In the interests of "speeding up the transition even a little," and offering a real, meaningful, achievable goal, I propose state and local laws requiring that data centers be powered ONLY with renewable energy.
Problems with grid connections are driving investors to build their own local energy supplies using renewables and batteries which are more quickly scalable.
They're so unpopular in some places that they could affect the November midterm election results. Trump appears to be unconcerned about these elections (despite all the brouhaha about vote-rigging, his go-to excuse for everything). He told Punchbowl News yesterday when asked about the midterms: "They’re angry at Republicans. They’re not angry at me.”
It isn't even that good if you examine closely. It is a fairly sound quick summarizer of known info, but it has no insight, & can be misleading if it relies on misleading sources, (of which there are many), or just makes them up. It is not reliable & I wince every time someone says "well, a quick google search will show . . . "
I have to say that you are a brilliant communicator, blending the personal, scientific, and political streams of information. Please keep up the excellent work!
Thank you Bill for all your hard work over the years. You have fought so hard for all life on this planet. You did not fail. God bless you Bill McKibben.
Bill please know that you have many readers who may not comment often but are deeply grateful for your lifelong dedication to this cause, and your brilliance in communicating its high stakes.
Bearing witness, Bill, is awesome, especially when the trends are so gnarly and, well, sad. But I’ll note that we in the movement are holding fast to sustaining words like yours. And to the thrill of seeing candidates like William Lawrence, environmental organizer and co-founder of Sunrise Movement, win the Dem primary in Michigan: yippee!
Yes to both. To be a movement, we need leaders. And in Texas, we also have a candidate worthy of getting excited about, James Talarico for Senator. It's been four years since I got enthused about a candidate. The process is teaching me we have a lot to learn about democracy.
The Sac Bee, and others (Newsom, and CPUC, incuded, of course), are also beholden to the power monopolies (PG&E, etc.). The battle over plug-in solar is REAL in California. This is a SIMPLE and SAFE way for ANYONE to lower their dependence on the monopolies (and lower their electric bills) for a small starting cost. Call your representatives and advocate for SB 868.
Everybody who drives a gas car owns a piece of this. We've had affordable electric cars for over 15 years, yet Dems continue buying new gas cars at the rate of about 20,000 each day in the US. That's got to stop!
EVs are cheaper than gas cars and have been for years. As an example, you can buy a used Model 3 for $20,000 that's better than any new gas car selling for $40,000. Don't believe me? Try and find one. You can't do it.
Here's what you should do before the next election. Research which EV, new or used, that will serve your daily needs, figure out where you'll charge it, then save up and get it done. If you drive a gas car, this should be your top priority.
I drive two older cars (not gas guzzlers, but definitely gas drinkers) for cost and now surveillance reasons. Although they produce CO2, at least I am not adding the construction costs of a new vehicle, which is an upfront CO2 expenditure. I can’t imagine at this point why anyone would not at bare minimum go hybrid on a new vehicle. I wish I were living in an urban core overseas where public transit would let me do away with car use altogether.
" I can’t imagine at this point why anyone would not at bare minimum go hybrid on a new vehicle."
Nobody on the left should ever buy ANY new car with an internal combustion engine. You also don't have to buy a new EV, you can buy a used one for a very low price. If you have the means, you absolutely owe it to humanity to stop buying and burning gas. No more waiting.
Used EV’s are definitely some of the best deals on the market. And leasing EV’s. The one big problem that someone on the left has here is that the best American EV is still a Tesla. The Rivian R2 will hopefully change that. Just launched.
Yes, people need to get over their crazy hate of Tesla. Blaming Tesla for the sins of its CEO is counterproductive in the extreme. Tesla is the best thing Musk ever did. That car company is the strongest ally we have in killing the internal combustion industry.
Also, if you're going to try to hurt a company for the sins of its CEO, then you must condemn all legacy car companies since all their CEOs supported Trump, as did the company itself and 100% of all car dealers. They all supported Trump. Plus, they make millions of gas cars and the pollution from those millions of cars literally kills thousands of people every year.
Tesla hasn't killed anyone since their cars don't pollute. And I agree with you on Rivian. That's the only 'clean' car company that's not called Tesla.
It's interesting to hear from you so I'm using this Comment area to ask if you were someone in engineering or the sciences. Your comments to others have been well tempered and informative along with the woman Nan from Texas.
Like you I've commented to 'Anthony's' wobbling and am a bit suspicious 'he' is a fossil-fuel bot or interloper.
