Michae Clifford

Trump is canceling solar now, too Until this month, federal officials had only blocked wind farms. No longer.

Trump isn't just canceling wind farms now. He just axed his first big solar project.

I've got some ideas for how the renewable energy industry should respond. It's time to stop pandering to "energy dominance" and start trying to win the culture wars: www.climatecoloredgoggles.com/p/trump-is-c...

‘We can have abundant rivers and wildlife’: Director of ‘The American Southwest’ on new film At its roots, The American Southwest, from Fin and Fur Films, is a natural history documentary. “I’m a wildlife guy,” says director Ben Masters, who founded Fin and Fur in 2012. His infatuation with…

“The American Southwest” is a new film that explores the importance of the Colorado River to people & to wildlife.

Part natural history film, part social documentary, it explores the challenges the Colorado faces as its resources are stretched thin by the demands for cities, energy and agriculture.

The Trump Team's plans to exploit public lands follow the blueprint of Reagan's Interior secretary James Watt led a similar effort to privatize natural resources for mining, energy development, logging, and sprawl.

Shout out to @motherjones.com for republishing this and adding the alt title.

Trump Team’s Plans to Exploit Public Lands Follow the Blueprint of Reagan’s Interior Secretary. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Environmentalists were blunt in their concern:

“NEPA seems so arcane and bureaucratic and ‘oh, it’s red tape,’ but in reality, that red tape is the only thing standing between us and having our water poisoned and our air unbreathable and our wildlife all dead.”

Understanding the shifting burden to mine new materials for emerging energy technologies will be incredibly important for conserving biodiversity.

NEW: Mexico could displace ALL US gas imports for power generation, with solar and batteries ☀️

The country’s abundant sunshine means it can become a global solar superpower and boost its energy security at the same time:)

ICYMI: New online! Strategic thinking can ensure the energy transition benefits biodiversity

We learned during our California Solar Canal Initiative meeting this week that this was just put online. It’s the widespan section, complementing the narrow-span section that came online in March—and it’s bigger than a football field!
#SolarCanals #ProjectNexus 💧☀️🔌💡

Material realities: Who needs ‘critical minerals’ and at whose expense? - Global Justice Now Over half of minerals designated as ‘critical’ by UK play no major role in the green transition - and are driven in a large way by militarisation.

The vague term “critical minerals” conflates renewable energy, the economy, and National defense. This report quantifies the demand, and lack of demand, for some of those minerals needed for the energy transition.

www.globaljustice.org.uk/resource/mat...

Byproducts and mine wastes and tailings have huge potential to meet our needs and reduce environmental conflict.

California just debunked a big myth about renewable energy Are renewables reliable? A new study says California ran on renewables alone for a record number of days last year.

California just debunked a big myth about renewable energy.

The state went a record 98 of 116 days providing up to 10 hours of electricity with renewables alone.

grist.org/energy/calif...

#California #CA #Energy #Renewables #Solar #Wind #Batteries #Climate #Policy

Important work in one of the fastest warming cities in the country.

A win for biodiversity, stewardship and the future of the pygmy rabbit - squee! 🐰

Our latest land transfer will help protect Washington's shrub-steppe ecosystem and the endangered (and very cute) Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit: https://nature.ly/41hc0mi

In the race to find critical minerals, there’s a ‘gold mine’ literally at our shoreline Instead of continuing to dig tunnels or pits, some scientists are looking to a promising yet challenging source of minerals: seawater.

In the race to find critical minerals, there’s a ‘gold mine’ literally at our shoreline.

grist.org/video/seawat...

#Mining #Oceans #Climate #Seaweed #Kelp #Minerals

Mojave Desert Tortoise in Joshua Tree National Park. Photo Credit: Joshua Tree National Park

LISTEN to this great piece from NPR’s NPR All Things Considered:

Hear from Mojave Desert Land Trust’s Patrick Emblidge, UC Riverside's Cameron Burrows, and Kristina Drake....

Photos: Joshua Tree National Park

#mojave #desert #tortoise #endangered #science #conservation 🧪

ICYMI, Great Salt Lake dust made it to Utah County. One environmental group says it highlights how big the problem of the lake’s decline has gotten: www.fox13now.com/news/great-s... #utpol #Utah

As California burns, new research shows smoke is wildfire’s silent killer The official death count from the Palisades and Eaton fires was 30 — the real number may be 15 times higher.

As California burns, new research shows smoke is wildfire’s silent killer.

The official death count from the Palisades and Eaton fires was 30 — the real number may be 15 times higher.

grist.org/health/calif...

#CA #California #Wildfire #Fires #Smoke #Climate #LA #LosAngeles

Nevada to lose more than $150M in federal aid geared toward rooftop solar - The Nevada Independent More than $150 million in federal funding has been clawed back from the Nevada Clean Energy Fund, the state’s “green bank” that facilitates financing for clean energy projects in the state.

