Solar panels are manufactured at 2,000˚C, a temperature so high it requires fossil-fuel power. They are also made using rare earth elements, the supply of which has both capacity and political issues. A new and global project is using artificial … Continue reading
A Capitalist System for the Future The perverse incentives inherent in a largely unconstrained capitalist system still exist. These incentives drive behaviors that increase inequality, reduce social mobility, devalue communities, deplete soils, acidify oceans, destroy biodiversity, trigger mass migrations and … Continue reading
In rural communities struggling with limited job growth and a roughly 40 percent net decline in farm incomes since 2011, wind and solar royalties have dramatically boosted economic development. In 2017 alone, farmers and ranchers received $267 million in wind … Continue reading
Forty-five top economists from across the political spectrum are calling for the United States to put a tax on carbon, saying it is by far the best way for the nation to address climate change. Does this plan include exempting … Continue reading
What did Exxon know and when did they know it, will it be like the tobacco industry's debacle of deniability? Massachusetts' attorney general is trying to force Exxon to turn over decades of records involving what it knew about climate … Continue reading
Companies committed to 100% renewable electricity are more profitable than their peers – a new report by the RE100 draws on financial data from 3,500 businesses underlining the business case for putting sustainability at the heart of corporate growth strategies. … Continue reading
Will our addiction to oil drain every last drop? "Having taken oil for granted for decades, the global economy has failed to prepare for its absence. A bleak future awaits . . . …Today's energy supplies provide the equivalent of … Continue reading
Swiss-based Energy Vault provides an alternative to pumped-hydro energy storage by using concrete blocks and cranes instead of water and dams. The Energy Vault concept contends that because concrete is denser than water, lifting a block of concrete requires more … Continue reading
A deal announced Monday could mean a $100 million towards solar projects in Texas. Austin-based solar power company PowerFin Partners will develop and build the projects and Toronto-based real estate investors Fengate will finance the deals as part of today’s … Continue reading
The San Antonio chapters of the Citizens Climate Lobby, the Environmental Defense Fund, and the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance held a panel discussion on June 9, 2018 about how fossil fuel dependence affects national security — and how the military … Continue reading
Is it a surprise that Shell has known for years the dangers of fossil fuels? The same goes for ExxonMobil also having known. What should or can be done about it? A Dutch news organization has published a trove of … Continue reading
The Alamo City — which was in eighth place last year — now has 161 megawatts of direct current solar power installed, according to the latest Shining Cities report from Environment America. The numbers are through the end of 2017. … Continue reading
San Antonio’s public utility, CPS Energy, faced blowback from city leaders and environmental groups Thursday on its newly released strategic power plan that takes decades to fully transition to renewable sources of energy. “A lot of folks felt blindsided by … Continue reading
Do we have a fundamental right to a climate system capable of sustaining human life? What’s the point of inheriting the Earth if it’s only going to burn (or drown)? Kids around the world are asking governments this question and … Continue reading
Renewable energy might be clean, but it's not always reliable if the Sun ducks behind clouds or the wind slacks off. To counter that variability, the grid will need to combine a range of different sources, such as solar, wind, … Continue reading
Across the U.S., energy users of all sizes are taking control of their power supply and relieving stress from the grid. That’s the idea behind distributed energy. Atlantic Re:think and Siemens partnered to explore this burgeoning energy revolution in 360º … Continue reading
Members of a local energy-efficiency initiative collectively reduced their carbon impact by more than 10,200 metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2016, according to an annual report from San Antonio 2030 District, which is leading the effort. The initiative, led … Continue reading
Last week, I walked into the San Antonio City Council Chambers to present the Council members with nearly 700 petition signatures urging them to press forward with their pledged commitment to develop a Climate Action Plan for the city. While … Continue reading
Climate change debates aside, the raw numbers show San Antonio is becoming much hotter, much more often. What does this mean to our city, and to a state where nearly 40 percent of the labor force is working outside? Most … Continue reading
The country’s energy mix is under scrutiny. A report commissioned by Energy Secretary Rick Perry acknowledges that low natural gas prices—not renewables—are behind the recent closure of coal energy plants, and that the grid has managed to withstand the increasing … Continue reading