Also, I would like to ask if you've read my comment further on in this Comment section. There I've introduced five personal actions that everyone can do, based on the best global warming data from the UN IPCC and FAO, to (I believe) stop global warming. How many of these five actions are you already doing and if you are willing to do the remaining ones?
Dennis: I am neither a bot nor a fossil fuel cheerleader. I simply shared my personal situation and reasons for not yet owning EV/s. If that makes me a wobbler, okay. I’ll be paying the TSP loan for my rooftop solar for 4 1/2 more years, but at least I won’t be paying NVEnergy any more money each month. They’re actually going to be cutting me a $2,400 check for 20 years of overcharging (SHOCKED! I’m SHOCKED!) me for electricity, since a statement credit won’t do me a bit of good at this point. Maybe the rebate will end up as a down payment on an EV, who knows. There’s very little I like about new vehicles, but I am no fan of burning gasoline.
I did read your 5 points. My a/c is getting long in the tooth, so I suspect I’ll be replacing it with a heat pump shortly. Heater is bundled with my AC, but we never use it; we bundle under blankets or run electric space heaters. Water heater, with a flat pack electric one. We do need to compost, especially as we have a backyard garden that would benefit from it.
I'm not trained in science or engineering, but I've been involved in solar and EVs since installing solar in 2002 and buying my first EV the same year. I have a lot of science and engineering friends who have given me a pretty good understanding of these issues. I am a founding member of Plug In America and am in the 2006 documentary, "Who Killed the Electric Car?". I got a producing credit on "Revenge of the Electric Car" and have helped fund the third film from Chris Paine that is still in production.
My goal in life is to hasten the end of the ICE industry. I expect to see the end of all manufacturing of internal combustion engines inside of ten more years. After that, the only new cars sold will be EVs. This is how we will force even MAGAs to drive EVs by eliminating their choice to buy a polluting car.
I looked, but did not find, the 5 points you mentioned. Please post them as a reply here and I'll respond.
All the legacy American car companies (Ford, GM, etc.) lobbied hard for protectionist tariffs to keep Chinese cars out of the country. They were granted a tariff of 100%.
Given how fast China built a juggernaut of factories pumping out high quality EVs by the millions for very low prices, the old-tech American car companies, the ones found guilty of trying the kill the EV in the film "Who Killed the Electric Car?", are scared shitless of BYD stores in high end malls next door to Tesla stores selling millions of $25,000 EVs that are almost as good as Model 3s.
ICE sales will crash, just like they're doing in China and Europe. China just hit 50% EV sales in January. As of July, the rate of EV sales had gone up to 63%. Gas car sales in China, the world's biggest car market, are crashing. Same in Europe where the UK and Germany just hit 50% EV sales, Denmark is at 90%, and Norway became the first Euro country to hit 100% EV sales this year.
Meanwhile, in Trump's MAGA America, we didn't even hit 10%. CA is at about 25%, so that tells you how pathetic we are compared to the rest of the world. The ICE industry is going to die, and the sooner we make that happen, the sooner we can force people to stop polluting our air.
Anthony, you swallowed the fossil-fuel disinformation bait, telling you new EVs have a very large 'carbon manufacturing' debt, so you should continue just driving your old gas bangers and spare the environment! It's a fat lie. The Union of Concerned Scientists and the Sierra Club have made a study of this and found that driving an EV just THREE MONTHS pays back all the carbon produced in manufacturing it, compared to continuing driving your old gas banger.
Hi Paul your advice here makes it sound like you need to go to a special charging station to charge an EV. Not so, with the appropriate charging adapter an EV can be charged from a home outlet (specifically for 'heavy duty' use). Granted, this type charging is slow so you must leave it overnight.
I did not intend to leave the impression a special charger was needed. Charging has been standardized for years, so as long as you can park near where electricity exists, you can install a Level 1 (120V) charger or a Level 2 (240V). This exists pretty much everywhere in the US.
I don’t have kids, but I have two constellations of nieces and nephews in the U.S. and Philippines. Also bright young people I work with. I hope and pray that we can yet leave them something resembling a livable future. Besides basic lifestyle steps to mitigate my impact, and voting climate, I added solar just before 47 killed the tax credit, and that has kept 4 tons of CO2 out of the atmosphere in only 7 months.
