It's a new week and the top story in sustainability media so far is the news that EV manufacturer Rivian is opening a network of privately owned rest stop charging stations with interoperable chargers that any EV should be able to use.

Today's top 3 Stories

Rivian's Charging Outposts: Utility Dive wrote it up Rivian's new charging network this morning, and 72 other media outlets have covered it as well according to Feedly. (A very handy way to track the top news in any field, let me know if you'd like me to show you how.)

Upsides:

Interoperability based on technology standards, renewable energy powering transportation, a comfortable rest stop with locally produced snacks to buy and a information about the nature you're traveling through.

Risks:

The restrooms require a code that you get from the Rivian mobile app. This isn't a public space and I fear the class politics may be non-inclusive. I offer as an alternative this excellent recent writing reflecting on public highway rest stops, by Adam Davies of Oregon Humanities Magazine: "This shared responsibility, in an admittedly odd way, is what that public restroom just west of Boardman meant and still means to me. In John Dewey’s words: 'The clear consciousness of a communal life, in all its implications, constitutes the idea of democracy.'"

It would be amazing if Rivian embraced the opportunity here and engaged with the whole public in a positive way. If it has to be a gift shop, hopefully it can be more than that too.

The other top stories this morning, across hundreds of news sources, are:

- Nuclear power critique: A new Australian science report critiquing nuclear power, covered here by Tina Casey: CSIRO Study: Nuclear Energy Is Not The Savior Some People Say It Is (Nuclear development timeline in Australia would be at least 15 years, while being economically uncompetitive with solar PV and wind.)

-Offshore wind in Japan: BP has announced a £4.5bn investment in offshore wind with the biggest energy producer in Japan. The Guardian's Jasper Jolly is skeptical, writing BP shifts offshore wind to joint venture amid retreat from renewables

This has been a new "top new" experiment I'm going to try out - I hope you find it useful! Now on to your personalized top 3 updates.

-Marshall Kirkpatrick

Earth Catalyst: Boosting your efficacy and capacity with two decades of trailblazing & the newest technology

Today and every day, our system scans over 1,000 green tech and sustainability organizations for updates. Below, you'll find:

• A Visual of the Day

• A digest-style Table of Contents for 52 selected updates from around the green tech and sustainability world

• (If you subscribe by email) 3 personalized selections just for you and your work

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Visual of the Day

Rivian's private interoperable EV rest stops

I hope they hire a lot of people to keep these rest stops looking so snazzy.

Today's Updates

Table of Contents

• Agriculture (9 stories) - Global Environmental Facility's $5.2B land restoration meets African landscape initiative and UNCCD COP16 policy debates, while Senegalese drought modeling and EU-Mercosur tensions shape agricultural landscape

• Carbon (2 stories) - Carbonext partners with Amazon sawmills for conservation; Tanager-1 satellite data presented at AGU

• Circular (1 story) - Twin Cities repair workshops and Zero Waste Coalition push for 85% household waste reduction coverage

• Ecosystems (6 stories) - AI protects Edwards Aquifer, DNA preservation for Australia's mountain ash, Wilder Côa rewilding film, Rhodope vulture recovery, Wisdom albatross nests at Midway, pine marten reintroduction in Lake District

• Efficiency (4 stories) - Google DeepMind GenCast boosts weather forecasting accuracy; mini splits and heat pumps gain traction with MA rebates up to $12K; Forge HVAC expands installation teams

• Finance (2 stories) - Academic sustainability training trends and clean energy buyers' shift toward Granular Certificates for hourly carbon tracking

• Grid (1 story) - YouSolar raises $180K to help homes bypass utility upgrades for EV charging infrastructure

• Indigenous (10 stories) - Indigenous-led conservation and clean energy projects advance in Australia with $70M funding, while Brazil's Awara and Mexico's Yucatan communities demonstrate successful forest preservation through traditional practices

• Industry (2 stories) - Copper smelting breakthrough and Patagonia's virgin petroleum phase-out target sustainable manufacturing advances

• Policy (10 stories) - State-level polluter-pay laws advance with NY's $75B Climate Change Superfund Act, while G20 carbon markets expand and National Fuel Gas faces lobbying fund misuse probe

• Renewables (4 stories) - Major advances in DIY solar installation tech, including YouSolar PowerBloc and canal-top systems, backed by $30.2B federal funding as perovskite innovations drive utility-scale transformation

Agriculture

Global Environmental Facility's $5.2B land restoration meets African landscape initiative and UNCCD COP16 policy debates, while Senegalese drought modeling and EU-Mercosur tensions shape agricultural landscape

• Why smallholder farmers are “hunting for healthy soil” (CGIAR) - Farmers worldwide are searching for fertile land as financial constraints prevent soil maintenance, perpetuating a cycle of environmental degradation affecting millions of hectares annually.

