Michael Clifford

The flowers are blooming in Death Valley.

Drawdown® Explorer We know what we need to do: stop climate change as quickly as possible. Now, with the Drawdown Explorer, we know how to do it.

6 months since the launch of Drawdown Explorer and the numbers speak for themselves!

📊 500K+ views online
✅ 90 solutions published
📋 158 solutions on our master list - and growing

And we're just getting started!

www.drawdown.org/explorer

#climatesolutions

A graph of US Power Generation by Year

Official 2025 electricity data is in today, and US power generation rose nearly 3% to a record high last year, driven primarily by an 85TWh increase in both solar & coal

Low-carbon sources made up a record 42% of US electricity, with solar alone making up a record 8.6%

Global Heating Will Hit Socially Vulnerable U.S. Communities First and Hardest TNC-led study stresses urgency of directing climate adaptation funding to the places that need it most.

New research shows socially vulnerable U.S. communities are already facing temperatures ~1.6°C (3°F) hotter than other areas, and the gap is growing as the planet warms. Extreme heat isn’t hitting everyone equally.

Island Scientist, California Application Instructions: Please note that the application period ends at 12:00 am EST on the due date listed. For applicants in Pacific Standard Time, please plan to submit your application by 8:59pm...

TNC-California is looking for an island scientist!

nature.wd108.myworkdayjobs.com/ExternalCare...

Interesting article. Single queries don’t require much energy, but there’s still a lot that can be done to reduce the impacts of AI.

Beaver‐related restoration and freshwater climate resilience across western North America Climate change will diminish the quality and connectivity of stream and riparian habitats and threaten native stream-associated species across western North America. Ecological restoration that mitig...

Beavers might be nature’s most underrated climate resilience engineers 🦫.

New research shows that restoring beavers or mimicking their dams can cool streams, store more water, boost biodiversity, and help landscapes better handle wildfires and climate extremes. Learn more https://nature.ly/3YWA7oI

Warm temperatures hamper snowpack formation in Nevada • Nevada Current Snowpack in Nevada and the Eastern Sierra – a major source of water for the Truckee River in northern Nevada – are below normal at 74% of median for the time of year. While precipitation in December w...

Snowpack in Nevada is off to a grim start as high temperatures have prevented snow packs from forming, despite high precipitation.

A screen capture from Wikipedia stating that "Data showed that failure to winterize traditional power sources, principally natural gas infrastructure but also to a lesser extent wind turbines, had caused the grid failure,[15][16] with a drop in power production from natural gas more than five times greater than that from wind turbines."

As TX heads into what may be the biggest ice storm of the year, let’s get one thing straight before the disinfo starts.

Solar and wind energy operate reliably in far colder places.

The real issue is simple: large parts of the grid are not appropriately winterized. When storms come, they fail.

A great opportunity!

Clean energy demand is soaring, and so is the need for lithium. New research shows proposed mining sites overlap with habitats for vulnerable species. The authors point to smart, low conflict planning as a path to protect nature while powering the future. Read more here nature.ly/4bvBMJh

Illustration titled "Wild animals of North America," featuring two sections: the upper shows a mountain lion (cougar) lying stretched out on a rocky ledge with a canyon and sparse trees in the background, its gaze directed forward. The lower section depicts a jaguar in a dense jungle setting, aggressively pinning a black bird with its paw. The mountain lion appears relaxed and watchful, while the jaguar is active and engaged in a hunt. The artwork highlights distinct habitats and behaviors of the two large North American wild cats.

🐅 Wild animals of North America
Washington, D.C., The National geographical society[c1918]

[Source]

Plug-in solar gains momentum as states confront energy costs More than a dozen states are considering legislation to support small solar energy systems that can plug directly into home outlets.

An example of a policy that could easily gain traction in red and blue states alike, if framed in terms of "energy freedom" and an antidote to the current electricity affordability crisis. (1/2)
www.eenews.net/articles/plu...

Global demand for critical minerals is growing strongly

And following a wave of investment, projected supply gaps through 2035 are narrowing, notably for nickel, cobalt, graphite & rare earths

But the outlook for copper is more challenging ➡️ iea.li/44L3spO

Climate-fuelled El Niño events are devastating butterflies, beetles and other tropical insects The research suggests the life-support system underpinning the tropics is at serious risk in a warmer world.

A new study finds significant biodiversity loss in spiders & insects including butterflies and beetles. The likely culprit is long-term changes to the El Niño cycle, fuelled by climate change.

