Equilibrium/Sustainability — Athletes consider cricket’s sustainability

The game of cricket has weathered such a hot spring and summer that athletes are questioning the long-term sustainability of the world’s second-most popular sport.  

Cricket, trailing only soccer in global fandom, is particularly beloved in some of the places most vulnerable to extreme weather events, such as India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, South Africa and the West Indies, The New York Times reported.   

And nations like England and Australia, which also have sizable cricket followings, have been experiencing record heat waves, according to the Times.   

Of all major outdoor sports that require fields or pitches, the game of “cricket will be hardest hit by climate change,” according to a 2018 U.K. climate report.  

Heat and rain can both jeopardize cricket play, with matches sometimes lasting up to five days, according to the Times. Even single-day matches can persist through “blistering conditions for seven hours or more,” the Times reported.  

Unlike other sports that allow athletes to wear shorts and other light clothing, cricket players must wear pads, gloves and a helmet despite high humidity and a lack of shade, according to the Times.   

While Australia has enacted heat guidelines for cricket, no global policy exists for playing in extreme weather. 

“Action needs to be taken for us to manage this situation,” Daren Ganga, a former West Indies captain who studies the issue, told the Times.  

“I think we’ve gone beyond the tipping point in some areas,” he added. “We still have the opportunity to pull things back in other areas.” 

Welcome to Equilibrium, a newsletter that tracks the growing global battle over the future of sustainability. We’re Saul Elbein and Sharon Udasin. Send us tips and feedback. A friend forward this newsletter to you? Subscribe here.

Today we’ll start with the volcanic eruption just miles away from a mid-Atlantic travel hub, followed by a look at why the climate deal could slow — not speed — electric vehicle adoption. Then we’ll explore a groundbreaking lawsuit that charges a major gas utility with making the fuel look too good. 

Lava flows near Iceland’s Reykjavik airport

A giant volcano began erupting in Iceland on Wednesday just 10 miles from Keflavik International Airport, raising concerns for travelers who frequent the global hub, The Washington Post reported. 

International thoroughfare: As of Thursday morning, the airport remained open and operational, despite the eruption.  

• Keflavik International Airport, located about 30 miles southwest of Reykjavik, hosts a long list of global departures and arrivals.  
  
• Direct flights come to and from a variety of European cities, as well as Boston; Minneapolis; Chicago; Washington, D.C.; New York; Seattle; Denver; Portland, Ore.; and Raleigh, N.C. 

No disruptions yet: Iceland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that there are still no aviation disruptions and “international flight corridors remain open.”  

What caused the eruption? Lava started flowing from a ground fissure around the Fagradalsfjall volcano on Wednesday afternoon local time, according to the Foreign Affairs Ministry.  

• The eruption occurred after several days of “intense seismic activity” and poses little threat to populated areas or critical infrastructure. 
  
• Air pollution could occur due to gas release, so the ministry advised people to avoid the area.   

Are people staying away? Not really. Despite warnings from the Icelandic Meteorological Office, many people ventured near Fagradalsfjall to take photos with their children and fly drones, according to the Post.  

“It’s just crazy,” Icelandic photographer Gunnar Freyr told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) after coming to watch the eruption. 

“I thought the eruption was going to happen maybe like in a few weeks, and now it’s here and it is so beautiful,” Freyr added.  

‘A dancing fire’: Valur Grettisson, editor in chief at The Reykjavik Grapevine magazine, told ABC that he was “mesmerized” by the eruption. 

While Iceland tends to get volcanic activity every four to five years, Grettisson stressed that this event was “different” — describing the eruption as “a dancing fire.” 

Climate deal could hinder electric vehicle adoption

A push by Democrats to increase the number of electric vehicles (EVs) on the road could be hampered by certain provisions included in last week’s climate and tax deal between Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), our colleague Rachel Frazin reported for The Hill.  

What provisions? At issue are certain requirements for EV tax credit eligibility. 

Some more specifics: For car buyers to get the full $7,500 credit with the purchase of a new EV, 40 percent of the minerals in that vehicle’s batteries will need to be extracted or refined from countries that have free trade agreements with the U.S., Frazin reported.  

• That requirement will increase to 50 percent in 2024 and 80 percent in 2027.
    
• A percentage of the car’s battery components also must be manufactured in North America.  

Will meeting such guidelines be realistic? Industry experts told Frazin that these provisions could be difficult to meet and might therefore reduce EV adoption in the short term.  

The bill as drafted could mean “that a significant number of consumers will not be able to take advantage of this credit in the early years when it is needed the most,” John Bozzella, of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, said in a statement.  

Distancing the industry from China: Today, the majority of processing for battery minerals — such as lithium, nickel and cobalt — occurs in China, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing the firm Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.  

This means that most EVs currently on the market would fail to meet the new EV tax credit standards, according to the Journal.  

With which mineral producers does the U.S. have free trade agreements? The U.S. has agreements with some mineral producers, such as Australia and Chile.  

But the country has no such deals with other key producers like China, Russia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Frazin reported.  

Obstacle to adoption: Morgan Bazilian, a public policy professor at the Colorado School of Mines, told Frazin that the percentages and years listed in the tax credit provisions “are very high and very soon.” 

• “Will those targets become a hindrance or an obstacle to the adoption of electric vehicles with those targets?” Bazilian asked.  
  
