Breakthrough Institute is a global research center seeking technological solutions to environmental challenges. Subscribe: bit.ly/3q75k7L
Berkeley, CA
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"Many climate activists now insist that anyone who challenges any of the movement’s claims... is a science denier. That’s how people like me get branded as climate deniers and, ultimately, cockroaches."
@TedNordhaus on climate vitriol and dehumanization.
breakthroughjournal.org/p/wi…
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"For decades, we’ve been told that closing #nuclear plants is a good thing, yet a growing body of research shows that it’s far safer and cleaner than coal and gas." (1)
bit.ly/36YpOFQ
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"When it comes to flooding, we’d rather live in a warmed climate with flood protection than live in a preindustrial climate with preindustrial flood protection."
Read @PatrickTBrown31 on flood exposure and risk: thebreakthrough.org/journal/…
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"Every unit of clean electricity from a nuclear power plant requires excavating just 30% or 23% the mass of rock and metal, compared to an equal unit of solar or onshore wind electricity."
Read @wang_seaver on the mining impacts of clean energy @TheBTI: thebreakthrough.org/issues/e…
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With the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, @fredstaffordcs argues it’s time to revive a New Deal politics of public power—one in which nuclear energy and the Tennessee Valley Authority should be front and center:
bit.ly/3upTCH9
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“Far too many 100% renewables studies exist primarily to provide a thin veneer of empirical justification for ideological preferences.”
Read @wang_seaver & @juzel_lloyd break down the challenges of the energy transition in Puerto Rico for @TheBTI: thebreakthrough.org/issues/e…
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Climate change is not like an asteroid: it doesn't happen all at once. There isn't one specific deadline we can point to.
A better metaphor? Climate change is like diabetes: a long-term condition that requires ongoing care.
thebreakthrough.org/articles… @TedNordhaus @atrembath
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When #nuclear reactors are taken off the grid, fossil fuel use — and the emissions that come with them — consistently increase.
Will shutting down Diablo Canyon, which generates more than all of CA’s wind and half of its solar power be any different?
bit.ly/3r98sPu
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.@SuzyHobbsBaker: "Advanced nuclear reactors must be thoughtful. They must be iconic. They must be beautiful. We have to get it right from the beginning."
#WholeEarthDiscipline
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Think twice before calling someone a science denier. thebreakthrough.org/index.ph… @TedNordhaus @TheBTI
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"We can take inspiration from the 'defund the police' movement. What if we expand our thinking and find money to fund renewables by defunding the $20 billion in fossil fuel subsidies every year?" - @leahstokes #BTIWebinar
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Eating meat comes with lots of externalities to consider, including its land-use intensity.
Cultivated meats, in comparison, are 98% less land intensive than beef per 100 grams of protein.
Learn more about meat alternatives in our new report:
bit.ly/3rDKsCJ
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If we use up nature, we will be miserable. If we wall ourselves off from nature, we will be miserable. thebreakthrough.org/index.ph… @Emma_Marris
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The NRC announced that Diablo Canyon is allowed to operate while its owners & regulators go through the painstaking process of determining what special actions are needed to keep it running for another 20 years. This is a big deal for the NRC - here's why: fal.cn/3wYYS
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Entrenching poverty by limiting fossil fuel investment won’t solve climate change, argue @vijramachandran and @AW_Baker: bit.ly/3Guj4As
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Efforts to close Diablo Canyon relied on a preposterous claim: that it would be cheaper to close the plant—which provides 10% of CA’s electricity—and replace it with RE and energy efficiency investments.
