Henry Kronk

Henry Kronk is the co-author, along with DJ Disciple, of The Beat, The Scene, The Sound: A DJ's Journey Through the Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of House Music in New York City. The authors approach the story through Disciple's point-of-view, but also include over 60 interviews with groundbreaking DJs of their day. Some of these names will be familiar, like Bobby Konders, Double 99 and Todd Terry. Many others they reached have never told their story publicly before.

 

The book explores the cultural, demographic, and technological puzzle pieces that needed to fall into place to make house music possible. It also traces how that fabric was ripped apart by zero-tolerance policing, the War on Drugs, and, among many other forces, Rudy Giuliani in the NYC mayor's office.

 

The text then follows the journey Disciple, along with several of his peers, made overseas to the UK and Europe when house music lost its favor in the US. The authors pay special attention to Disciple's work with Grant Nelson and the development of UK garage. They close out with its return to American soil with EDM, festival circuits and, most recently, a genuine pop culture house music revival from artists like Beyonce and Drake. 

Jorge Cantuarias has paid thousands of dollars a year since 2020 to more than 700 families in the Peruvian Amazon to preserve the rainforest while they harvest Brazil nuts. 

 

The money came from the sale of carbon credits, a once booming market that has collapsed in the past two years. Now Cantuarias is sitting on roughly three million credits he can't sell.

 

Without the cash, the money for the families will dry up, making it harder for them to protect the rainforest. "We are passing through a very difficult time," Cantuarias said. ... [Read the full story]

Businesses serving the global voluntary carbon market are reducing head counts, revising services and following buyer demand as they fight for survival in a market that has yet to rebound from a steep contraction that took hold in 2023.

 

Project developer and marketer South Pole has cut back its workforce from a high of over 1,300 in mid-2023 to below 1,000. The company faced a crisis in late 2022 through 2023 when numerous academics, media sources and the carbon- credit ratings agency Renoster claimed that one of its largest partners, the Kariba REDD+ Project in Zimbabwe, had issued millions of credits that represented no real emissions reductions. Verra, Kariba's standard, subsequently suspended its registration and South Pole severed ties with the project.

 

"It's never easy to take organizations through a transformation," said South Pole CEO Daniel Klier, who stepped into the role in May following founder Renat Heuberger's departure in October, 2023. "But sometimes a crisis is a good crisis." ... [Read full story]

Coverage of COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan

 

Following a negotiated outcome on Article 6.2 and 6.4 of the Paris Agreement at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan last weekend, carbon market stakeholders applauded the update and prepared for the hard work in coming months needed to begin trading credits.

 

The nine-year period between when the Paris Agreement was negotiated and the outcome reached in Baku was "too long," said Bruno Carvalho Arruda, deputy head of climate action in the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs during a webinar hosted by the International Emissions Trading Association on Tuesday.

 

"I think [the outcome in Baku] was driven by a political understanding that it's time to start implementing," Arruda said. "We need to start implementing." [Read the full story]

 

REDD+ Project Hedges Against Drought and Weakening Carbon Markets

 

Despite criticisms of REDD+ projects and a decline in related carbon credit prices this year, offsets issued by the Kasigau Corridor REDD+ project in Kenya have consistently commanded a price premium in the voluntary carbon market.

 

The project, which is operated by the company Wildlife Works, injected income into the region just as shifting rain patterns began to make longstanding ways of life increasingly untenable. Participating landowners have in turn helped the project to expand ... [Read the full story]

 

 

Prospective Atlantic Offshore Wind Could Flood REC Markets, Drive Down Prices

 

The offshore wind power that has been solicited by U.S. East Coast states, if and when it is constructed, has the potential to flood the U.S.'s tightest Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) markets with fresh supply and drive down prices.

 

The Biden Administration has set a goal of commissioning 30 GW of new offshore wind capacity by 2030. Many East Coast states have supported that target with their own goals and/or legally-mandated solicitations, amounting to over 40 GW in total planned capacity to date.  It remains to be seen when, and indeed if, these targets will be reached, however ... [Read the full story]

 

 

Voluntary Carbon Markets Stakeholders Play Hot Potato With Market Risk

 

With the integrity of carbon offsetting under fire, buyers are looking to lock down the forward delivery of high-quality credits from trusted climate projects, but there's just one problem: some offset project developers don't want to play ball.

 

From accusations that climate projects have disadvantaged local communities to claims of fraudulent carbon credit issuances, market proponents have weathered a hail of criticism in recent months. In response, some corporate buyers have ramped up purchasing due diligence and pushed for contracts that guarantee a fixed volume delivery over time ... [Read the full story]