Read more in The Conversation: https://ow.ly/KmLw50XqtvY

Cutting methane is one of the fastest ways to slow warming. UNEP’s Eye on Methane shows the data is here, but action isn’t.

Governments must turn measurement into real cuts: https://www.unep.org/resources/eye-methane-2025-measurement-momentum

#CutMethane

Tribune editorial: Experience shows that Utah must exert aggressive oversight of rare earth bonanza mine “Experience shows that Utah must exert aggressive oversight of rare earth bonanza mine,” writes The Salt Lake Tribune editorial board. “And effective provisions for monitoring and clean-up must be mad...

www.sltrib.com/opinion/edit...

Vehicle-to-home charging can cut costs and emissions - Nature Energy By optimizing the timing of electricity purchases for electric vehicle (EV) charging at home, as well as shifting electricity purchases for other household loads, US EV owners could reduce their lifetime charging costs by 40–90%, and lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions from household electricity use by 70–250%. Integrating EVs with homes can increase the greenhouse gas reductions they deliver, while reducing the cost of EV ownership.

Policy Brief on vehicle-to-home charging can cut costs and emissions.

Material bottlenecks of batteries within the energy transition The growing adoption of electric vehicles has significantly increased demand for advanced energy storage solutions. Lithium-ion batteries are at the f…

Interesting analysis showing the importance of recycling battery materials and echos other studies showing demand will outpace production of certain elements depending on growth scenarios.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Climate solutions aren’t created equal. Here’s how we evaluate what works and what doesn’t. Just as science has led the way in describing the problem of climate change, we at Project Drawdown are using science to guide resources toward the most effective solutions to the crisis.

Many proposed climate solutions work well, and are ready to go *now*. Those are the ones to focus on.

Others will take more time to develop. They might help a little, someday.

And some don't make sense and are unlikely to work at all.

How do you tell the difference?

drawdown.org/insights/cli...

Too high a cost for convenience. For the approximate 12 minutes a plastic bag is used, that bag then contributes to centuries of environmental harm. Every decision to reach for a reusable bag matters. We can stop this cycle. #PlasticPollution #SingleUsePlastic #environment 🌎🙏

Securing supply chains for critical minerals – used not only for grids, batteries & EVs but also for AI chips, jet engines, defence & other industries – requires looking beyond mining

Stronger efforts are also needed to diversify refining & processing 👉 iea.li/47FZC2V

Will your next EV have a solid-state battery — and improved performance? » Yale Climate Connections Superionic materials have spawned hope for a new generation of power packs for electric cars, with a promise of greater range, faster charges and more safety. But scaling up won’t be easy.

Will your next EV have a solid-state battery—and improved performance and safety? A little-discussed risk of EVs, particularly larger vehicles like SUVs, is how heavy they are and the disproportionate safety risk they pose in accidents. Solid state is SAFER yaleclimateconnections.org/2025/10/will...

The Global Cooling Watch 2025 shows how smarter, fairer, sustainable cooling can save lives, cut pollution, and help billions stay safe from extreme heat.

More info: www.unep.org/news-and-sto...

#YearInReview

Additional east-west transmission is needed in Nevada but a path along Interstate 80 would have significantly lower environmental impacts, greater access to renewable energy, and service more communities.

Salt Lake Tribune veteran energy reporter Tim Fitzpatrick comes out of retirement with a spot-on column on the future of nuclear power in Utah. Thanks, Tim! 🔌💡

Trump officials shut off funding for climate adaptation centers A third of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Climate Adaptation Science Centers are expected to drastically wind down and possibly close after Sept. 30.

Or rather, all too believable. If you want to suppress all knowledge of how a relatively small number are enriching themselves by destroying our shared home then this destruction, following on the heels of the funding freeze for the national Climate Adaptation Science Centers, is completely logical.

Potential impacts to biodiversity of rare and vulnerable species from proposed lithium extraction Lithium batteries are currently used in most mobile devices, electric vehicles, and utility-scale battery storage systems. The demand for lithium is e…

Our paper looks at the build-out of lithium mines in CA and NV on imperiled and vulnerable species. Key points:

54 vulnerable species occurred on proposed mine sites, 20 with their entire range within the mine site.

Avoidance and mitigation will be important.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Another important piece of Ash Meadows can now be restored and protected. A lot of great conservation work over the past 50 years has occurred at Ash Meadows.

www.rgj.com/story/news/n...