“If built as planned, the gas burning plants — scattered across states including Texas, Ohio and Wyoming — could release as much planet-warming pollution in a year as roughly half of all the passenger vehicles in the United States…”

Trump’s Push for More A.I. Data Centers Will Mean Major Air Pollution (Gift Article)

nytimes.com

Sunset over Pittsburgh

The Times editorial board should invite a response from Mariana Mazzucato, who can provide the nuance that is lacking in this very confused piece.

Opinion | Why State Ownership of A.I. Is a Bad Idea (Gift Article)

Taking stakes in A.I. companies would not increase the government’s powers to control those companies. The opposite is more likely.

nytimes.com

“He took on the 2024 review as a part-time, unpaid project.” 🤦‍♂️ So it was basically just one old Clinton-era insider’s armchair opinion.

Author of Democrats’ 2024 Autopsy Says Party Left Out Key Chapter (Gift Article)

A dispute over the chapter between the author and the Democratic National Committee has added to the party’s turmoil as it tries to look forward, not backward.

nytimes.com

Biochar also alters soil hydrodynamics by enhancing infiltration and reducing runoff and erosion. Reported increases in infiltration can reach up to 80%, while runoff and erosion reductions may exceed 90% in certain systems, reflecting improved pore connectivity and structural stability.

Is everyone aware of the General Motors streetcar conspiracy? In the mid-20th century, auto and oil interests bought up electric streetcar systems across the US and systematically replaced them with bus routes and paved roads, funneling commuters toward private cars.

General Motors streetcar conspiracy - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

El Niño cycles push warming up above the trend line which could pull a tipping point forward in time. Their effects seem to ride on until the next cycle. I also worry about the oceans’ and forests’ ability to continue absorbing CO2 at the historic rate.

Prof Ray Wills@profraywills.futuresmart.com.au · 3d ago

This year will be the hottest year of your life This year may be the coolest year of the rest of your life Estimate global temperatures for 2026 and 2027 enhanced by record-smashing El Niño event compared to global temperatures since 1850 - graphic @zekehausfather.com

Klein is writing about geopolitics but the same can be said of environmental regeneration. We’ve been tossed about over the past 50 years by a parade of deniers and tricksters and now we must rebuild our relationship with nature. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/02/o...

What is like to know is: With advances in power electronics, management systems, and batteries, how large a capacity could we safely scale up to with plug-in solar? Balcony is around 1kW. Could we eventually have rooftop systems less than 5kW just plug in? 10kW?

Plug-In Solar Panels Are Starting to Sprout in U.S. Backyards (Gift Article)

Ten U.S. states have legalized systems that can be plugged into standard wall outlets. The technology typically does not require permits or electricians.

nytimes.com

1/ @mjflepage.bsky.social argues in @newscientist.com that more North Sea drilling doesn't matter for the #climate, because what counts is how much we burn. He's usually excellent as a climate writer and I found the piece a real let-down. A thread on why. 🧵

This interrogation of the concept of a “social construct” points to a hopeful future. All the term really means is that it is something we have the power to change or redesign if we want to (it’s not a law of nature). So let’s get to it people! Start redesigning!

Darío@megalodondada.bsky.social · 5d ago

People here "social construct" and think "fake" but social constructs are very real! The US Army is a social construct, it's not just a million guys with guns and it wouldn't be very effective if it was, but knowledge of its social construction ain't gonna help you when the bombs start falling

“…the number of extremely hot, dry and windy summer days more than doubled from 1981 to 2025“ as fire prevention measures over that period built up more biomass. Now the conditions have entirely overwhelmed the effectiveness of those measures.

Earth’s Warming Primed France and Spain to Burn, Scientists Find (Gift Article)

The likelihood of hot, dry weather that helps wildfires spread has increased sharply in Europe in recent decades, according to a new report.

nytimes.com

“The fear, he said, is that landscapes that are now protected will soon be dotted with drilling rigs.” “We have to have oil and gas development, obviously,” he said, “but we don’t have to have it on America’s most amazing landscapes.” Obviously? 🙄 Climate change also affects historic sites btw.

Critics Say Historic Sites Are Endangered by Trump-Aligned Panel’s Plan (Gift Article)

Proponents say the changes to the federal preservation rules are necessary, but critics argue they are alarming and would help expedite the president’s redesign of Washington.

nytimes.com

It’s a good thing Congress wasn’t around to see this. “Employees at Anthropic and OpenAI warned that these programs were already beginning to display the worrying types of science-fiction scenarios that the industry had long warned would become a reality.” www.nytimes.com/2026/07/30/t...

>>Instead, they left convinced the process was theater. “It was very apparent that this was a done deal before they held this hearing,” she said. “So why waste the public’s time?”<< Fake community engagement can be worse than none at all. Start early, listen authentically, and incorporate changes.

Trevor Parsons@dartmouthcommon.bsky.social · 6d ago

This well-researched, thoughtful piece is essential reading for anyone fighting for #ClimateAction By @alexhannaford.com for the digital publication, Heated. You don't have to be a paid shill for big oil & gas to disrupt the march towards renewables. heated.world/p/the-influe...

Starting tomorrow we are using more Earth resources this year than can be regenerated by nature.

Press Release June 2026 English - Announcing Earth Overshoot Day 2026 - Earth Overshoot Day

Earth Overshoot Day 2026 falls on July 30th.

overshoot.footprintnetwork.org

The article points out there is no substance to any of the complaints. Per the article: The list gets published every year already. Has for years. The appeals process is easy and staff is helpful. It’s only the top 24,000 properties. Why editorialize? It could have been about a successful rollout.

