A mix of high-tech and old-fashioned energy efficiency tactics can deliver carbon-neutral buildings, right now. But the U.S. needs to pick up the pace. Is it too much to ask Americans to take their foot off the gas and reset their thermostats? On March 18, the International Energy Agency released a 10-point plan for reducing... Continue Reading →
Repost: Solar Panels Plus Farming? Agrivoltaics Explained
Solar panels plus farming? Agrivoltaics explained. Could combining solar panels plus farming be a viable solution to the growing demand for food production and energy demand? Let’s take a closer look at electrifying our crops (not literally electrifying crops) … well, adding solar to our farm land as well as some of the side benefits... Continue Reading →
Jonathan Mabry has lived in Tucson, Arizona, for the last 35 years. The Southwestern city of about 526,000 people has sunny weather for two-thirds of the year and gives residents a sweeping view of the mountains, he said. But for many years, that came at a cost. Mabry, the city’s historic preservation officer from 2007... Continue Reading →
Repost: Why Old Buildings Are the Key to Transforming a City…
The Biden administration's infrastructure push presents a rare chance for U.S. school districts to make their buildings both greener and cheaper to operate. This story about school buildings was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for Hechinger’s newsletter. Before the COVID-19 pandemic made airflow a... Continue Reading →
Repost: America’s schools are crumbling. Fixing them could save lives — and the planet.
The Slime Machine Targeting Dozens of Biden Nominees In an escalation of partisan warfare, a little-known dark-money group is trying to thwart the President’s entire slate. by: Jane Mayer, The NewYorker The American Accountability Foundation has undermined the likes of Ketanji Brown Jackson, but it’s also gone after relatively obscure political appointees whose public profiles... Continue Reading →
Repost: Watch Rachel Maddow Highlights: April 18 | THE SLIME MACHINE!
In the face of climate change, children need positive stress as well as compassion to maintain mental health and inform their responses. Climate-related disasters are on the rise, and carbon emissions are soaring. Parents today face the unprecedented challenge of raising children somehow prepared for a planetary emergency that may last their lifetimes. Few guidebooks are on the shelves... Continue Reading →
How to Raise Climate-Resilient Kids (repost)
Climate Literacy: The Essential Principles of Climate Science presents information that is deemed important for individuals and communities to know and understand about Earth’s climate, impacts of climate change, and approaches to adaptation or mitigation. Principles in the guide can serve as discussion starters or launching points for scientific inquiry. The guide aims to promote... Continue Reading →
FREE DOWNLOAD: The Essential Principles of Climate Literacy
This is a guest blog by Michael Tippett (professor at Columbia University) and Tim DelSole (professor at George Mason University), adapted from material in their new text book Statistical Methods for Climate Scientists. Predictability is a word that often comes up in discussions here on the ENSO Blog (another is variability). Let’s see if we... Continue Reading →
What is predictability?
In 2015, Freddie went to the Sri Lankan jungle to build an internationally award-winning bamboo hotel, Wild Coast Lodge. Living in a local village for nearly three years, he saw how special bamboo was, with all the offcuts being taken home by the villagers to build fences and furniture. In 2016, Marc joined him on... Continue Reading →
Planboo
This piece highlights the merits of the fossil fuel divestment approach. My next piece covers an alternative view, evaluating the advantages of engagement with fossil fuel companies. A decade ago, noted environmentalist Bill McKibben had a radical-sounding idea. To save the planet, we needed to “revoke the social license of the fossil fuel industry.” His... Continue Reading →
The Case For Fossil Fuel Divestment
As they become more exposed to the grim realities of climate change, today’s teens and people in their 20s — an entire generation — are experiencing increased anxiety, grief, fear or guilt about the planet’s future as well as their own. For teachers of environmental studies, softening the scientific evidence about what lies ahead —... Continue Reading →