Hi Anthony, bravo for putting solar panels on your roof. However, don't put too much faith in 'voting climate', we've been doing that for some 30 years now, the result: not much. There's simply too much money against any change in fossil fuel use. In the end we need to count on one another to DO the changes necessary to save us from global warming. Read my suggested personal actions further on here, which are based on sound science that everyone can DO. You've already done one of them by installing solar panels to obtain renewable energy for your home.
"However, don't put too much faith in 'voting climate', we've been doing that for some 30 years now, the result: not much."
Dennis, why are you so determined to discourage voting? Again, you've overlooked the Tragedy of the Commons. Only collective action, i.e., *mutual coercion, mutually agreed upon*, can drive national decarbonization. Voting may be slow, but purely voluntary individual decarbonization will *never* reduce aggregate emissions by enough, because there simply aren't enough people willing to internalize their private marginal climate-change costs when others are not. And all too many are happy to free-ride on their neighbors' private emissions reductions, which benefit everyone in the world as much as the volunteer decarbonizers, because the atmosphere is global. Individual voluntary actions may be virtuous if they're not mere cost-free signalling. But anyone connected to the global marketplace emits some fossil carbon, whether directly or in goods and services made with it, leaving no place for passing moral judgement on each other. Pride is the deadliest sin, for it enables all the others!
The Chinese Communist Party can mandate build-out of its renewable energy supplies from the top down while meeting the energy demands of 1.4 billion domestic consumers. In the USA, however, collective action is taken democratically. That means *voting*. Elsewhere in the world, public investments and market responses have already driven the levelized cost of renewable energy plus storage below that of fossil fuels. Our votes for Joe Biden in 2020 got the "Inflation Reduction" Act of 2022 enacted, by bare democratic majorities in both houses of Congress. Trump then won in 2024 by flipping fewer than 350,000 former Biden voters in three states, and launched a frontal attack on decarbonization. All else equal, if those 350,000 votes across WI, MI, and PA are flipped back in 2028, the decarbonization provisions of the IRA will be restored and extended, as our country rejoins the global "green vortex" (h/t Robinson Meyer).
So signal all the moral virtue you want, but please don't tell people not to put their hopes on voting: one, because fewer than a million more votes for the de facto party of public investment for public good in this country is all it will take to jumpstart collective decarbonization again; and two, because we have no hope at all without it.
Better late than never. Let's join together in a climate group. I participate in Third Act. Let's put out a welcome mat to our group and bring snacks for the meetings. Let's build our organizations. Third Act is hosting two webinars on Monday 8/10. https://thirdact.org/events/
I've found that your comments to others have been well tempered and informative. You seem to be a natural organizer, what's your background in this area?
Also, I would like to ask you if you've read my comment further on in this Comment section. There I've introduced five personal actions that everyone can do, based on the best global warming data from the UN IPCC and FAO, to (I believe) stop global warming. How many of these five actions are you already doing and if you are willing to do the remaining ones?
I'm doing, at least sort of, all but 1 of your five asks. This month my gas oven broke but today I finished with replacing it with an electric oven with induction cooktop. Also, the electrician has electric hot water and heating he can sell me second hand. So I might do that also.
Thank you Bill M. This is all so overwhelming. My “lane” in the fight (collaborative hardball) has been turning up the dial on creating a far more collaborative culture. Our “adversary system” has left us so individualistic and competitive. My focus has been on lighting a fire for women because so many of us are more comfortable with a collaborative approach. But does any of this make a difference in light of the speed with which the planet is heating up? I put so much effort into raising my beautiful children and now for this fascist inferno? Keeping despair at bay and taking the next best step is challenging. I’m very grateful for you and everyone who is keeping their heads out of the sand.
I agree our culture needs to change, that the adversary system needs to go. A start is to quit worrying if something is winnable Here in Texas, our problem is the Democrats don't even try because they are so sure they can't win. What is the surest way to lose? (Answer: Don't try.)
I’m one of the little soldiers you you recruited years ago. Since reading Storms of my Grandchildren and Eaarth I Studied sustainable building at Northeast Sustainable Buuilding Association, built a net zero house with enough solar to power my electric car, founded a local chapter of Citizens Climate Lobby, then retrofitted a standard 30-year old house with solar and heat pump everything. Will Rodger’s said something like, It ain’t braggin’ if ya done it.” But I mention it only as one small example of your huge impact on millions of people. As you regret the many we have failed to reach, imagine where we’d be without your efforts, and revel in the millions whom you have given a chance at a livable world. Thank you.
