How the Super Bowl Could Power Your Next Flight

Yet, in the midst of another climate-induced disaster, some big oil companies announced they were retreating from goals they had set to address global warming. The oil giants made record profits last year based upon increasing prices after the end of COVID-19 lockdowns and following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

BP said it was reducing its pledge to limit their operations’ effects on climate change and, as the news site Vox writes, doubling down on fossil fuels. The company was one of the first to announce plans to cut emissions 35 to 40 percent by the end of this decade but now has scaled that back to 20 to 30 percent.

According to Bloomberg, ExxonMobil is now abandoning its heavily publicized efforts to make environmentally safe fuels from algae and has already halted funding for a multi-million-dollar project on algae at the Colorado School of Mines. Despite doubling its profits in 2022, Shell, Europe’s largest energy company, will limit its investment in renewables and other carbon reduction strategies to less than half of what it invests in oil and gas exploration and extraction.

According to the UN, fossil fuels including coal, oil, and gas are by far the biggest contributor to climate change, accounting for more than 75 percent of global greenhouse emissions and almost 90 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions. An investment analyst told the Washington Post that the big oil companies have an inherent tension at the core of their business because reducing emissions means producing less oil and gas, which generates less cash flow.

The Canadian government announced last week that it would not allow seabed mining in its waters without rigorous regulations and that it will urge for new rules to be put in place in international waters.  

There has been much opposition to sea-bed mining because there is not enough research about its potential harm. Species in deep ecosystems have adapted to their conditions and are extremely vulnerable to human interference. According to EcoWatch, scientists have warned that sediment plumes from deep-sea mining might spread for hundreds of miles, exposing marine life to toxins.

In a statement last month, the National Assembly of France called the lack of scientific knowledge about sea mining a major risk. Similarly, the Canadian government said that there needs to be more knowledge about the potential impacts of deep-sea mining before any decision toward authorizing it. In addition to Canada, an increasing number of nations including France, Germany, Spain, New Zealand, Costa Rica, and Chile have called for a moratorium or at least a pause on deep-sea mining.

Adding to concerns, in January, video recordings surfaced showing sediment being discharged on the ocean surface by a Canadian mining firm that was testing deep-sea mining in the Pacific Ocean. Greenpeace Aotearoa posted the video, which, according to the Guardian, was leaked by a group of scientists who had been hired by the mining company to monitor its operations. The scientists were concerned by what they say was a flawed process by the corporation called The Metals Company.

According to a new study by an international team of scientists led by Newcastle University, these so-called “glacial lake outburst floods”  threaten 15 million people worldwide, where downstream hydropower plants, buildings, roads, and homes could be crushed—with little warning to prepare.

The number of glacial lakes has grown rapidly since 1990 because of climate change—as has the number of people living in harm’s way. The study found that more than half of vulnerable populations are in just four countries: India, Pakistan, Peru, and China.

The research team looked at 1,089 glacial lake basins worldwide, examining the number of people living within 50 kilometers of them, as well as the level of downstream development, to quantify and rank the potential for damage. And while mountainous areas in Asia had the highest potential for glacial lake outburst flood impacts, the authors say Peru and Bolivia are areas of concern because of a lack of research in those countries.

The threat assessment was not determined by the number and size of glacial lakes, but rather the number of people a rupture could affect. For example, as Phys.org explains, thousands of people have been killed by glacier lake outburst floods in Asia, but only a handful in North American Pacific Northwest, where, although there are twice as many glacial lakes they’re not located near populated areas.

The study was published in the journal Nature Communications.

As Fast Company reports, Finnish refiner Neste will collect the leftover fryer oil from a pre-game tailgate party with more than 50 local food vendors and transform it into so-called sustainable aviation fuel or SAF.

SAF is made from oils, greases, and fats, as well as municipal waste and non-food crops. Current aircraft can blend 50 percent SAF and jet fuel without modifications, resulting in as much as an 80-percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

The estimated 1,000 gallons of cooking oil used to feed 15,000 fans at the Super Bowl will become feedstock for Neste’s refining operations. The vendors will store their used fat in three 270-gallon bulk tanks provided by Neste partner Mahoney Environmental.

After the game, the oil will travel by ship to one of Neste’s refineries in Finland, the Netherlands, or Singapore to be used at one of those airports or returned to the U.S., where it is currently supplying carriers at San Francisco International, including Alaska, Delta, and United airlines.

SAF is expensive to produce so it only accounts for less than one percent of aviation fuel, but that number could take off as the industry moves to meet its net zero emission goals by 2050.