Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Beth Chajes

David Roberts @volts.wtf · 1d

The historically volatile Texas grid was entirely stable this summer, despite extreme temperatures. Grid operators never once had to ask Texans to conserve energy or shut off their air conditioners.

Why? Solar & batteries. Want a stable grid? Try solar & batteries.

Solar and batteries had a record-setting, grid-stabilizing summer in…

Solar has set 17 power generation records in Texas so far this year, shoring up the grid alongside batteries as some gas plant developers step back.

www.canarymedia.com

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Grist @grist.org · 17h

As Trump champions fossil fuels, the world is betting on renewable energy.

Despite a U.S. retreat, solar and wind are overtaking fossil fuels globally, according to two new reports.

grist.org/internationa...

#GreenSky #Energy #Climate #Solar #Wind #Renewables

As Trump champions fossil fuels, the world is betting on renewable energy

Despite a U.S. retreat, solar and wind are overtaking fossil fuels globally, according to two reports published this week.

grist.org

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Seth Klein @sethdklein.bsky.social · 13h

Global renewable energy generation surpasses coal for first time.

Record solar expansion and steady wind growth driving world’s shift away from fossil fuels in 2025, report finds

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Global renewable energy generation surpasses coal for first time

Record solar expansion and steady wind growth driving world’s shift away from fossil fuels in 2025, report finds

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Beth Chajes

Climate One @climateone.org · 10h

🚗⚡ “See How E.V. Road Trips Went From Impossible to Easy” — NYT’s new interactive maps show how far we’ve come.

Fast chargers used to be rare; now many routes have stations within 50 miles! Check it out:

See How E.V. Road Trips Went From Impossible to Easy

There are a lot more fast chargers than there used to be. Look up what that could mean for a route near you.

www.nytimes.com

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Yale Environment 360 @yalee360.bsky.social · 2d

For the first time, renewables are generating more power globally than coal.

But in the U.S., where the Trump administration is dismantling support for clean energy, renewables are expected to grow half as fast as previously thought.

In a Global First, Renewables Overtake Coal

e360.yale.edu

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Guardian Environment @environment.theguardian.com · 4d

Trump’s hatred for renewables means the US is falling behind the rest of the world

As well as embracing ‘beautiful coal’, the president has set about obliterating clean energy projects

www.theguardian.com

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Benjamin Dreyer @bcdreyer.social · 5d

If you like yelling about misuse of the passive voice, THIS IS IT.

CNN @cnn.com · 6d

Adults and children alike were pulled from their Chicago apartments, crying and screaming, during a large overnight raid that has left tenants and neighbors shaken. https://cnn.it/4pPCXIt

37 people arrested and American kids separated from parents after ICE raid at Chicago apartments | CNN

Adults and children alike were pulled from their Chicago apartments, crying and screaming, during a large overnight raid that has left tenants and neighbors shaken.

www.cnn.com

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Jeff Goodell @jeffgoodell.bsky.social · 6d

Next step in this extortion racket: You want federal money, you sing sweet words about fossil fuels and you don't talk about climate change. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/o...

Opinion | Trump’s ‘Compact’ With Universities Is Just Extortion

www.nytimes.com

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Melissa Ryan @melissaryan.bsky.social · 7d

I always pay attention to what stories People Magazine and other consumer media outlets cover. That's how you can tell that something has broken through the usual political and news bubbles. This horrific Chicago story has broken through. people.com/ice-agents-o...

ICE Agents Rappel from Helicopter in Overnight Chicago Raid, Dragging Kids from Beds to U-Hauls

Overnight on Tuesday, Sept. 30, federal agents from different agencies raided an apartment building on the South Side of Chicago, pulling men, women and children — some of them allegedly naked — from ...

people.com

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Phoebe Petrovic @phoebepetrovic.bsky.social · 7d

the gov't just said it's ok for private, billion dollar corporations to break a person's lifeline -- a custom device often costing 10s or 100s of thousands of $$ -- with impunity. www.reuters.com/world/usdot-...

USDOT will not enforce Biden wheelchair passenger protection rule

The U.S. Transportation Department said on Monday that it will not enforce key provisions of a Biden administration rule issued in December requiring new consumer protections for disabled passengers using wheelchairs.

www.reuters.com

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Mark Hertling @markhertling.bsky.social · 9d

Once again I’m reminded, trust is gained in drops and lost in buckets.

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Andrew Dessler @andrewdessler.com · 10d

this is a really good video about how increases in CO2 affect plant growth. the channel only has a few dozen subscribers, which is criminal.

How Rising CO2 Affects Plants: The Full Story

We've all heard, and probably believe, that at least one benefit of CO2 is that it will be good for plants. And sometimes, it will be. Or at least, it was. Some titles cut to save space. -- Point 0: FACE vs greenhouse studies: (Long 2006) "Food for Thought: Lower-Than-Expected Crop Yield Stimula

youtu.be

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Katharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com · 10d

I may have found my defining quote.

Pair this with my pinned post and you will see what I mean!

From a poster called “just shower thoughts“ reading: when people talk about traveling to the past, they worry about radically, changing the present by doing something small, barely anyone in the present to really thinks that they can radically change the future by doing something small.

