Max Opray

AI: Climate Terminator Or Savior? The ravenous energy hunger of artificial intelligence is supercharging global electricity demand at a pace the renewable energy rollout simply can’t match.

The energy hunger of AI is supercharging global electricity demand at a pace the renewables rollout can’t match.

But there are ways to reprogram AI to reduce its impact and accelerate climate action instead of climate breakdown: maxoprayclimactic.substack.com/p/ai-hacking...

The Boiling Fountain Of Unyouth New research finds that heatwaves accelerate the aging process. Here's how to protect yourself and others.

New research finds that the climate crisis is accelerating the aging process. Here's how to protect yourself and the people you care about from withering in the sun.

A Banned-Aid Solution The Trump administration has ended foreign climate assistance, Europe is slashing it, while Australia was barely offering any in the first place.

The USAid agency has been extinguished by the Trump Administration, with a raft of other Western nations also slashing support for those most vulnerable to the climate crisis. My latest edition of Climactic looks at the fight to save thousands of critical initiatives:

Control, Alter, Delete Trump's repression of climate science, and the race to rescue vital data from his fascist bonfire.

Mass firings of scientists, deleting data, scrapping hundreds of research projects - Trump’s repression campaign could leave us unable to even understand climate change, let alone fix it. Citizen scientists are in a race to rescue the data before it's lost for good:

Excerpt from wrote up of speech published in a trade publication.

Second excerpt of write-up of speech.

Third excerpt of write-up of speech.

Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher used his speech to AEP to call for "energy realism" in the energy transition. He did not mention the end goal of this transition is a managed phase out of oil, gas and coal but suggested this "realism" in Australia required more fossil fuel development.

A Sense Of Independents A mindboggling array of independent candidates are competing for votes in the Australian federal election. Only some are strong on climate.

There is a mindboggling number of independents to vote for this election, but how can you tell if they're strong on climate? Being backed by @climate200.bsky.social is a good sign. Here's how to tell if your local indie has a real climate plan:

Federal Election: What's At Stake For Solar & Batteries As Australia heads to the polls, here’s all you need to know about battery rebates, EV tax breaks, and the impact of nuclear on rooftop solar.

Ahead of tomorrow's federal election, here is each major party's plans for home electrification, including the Coalition's proposed axing of multiple green energy programs:

A Sense Of Independents A mindboggling array of independent candidates are competing for votes in the Australian federal election. Only some are strong on climate.

Independents like @indy4franklin.bsky.social, who is contending for the seat of Franklin, could unlock genuine climate progress. Here's how to find out if your local indie candidate supports strong climate policy:

My piece is on how to discern which independents actually have a good climate plan versus those that don't, not an endorsement of the major parties

A Sense Of Independents A mindboggling array of independent candidates are competing for votes in the Australian federal election. Only some are strong on climate.

There's much excitement about independents transforming Australia’s climate agenda. But some independents are about as climate-friendly as a gas leak: here's how to tell whether your local indie believes the science or has “done their own research”:

Photos: Scientists trace a butterfly migration route that is millions of years old Scientists have recently mapped the painted lady butterfly's annual flight from equatorial Africa to northern Europe and back, the world's longest butterfly migration. In Constant Bloom, photographer ...

Scientists have recently mapped the painted lady butterfly's annual flight from equatorial Africa to northern Europe and back, the world's longest butterfly migration. In Constant Bloom, photographer Lucas Foglia documents the journey.

Like Money? Get Off Gas. All you hear this election is how Australians need more gas, but here's how much money you could actually save by getting off gas immediately.

Plenty of talk today about the Coalition's promises to make gas cheaper. The actual best way to cut your gas bills is to turn it off forever:

The Plan To ‘Bird-Dog’ The Election Australia’s election campaign has officially kicked off, and the opening days have been marked by protesters “bird-dogging” politicians.

It's hard work inserting climate into the media cycle this election. Groups like @risingtideaus.bsky.social have a plan to do just that. Here's how to get involved:

The Plan To ‘Bird-Dog’ The Election Australia’s election campaign has officially kicked off, and the opening days have been marked by protesters “bird-dogging” politicians.

Peter Dutton's first day on the campaign trail yesterday was shaken up by a climate protester with a message. It's all part of the plan to 'bird-dog' the election: maxoprayclimactic.substack.com/p/can-bird-d...

The impacts of climate activism We review 50 studies on the impacts of climate activism. We present the existing evidence in a map of what we know about climate activism and its impa…

A really cool new study on the impact of climate activism has just dropped! Some highlights:

1) "There is strong evidence that climate activism shifts public opinion and media coverage in a pro-climate direction, but this varies by context and the tactics employed."

