Starting this year, California consumers will pay a 1.5% fee on all products with an embedded battery under a law that aims to curb the risk of battery fires and increase the recycling of lithium batteries. The surcharge, capped at $15, expands a recycling program that has been collecting computer monitors and TVs for two decades. Consumers will pay the fee when buying any product with an embedded battery, whether it's rechargeable or not. Under harsh conditions at recycling and waste facilities, lithium-ion batteries can catch fire and even explode. Supporters of the law say a small fee to fund proper collection is cheaper than fires that can cause millions of dollars in damages.
A deal this week will give the United States access to Ukraine's mineral wealth. The country has a number of minerals critical to manufacturing including titanium, lithium and uranium. A subset of these, rare earth metals, are also important for a number of economic areas including the clean energy transition. President Donald Trump, who has pushed for the agreement, has long been critical of a transition to green energies, including wind, solar and others, along with electrification of transportation and appliances. But the minerals Ukraine possesses are needed for aerospace, medical devices, specialty glass and hundreds of other uses, making access to them a priority for the first Trump administration as well as this one.
Fossil fuels are still a large source of electricity, but California has made progress with renewables while keeping the lights on. The state recently hit a milestone: 100 days this year with 100% carbon-free, renewable electricity for at least a part of each day. The state notched the milestone while avoiding blackouts and emergency power reductions this year, even with the hottest July on record. That's according to Stanford University engineering Professor Mark Z. Jacobson. Energy experts say the progress is largely due to the substantial public and private investments in renewable energy. But California still has a long way to go to stop burning fossil fuels. Natural gas remains its single largest source of electricity.