Went vegan 12 years ago when animal products started tasting awful to me for no reason I could tell. Delicious, longer shelf life, cooking excites my creativity, AND best health ever since. Colds? what's that?
hi Bill, please read if you're having a bad sad day. I read an old story about you standing at petrol (gas) pump until you got arrested. A one-man protest. You were reported as being very polite. 'Couldn't I do that?' I thought. So I joined Rising Tide (Australia), am now involved in their action against development of the Beetaloo (gas) Basin in Queensland, am taking the family to the Newcastle Coal Port Blockade next Feb, gonna paddle my board in support of all those others paddling out into the mainstream to stop the coal tanker ships. Last year they stopped 3. Next year, who knows? Got to try. Got to build a tide of people who will make politicians stop approving new fossil fuel developments.
Your words and actions inspired me to get more active than just writing letters and signing petitions. Hope that helps you to keep writing. I'd like to cheer you up on a rough day.
PS I live in South Australia where the entire State runs on renewables more often than not. It's really good seeing us (Australians) through your eyes. Here we don't think it's any big deal, we take the 3h free electricity each afternoon for granted, we criticise federal government for taking so long to get around to installing EV charging infrastructure around the country (it's on the way). Your words remind me that we've got a lot to be thankful for.
Keeping fingers crossed for climate & renewables friendly outcomes in American elections in November.
In the interests of "speeding up the transition even a little," and offering a real, meaningful, achievable goal, I propose state and local laws requiring that data centers be powered ONLY with renewable energy.
Problems with grid connections are driving investors to build their own local energy supplies using renewables and batteries which are more quickly scalable.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/19/datacenters-us-clean-energy-growth-climate
The other problem for datacenters is that they're hugely unpopular for rather obvious reasons.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/08/datacenter-ai-drought-water
They're so unpopular in some places that they could affect the November midterm election results. Trump appears to be unconcerned about these elections (despite all the brouhaha about vote-rigging, his go-to excuse for everything). He told Punchbowl News yesterday when asked about the midterms: "They’re angry at Republicans. They’re not angry at me.”
Yes and the only reason voters are angry at Republicans is their supine refusal to stop his depredations on… well, everything.
Right now there is rare bi-partisan and growing resistance to AI data centers everywhere. The only good data center is the one not built!
I propose a moratorium on the damn data centers.
I don't use AI because I think it's a too good to be true scam. Now we're seeing another reason why. #OrganicThinker #OrganicCoder
It isn't even that good if you examine closely. It is a fairly sound quick summarizer of known info, but it has no insight, & can be misleading if it relies on misleading sources, (of which there are many), or just makes them up. It is not reliable & I wince every time someone says "well, a quick google search will show . . . "
I have to say that you are a brilliant communicator, blending the personal, scientific, and political streams of information. Please keep up the excellent work!
Thank you Bill for all your hard work over the years. You have fought so hard for all life on this planet. You did not fail. God bless you Bill McKibben.
Bill please know that you have many readers who may not comment often but are deeply grateful for your lifelong dedication to this cause, and your brilliance in communicating its high stakes.
I second that!
Bearing witness, Bill, is awesome, especially when the trends are so gnarly and, well, sad. But I’ll note that we in the movement are holding fast to sustaining words like yours. And to the thrill of seeing candidates like William Lawrence, environmental organizer and co-founder of Sunrise Movement, win the Dem primary in Michigan: yippee!
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/08/data-center-opponent-sunrise-movement-william-lawrence-michigan-house-primary-results/
Yes to both. To be a movement, we need leaders. And in Texas, we also have a candidate worthy of getting excited about, James Talarico for Senator. It's been four years since I got enthused about a candidate. The process is teaching me we have a lot to learn about democracy.
Well said. Thank you, Bill for plugging along through all of it. Your work is so very appreciated.
Thank you for sharing this insightful information. Please don’t ever stop. You are excellent.
The Sac Bee, and others (Newsom, and CPUC, incuded, of course), are also beholden to the power monopolies (PG&E, etc.). The battle over plug-in solar is REAL in California. This is a SIMPLE and SAFE way for ANYONE to lower their dependence on the monopolies (and lower their electric bills) for a small starting cost. Call your representatives and advocate for SB 868.
Everybody who drives a gas car owns a piece of this. We've had affordable electric cars for over 15 years, yet Dems continue buying new gas cars at the rate of about 20,000 each day in the US. That's got to stop!
