Climate Change

Energy issues create challenges and opportunities every year for local decision makers, writes Henry Herndon about New Hampshire. Challenges are not only in cost, but also in the vagaries of the State House. Opportunities lie in the marketplace for cost-saving technologies that are competing with traditional monopolistic energy services. Favorable state policies can help to cultivate these market-based alternatives, provided those policies remain in place.

As the Trump administration slashes federal estimates of the future costs of climate change, new research suggests that even the much higher cost calculated by the Obama administration might be too low.

On a surface-mine-turned-farm in Mingo County, West Virginia, former coal miner Wilburn Jude plunks down three objects on the bed of his work truck: a piece of coal, a sponge, and a peach. He’s been tasked with bringing in items that represent his life’s past, present, and future. “This is my heritage right here,” he says, picking up the coal. Since the time of his Irish immigrant great-grandfathers, all the males in his family have been miners.

The “grid of the future” is no longer a distant goal; it is upon us today with the adoption of innovative tools, technologies and resources that facilitate the transition to a cleaner, consumer-driven electric grid. A new in-depth guide released today by IREC will help states manage the grid redesign with new analytical tools and the benefit of lessons learned from states leading the way.

Natalya Gallo, 29, PhD candidate, Scripps Institution of Oceanography

In 2008, it was folly to imagine India creating new technological solutions to address the climate crisis. For decades India had called itself a victim of climate change and thus incapable of acting to reduce emissions; what’s more, 400 million Indians had no access to electricity at all. Ten years later, all of that has changed, and now India is a leader in renewable energy deployment while the United States is retreating from its commitments on climate. The story of how India transformed its energy technology outlook—and its relationship with the United States—to address climate change shows what may be possible in the future, writes Fellow Kartikeya Singh.

Amid a cascade of political problems this fall, there could be a happy moment for Donald Trump. A trade case that will soon land on the president’s desk could give him an opportunity to boost American manufacturing and slam an Obama administration policy at the same time — while potentially winning praise from environmentalists for helping cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Costs for solar manufacturers are climbing, and it could affect the broader industry. One of the main components of solar panels, polysilicon, is seeing its prices jump dramatically. Prices are up 35 percent over four months, affecting manufacturing leader China and the profits of its companies. Dustin Mulvaney is an associate professor of environmental studies at San Jose State University. Listen to the radio interview