Rollout of New York City’s Second-Home Tax Is Confusing Some Residents (Gift Article)

The so-called pied-à-terre tax is causing anxiety for homeowners who feel outed by the publication of their addresses. Some say they have only one home.

nytimes.com

We really do have to stop burning ALL forms of fossil fuels as soon as possible. “2026 is just the beginning,” Professor Rockström added. “It will inevitably get worse. It will get worse and worse and worse to the point where, I’m afraid, we’ll be passing the limits of adaptation.”

Summer of Heat, Fires and Storms Is a Reckoning for Europe on Climate (Gift Article)

The continent is experiencing some of its biggest fires and highest temperatures ever. Residents are fleeing, leaders are struggling to respond and “it will get worse,” one climate expert said.

nytimes.com

Human nature requires that the more sustainable choices have to also be the more desirable ones. This is the design challenge we confront in climate mitigation. New forms of energy, appliances, food, transport all have to be cheaper and better than the old version, not just better for the planet.

George Monbiot@georgemonbiot.bsky.social · last wk.

When I discuss huge systemic issues, people say "but what I can I do?" When I mention something meaningful you can do immediately, people say (as the replies here show) "but what's the point, in the face of the huge systemic issues?" There are, it seems, plenty of people who want to be helpless.

The wrong kind of abundance. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/29/b...

I'm holding out hope that this can become something great in real life. I want MVRDV to wow us. I just wonder how this could possibly be net-zero or net-positive for nature. It may outsource and buy off-site clean energy, but that is not then part of the design itself. www.dezeen.com/2022/02/07/m...

MVRDV wins competition for "new world wonder" in the Netherlands

MVRDV has been revealed as the winner of social enterprise Shift's competition to design a €240 million landmark in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

dezeen.com

Agrivoltaics as fire prevention: “The grazing helps with fire prevention, as the sheep remove 60 to 75% of the carbon on site.” “They remove the litter,” added Mike Ritter, with the state’s Fish and Wildlife Department. “If you mow (vegetation), there’s still stuff remaining that could burn.”

Solar power from Yakima County going to Grant County; more solar projects in the works

NEAR MOXEE — With the first of five or more solar power facilities in Yakima County now operating, the abundant sunshine of Central Washington has begun to boost the region’s

yakimaherald.com

I read the NYT piece about the Roosevelt Library in North Dakota by Snøhetta and wondered where the solar panels were. So I visited while driving through yesterday and they are nicely designed cantilevered glulam timber parking canopies that match the building.

What options are left really? The ethical car purchase is an EV. Period. It doesn’t really matter so much what brand. All the CEO’s are out of touch. Some certainly more than others. But just get the EV and not the gas car and you can feel good while you’re saving money.

Murshed Zaheed@murshedz.bsky.social · last wk.

Heads up for anyone who may be looking to buy a car in near future: GM's CEO loves Trump.

Citizens' Climate Lobby volunteers from across the US are visiting Washington D.C. this week to speak with their legislators about clean energy policy. Please take a minute to call your legislators and lend them support! citizensclimatelobby.org/get-loud-tak... @cclusa.org

Call Congress Day: July 27, 2026

You don't have to be in D.C. to show up! Tell your representatives: I stand with the citizen lobbyists on Capitol Hill. Help us reach our goal of 2,500 calls to Congress in one day.

citizensclimatelobby.org

Getting panels on your roof? Check your solar quote against this vast database to see how competitive it really is.

Solar Quote Checker — Independent Solar Proposal Review

Check a solar proposal before signing. Compare its price, production assumptions, equipment, warranties, financing, and missing terms without installer sales calls or lead resale.

solarquotecheckup.com

Excellent case study in developing solar in a way that responds to the specific needs of the site and the client.

Germany stood 2,600 solar panels dead upright on a Bavarian lake, edge-on to the sun, because a law says you can shade 15% of the water and not an inch more, and the rows lean like sails on underwater...

Every solar farm you have driven past looks about the same from the road. Rows of dark panels tilted up at the sky, angled south, all of them waiting on noon.

autonocion.com

Here's a schematic of the work of Donald Appleyard that ALL serious transportation experts & urbanists should know but I'd wager 90% DO NOT - including many of my best friends working in the field. Want to know what he did? Rather than me explain just view the video in the attached post below!

Be like Silas Soule, doing the right and moral thing by the standards of a more civilized egalitarian future world that you imagine could one day come into being. The people in that future who admire you for your brave actions will think you are really hot.

Patrick McCray@patrickmccray.bsky.social · last wk.

Remembering Silas Soule, born OTD in 1838. American abolitionist, conductor on the Underground Railroad, military officer, and hero for disobeying orders to participate in Sand Creek Massacre and then giving evidence against his commander. Murdered 1865. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silas_S...

If only Lutnick were more invested in solar and wind companies… “The majority owner of Westinghouse is Brookfield Asset Management…It is a frequent business partner with Newmark, the real-estate firm run and owned in part by the sons of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.”

Trump Is Pushing Nuclear Energy, Including Saudi Deal. His Family and Supporters Could Benefit. (Gift Article)

In some cases, no direct line can be drawn from the president’s domestic nuclear agenda to his family or close allies. But they have overlapping business ties that could position them for gains.

nytimes.com