EVs are cheaper than gas cars and have been for years. As an example, you can buy a used Model 3 for $20,000 that's better than any new gas car selling for $40,000. Don't believe me? Try and find one. You can't do it.
Here's what you should do before the next election. Research which EV, new or used, that will serve your daily needs, figure out where you'll charge it, then save up and get it done. If you drive a gas car, this should be your top priority.
I drive two older cars (not gas guzzlers, but definitely gas drinkers) for cost and now surveillance reasons. Although they produce CO2, at least I am not adding the construction costs of a new vehicle, which is an upfront CO2 expenditure. I can’t imagine at this point why anyone would not at bare minimum go hybrid on a new vehicle. I wish I were living in an urban core overseas where public transit would let me do away with car use altogether.
" I can’t imagine at this point why anyone would not at bare minimum go hybrid on a new vehicle."
Nobody on the left should ever buy ANY new car with an internal combustion engine. You also don't have to buy a new EV, you can buy a used one for a very low price. If you have the means, you absolutely owe it to humanity to stop buying and burning gas. No more waiting.
Used EV’s are definitely some of the best deals on the market. And leasing EV’s. The one big problem that someone on the left has here is that the best American EV is still a Tesla. The Rivian R2 will hopefully change that. Just launched.
Yes, people need to get over their crazy hate of Tesla. Blaming Tesla for the sins of its CEO is counterproductive in the extreme. Tesla is the best thing Musk ever did. That car company is the strongest ally we have in killing the internal combustion industry.
Also, if you're going to try to hurt a company for the sins of its CEO, then you must condemn all legacy car companies since all their CEOs supported Trump, as did the company itself and 100% of all car dealers. They all supported Trump. Plus, they make millions of gas cars and the pollution from those millions of cars literally kills thousands of people every year.
Tesla hasn't killed anyone since their cars don't pollute. And I agree with you on Rivian. That's the only 'clean' car company that's not called Tesla.
Hello Paul,
It's interesting to hear from you so I'm using this Comment area to ask if you were someone in engineering or the sciences. Your comments to others have been well tempered and informative along with the woman Nan from Texas.
Like you I've commented to 'Anthony's' wobbling and am a bit suspicious 'he' is a fossil-fuel bot or interloper.
Also, I would like to ask if you've read my comment further on in this Comment section. There I've introduced five personal actions that everyone can do, based on the best global warming data from the UN IPCC and FAO, to (I believe) stop global warming. How many of these five actions are you already doing and if you are willing to do the remaining ones?
All the best,
Dennis Shibut
Dennis: I am neither a bot nor a fossil fuel cheerleader. I simply shared my personal situation and reasons for not yet owning EV/s. If that makes me a wobbler, okay. I’ll be paying the TSP loan for my rooftop solar for 4 1/2 more years, but at least I won’t be paying NVEnergy any more money each month. They’re actually going to be cutting me a $2,400 check for 20 years of overcharging (SHOCKED! I’m SHOCKED!) me for electricity, since a statement credit won’t do me a bit of good at this point. Maybe the rebate will end up as a down payment on an EV, who knows. There’s very little I like about new vehicles, but I am no fan of burning gasoline.
I did read your 5 points. My a/c is getting long in the tooth, so I suspect I’ll be replacing it with a heat pump shortly. Heater is bundled with my AC, but we never use it; we bundle under blankets or run electric space heaters. Water heater, with a flat pack electric one. We do need to compost, especially as we have a backyard garden that would benefit from it.
I'm not trained in science or engineering, but I've been involved in solar and EVs since installing solar in 2002 and buying my first EV the same year. I have a lot of science and engineering friends who have given me a pretty good understanding of these issues. I am a founding member of Plug In America and am in the 2006 documentary, "Who Killed the Electric Car?". I got a producing credit on "Revenge of the Electric Car" and have helped fund the third film from Chris Paine that is still in production.
My goal in life is to hasten the end of the ICE industry. I expect to see the end of all manufacturing of internal combustion engines inside of ten more years. After that, the only new cars sold will be EVs. This is how we will force even MAGAs to drive EVs by eliminating their choice to buy a polluting car.
I looked, but did not find, the 5 points you mentioned. Please post them as a reply here and I'll respond.
Why is China's BYD not sold in USA?
All the legacy American car companies (Ford, GM, etc.) lobbied hard for protectionist tariffs to keep Chinese cars out of the country. They were granted a tariff of 100%.