Phase Shift: Curtailment Is Cool Curtailment means we're well on our way from energy scarcity to energy abundance. And counterintuitively it is not a sign to slow down or stop building more renewable generation.

Thanks Dave - here's the piece that incorporated your post www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/phase-s...

Sunshine On Tap: Turn Your Hot Water System Into A Battery Here's how to use your hot water system as a thermal battery to store up cheap solar energy generated during the day when the sun is shining.

It doesn't get more wasteful than constantly burning gas to keep your water hot for whenever you need it. Hot water heat pumps are so much more efficient, and you can even use them to store solar energy. Here's my piece on how: www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/sunshin...

Hi Dave, I'm the editor at SolarQuotes and keen to use the top graph in this thread in a story for our website, linking to your post and crediting you of course - is that ok?

"See no climate change, hear no climate change, and speak no climate change"

Dead and dying Port Pirie birds and bats exposed to lead at 3,000 times acceptable levels South Australia’s EPA did not open a formal investigation into the source of the lead poisoning, despite referral from the Department of Primary Industries

Documents obtained under FOI show dead and dying birds and bats found across Port Pirie in South Australia last year were exposed to lead at 3,000 times acceptable levels.

Take a moment to read this follow up investigation and report on the story I broke in December:

Fossil fuel lobby shares global “toolbox of tactics” to fight Victoria’s gas phaseout Fossil fuel companies in Australia and their industry associations have been swapping notes with their international counterparts to stop phaseout of gas in homes.

Fossil fuel producers want to keep gas in Australian homes and they're fighting a global campaign to stop a phaseout.

Me in @reneweconomy.com.au this morning.

The Flames Of Petromasculinity My toddler son mostly gets driven around in our whisper-quiet Nissan Leaf electric vehicle, yet when we first played with his little toy cars, some kind of repressed petrolhead burst out of me from wh...

Second edition of Climactic out now: The Flames Of Petromasculinity - as men refuse to let go of their fossil fuels, do climate movements need to appeal better to traditional macho norms, or leave them behind completely? open.substack.com/pub/maxopray...

“Being realistic about the seriousness of the climate crisis is important, but relentless doomscrolling of the news regarding this unfolding disaster has been shown to instill paralysis rather than action.”

A climate crisis of confidence As LA burns and 2024 is confirmed as the hottest year on record, research shows how to overcome your inner climate doomer and continue the fight.

2025 has gotten off to an ominous start, with Los Angeles ablaze and another major climate record shattered. The first edition of my newsletter Climactic looks at why it is vital not to become paralysed by a sense of climate doom - and the most effective way to overcome it:

Who's Gonna Save Us? 01 | Standing up for the climate - ABC listen Have you ever done something that’s just blown everything up? A single decision that changed everything? This episode is all about people taking a stand for the climate. It’s about being brave in tho...

It's a great day to reshare this podcast episode I loved making about someone who took a stand and quit her job because she thought they were spreading climate misinformation during Australia's catastrophic fires.

www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...

2024 declared the hottest year on record Scientists at the Copernicus Climate Change Service today have officially declared 2024 as the hottest year on record — beating out the previous title-holder in 2023, which in turn exceeded a record-b...

Breaking: Scientists have just declared 2024 the hottest year on record. The first edition of Climactic covers how to respond to this news with action rather than paralysis: maxoprayclimactic.substack.com/p/2024-decla...

Australia's deadliest natural disaster flew under the radar but killed hundreds Public life ground to a halt, many lost power, and scores of people died behind closed doors. What sounds like the start of a post-apocalyptic movie is in fact Melbourne in January 2009.

New feature on Australia's deadliest disaster, one you've probably never heard of: the 2009 heatwave.

By me and Tyne Logan as part of the new podcast series The Weather That Changed Us. Stunning illustrations by Stacy Gougoulis.

www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12...

Dutton to revive Morrison's 'gas-fired recovery' in election pledge to cut energy bills Details of the coming promise to voters, which follows months of consultation with the gas industry, are being calibrated to counter Labor's likely strategy of ongoing direct-to-households energy bill...

Oh my god. All the greatest hits are coming back.

Has it ever been clearer that the coalition's nuclear power advocacy is just a flat-out pro-fossil project?

www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12...

Climactic | Max Opray | Substack Solutions for climactic times: a monthly newsletter on how to fix our most pressing climate challenges. Click to read Climactic, by Max Opray, a Substack publication.

Will be starting a new gig next year, but in the meantime will keep busy with my newsletter on climate solutions, which I am much more excited to write about than Peter Dutton's nuclear daydreams...