“They’re letting down 50,000 Nevadans."

Feds take back $150 million.

This is an essential current and future industry for the state. Maybe someone needs to explain to POTUS that it's...always sunny in Nevada.

thenevadaindependent.com/article/neva...

Hundreds of old EV batteries have new jobs in Texas: Stabilizing the grid After reaching the end of their automotive lives, the batteries are being reused to provide lower-cost grid energy storage.

Hundreds of old EV batteries have new jobs in Texas: Stabilizing the grid.

After reaching the end of their automotive lives, the batteries are being reused to provide lower-cost grid energy storage.

grist.org/energy/hundr...

#EV #Batteries #Climate #TX #Texas #Electricity

A guide to the 4 minerals shaping the world's energy future To address climate change, we're going to need a whole lot of metal.

A guide to the 4 minerals shaping the world’s energy future.

To address climate change, we're going to need a whole lot of metal.

grist.org/energy/criti...

#Minerals #Lithium #Cobalt #Nickel #Mining #Energy

Very small changes in groundwater depth and soil moisture can have dramatic impacts on the vegetation and wildlife habitat.

IEA: Renewables will be world’s top power source ‘by 2026’ - Carbon Brief Renewable energy will overtake coal to become the world’s top source of electricity “by 2026 at the latest”, according to new IEA forecasts.

The momentum is unstoppable⚡️ The @iea.org says renewables will overtake coal as the world’s top electricity source by 2026 at the latest. Driven by booming wind & solar growth and rising global electricity demand 📈🌍

@carbonbrief.org

www.carbonbrief.org/iea-renewabl...

Devils Hole pupfish hit by micro-tsunami from 8.8-magnitude Russian earthquake A powerful 8.8 magnitude earthquake that struck near Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on July 29 sent ripples nearly 4,000 miles across the Pacific, disturbing one of the most fragile ecosystems in the…

On July 29, an 8.8 magnitude earthquake disturbed one of the most fragile ecosystems in the US: Devils Hole in Nevada’s Mojave Desert, where the critically endangered Devils Hole pupfish live.

With only 38 fish counted during a March 2025 survey, any disturbance can have outsized consequences.

Commentary: A climate-saving lithium mine could doom an endangered desert flower The dilemma at Nevada's Rhyolite Ridge offers a preview of the hard choices ahead.

Deep in the Nevada desert, a huge lithium mine could fuel electric vehicles and help slow global warming. But conservationists say it would drive an endangered wildflower to extinction.

I visited Rhyolite Ridge and wrestled with a high-stakes climate dilemma: www.latimes.com/environment/...

LeConte's thrasher perched on a branch, with sparse vegetation in the background, photo courtesy of Norm Pillsbury.

LeConte’s thrashers, native to arid desert habitats of the southwestern U.S. and northwestern Mexico, have lost nearly 70% of their U.S. population over the past 50 years.

Today we petitioned to protect them under the Endangered Species Act. Learn more: biodiv.us/4lZtfku

Commentary: The power grid battle that's dividing California environmentalists Supporters say a regional energy market would benefit renewables and accelerate climate progress. Critics say it would backfire spectacularly.

Should California connect its power grid with the rest of the American West, so everyone can share renewable energy more easily? Or would a regional market drown Californians in expensive coal?

My column on the political battle that's dividing environmentalists: www.latimes.com/environment/...

MP Materials seals mega rare-earths deal with US to break China's grip MP Materials unveiled a multibillion-dollar deal with the U.S. government on Thursday to boost output of rare earths and help loosen a stranglehold by top producer China on the minerals vital for military applications, electric vehicles and wind turbines.

Half of America’s only rare earth mine is now owned by the DoD.

www.reuters.com/business/mp-...

Nevada mine delayed amid lithium price plunge • Nevada Current A proposed lithium-boron mine in Nevada has been delayed for a second time amid a lithium price crash caused by softer electric vehicle demand and an oversupply of the battery metal globally.

Ioneer's lithium-boron mine has been delayed amid a lithium price crash caused by softer electric vehicle demand and an oversupply of the battery metal globally.

Could you host a solar farm? Greener nickel production, atmospheric CO2 levels reach a new high, and leasing land for renewable energy

Cleaning up the minerals we need for clean energy, record-breaking carbon pollution, and how each of us can scale clean energy adoption--this week's newsletter connects the dots between science, policy, and action.

Read the full edition of the newsletter here!

'The Great Dying' mass extinction was a warning from the trees, study says As climate change threatens tropical forests, a new study shows how the loss of those forests can be devastating to life on Earth.

The past provides valuable context to our current condition.

www.usatoday.com/story/news/w...