• “Yes, if they are adhered to precisely and exactly,” he said. 

Utility sued for ‘greenwashing’ gas

Two environmental groups are suing the District of Columbia’s main gas utility for “greenwashing” —  deceptive practices around its environmental impacts. 

Cause of action: The suit against Washington Gas accuses the company of “misleading” customers by billing natural gas as environmentally beneficial, according to a statement from the Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), which filed the case. 

PIRG says this is the first lawsuit targeting a utility for its claims around gas.  

What’s in a name? The fuel marketed as natural gas is overwhelmingly composed of methane — a notorious climate pollutant, campaign director Matt Casale said in a statement.

• “Washington Gas is greenwashing methane gas in its materials,” Casale said.
    
• In doing so, he added, the utility was misleading D.C. residents “about the environmental and health impacts of the products and services they use – including where they get their energy.” 

Washington Gas did not respond with comment by press time. 

Better than electric? Washington Gas press materials refer to gas as “clean” — while making the case that consumers who use it release fewer planet-warming fossil fuel emissions than those who cook and heat with electricity.

• But nearly half of global warming to date has come from methane  — which is the primary component of natural gas, a Climate Policy Initiative study found. 
  
• Every escaped molecule of methane heats the planet dozens of times faster than equivalent volumes of carbon dioxide, according to the Environmental Defense Fund. 

But new-model electric appliances — from heat pumps to induction cooktops — can be many times more efficient than gas-powered, according to a separate PIRG study.  

Nationwide campaign: Gas companies around the country market the fuel as a climate solution, according to a PIRG fact sheet.

• Philadelphia Gas Works, for example, markets the fuel as “the most affordable and sustainable energy choice for your business heating, water heating and processing needs.” 
  
• And the Texas Gas Service touts the fuel as “Eco Friendly.

Breach of obligation? “Companies are legally obliged to be honest with the public, including about how their businesses may impact the environment and safety of consumers,” said ClientEarth lawyer Tyler Highful. 

“We cannot underestimate the real world impact energy company greenwashing has on the pace of change,” Highful added. 

As profits rise, oil companies still reluctant to drill 

Although oil company profits soared along with prices in the second quarter of 2022, companies aren’t actually drilling more. 

Instead, they’re using the money to keep their stock prices up — which has some leading Democrats asking questions.  

Buying back: Global fossil fuel producers are overwhelmingly choosing not to reinvest their profits in producing more, Canada’s Financial Post reported on Thursday.

• Companies that extracted oil from the country’s polluting tar sands secured billions in profit — and used it to bid up their own share prices.
   
• In contrast to the drill-baby-drill 2010s, investors are demanding oil companies prioritize “value over volume,” S&P Global analyst Kevin Birn said.

A global trend: The West’s biggest oil companies are set to return $30 billion to investors this quarter, Reuters reported. 

• That’s about half of the $60 billion in profits they brought in — but despite the money, the firms are tightening their belts.  
  
• “Given all the uncertainty in the world, now is not the time to lose discipline,” BP CEO Bernard Looney told Reuters, even as he noted the company had realized its biggest profits in 14 years.

Texas-based Occidental, meanwhile, is using its profits to bring its $21 billion in debt down to $15 billion, Reuters reported. 

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres labeled such profits “immoral” in a Wednesday statement — calling on governments to “tax these excessive profits, and use the funds raised to support the most vulnerable people through these difficult times.”  

Asking questions: The bumper profits amid soaring gas prices had one powerful congressional Democrat demanding answers, our colleague Rachel Frozen reported for The Hill. 

• House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) demanded that the country’s four largest oil companies explain why they aren’t reinvesting profits to bring down prices. 
  
• Pallone said his committee is also “investigating what oil companies could and should be doing to help bring down gas prices.” 

But consistently high gasoline prices may be better for encouraging the energy transition to renewables than a production increases many Democrats are calling for — which could dissuade investment in renewables, Reuters reported. 

Thirsty Thursday

“Mud-bergs’”rise from the shrinking Colorado River, a look at whether drought causes war and Tuscan farmers struggle to save grapes and olives amid with little rain.  

Drought leaves Colorado River stretch in uncharted ‘mud-berg’ territory 

• As the Lake Powell reservoir recedes to historic lows, a stretch of the Colorado River is growing “craggy, gnarled mud formations” that locals describe as “mud-bergs,” according to local NPR affiliate KUNC. “The mud-bergs that we see defining and changing the river corridor,” river runner Mike DeHoff told KUNC. “And that’s a terra incognita for me.” 

Uncovering whether drought causes political unrest 

• University of Nebraska scientists just received a million dollars to verify something that has long been suspected: a link between climate change, drought and social conflict, Omaha-based station KETV reported. “There’s a real gap. I think this project begins to address that gap,” Mark Svoboda of the university’s National Drought Mitigation Center told KETV. 

Tuscan farmers fight to save grape, olive harvest  

• Grape and olive farmers in Tuscany — at the heart of one of Italy’s most iconic wine and oil producing regions — are racing to adapt their operations to face the country’s new drought conditions before the year’s harvest is destroyed, Reuters reported. The drought came at the “crucial time during the transition from [olive] flower to fruit,” the head of one cooperative told Reuters. 

Please visit The Hill’s Sustainability section online for the web version of this newsletter and more stories. We’ll see you tomorrow.

VIEW FULL VERSION HERE