The state rebates and federal tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act are helping, but the main reason heat pumps are being adopted so quickly, this story suggests, is that once one household installs a heat pump as proof of concept—often despite strong initial skepticism—everyone else wants one. From the Times: “Ten years ago, they […]
Read MoreTag: Climate
Will New York’s Big Socialist Climate Policy Be Led by … McKinsey?
McKinsey’s role in everything from the opioid crisis to the Puerto Rican economy have generated considerable controversy and even cost them work with the federal government. Still, “the firm,” as it’s known, continues to play a major role in advising government agencies the world over, in some cases providing a rubber stamp for austerity plans […]
Read MoreAnything Elon Musk Can Do a Bus Can Do Better
Let’s start with some basics, though. Public buses are an unbeatable value. Here in New York City, $2.90 will get you between and within boroughs, usually just a few blocks from your door. A pilot program initiated last fall included one fare-free route in each borough, in the hopes of eventually making buses free throughout. […]
Read MoreRepublicans Think Your Dishwasher Is Too Leftist
Republicans have yet to encounter a household object they won’t try to turn into a culture war. Veterans of hard-fought battles around gas stoves and hamburgers, House Republicans this week are focusing on another front: refrigerators getting too woke. In the coming days, GOP congressional leadership could consider six separate and nearly identical bills protecting […]
Read MoreMore than “Hope” or “Optimism,” the Climate Movement Needs Joy
Miniforests deserve widespread replication not just because they’re relatively easy to create, and have such outsized climate benefits, but also for another reason: while climate policy is so often vulnerable to suspicions that elites are stealing our pleasures—some people love revving the gas engine, driving big cars, eating meat—the miniforest is pure delight. Everyone at […]
Read MoreI Helped Plant Trees for Manhattan’s New Forest. It Felt Spiritual.
Miniforests deserve widespread replication not just because they’re relatively easy to create, and have such outsize climate benefits, but also for another reason: While climate policy is so often vulnerable to suspicions that elites are stealing our pleasures—some people love revving the gas engine, driving big cars, eating meat—the miniforest is pure delight. Everyone at […]
Read MoreJamie Dimon Has Found a New Thing to Be Wrong About
Jamie Dimon is in the strata of rich guys whose opinions on just about anything are periodically deemed newsworthy. On any given week, a Google News search for the JPMorgan CEO will surface results regarding his thoughts on everything from artificial intelligence to the stock market and—this week—fossil fuels. In his annual letter to shareholders, […]
Read MoreWhy Is Anyone Still Listening to Jamie Dimon?
Jamie Dimon is in the strata of rich guys whose opinions on just about anything are periodically deemed newsworthy. On any given week, a Google News search for the JP Morgan CEO will surface results regarding his thoughts on everything from artificial intelligence to the stock market and—this week—fossil fuels. In his annual letter to […]
Read MoreThe Destructive Fantasies of the New York International Auto Show
Subaru broadcast its green bona fides in other ways, most of them extraneous to its actual products. Between “shows,” the automaker ran ads about its various charitable initiatives. “As forest fires keep raging, the need for replanting keeps growing,” read one clip about Subaru’s contributions to the National Forest Foundation, set against the backdrop of […]
Read MoreInside the Meltdown at the Sierra Club
Several Sierra Club employees—who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation—were told that between 50 and 100 people could soon be laid off. “Sometimes I show up to work wondering if I’m going to have a job today,” another employee said. “Am I going to be able to log into my Sierra […]
Read MoreFish Are Behaving Erratically and Dying. No One Knows Why.
The state rebates and federal tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act are helping, but the main reason heat pumps are being adopted so quickly, this story suggests, is that once one household installs a heat pump as proof of concept—often despite strong initial skepticism—everyone else wants one. From the Times: “Ten years ago, they […]
Read MoreArtificial Intelligence and Nuclear Energy: What Could Go Wrong?
