Category Archives: Energy

Trump’s Executive Orders Aim to Gut US Climate Policy

Trump signed a blizzard of executive orders (EOs) over the last week. Some are vicious and cruel (rolling back protections for transgender people), others are blatantly unconstitutional (ending birthright citizenship). In this post, I’ll take a look at the executive orders that affect US government policy on climate change. Continue reading

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Vote No on Washington’s Initiative 2117

If you live in Washington State, there is something you can do this November to make a direct personal impact on climate change. Vote NO on Initiative 2117. I first saw the effects of climate change during a family vacation … Continue reading

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Jesse Jenkins’s Course on the Electricity Sector

Prof. Jesse Jenkins of Princeton University teaches a course called Introduction to The Electricity Sector. He’s made the presentations from his course lectures available to the public at no charge. Continue reading

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Climate News: American Families Claimed over $8 Billion in IRA Tax Credits in 2023

More than 3.4 million US families claimed over $8 billion in tax credits for residential clean energy and home energy efficiency upgrades under the Inflation Reduction Act in 2023, according to a new report from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) … Continue reading

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Climate Capitalism

Akshat Rathi makes the optimistic case that a reformed capitalism — shaped by government policy and serving the needs of society and the planet — is our best hope of tackling climate change. In Climate Capitalism he profiles key leaders who are helping to make progress happen. Continue reading

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Unsolicited Climate News

I’m not quite finished my latest book review so in the meantime here are some recent news reports about climate and clean energy that have caught my eye. 👎 In April, Donald Trump asked oil executives to contribute $1-billion (yes, … Continue reading

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Washington State’s Climate Commitment Act Explained

In November 2024, voters in Washington State will cast ballots on Initiative 2117 which calls for repealing the state’s Climate Commitment Act (CCA). The CCA is one of seven major laws and programs Washington has enacted to fight climate change. This explainer describes the goals and features of the CCA. Continue reading

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The War Below

The clean energy transition is forcing countries and communities to make very difficult choices. Weaning ourselves off fossil fuels means we need huge quantities of raw materials: lithium, cobalt, copper, nickel, aluminum and other critical minerals. The War Below explores the conflicts around mining for the materials we need to power the clean energy transition. Continue reading

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Podcast: What’s next for clean energy and climate mitigation?

Back on the 28th of June, I had the pleasure of attending a live recording of the Volts podcast hosted by David Roberts here in Seattle at an event sponsored by Canary Media. Roberts interviewed energy analyst and author Ramez … Continue reading

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How the World Really Works

Global climate change is an unprecedented challenge for the world.  To meet the challenge, we need to make unprecedented changes in the ways we live, work, produce, and consume.   In a new book called How the World Really Works: … Continue reading

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