It's worth interrogating the basis of that claim:
bit.ly/3KxW7OL
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The only thing the NRC wants from advanced nuclear is nothing. That has to change: bit.ly/3YuJz06
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Premature shutdowns of nuclear plants in developed countries have caused additional annual CO2 emissions equal to combined annual emissions from 37 African countries, find @OSGuido and @wang_seaver:
bit.ly/3FJ34Ms
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"Norway is effectively telling Africa: We’ll stay rich, keep you from developing, and send some charity your way as long as you keep your emissions down." — BTI's @vijramachandran in @ForeignPolicy:
foreignpolicy.com/2021/11/03…
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On a regular day in 1965, @stewartbrand put on his jumpsuit, top hat, and sandwich board, and set off to the UC Berkeley campus armed with buttons he had made for distribution.
Seeing Different: a series inspired by our 2019 Paradigm Award Winner. thebreakthrough.org/journal/…
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Delighted to announce @charlesjkenny as our 2022 Paradigm Award winner!
His work on human development and the economics of happiness are foundational components of this summer's @TheBTI Dialogue theme: “Progress Problems.”
Learn more here: bit.ly/3gB2d2H
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Meat and dairy alternatives are much more climate-friendly than all animal-based foods—even chicken produced in the US—when the carbon opportunity cost of production is accounted for, writes @SaloniShah101:
bit.ly/38Da7rU
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"So why was this version of the research more challenging to publish in a high-profile venue? I think the key difference lies in the framing."
@PatrickTBrown31 on the politics of scientific publishing and climate adaptation for @TheBTI
breakthroughjournal.org/p/do…
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If we are to successfully #decarbonize, we’ll need a lot of reactors. Getting there will require a smoother, faster process from #design to flipping the switch - part of that has to be the NRC making timely decisions, as it did in the case of Vogtle 3: fal.cn/3wIqM
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Can We Love Nature and Let It Go? thebreakthrough.org/index.ph… @Emma_Marris makes the case for ‘interwoven decoupling’ in @TheBTI Journal
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.@DataProgress’ @MarcelaMulh is very excited to talk about permitting reform at #DeregulatingAbundance
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Nuclear power plant closures consistently result in increased emissions.
In the case of San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant, it meant an additional 37 million metric tons of additional emissions for California.
Learn more: bit.ly/3KyDd9W
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"The first full month without [Indian Point] has seen a 46% increase in the average carbon intensity of statewide electric generation compared to when the [nuclear plant] was fully operational" — @sunraysunray
When nuclear plants close, emissions rise.
theguardian.com/commentisfre…
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California gave waivers to natural gas plants that were slated to close because they use ocean water for cooling.
No such waiver was offered to Diablo Canyon — despite it being the state’s largest source of #CleanEnergy.
sanluisobispo.com/opinion/re… @TedNordhaus @jamesonmcb
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California gave waivers to natural gas plants that were slated to close because they use ocean water for cooling.
No such waiver was offered to Diablo Canyon — despite it being the state’s largest source of #CleanEnergy.
sanluisobispo.com/opinion/re… @TedNordhaus @jamesonmcb
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Decarbonization requires more mining. How much more depends on the energy technologies used.
A new @TheBTI report concludes all clean energy technologies are leagues better than fossil fuels, with nuclear energy having the smallest mining footprint: thebreakthrough.org/issues/e…
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The actual technological pathways to deeply decarbonizing the entire global economy are few and far between, writes @TedNordhaus.
Nuclear is without question one of them.
bit.ly/3v934h0
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Michigan's Palisades Nuclear Generating Station, an 800-megawatt reactor plant, shut down more than a week early last Friday.
huffpost.com/entry/palisades…
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“Voters really really hate electric cars, please stop talking about them”
ICYMI: @davidshor's talk for @thebti dialogue dives into what issues truly matter (and which should take a back seat) based on millions of polls
piped.video/watch?v=bLcP5jux…
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"When nations build nuclear plants, emissions reliably fall and when they shut them down, as we’ve witnessed over the last decade in Japan and California, they reliably rise."
@TedNordhaus cuts through anti-nuclear "bullshit" in his latest piece:
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Climate feedback loops garner lots of attention, but less-appreciated social feedback loops affect the generation of climate science itself, with serious consequences.
