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Nope. Wind and solar energy have increased, but so have coal, natural gas, and oil. In fact, if we look at the trends for fossil fuel use, it isn’t clear that wind and solar have any impact. I provide graphs for all five energy sources—the one here is for oil—in …

January did set a new record for temperature, but only by a small amount. The El Niño event seems to be slowing. You’ll find the all-month graph of temperature anomalies and more in the February 21 Quick Takes and Random Stuff post on Briefed by Data.  

From Past disturbances and local conditions influence the recovery rates of coral reefs (1/10/2024) Since the 1970s, coral cover in the Atlantic Ocean has decreased fourfold, and recovery rates following disturbances have been relatively low, except in the Antilles where recovery rates have recently increased. By contrast, coral cover and recovery …

I posted this update on global temperatures in my most recent Quick Takes on Briefed by Data. As expected, 2023 set a record for November temperature, as can be seen in the graph. The last bar in black will be classified as El Niño, and while the record looks extreme, …

Over at Briefed by Data I’ve started doing a classroom connections post. I include material that I think could be used in a classroom somehow. The topics will vary based on what I’ve run into. This past one includes a range of math being used, from calculus and statistics to …

  I’m doing this post as a favor and because this is a unique faculty position that I’m happy to promote. If you are interested or know someone who might be then please pass it along. Harvey Mudd College invites applications for a tenure-track position, beginning Fall 2024, at the …

In my post over at Briefed by Data, CO2 emissions are an inequality problem, I report on an IEA article about how much those with higher incomes emit more energy-related CO2. To put it another way, if the top 10% decreased their CO2 emissions to the level of the next 10%, …

This post is really an ad for my new calculus textbook. I just received my author copies and thought I should promote it. For those that follow sustainabilitymath or use any of the calculus projects know that I’ve integrated many of them into the book. I also integrate R from …

From the eia article As solar capacity grows, duck curves are getting deeper in California (June 21, 2023): As more solar capacity has come online in California, grid operators at the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) have observed a drop in net load (or the demand remaining after subtracting variable …

From the iea Global EV Outlook 2023 Trends in batteries: Automotive lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery demand increased by about 65% to 550 GWh in 2022, from about 330 GWh in 2021, primarily as a result of growth in electric passenger car sales, with new registrations increasing by 55% in 2022 relative to 2021. …