July 31, 2017
Mayor Gets His Greens
The NY League of Conservation Voters endorses Bill de Blasio for re-election
Australia: EV Laggard
Why is a pro-EV policy not on the fast-track in Australia?
Bullet-Proofing Trump's Eco-cide
Trump's eco and climate hostile Executive Orders will gain strength if Congress makes them law
Energy Bill Update
A sweeping, bi-partisan energy bill, with controversial provisions on pipelines, has a chance to become federal law
Digging Dirt
Citizen engagement is the key to winning the Greenest Block in Brooklyn award
July 28, 2017
Exhibit Sustainability
The Building Energy Exchange invites building owners, designers, engineers, consultants, contractors + others involved in energy efficiency retrofit projects to submit their projects for inclusion in its upcoming exhibit, Celebrate NYC
Energy White Paper For NYC
What are the principal electric system paths for getting NYC to its 80x50 climate action goal?
Northern Hemisphere: Matter Over Mind
Yes, more extremely hot summers are pounding the northern hemisphere
Movie Review: An Inconvenient Sequel
Al Gore's new climate documentary gets a thumbs up
Singapore: Vertical Green
Singapore's central business district is home to a towering wall of greenery cladding a new mixed-use building
July 27, 2017
Carbon-Free City
Being built from scratch, Peña Station Next, Colorado will aim to be carbon-free
The Transit Blame Game
Governor Cuomo points the finger at Con Edison for subway system woes
Risky Career Choice
Advancing Renewable Energy Goals
State renewable energy portfolio standards have been key in state clean electricity advances - now market demand is beginning to rise
Greenland: Cracking Up
A major glacier in Greenland might be breaking apart https://t.co/lV2oWeaEFR pic.twitter.com/s7eegKg0fN
— grist (@grist) July 26, 2017
July 26, 2017
The Facts Of Life
I fact-checked @LamarSmithTX21's climate op-ed. https://t.co/ubCWretSvj pic.twitter.com/yF5xjrLXuh
— Zahra Hirji (@Zhirji28) July 26, 2017
The Five Risks
What are the 5 gravest risks the Department of Energy must grapple with?
Financing Urban Goals
A World Bank study of 500 cities found few had credit ratings high enough to borrow in domestic + international markets, so how will their climate action + social equality goals be financed?
Help Wanted: National Campaigns Manager
The Audubon Society seeks a national campaigns manager responsible for building political power + ensuring the advancement of its conservation priorities
Climate Question For The Mayor
Are Mayor de Blasio's climate actions moving the dial toward 80x50?
July 25, 2017
To Resist Or Not To Resist
What's the issue that could blow up a bipartisan energy bill?
Metropolitan Resilience
Listen up to experts from NYC, Mexico City + Boston
Green Building Index - 2017
Dive into data on the greening of US office buildings + find today's key trends. Note: for NYC, #10 on a list of 30 cities, only Manhattan properties are counted
UK: Batteries For Homes
Large scale adoption of residential storage batteries could create a new normal for UK energy policy
Stumbling Block For Energy Efficiency
Federal law pre-empts cities + states from setting appliance/equipment energy efficiency standards, even if the Trump Administration stops engaging. Are there work arounds?
Fossil Energy Embraces Clean Tech
Gas-burning power plant makers start installing batteries to create energy hybrid systems
July 24, 2017
Refuting Pruitt
Taking down Scott Pruitt's rationale for gutting EPA climate + fuel efficiency policies
China: Pretty As A Picture
Welcome to China’s urban forest https://t.co/uyettmTwCl pic.twitter.com/RE2Z5bntu6
— World Economic Forum (@wef) July 24, 2017
Finding Climate Unicorns
What are carbon unicorns + how can cities find them?
Help Wanted: Director Of Programs
The NY League of Conservation Voters Eduction Fund is looking for someone to prospect, solicit and cultivate corporate + foundation support, as well as to manage programs
Our 81 Percent Problem
The world's been stuck at getting 81% of its energy from fossil fuels for 30 years + carbon capture's unlikely
Smarter + Safer
Do you agree? Smart tech will help make weird weather challenged cities safer
Imagine If These Trains Derailed
July 20, 2017
A Mass Transit Enigma
Everybody talks about the subway mess, but who's doing something to fix it?
