Climate action is thriving at state and local levels, despite federal roadblocks. We’ve added three new local initiatives to our Toolbox – explore the full articles and information sources by clicking on the summary titles below. Congestion pricing reduces city traffic, emissions and pollution Traffic jams aren’t just annoying — they cost the U.S. economy […]
New Toolbox actions Read More »
Local Climate Action The renewable energy transition needs a number of raw materials for batteries, electric motors and general electrification, which are mined from the earth as minerals and then processed into a purer form for manufacturing. Mines and processing plants can take years to develop, and many of the current supply chains are controlled
Expanding renewable energy means new mining of critical materials–but not at any cost Read More »
Local Climate Action A transition to a world based on renewable electricity has a potential bottleneck — the need for inexpensive and readily available rare earths. The rare earths (actually metals) are a family of 17 elements, most of them in a row called the lanthanides in the lower part of the periodic table. According
Rare earths are critical minerals for green energy transition Read More »
From the Climate Activist newsletter The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022, one of the Biden administration’s signature climate achievements, includes a wonky but exciting opportunity for tax-exempt organizations to get tax credits for investing in climate-friendly infrastructure. Businesses and homeowners that install solar panels, heat pumps, or other energy efficiency upgrades are eligible for
IRA includes groundbreaking ‘direct pay’ incentives for climate-friendly projects Read More »
From the Climate Activist newsletter Acting on our urgent need to stop burning fossil fuels will require major changes. The natural gas (methane) industry and utilities that deliver gas to customers must be restricted, and in the end replaced, by systems that produce and deliver renewable electricity. The natural gas industry is not going without
Demise of the Berkeley residential gas ban isn’t the end of the story Read More »
by Finley Harckham It wasn’t long after my daughter was born that I became hyper aware of just how prevalent gas powered leaf blowers (GPLB) are: first in my neighborhood in Los Angeles, and then even more so, in the New England suburb we moved to. Before becoming a parent, I’ll admit I didn’t give
A nightmare on our streets – fighting the insidious gas-powered leaf blower Read More »
by Larry Gosselin, Julie Lowe, and Richard Rollins Agrivoltaics, which pairs solar panels (photovoltaics) with agriculture, is a double-duty climate solution that yields benefits to farmers while minimizing the Nation’s need to use undeveloped natural lands for solar energy development. By putting aside the historical practice of devoting land to a single purpose, this approach
Agrivoltaics combines production of agriculture and solar power Read More »
by Roberto A. Chia-Balmaceda It comes as no surprise to see that companies such as Dominion Energy, with an ingrained stake in the future of the fossil fuel industry, would want to market energy sources such as natural gas (aka methane, its primary component) in a way that makes it as palatable as possible, even
The myth of the methane transition fuel Read More »