• Regreening Africa: A Catalyst for Sustainable Development (CGIAR) - A continent-wide initiative to restore African landscapes has improved food security and climate resilience for 1.6 million people across eight nations since 2017.

• GEF invests UD$5.2 billion in sustainable land management (CGIAR) - The Global Environmental Facility has invested $5.2 billion since 2006 to restore 19.7 million hectares and sustainably manage 74.8 million hectares of land worldwide.

• Commonwealth Secretariat’s call to action for sustainable land management (CGIAR) - The Commonwealth Secretariat urges global action at UNCCD COP16 to address desertification and drought impacting 55 million people yearly through sustainable land management initiatives.

• Scaling land and soil regeneration through a behavioural science approach (CGIAR) - Global experts emphasize trust-building, peer learning, and policy incentives as crucial factors driving farmer adoption of land regeneration practices, according to findings presented at UNCCD COP16.

• Sustainable land use systems: Advancing land degradation neutrality through local action and global integration (CGIAR) - Global experts propose three-pillar strategy combining economic viability, environmental sustainability, and social justice to combat land degradation at UNCCD COP 16.

• Scientists Trained to Model Climate-Smart Solutions for Mixed Farming Systems (ICRISAT) - Scientists and policymakers in Senegal completed training on agricultural modeling to combat drought, coastal erosion, and food insecurity affecting the nation's mixed farming systems.

• EU-Mercosur Trade Deal: Europe’s Peasant Unions Accuse the European Commission of Ignoring Their Concerns (Via Campesina) - European peasant unions representing 2.5 million farmers condemn the EU-Mercosur trade agreement, warning it threatens local agriculture and environmental standards.

• US tuna cans linked to reports of forced labour of Indonesian fishers: Greenpeace Southeast Asia report (Greenpeace) - Major US tuna brand Bumble Bee has been linked to ten documented cases of forced Indonesian labor aboard Taiwanese fishing vessels between 2019 and 2024.

Carbon

Carbonext partners with Amazon sawmills for conservation; Tanager-1 satellite data presented at AGU

• Loggers and carbon projects forge odd partnerships in the Brazilian Amazon (Mongabay) - Carbon credit giant Carbonext has joined forces with Para state sawmill owners, who face $4.8 million in environmental fines, to develop forest conservation projects in Brazil's Amazon.

• Carbon Mapper Experts to Present Initial Methane and Carbon Dioxide Results from the Tanager-1 Satellite at 2024 AGU Meeting (Carbon Mapper) (Carbon Mapper) - Scientists will present methane and CO2 data from Tanager-1 satellite across 17 research sessions at AGU Fall Meeting in Washington DC.

Circular

Twin Cities repair workshops and Zero Waste Coalition push for 85% household waste reduction coverage

• Celebrating the MN Zero Waste Movement (Eureka Recycling) (Eureka Recycling) - Minnesota's Zero Waste Coalition marks year-end with clothing repair workshops and policy planning, aiming to expand waste reduction programs reaching 85% of Twin Cities households by 2025.

Ecosystems

AI protects Edwards Aquifer, DNA preservation for Australia's mountain ash, Wilder Côa rewilding film, Rhodope vulture recovery, Wisdom albatross nests at Midway, pine marten reintroduction in Lake District

• Efficacy of mitigation strategies for aquifer sustainability under climate change (Nature Sustainability) (Nature Sustainability) - New research reveals AI-backed mitigation strategies could safeguard Texas' Edwards Aquifer system, protecting groundwater levels and spring flows against climate change impacts.

• As Australia’s giant trees succumb to fire or drought, we’re racing to preserve their vital genetic data (The Conversation) - Scientists are rushing to safeguard DNA from Australia's tallest trees, including the 100-meter Centurion mountain ash, as climate threats endanger these ancient giants.

• Greater Côa Valley rewilding documentary boosts engagement in Portugal and beyond (Rewilding Europe) (Rewilding Europe) - The new "Wilder Côa" documentary showcasing Portugal's Greater Côa Valley rewilding initiative drew 1,400-plus viewers through sold-out premieres and livestreaming events.

• Ten-year rewilding anniversary sees vulture boost in the Rhodopes (Rewilding Europe) (Rewilding Europe) - Ten years of rewilding efforts in Bulgaria's Rhodope Mountains have boosted vulture populations, with plans to release 40 more cinereous vultures by 2028.

• Wisdom the 74-year-old albatross lays an egg with new mate (Mongabay) - A 74-year-old Laysan albatross named Wisdom, Earth's oldest documented wild bird, has laid her first egg in four years with a new mate at Midway Atoll.