July 19, 2017
Urban Heat Island
People on a city dock, trying to escape the sweltering heat and catch a cool breeze, 1871 pic.twitter.com/xEUzqVphtr
— Discovering NYC (@discovering_NYC) July 19, 2017
Dangerous Urban Heat Islands
Satellites detect dangerous Philadelphia urban heat islands with the most vulnerable populations
France: 'Make Our Planet Great Again'
Climate scientists are taking note of the French President's call to come work in his nation
Welcome To Sunny Minnesota
Surprised about Minnesota solar growth? Get the facts
Help Wanted: Campaign Project Managers
Greenpeace is hiring project managers to build + task manage multidisciplinary teams made up of campaign, engagement + action specialists. Loctations: Washington DC + San Francisco
Science At Work: Measuring Heat
For climate science, measuring temperatures on land + sea is evolving + this affects understanding the historical data
Help Wanted: Coalition Organizer
NY Renews is hiring a Coalition Organizer to work with coalition partners, build a statewide climate / jobs/ justice movement + ramp up legislative campaigns
July 18, 2017
Seattle: Climate Words And Deeds
Is Seattle leadership delivering on its climate action promises?
June 2017: Global Temperatures
June 2017 average global temperature was third highest for the month at 1.48°F above average: https://t.co/mYZgA2n2A7 #StateOfClimate pic.twitter.com/CTDTizmwwJ
— NOAA NCEI Climate (@NOAANCEIclimate) July 18, 2017
UK: Investor Climate Warning
The UK's largest public investment firm, Schroeder, warns that missing Paris climate targets, which is likely, will cost the world billions
Tweet Of The Day
"Asking individuals to fix climate change is like asking drivers stuck in traffic to fix traffic patterns." Eric Roston
The Electric Vehicle Age
With electric vehicles entering the mainstream, a route to greater climate security gets clearer
July 17, 2017
Kill The Messenger
Defunding climate data-collecting NASA research is a bizarre choice for an Administration that calls climate science iffy
The Great Los Angeles Anti-Car Revolt
Big Oil's New Enemies
Coal + nuclear power join the list with renewables of electric industry players targeted by Big Oil
Help For The Working Horse
Back, when NYC moved by horse-power, what helped them handle heat waves?
Staff Draft Of Energy Grid Report Makes Waves
A leaked DOE staff-written draft of a report assessing power grid reliability undermines Secretary Perry's renewables skepticism
July 14, 2017
Practical Advice From EPA Alums
A practical guide for resisting Trump's EPA agenda, written by former agency employees
Best Mass Transit News Of The Week
#NYC We recently found #PennStation eagle remnants sitting in an unexpected place—a parking lot in Newark, NJ https://t.co/THykd2lxC5 pic.twitter.com/FNxJdeWQGJ
— Untapped Cities (@untappedcities) July 13, 2017
Boulder: 80x50
Cutting GHG's 80% by 2050, the Boulder, Colorado way
Climate Funds For Coal
Trump wants to use $1 billion from a global climate action fund to build coal-burning power plants
We May Lose Rockaway
The safety + resilience of Rockaway in a post-Sandy world is far from assured, but City still approves area rezoning
Haifa: Starting Out On Sustainability
Home to many polluting industries, environmentalists in Haifa, Israel start sustainability initiatives for all
July 13, 2017
$46 Million To Make Solar Better/Cheaper
The US Department of Energy awards $46.2 million in research grants to improve solar energy technologies + cut costs to 3 cents per kilowatt-hour
July 12, 2017
Free, Fresh Food
In the Bronx? Yes!