Given how fast China built a juggernaut of factories pumping out high quality EVs by the millions for very low prices, the old-tech American car companies, the ones found guilty of trying the kill the EV in the film "Who Killed the Electric Car?", are scared shitless of BYD stores in high end malls next door to Tesla stores selling millions of $25,000 EVs that are almost as good as Model 3s.
ICE sales will crash, just like they're doing in China and Europe. China just hit 50% EV sales in January. As of July, the rate of EV sales had gone up to 63%. Gas car sales in China, the world's biggest car market, are crashing. Same in Europe where the UK and Germany just hit 50% EV sales, Denmark is at 90%, and Norway became the first Euro country to hit 100% EV sales this year.
Meanwhile, in Trump's MAGA America, we didn't even hit 10%. CA is at about 25%, so that tells you how pathetic we are compared to the rest of the world. The ICE industry is going to die, and the sooner we make that happen, the sooner we can force people to stop polluting our air.
Protectionism and nativism. That simple.
Anthony, you swallowed the fossil-fuel disinformation bait, telling you new EVs have a very large 'carbon manufacturing' debt, so you should continue just driving your old gas bangers and spare the environment! It's a fat lie. The Union of Concerned Scientists and the Sierra Club have made a study of this and found that driving an EV just THREE MONTHS pays back all the carbon produced in manufacturing it, compared to continuing driving your old gas banger.
Hi Paul your advice here makes it sound like you need to go to a special charging station to charge an EV. Not so, with the appropriate charging adapter an EV can be charged from a home outlet (specifically for 'heavy duty' use). Granted, this type charging is slow so you must leave it overnight.
I did not intend to leave the impression a special charger was needed. Charging has been standardized for years, so as long as you can park near where electricity exists, you can install a Level 1 (120V) charger or a Level 2 (240V). This exists pretty much everywhere in the US.
You didn’t fail. We did.
I don’t have kids, but I have two constellations of nieces and nephews in the U.S. and Philippines. Also bright young people I work with. I hope and pray that we can yet leave them something resembling a livable future. Besides basic lifestyle steps to mitigate my impact, and voting climate, I added solar just before 47 killed the tax credit, and that has kept 4 tons of CO2 out of the atmosphere in only 7 months.
Hi Anthony, bravo for putting solar panels on your roof. However, don't put too much faith in 'voting climate', we've been doing that for some 30 years now, the result: not much. There's simply too much money against any change in fossil fuel use. In the end we need to count on one another to DO the changes necessary to save us from global warming. Read my suggested personal actions further on here, which are based on sound science that everyone can DO. You've already done one of them by installing solar panels to obtain renewable energy for your home.
[Last edited 1430 PDT 8/10/2026: MA]
"However, don't put too much faith in 'voting climate', we've been doing that for some 30 years now, the result: not much."
Dennis, why are you so determined to discourage voting? Again, you've overlooked the Tragedy of the Commons. Only collective action, i.e., *mutual coercion, mutually agreed upon*, can drive national decarbonization. Voting may be slow, but purely voluntary individual decarbonization will *never* reduce aggregate emissions by enough, because there simply aren't enough people willing to internalize their private marginal climate-change costs when others are not. And all too many are happy to free-ride on their neighbors' private emissions reductions, which benefit everyone in the world as much as the volunteer decarbonizers, because the atmosphere is global. Individual voluntary actions may be virtuous if they're not mere cost-free signalling. But anyone connected to the global marketplace emits some fossil carbon, whether directly or in goods and services made with it, leaving no place for passing moral judgement on each other. Pride is the deadliest sin, for it enables all the others!
The Chinese Communist Party can mandate build-out of its renewable energy supplies from the top down while meeting the energy demands of 1.4 billion domestic consumers. In the USA, however, collective action is taken democratically. That means *voting*. Elsewhere in the world, public investments and market responses have already driven the levelized cost of renewable energy plus storage below that of fossil fuels. Our votes for Joe Biden in 2020 got the "Inflation Reduction" Act of 2022 enacted, by bare democratic majorities in both houses of Congress. Trump then won in 2024 by flipping fewer than 350,000 former Biden voters in three states, and launched a frontal attack on decarbonization. All else equal, if those 350,000 votes across WI, MI, and PA are flipped back in 2028, the decarbonization provisions of the IRA will be restored and extended, as our country rejoins the global "green vortex" (h/t Robinson Meyer).
