What mattered this week

Blair Witch Hunt: Everyone sees ghosts

Tony, controversial? Ha. Opined on climate. Cue, explosions. 💥 
Press reports accurate? No. Right-wing “Blair buries renewables”. Left: “He’s a traitor, string him up”.
And he really said? ‘Decarbonisation is essential, but it won’t happen if we trash voters’ lifestyles’. True.
Best commentary: Simon Evans debunks myths on X; David King says Blair can’t say anything in the The Guardian

The pain in Spain: It was, and wasn’t, renewables

Another politicised event? Uh huh: Spain’s grid shut off. Yes, it was renewables causing the problem. And it wasn’t. At the same time. 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫
Why was it renewables? Explain like I’m 10! Fossil power stations have giant spinning wheels, which can speed up or slow down like shock absorbers. Wind/solar doesn’t: just safety shut offs. Spain was running high renewables, glitch hit, everything shut down.
Why wasn’t it renewables? Poor grid planning mattered: other countries have new “grid-forming” tech that can absorb problems. Spain didn’t have enough.
Best commentary: Carbon Brief on what we do and don’t know; RenewEconomy on how Australia solved the same issue

Worth skimming

🦋 UK insects down 63% since 2021. (Bug Life)
☀️ Solar panels to be fitted on all new UK homes. (Guardian)
🥵 Hottest start to May on record, London hits 29°C. (BBC)
🚜 UK farmers struggling: too much and too little rain. (ECIU)
⚡️ Europe on track for record solar, up 30% in Q1 (Reuters)

One thing to worry about

Unexpected climate effect No. 358: Rice becomes toxic.

Major study this week says rice grown in paddies will absorb more arsenic as temperatures rise (The Lancet).

One thing to be optimistic about

Big German survey reveals electric cars are twice as reliable as combustion cars (CarScoop).

If you’ve got more time…

Deep ocean seabed mining is becoming a thing. WRI has updated their useful guide to a critical topic.

Deep-sea mining means extracting critical minerals (nickel, cobalt, manganese) from the ocean floor.

There are serious risks, as side effects unknown. Like, disturbing fragile marine ecosystems, fisheries and carbon sinks. Stuff important for that thing known as “life on planet earth”.

UN wants regulation & research, but Trump and China want to start mining. Who will get there first?