publication. Co-authors include ORNL’s Sujithkumar Surendran Nair, Christopher DeRolph, the late April Morton, Robert Stewart, Matthew Troia and Budhendra Bhaduri; Northern Arizona University’s Benjamin Ruddell; and the University of Tennessee’s Liem Tran and Hyun Kim.
  
  “It was a privilege to work with this team that spanned across multiple disciplines and institutions,” said Bhaduri, an ORNL Corporate Research Fellow and director of ORNL’s Geospatial Science and Human Security Division. “Given the impacts of climate change, there has never been a more pressing opportunity to address environmental sustainability. It’s a tremendous honor to make this scientific contribution and to be recognized for it.”