24 September, 2024

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Martha Henriques A little more than 140 years ago, the streets of New York City were among the first in the world to be lit in dazzling brightness at night. ‌ Today, like many other cities, New York is being called on to eliminate climate-warming fossil fuels in favour of renewable electric power, including in its street lights. As the city hosts Climate Week NYC, Jocelyn Timperley looks back to New York's long and winding electric revolution for lessons it may hold for greener energy.   Also in this edition, rescue animals lovingly wrapped in your unwanted towels.

THE BIG PICTURE Sri Lanka's stunning former rubbish heaps They used to be a dumping ground, but today these wetlands are bustling with wildlife. Credit: Nazly Ahmed Sri Lanka's capital Colombo was historically home to rich, biodiverse wetlands. However, many were drained for development, and much of the remaining space became a dumping ground for waste. It took years for local people to painstakingly restore the city's wetlands. Today, it's paid off. If you visit the wetlands, you'll find pink water lilies, darting kingfishers, and waders probing for worms. Read Zinara Rathnayake's story on this remarkable transformation.

CLIMATE CONVERSATION  New York is finishing what Edison started New York was an early adopter of electric power – can it go all the way? Credit: Getty Images Jocelyn Timperley The annual Climate Week NYC has rolled around again this week, meaning world leaders, business executives and non-profits are amassing once more in New York City to ponder the need to move away from fossil fuels and how to ensure climate vulnerable countries are better supported. ‌ But as we try to stop encroaching climate change, New York itself, like the rest of the world, is facing a major energy transition: moving from burning fossil fuels to clean sources of energy. Since renewable energy is most easily produced as electricity, a huge piece of this puzzle is electrification – in particular, concerning heat and transport. ‌ The state of New Yorkve has mandated that 70% of electricity should be generated by renewables by 2030 and that all electricity should be zero-carbon – including nuclear – by 2040. ‌ Even today, however, despite major progress in the roll out of renewables, fossil fuels still account for the majority of electricity in New York State, as well as the wider US and the world at large. ‌ Speaking at a recent summit in Syracuse, New York, on the future of energy and economy, Kathy Hochul, the state's governor, said she continues to draw inspiration for the current energy transition from the advent of electricity in the state. ‌ It's a history worth revisiting, to show not only how the city's grid emerged, but how ambition, emerging technology and a bitter feud all shaped the city's use of electricity.

Early electric power in the US was a battleground for warring innovators. Credit: Alamy War of the currents Behind this feud was the will to change the energy used in daily life to something better. Today, we face the same challenge – though now the goal is to decarbonise our energy systems, completing the switch from fossil fuels to clean sources of power. So, what can we learn from a 140-year-old battle to light up New York? ‌ For one, place matters. As the turn of the 19th Century approached, an enthusiastic group of engineers and inventors centred in New York were eyeing the opportunities of electricity as an increasingly viable form of energy. The sheer size and density of the city provided an incredibly handy backdrop for field tests on electricity networks. ‌ "Being able to test at scale in New York City was really advantageous," says Harold Wallace, curator of the electricity collections at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington DC. The city was also a hub for investors, such as JP Morgan, whose home Thomas Edison lit up with all-electric lights in a trial run in 1882. ‌ Second, people – and their relationships – matter too. Edison was soon locked in a furious battle of wills with railway entrepreneur George Westinghouse and fellow inventor Nikola Tesla over whether his preferred direct current (DC) would prove to be the future of electricity, or the alternating current (AC) put forward by Westinghouse and Tesla would win out. ‌ These characters shaped the use of electricity not just in New York, but across the globe. And their impacts can still be felt as cities and countries are called on to complete the switch to renewable electricity, bringing the electrical systems they invented back into the spotlight today. ‌ Read my full story on New York's long journey to electrification here.

CLIMATE QUIZ What is the unusual initiative some publishers are trialling to reduce the emissions of the books they sell? A. Making books thinner B. Making books out of bamboo C. Printing covers in black and white only Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter for the answer.

MORE CLIMATE READS Restoring rivers' curves helps fight floods For centuries, meandering rivers have been straightened – but experts say it's time to put their natural wiggles back. Keep reading >‌ Fossil fuel firms 'spent £4bn on sportswashing' Fossil fuel companies have invested more than £4bn ($5.4bn) in sports sponsorship, according to a new report. Keep reading >‌ A message of climate hope from Somalia Somalia is one of the poorest countries and beset by violence, but its problems are "fixable", says its top climate official. Keep reading >‌

NUMBER OF THE WEEK 5,000 years The Austrian capital of Vienna has put flood defences in place to protect itself from a one-in-5,000-years flood. Read Sophie Hardach's feature on how the defences have been holding up.

TAKE A MOMENT English wine's sparkling Renaissance As a result of climate change, English wine producers are now able to grow grapes traditionally associated with Champagne. Keep reading

AND FINALLY... What do you do with your old towels? They're not easy to recycle, and often hard to donate to a charity or second-hand shop – even if there's a bit of life left in them yet. Instead of going straight to landfill, some animal charities are putting them to better use. The Oxfordshire Wildlife Charity in the UK has recently been accepting towels from a nearby festival. Hedgehogs, owls, young deer and other rescues have all been benefitting. "Sometimes covering an animal with a towel also calms it down and they make a fantastic cheap bed for them," says Luke Waclawek, the charity's founder. Read Newsround's story here.