Climate Change

Hydrogen Gets Far More Attention Than Its Deployment Justifies

Hydrogen occupies an unusually large share of the energy-transition information stream for the amount of physical deployment behind it. Fuel-cell trucks, buses, trains, ships, storage projects, demonstrations and records recur through corporate releases, government announcements, trade publications and mainstream reporting, creating the impression that hydrogen remains a substantial parallel pathway … [continued]

Poland’s Coal Problem Has Changed

Poland’s coal transition is moving much faster than the country’s reputation suggests. Coal supplied 72.5% of Polish electricity in 2021. By 2025 it was down to 52.7%, while renewables reached 31.4%. Coal supplied less than half of generation in five separate months, and in June renewables generated more electricity than … [continued]

MediaEd Insights: Food as Ecomedia Literacy

I have been a fellow of the Media Education Lab (MEL) at the University of Rhode Island for a couple of decades. That means I’m part of a community of international, national, and regional leaders who promote media literacy. I’ve run MEL conferences, delivered workshops, co-authored white papers, and collaborated … [continued]

Methane Thermolysis Has A Carbon Market Problem

Methane thermolysis has one of the cleaner propositions in the hydrogen space. The process is also commonly called methane pyrolysis, but I prefer thermolysis. An engineer and founder working in the field pointed out to me that the useful distinction is straightforward: it is heat, not flames, doing the work. … [continued]

Energy Security Is Increasing The Value Of Cross-Border Electricity

Energy independence was an understandable slogan in Europe after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent gas and electricity prices through the roof. But it was also the wrong lesson. European countries had not erred by depending on one another. They had allowed too much of a critical energy supply to depend … [continued]

Climate Change Exposes 580 Million Children to 20 Extra “Heat-Stress Days” Every Year

By Ayesha Tandon More than 40% of children under the age of 10 globally are already experiencing at least 20 additional “heat-stress days” due to climate change. This is according to a new attribution study, published in Science Advances, which combines climate models with demographic data to assess the age groups and regions … [continued]

Battery Costs Are Global. Freight Geography Isn’t.

Battery costs are falling globally, but freight does not begin from a common starting point. China, India, Europe and the United States move domestic cargo through very different combinations of road, rail and water, so cheaper batteries will not produce one standard freight-electrification pathway. Using the best comparable data I … [continued]

A 1995 Dodge Ram Shows What US EV Policy Keeps Missing

A reader who owns a hand-me-down 1995 Dodge Ram plans to keep repairing it until rust, gasoline prices or regulation finally stop him. I think he is making a rational household decision. The truck is paid for, he knows how to maintain it, and a repair bill of hundreds or … [continued]