So signal all the moral virtue you want, but please don't tell people not to put their hopes on voting: one, because fewer than a million more votes for the de facto party of public investment for public good in this country is all it will take to jumpstart collective decarbonization again; and two, because we have no hope at all without it.
Better late than never. Let's join together in a climate group. I participate in Third Act. Let's put out a welcome mat to our group and bring snacks for the meetings. Let's build our organizations. Third Act is hosting two webinars on Monday 8/10. https://thirdact.org/events/
Hello Nan,
I've found that your comments to others have been well tempered and informative. You seem to be a natural organizer, what's your background in this area?
Also, I would like to ask you if you've read my comment further on in this Comment section. There I've introduced five personal actions that everyone can do, based on the best global warming data from the UN IPCC and FAO, to (I believe) stop global warming. How many of these five actions are you already doing and if you are willing to do the remaining ones?
All the best,
Dennis Shibut
I'm doing, at least sort of, all but 1 of your five asks. This month my gas oven broke but today I finished with replacing it with an electric oven with induction cooktop. Also, the electrician has electric hot water and heating he can sell me second hand. So I might do that also.
Our Cassandra!
Thank you Bill M. This is all so overwhelming. My “lane” in the fight (collaborative hardball) has been turning up the dial on creating a far more collaborative culture. Our “adversary system” has left us so individualistic and competitive. My focus has been on lighting a fire for women because so many of us are more comfortable with a collaborative approach. But does any of this make a difference in light of the speed with which the planet is heating up? I put so much effort into raising my beautiful children and now for this fascist inferno? Keeping despair at bay and taking the next best step is challenging. I’m very grateful for you and everyone who is keeping their heads out of the sand.
I agree our culture needs to change, that the adversary system needs to go. A start is to quit worrying if something is winnable Here in Texas, our problem is the Democrats don't even try because they are so sure they can't win. What is the surest way to lose? (Answer: Don't try.)
I’m one of the little soldiers you you recruited years ago. Since reading Storms of my Grandchildren and Eaarth I Studied sustainable building at Northeast Sustainable Buuilding Association, built a net zero house with enough solar to power my electric car, founded a local chapter of Citizens Climate Lobby, then retrofitted a standard 30-year old house with solar and heat pump everything. Will Rodger’s said something like, It ain’t braggin’ if ya done it.” But I mention it only as one small example of your huge impact on millions of people. As you regret the many we have failed to reach, imagine where we’d be without your efforts, and revel in the millions whom you have given a chance at a livable world. Thank you.
Yes, and not to be selfish also means eating as low on the food chain as possible.
Especially it means say no to animal agriculture.
For statistics and information see Plant-based treaty. Or a myriad of other anti animal agriculture sites.
Even eating only "grass fed" is unrealistic (research what it would take to feed everyone on 'grass fed')
Stay organic, stay local and simple. 'Eat plants, plant trees'.(Plant-based Treaty)
Went vegan 12 years ago when animal products started tasting awful to me for no reason I could tell. Delicious, longer shelf life, cooking excites my creativity, AND best health ever since. Colds? what's that?
There aren't enough words to thank you BIll for your continued prophetic leadership!
Thank you for staring into the abyss for all these years and helping us do the same. You are an incredible communicator and brave man.
hi Bill, please read if you're having a bad sad day. I read an old story about you standing at petrol (gas) pump until you got arrested. A one-man protest. You were reported as being very polite. 'Couldn't I do that?' I thought. So I joined Rising Tide (Australia), am now involved in their action against development of the Beetaloo (gas) Basin in Queensland, am taking the family to the Newcastle Coal Port Blockade next Feb, gonna paddle my board in support of all those others paddling out into the mainstream to stop the coal tanker ships. Last year they stopped 3. Next year, who knows? Got to try. Got to build a tide of people who will make politicians stop approving new fossil fuel developments.
Your words and actions inspired me to get more active than just writing letters and signing petitions. Hope that helps you to keep writing. I'd like to cheer you up on a rough day.
PS I live in South Australia where the entire State runs on renewables more often than not. It's really good seeing us (Australians) through your eyes. Here we don't think it's any big deal, we take the 3h free electricity each afternoon for granted, we criticise federal government for taking so long to get around to installing EV charging infrastructure around the country (it's on the way). Your words remind me that we've got a lot to be thankful for.
Keeping fingers crossed for climate & renewables friendly outcomes in American elections in November.
thanks for all your good work and good words! truly truly!