• European Wildlife Comeback Fund boosts pine marten recovery in the UK (Rewilding Europe) (Rewilding Europe) - A €50,000 grant from the European Wildlife Comeback Fund will support the release of 13 Scottish pine martens in England's Lake District to boost local populations and protect red squirrels.

•  () -

Efficiency

Google DeepMind GenCast boosts weather forecasting accuracy; mini splits and heat pumps gain traction with MA rebates up to $12K; Forge HVAC expands installation teams

• What is a Mini Split Air Conditioner? Your Guide to Efficient, Ductless Home Comfort (Elephant Energy) - Mini split air conditioners deliver 30% energy savings through indoor handling units paired with outdoor compressors, enabling precise room-by-room temperature control without ductwork.

• Efficient, Climate-Friendly Air Source Heat Pumps in Massachusetts (Elephant Energy) - Massachusetts residents can now claim up to $12,000 in state and federal rebates for heat pumps that effectively warm and cool homes in extreme temperatures ranging from -20°F to 100°F.

• LLMs for weather forecasting & more (Keep Cool) - Google DeepMind's new GenCast weather model, trained on 40 years of European data, achieves 97% accuracy over current systems and offers free public access to its forecasts and code.

• Ep. 15: Mark Kasdorf wants to build a $1B+ heat pump business (Canary Media) (Canary Media) - Fast-growing HVAC startup Forge has expanded to more than ten heat pump installation crews since launching 18 months ago, focusing on rapid training to address labor shortages.

Finance

Academic sustainability training trends and clean energy buyers' shift toward Granular Certificates for hourly carbon tracking

• A systematic literature review on the role played by sustainability matters in the educational environment (Tandfonline) - Research analysis of 56 academic papers shows growing emphasis on hands-on sustainability training in accounting and university programmes, despite uneven global implementation and research methods.

• 2025 Granular Certificate (GC) Market Readiness Report (Granular) (LevelTen Energy) - Survey of 18 major clean energy buyers reveals growing demand for Granular Certificates, which enable hourly tracking of carbon-free electricity generation and procurement.

Grid

YouSolar raises $180K to help homes bypass utility upgrades for EV charging infrastructure

• Most Momentum on StartEngine! - YouSolar (StartEngine) (StartEngine) - California-based YouSolar has secured $180,000 from 55 investors in just three weeks, developing power solutions that enable homes to bypass utility upgrades for EV charging and all-electric living.

Indigenous

Indigenous-led conservation and clean energy projects advance in Australia with $70M funding, while Brazil's Awara and Mexico's Yucatan communities demonstrate successful forest preservation through traditional practices

• Cultivando a Autonomia / Cultivating Autonomy (YouTube) - Indigenous Awara communities in Brazil's Amazon blend ancestral wisdom with modern farming methods to protect 100% of their forest biodiversity while achieving complete food independence.

• How conservation photographer Cristina Mittermeier uses visual storytelling to inspire action (Mongabay) - Award-winning photographer Cristina Mittermeier harnesses visual storytelling and Indigenous wisdom to drive global environmental change through her optimistic conservation work.

• First Nations peoples key to Australia’s clean energy revolution: The Conversation (The Conversation) - Indigenous communities are set to play a pivotal role in Australia's clean energy future, with $70M allocated and half of renewable infrastructure planned for First Nations land.

• Five-year energy blueprint greenlights Indigenous power: AAP (AAP) - The Australian government has unveiled a five-year national strategy to boost clean energy access and employment opportunities for Indigenous communities through industry partnerships.

• Groundbreaking First Nations Clean Energy Strategy launched in Adelaide: NIT (NIT) - Indigenous leaders joined energy ministers in Adelaide to launch Australia's first national strategy ensuring Aboriginal participation in the country's clean energy transition.

• Network Steering Group member wins award (First Nations Clean Energy Network) - Indigenous lawyer Brian Bero has been named National First Nations Senior Lawyer of the Year for championing clean energy transitions across First Nations communities.

• Thanks for supporting #Indigenous climate justice! Donate: www.indigenousclimateaction.com/donate (Indigenous Climate Action) - Indigenous Climate Action's finance manager Nadia Wiso expressed gratitude for public support during Tuesday's fundraising drive to maintain Native climate justice initiatives.

• COP29: What world leaders can learn from indigenous communities (City AM) (CityAM) - Indigenous communities safeguard 80% of Earth's biodiversity while receiving less than 1% of climate funding, prompting calls for COP29 leaders to embrace their environmental practices.

