Plunging renewable energy prices mean U.S. can hit 90% clean electricity by 2035–at no extra cost
Silvio Marcacci - Forbes, June 9, 2020 Renewable energy has been considered too expensive and too unreliable to power our grid, but new research has overturned that trope for good. Plummeting wind, solar, and storage prices have fallen so fast that the United States can reach...
Turning the COVID-19 carbon crash into our last, best chance
Working from home, I look out my window at the altered world. No cars pass for long stretches but walkers are always about, and I hear bird songs I’ve never noticed before. I drive so rarely that I haven’t charged my electric car since mid-March....
Pandemic Insights Two: Our capacity to sacrifice to contain a global threat
It's not usually advisable to speak for others, yet I think I know how many climate experts are feeling right now. There’s this particular twinge I feel as a climate advocate: seeing how humans are mobilizing globally and instantaneously to fight the coronavirus yet we’ve...
Pandemic Insights One: What matters to us and what we fear
Like many of you, I'm working from home, going out only to grocery shop and take walks. I'm trying to keep what I can of my schedule, which means posting my monthly blog by the end of March. But I've been unsure about what to...
A major US utility is moving toward 100% clean energy faster than expected
David Roberts – Vox, 5/29/19 Another sign that zero-carbon energy is going viral. The energy world got some big news in December: Xcel Energy, one of the biggest utilities in the US, committed to going completely carbon-free by 2050 (and 80 percent carbon-free by 2030)… [eltd_button size="large"...
Considering carbon offsets: What’s in a name?
I often get asked what I think about carbon offsets. Are they a good idea? Do I buy them myself? If so, how do I choose which ones to buy? So here is my answer: I think carbon offsets are an excellent idea for people who...
Guest Blog: Yes, it’s still up to you to do something about climate change
Reposted with permission from Ensia. There is one statistic easing pangs of guilt for people who feel they are not doing enough to fight climate change: About 71% of greenhouse gas emissions from 1988 to 2015 came from only 100 companies. Increasingly, the message is: Stop...
Guest Blog: How do we convince climate deniers? That’s the wrong question
Reposted with permission from ENSIA. Instead of wasting time trying to convert opponents, we should invest it in motivating passive allies to act. November 20, 2019 — “How do you convince people that climate change is real?” is a question I’m invariably asked after I give a...
Climate change for busy people: Ten key words
The climate crisis can seem complicated. Yet as warming accelerates, impacts grow more powerful and solutions become more feasible, I keep coming back to a ten-word summary of climate change that includes all the essentials you really need to know to get involved: It’s real It’s us Experts...
The single most powerful way to fight climate change, and what you can do to support it
Probably the number one question people ask when they learn I’m a climate solutions advocate is, What is the most important thing I can do? It’s a difficult question, because there is no single solution to the climate crisis. We know that individuals alone cannot...