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Renewable Friday: Peak Child Tipping Point [1]
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Date: 2025-01-17
A critical tipping point on the way to Peak Humanity has toppled: Peak Child. There are still a few outliers, most notably Niger, where the birth rate is still 6.5 children per fertile woman, but we know what to do there, and increasingly have permission to do it. The screamers are already raving about global depopulation and the end of civilization, but we know what to do there, too: put in government programs to support families with children, and a working economy everywhere so that they can all thrive. I would like to say that this is not brain surgery, but there are still too many in the world that need their brains adjusted to cope with reality.
Our World in Data: The world has passed “peak child”
The number of children in the world has stopped growing. This moment in time was given the term “peak child” by the late Hans Rosling. The chart shows the estimated number of children under five years old globally up to 2023, with projections from the United Nations out to 2100. The UN thinks the number of under-5s peaked in 2017.
The chart also shows the number of young people under 15, which peaked in 2021. And the number of under-25s, which may have peaked last year. “Peak child” is a sign that the world is on course for “peak population”. The UN expects the world population to start falling before the end of the century.
Why the world population won’t exceed 11 billion | Hans Rosling | TGS.ORG
UN population report: Reaching "peak child” and other takeaways | ABC News
Other Climate News
Chart: 96 percent of new US power capacity was carbon-free in 2024, Dan McCarthy, Canary Media, January 10, 2025.
The amount of carbon-free energy built in the U.S. last year far eclipsed the growth of new fossil-fueled power plants. The U.S. grid added a total of just over 56 gigawatts of power capacity last year. A whopping 96 percent of that came from solar, battery, wind, nuclear, and other carbon-free installations, per new Cleanview analysis of U.S. Energy Information Administration data. The U.S. has rolled out more clean energy than fossil-fueled power plants for years now, helping the grid get cleaner and less carbon-intensive. Power emissions have fallen steadily since peaking in 2007 as fossil gas and renewables have replaced coal. Still, fossil fuels generate the majority of the country’s power and the U.S. faces an uphill battle to decarbonize its grid by 2035, a goal set by outgoing President Joe Biden.
Supreme Court allows Hawaii climate change lawsuit to move forward, Lawrence Hurley, NBC, January 13, 2025.
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday turned away appeals filed by various oil companies trying to shut down a lawsuit in Hawaii that seeks to hold them accountable for climate change. The decision means that the municipality of Honolulu can move forward with a closely watched lawsuit against companies, including Sunoco and Shell, that raises claims under Hawaii state law. The companies argue that climate change is inherently an issue of federal law that should not be addressed by state courts. Other companies that were sued include ExxonMobil, Chevron and BP. The Hawaii Supreme Court ruled in October 2023 that the case could move forward, focusing on allegedly deceptive marketing and public statements made by the oil companies rather than the physical impacts of climate change.
Scientists discovered an amazing practical use for used coffee grounds
We could be producing concrete that's 30 percent stronger by processing and adding charred coffee grounds to the mix, researchers in Australia discovered. Their clever recipe could solve multiple problems at the same time. Every year the world produces a staggering 10 billion kilograms (22 billion pounds) of coffee waste globally. Most ends up in landfills. "The disposal of organic waste poses an environmental challenge as it emits large amounts of greenhouse gases including methane and carbon dioxide, which contribute to climate change," explained RMIT University engineer Rajeev Roychand.
How Congolese climate activists stopped a “carbon bomb”
After constant campaigning and mounting global condemnation, the Congolese government has temporarily canceled a dangerous oil and gas auction. François Kamate, an environmental activist from the Democratic Republic of Congo, or DRC, had primarily come to Europe to deliver a petition to the German government. The petition had been started by activists in Germany in reaction to a major auction of oil reserves underway in the DRC. It called on German ministers to push the Congolese government into protecting their rainforests and peatlands from oil exploration. It attracted 65,000 signatures and birthed the Congo Basin Alliance, a new group focused on linking climate activists in Europe and Central Africa. Kamate ended up handing the petition to a representative of the German Foreign Minister, who told him that the German government was shocked by the Congolese oil auction, and that “they were working on ending it.”
Good News for the Future of Desalinization?
Researchers at the University of South Australia have made a major breakthrough in addressing global water scarcity, according to Tech Xplore. The researchers were able to speed up the evaporation rate of seawater to be 18.8% higher than pure water. The previous standard for seawater was 8% lower than pure water, making this a landmark achievement, Tech Xplore explained.
California withdraws clean truck EPA waiver request ahead of Trump inauguration
Jan 14 (Reuters) - California said on Tuesday it has withdrawn its request for a federal waiver to require commercial truckers to transition to zero-emissions vehicles, preempting an expected denial from the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump. Rule would have set timelines for zero-emission truck adoption in California
Decision certain to resonate across the country
Trump has vowed to rescind EPA waiver approvals tied to EVs and emissions standards
It doesn’t really matter what Trump wants to do. Electric vans are cheaper than gas or diesel or any other fuel. Electric trucks are viable over short ranges now, and their ranges will increase every year from now on.
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