• Forest Conservation Projects Must Be Community-Led | Opinion (Newsweek) (Newsweek) - Indigenous communities in Mexico's Yucatan have preserved 135,000 hectares of forest through carbon credits and traditional farming, proving local leadership drives conservation success.

• Indigenous Communities Need Access to a High-Integrity Carbon Market (Newsweek) (Newsweek) - Indigenous communities safeguard vital forests yet receive under 1% of climate funding, despite managing key low-deforestation areas, reports show.

Industry

Copper smelting breakthrough and Patagonia's virgin petroleum phase-out target sustainable manufacturing advances

• New technologies could refine the copper the world needs — without the dirty smelting (ClimateDesk) - Scientists report new copper purification methods could eliminate toxic smelting emissions while meeting surging global demand for renewable energy infrastructure.

• For Patagonia, phasing out fossil fuels means "getting the oil off our backs" (We Mean Business Coalition) (We Mean Business Coalition) - Outdoor retailer Patagonia plans to eliminate virgin petroleum from its supply chain by 2025, having already cut virgin polyester use to just 4% of its products.

Policy

State-level polluter-pay laws advance with NY's $75B Climate Change Superfund Act, while G20 carbon markets expand and National Fuel Gas faces lobbying fund misuse probe

• Green Transition versus the Environment?: The Politics of Mining for Critical Minerals∗ Sarah M. Brooks† Santiago Lacroix Eussler‡ Erik Voeten§ November 15, 2024 (UCLA GRIPE) - Survey data shows Argentinians reject foreign lithium mining operations and their environmental toll, despite clean energy benefits, while expressing limited backing for indigenous compensation.

• What we accomplished together in 2024 (Environment America) - Environmental advocates secured key victories in 2024, including Arctic drilling bans, pesticide limits across multiple states, reduced Amazon packaging waste and expanded marine sanctuaries.

• New study: Liquefied gas, an unnecessary yet explosive risk (Greenpeace) - European governments continue expanding LNG import facilities despite new research showing industry calculations underestimate explosion risks by up to 2,000 percent, while renewable alternatives remain available.

• Younger people disproportionately represented in climate heat-related mortality trend according to Mexico study (Science Advances) - Young Mexicans under 35 account for three-quarters of the nation's heat-related deaths and 87% of heat-related lost life years, researchers report.

• What does it mean to make polluters pay? (Climate Action Now) - Major oil companies could face $75 billion in climate damage payments under New York's pending Climate Change Superfund Act, following Vermont's first-in-nation polluter-pay law.

• Reflections on COP29 and G20 (Rumin8) (Rubicon Carbon) - Global climate summits advance carbon markets with 83% of G20 nations now backing unified emissions policies and private sector carbon trading frameworks.

• Gas Utility National Fuel Used Its Customers' Money for Lobbying (Energy and Policy Institute) (Energy and Policy Institute) - New York utility National Fuel Gas misused customer funds to lobby for its energy plan, breaching state regulations that prohibit ratepayer money for lobbying activities.

• Community Link Program: A Catalyst for Collaboration Between Local Governments and Community Partners (Hua Nani Partners) (Hua Nani Partners) - A new pilot program aims to help community groups in Southern cities secure federal climate funding, with Hua Nani Partners facilitating local government partnerships.

• Energy Tax Laws and Guidance in the New Administration (Tax Notes) (Tax Notes) - Growing market for credit transfers and domestic manufacturing capacity emerges as administration explores eliminating EV incentives while retaining broader IRA energy credits.

• We're Never Done Learning About Climate Change and Adaptation. Is Anyone? (Terra.do) (Terra.do) - Rising seas will persist after emissions cease, yet South Korea's Cheonggyecheon stream project demonstrates effective urban climate adaptation strategies, according to latest research.

Renewables

Major advances in DIY solar installation tech, including YouSolar PowerBloc and canal-top systems, backed by $30.2B federal funding as perovskite innovations drive utility-scale transformation

• A breakdown of Our Success (YouSolar) - Solar cabinet system enables solo installation without special tools, marking significant progress in making residential solar power more accessible to homeowners.

• The 5 brightest US solar policy wins of 2024 (Aurora Solar) (Aurora Solar) - Federal initiatives totaling $30.2 billion will expand canal-top solar projects, enhance grid infrastructure, and increase solar access across multiple US states.

• A Radically Different Electricity System Is Coming (YouSolar) (YouSolar) - Solar power could replace traditional utilities in a $4.5 trillion market by 2034, as emerging perovskite technology and cost advantages drive decentralized energy systems forward.

• We Are Installing the Gen 3 PowerBloc (YouSolar) (YouSolar) - California winery becomes first site for YouSolar's Gen 3 PowerBloc system, offering off-grid power independence through streamlined solar installation without utility approval requirements.