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Christopher Mims @mims.bsky.social · 13d

Soybeans were the single largest U.S. export to China by value. Now it’s zero.

U.S. agriculture secretary says farmers need to stop relying “on a country that isn’t aligned with our values.”

(Trump proposed sending tariff proceeds to farmers)

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/25/b...

China Bought $12.6 Billion in U.S. Soybeans Last Year. Now, It’s $0.

www.nytimes.com

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Beth Chajes @bchajes.bsky.social · 14d

As a volunteer with CCL, I can say that this has been my personal experience and has become more and more so since I began visiting congressional offices on both sides of the aisle nine years ago.

Citizens' Climate Lobby @cclusa.org · 15d

Thankfully, this kind of rhetoric is not what we hear from Congress—on either side of the aisle.

Most Republican & Democratic lawmakers know climate change is happening & clean energy offers major economic benefits.

We'll keep working to advance bipartisan climate laws. Join us! ➡️ cclusa.org/join

Environmental Volunteering Opportunities | Join Citizens' Climate Lobby

Environmental volunteering opportunities are near you! Find a local chapter and help us end climate change!

cclusa.org

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Citizens' Climate Lobby @cclusa.org · 15d

In a speech to the UN yesterday, President Trump falsely claimed that climate change is a "con job," that renewables are "too expensive," and that coal is "clean."

@apnews.com takes a closer look at the president's statements and the scientific reality.

In front of drowning nations, Trump calls climate change a 'con job.' Here are the facts and context

In his address at the United Nations General Assembly, U.S. President Donald Trump excoriated renewable energy, international climate diplomacy, the science of global warming and other environmental i...

apnews.com

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J. Elvis Weinstein @jelvisweinstein.bsky.social · 17d

I know antifa isn't a real organization because I don't get 40 texts a week from them asking for donations.

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 21d

Luckily, Sinclair has a helpful database of all their stations, so you can see if they're operating in your area and respond accordingly.

sbgi.net/tv-stations/

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Leo Murray @crisortunity.bsky.social · 21d

Couple of eye-popping facts from this excellent analysis

- in the first half of 2025 alone, India added more new solar generating capacity than the UK’s *entire current installed solar capacity* 🤯
- fully 10% of India’s electricity demand is for air conditioning 🥶

Bar chart showing Indian solar install trends 2023-2025
The first half of 2025 has seen > 50% more new solar installed than the first half of 2024, which itself was >50% more than first half of 2023…

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Flannery Winchester @flannerykw.bsky.social · 21d

It’s possible to make things better!

(A hopeful reminder that I need frequently.)

EmmanuelSPV @emmanuelspv.bsky.social · 21d

Avant / Après Rue de la Fontaine au Roi, 11ème arrondissement de Paris. Un de ces endroits où, maintenant, on ne peut pas imaginer sur place ce qu'il y avait avant. Car même si on se doute que les arbres sont jeunes et ont remplacé du stationnement, dur d'imaginer qu'il y en avait en face aussi !

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Governor JB Pritzker @govpritzker.illinois.gov · 22d

A free and democratic society cannot silence comedians because the President doesn’t like what they say.

This is an attack on free speech and cannot be allowed to stand.

All elected officials need to speak up and push back on this undemocratic act.

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Katie McCaskey @katiemccaskey.bsky.social · 29d

"Despite widespread recognition of the need to mitigate the threats posed by catastrophic wildfire and ecosystem degradation, our lands and communities are at risk now more than ever" 🌳 @scientistsorg.bsky.social + 21 orgs support #FixOurForests Letter to the Senate: fas.org/publication/...

The Fix Our Forests Act (S. 1462) bill provides an opportunity to speed up the planning and implementation of wildfire risk reduction projects on federal lands while expanding collaborative tools to bring more partners into this vital work.

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Grist @grist.org · 24d

California’s first solar-covered canal is now fully online.

The 1.6-megawatt pilot system is among a growing number of initiatives to put solar over waterways. The approach could generate gigawatts of power nationwide.

grist.org/energy/calif...

#Water #Energy #Renewables #CA #California #Solar

California’s first solar-covered canal is now fully online

The 1.6-megawatt pilot system is among a growing number of initiatives to put solar over waterways. The approach could generate gigawatts of power nationwide.

grist.org

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Kimberly Atkins Stohr @kimberlyeatkins.bsky.social · 24d

The Washington Post now has no Black Opinion columnists - none - at a time when white nationalism is ascendant in our nation. I am grateful to Karen for the truth and fearlessness her work has always shown. Keep shining that light, my friend.

Karen Attiah @karenattiah.bsky.social · 24d

Some personal news:

I've been fired from the Washington Post in the aftermath of the Charlie Kirk shooting.

Thread incoming.

substack.com/@karenattiah...

The Washington Post Fired Me — But My Voice Will Not Be Silenced.

I spoke out against hatred and violence in America — and it cost me my job.

substack.com

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Seth Klein @sethdklein.bsky.social · Sep 4

Underestimating support for climate action limits political decision making, study says.

Research reveals huge disparity between perceived and actual willingness of public to contribute to fixing climate
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Underestimating support for climate action limits political decision making, study says

Research reveals huge disparity between perceived and actual willingness of public to contribute to fixing climate

www.theguardian.com

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