As the first month of 2024 has passed us here are good things that the year has brought us.
- Solar power has as broken all of their records. Our society is now locked in on green solar energy. It has had a 45% increase since 2021. The new installations capacity hit413 GW (nuclear energy) by the end of 2023. New installations grew by 58%, meaning that the most optimistic industry are also scrambling to update their models. Research has said if it continues to increase at this rate we will double the rate of solar energy in 2024 alone. Some analysts are also predicting that the costs will drop 10 cents for every watt of capacity this year.
- Big pollution companies are also kicking out the carbon habit. After the covid pandemic the world has seen its first emission drop. The EU has been largely dependent on oil and gas from Russia, but in 2023 Europe fought back against the fossil fuel rich rouge state with massive investments in heat pumps and renewables. Last year carbon rates dropped 3 percent in the United States. But unfortunately research shows that we will need to consistently drop at least 6 percent to see a drop in temperatures. This is the first year we should see the infrastructure funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest piece of climate legislation.
- 2024 is expected to be the year of improving battery capacity. These batteries will supercharge the EV and electric plane market. This will give large battery expansion and reduced charging time as well. Toyota is is currently working on a solid state battery with a range of 900 miles. This is almost double the record that is in place right now. This could take you all the way from Chicago to New York without charging the battery. You can charge it up in about 10 minutes. One prototype was called the “holy grail of battery vehicles”. Toyotas release date is currently in 2025, however they are currently marketing their solid state battery of its own CES 2024. Mercedes and Volkswagen are also racing to release solid state vehicles. Tesla hasn’t shared that they are in the race which takes most people into surprise.
- In 2023 medications like Ozempic and Wegovy have become more than a TikTok trend. About two and five Americans are clinically obese. In 2024 weight loss treatments are expected to rise tremendously. Many want to improve access to these medications and make them covered by insurance companies. Although we still need to be aware of the side effects of both obesity and the medications to combat it. Clinically obese people are linked to a greater chance of dying from diabetes and cardiovascular disease but using these medications can also cause many infections and health complications. These two things combined kill over 3 million humans a year.