Shut It Down Together
How a green-blue alliance found the right way to shut down a coal-burning power plant in a Buffalo, NY suburb
Batteries Are The Game, Set, Match
"batteries, like solar panels before them, are getting cheaper much faster than anyone expected": https://t.co/PjC5UG7HIu
— Ezra Klein (@ezraklein) July 7, 2017
Illigetimi Non Carborundum
Climate scientist Ben Santer has reasons for hope + perseverance in the face of the Trump administration
July 11, 2017
What Ails The Subway
If 'overcrowding' is a red herring, what actually explains the woeful state of NYC subways + what's the cure?
Boiling The Frog
Al Franken + David Letterman are doing a 6-part web broadcast series to offset climate pessimism + foster acton
Offshore Wind: Cleveland's New BFF
With abundant offshore wind an a history of manufacturing knowhow, Cleveland sees renewable energy as a path to a sustainable economy
Climate News v Climate Porn
The climate doomsday scenario laid out in NY Magazine raises big questions for journalists, scientists + activists
July 10, 2017
Intro To Other Renewables
Wind + solar are not the only renewable power sources
Tweet Of The Week
"Despair is not action; "we're doomed" is not a critique; "unless we change" is not a solution, without a vision of what change looks like" Alex Steffen
Madrid's Green Envelope
Hot, Dry Madrid Aims For A Cooler, Greener Future https://t.co/k3QvoDpIRA
— Sallan Foundation (@Sallan_Found) July 10, 2017
Brooklyn Does Solar Its Way
Neighbor-to-neighbor solar power trending in Brooklyn
Stockholm Lab Prize
There's still time to enter the competition to draft a model treaty that aims to encourage investment in climate change mitigation + adaptation
Yieldco's Out, Green Bonds In
Once a darling of green investors, yieldco's now shunned in favor of green bonds
The GHG Giants
Just 100 fossil fuel firms have been the source of 70% of global GHG emissions since 1988, says new report
The Uninhabitable Earth
"It is, I promise, worse than you think, is the first line of NY Magazine's climate disruption feature story
July 07, 2017
Broad Channel Restoration At Risk
Meager federal funding means, 5 years after Sandy, Broad Channel marsh restoration may not happen any time soon
Young People Who Want A Future
Litigation brought by young folks against the federal government's failure to protect their climate future goes to trial in February 2018
How Cities Can Drive Sustainability
Can they? Read the comment section
July 06, 2017
Trump Can't Sink Solar
A curious thing has happened to US solar power stock prices since Trump took office, they've risen
July 05, 2017
India: Color-Coding Urban Air Quality
India bets on a color-coding public awareness campaign to help curb sky-high urban air pollution
The 21st Century Penthouse
New York has about 1 billion square feet of roofscape — let's green it up! 🌱https://t.co/xCcokp3IlS
— Urban Green Council (@UrbanGreenNY) July 5, 2017
MTA Should Award A Financial Genius
The Daily News urges Governor Cuomo to add a solution for financial MTA needs to his Genius Transit Challenge awards
100% Aspen
Getting 100% of its electricity from renewable sources, is Aspen, CO a role model for other cities or a one-off case?
Quote Of The Day
"Most institutions demand unqualified faith; but the institution of science makes skepticism a virtue", Robert K. Merton
July 03, 2017
Entitled To Your Own Opinions, Not Your Own Facts
Trump administration proposes new scientific method--just for #climate studies | @VariabilityBlog https://t.co/QLtTeK6eME pic.twitter.com/uCyNzMgrHj
— climatehawk1 (@climatehawk1) July 3, 2017
Trump's Paris Exit Is Bad Economics
Economist Joseph Stiglitz deplores Trump's abandonment of the Paris climate accord, something that would have been very good for the US
China: Prospecting For 'Combustible Ice'
Deep sea frozen methane attracts Chinas attention as an energy source for the future
Vietnam: Intimidating Activists
Mother Mushroom, a social media eco-activist, is sentenced to 10 years in prison + she's not the only one to suffer government repression
Energy Inertia In NYC
The campaign to make buildings energy energy efficient in NYC isn't reaching critical mass
BANANAs Over Wind Farms
What's moving some upstate towns in NY into the anti-wind power column?
The Way We Ate
Turtle soup was all the rage in 18-19th Century NYC, then what happened?