Bee-eaters and Kingfishers Released
My latest two Songbird ReMix sets at Renderosity are Bee-eaters and Kingfishers of the World. Both feature colorful birds from the Coraciiformes family; one with a preference for bees and the other, fish and frogs (which I have within my Nature's Wonder line of products).
My next project will be a "new" bird model probably appearing mid-summer... it's one long promised ;)
Real Birds: 12 Ways the Inflation Reduction Act Will Benefit Birds and People
by National Audubon
The name doesn’t make it obvious, but the Inflation Reduction Act is the most significant climate legislation ever to become law. It also does a lot of other important things. Here are 12 ways this bill benefits birds, people, and the places we need.
1) Reducing Carbon Pollution Through Clean Energy
Birds tell us that we need to take action on climate change. A 2019 report from the National Audubon Society found that two-thirds of North American bird species will be vulnerable to extinction if global temperatures are allowed to rise at the current rate. The best way to do that is by deploying clean energy across the United States.
By directing about $370 billion toward speeding the transition to clean energy (two-thirds in the form of tax credits for producing renewable electricity, investing in renewable technologies, and clean energy manufacturing), the Inflation Reduction Act will cut annual U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by about 1 billion metric tons by 2030, which will help drive down carbon emissions by about 42 percent according to a preliminary study by Princeton University.
Estimates are that the clean energy tax credit extension and clean energy grants in the legislation will result in more rapid deployment of renewable energy with annual solar deployment projected to increase to 49 Gigawatts per year (10GW in 2020) and Wind to 39 Gigawatts per year (15 GW in 2020). (One Gigawatt equals = approximately 3.1 million solar panels.)
It is also notable that the clean energy investments in this bill are also expected to reduce home energy costs while cutting harmful emissions. These savings are driven by a mix of more efficient energy use and lower electricity rates and are estimated to save between $16 and $125 per household by 2030.