So if the plan is to not just subsidize nuclear power in pursuit of more A.I. but also to encourage energy companies to use A.I. to slash red tape in pursuit of more nuclear power, what might that look like exactly? Terra Praxis co-CEO Eric Ingersoll did—sort of—explain this to the Journal: “What we’re doing […]
Read MoreNew Nuclear Plants Won’t Solve A.I.’s Energy Problem
So if the plan is to not just subsidize nuclear power in pursuit of more A.I. but also to encourage energy companies to use A.I. to slash red tape in pursuit of more nuclear power, what might that look like exactly? Terra Praxis co-CEO Eric Ingersoll did—sort of—explain this to the Journal: “What we’re doing […]
Read MoreMike Johnson’s Proposed Ukraine Deal Is as Cynical as It Is Stupid
For a far-right Republican from Louisiana—a major oil and gas producing state that’s home to three of the country’s seven operational LNG export terminals—it’s not exactly surprising that Johnson would be looking for some excuse to boost gas; the highest-profile project held up by the deal, Calcasieu Pass 2, is in his home state too. […]
Read MoreThe Truck-Size Loophole in the EPA’s Car Emissions Rule
Here’s where the new rules come in. Perhaps most importantly, standards for larger cars were weakened from those in the initial proposal released last spring. The initial rule outlined that the medium-duty fleet would be subject to emissions targets of 438 grams of carbon dioxide per mile, or g/mi, for model year 2027 and 275 g/mi in […]
Read MoreHow to Avoid Food System Collapse
The state rebates and federal tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act are helping, but the main reason heat pumps are being adopted so quickly, this story suggests, is that once one household installs a heat pump as proof of concept—often despite strong initial skepticism—everyone else wants one. From the Times: “Ten years ago, they […]
Read MoreDonald Trump’s Crusade Against Electric Vehicles Is Getting Racist
Trump’s rhetoric seems fringe and erratic. But coming from the putative leader of the Republican Party, such talk has a broader impact. In an apparent flashback to that 1981 sledgehammer scene, there have been numerous reported instances recently of vandalism at E.V. charging stations, complicating consumers’ efforts to charge their vehicles. Worse, Trump’s stoking hostility […]
Read MoreDo You Know Where Your Strawberries Come From?
Nike’s competitive advantage is not in its products but in its brand. Nike spends most of its time and energy putting together ad campaigns featuring the swoosh. A generic gray shirt might sell for $10, but the same shirt made in the same factory with a swoosh printed on it sells for three times more. […]
Read MoreMIT-derived algorithm helps forecast the frequency of extreme weather
To assess a community’s risk of extreme weather, policymakers rely first on global climate models that can be run decades, and even centuries, forward in time, but only at a coarse resolution. These models might be used to gauge, for instance, future climate conditions for the northeastern U.S., but not specifically for Boston. To estimate […]
Read MoreRemember That Time the EPA Killed the Sedan?
American autos aren’t bigger because consumers have suddenly embraced off-roading, the construction trades, or home improvement projects. They’re bigger because automakers want to escape regulations. Each manufacturer is required to comply with boutique greenhouse gas emissions standards, which are calculated based on the size and capabilities of the cars in their fleets. Smaller cars are […]
Read MoreA new way to quantify climate change impacts: “Outdoor days”
For most people, reading about the difference between a global average temperature rise of 1.5 C versus 2 C doesn’t conjure up a clear image of how their daily lives will actually be affected. So, researchers at MIT have come up with a different way of measuring and describing what global climate change patterns, in […]
Read MoreReducing pesticide use while increasing effectiveness
Farming can be a low-margin, high-risk business, subject to weather and climate patterns, insect population cycles, and other unpredictable factors. Farmers need to be savvy managers of the many resources they deal, and chemical fertilizers and pesticides are among their major recurring expenses. Despite the importance of these chemicals, a lack of technology that monitors […]
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