Read @PatrickTBrown31's piece for Breakthrough Journal on the meta-science of climate: thebreakthrough.org/journal/…
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.@TheBTI Dialogue starts TOMORROW and we couldn't be more excited.
Follow along with #WholeEarthDiscipline.
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Chicken without the bird? David Kay of @MemphisMeats explains that meat requires 23 calories of inputs for every calorie of output, so cell-based meat can significantly lessen the environmental impacts of our food system. #Ecomodernism2018
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"Every indication suggests that the @californiapuc should carefully review both its medium-term grid reliability planning and its decision to force Diablo Canyon’s retirement," writes BTI's @Dr_A_Stein :
thebreakthrough.org/issues/e…
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"What the Planetary Boundaries framework thus represents is more than an appeal for environmental protection. It is a play for political power over social, economic, and governing systems."
New piece from @JessicaWeinkle for @thebti Journal:
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"To electrify everything, from our businesses to our homes, we will need nuclear energy."
BTI's Alex Trembath via this segment on growing pro-nuclear environmentalism from @CBSMornings' @benstracy:
bit.ly/3JSIF69
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The World Bank and IMF are getting it wrong on climate change; the poorest countries should not be forced to pivot to emissions reduction to qualify for loans,, argue @vijramachandran and @AW_Baker.
bit.ly/37CLRFj
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The Breakthrough Dialogue is one of the most important things we do at @TheBTI: we bring together our network, new friends, and critics, and talk about important environmental challenges facing our world today. This year's event starts today! Follow along with #RisingTides.
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"There are real trade-offs when it comes to decisions about agricultural land-use, but whether a tiny percentage of farmland becomes utility scale solar is not among them."
@EmilyJane_Bass debunks critiques of solar utility for @TheBTI journal
thebreakthrough.org/issues/f…
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The externalities from animal agriculture, such as GHG emissions and health impacts, cost the American public at least $388 billion per year.
Alternatives to animal-based meat can help with that:
bit.ly/3rDKsCJ
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Shutting down the Palisades nuclear power plant in Michigan will be equivalent to tearing down almost every wind turbine in the state, argue @JonahMessinger and @RFMeraxes: bit.ly/3j8Aszy
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"The real question is this: what are the trade-offs between the damages associated with mining for minerals needed for #decarbonization and the damages of not reducing #emissions?"
New analysis from @TheBTI's @juzel_lloyd 👇
thebreakthrough.org/issues/e…
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Watch now: @TheBTI's executive director @TedNordhaus testifying on Nuclear Regulatory Commission Reform before the House Energy and Commerce Committee:
piped.video/watch?v=avXeEyKh…
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"The improvements in adaptation of the past decades are repeatable, but only if we understand them as success stories, and not denigrate them to sell a narrative that our society is collapsing under the weight of climate change."
Read @PatrickTBrown31:
breakthroughjournal.org/p/no…
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We calculate that each ton of carbon reduced in 2020 will come at the cost of $1,750 in reduced economic activity. This is more than an order of magnitude more expensive than clean energy technologies available today.
thebreakthrough.org/issues/e…
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A New Day for Nuclear Advocacy…and Environmentalism? Union of Concerned Scientists Becomes First Major Environmental Group to Publicly Back Policy Support for Nuclear Energy
@TedNordhaus’s latest @TheBTI
thebreakthrough.org/index.ph…
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Nuclear power plant closures consistently result in increased emissions.
In the case of San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant, it meant an additional 37 million metric tons of additional emissions for California, write @Dr_A_Stein & @jamesonmcb: bit.ly/3rG9wNb
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If @NuScale_Power's reactors cost the anticipated amount, they'd be competitive with natural gas up to discount rates of 5% with reference gas prices, 7.5% with high gas prices, and 3% with low gas prices.
Learn more here:
ow.ly/WTeI50Bmbdt
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In attempt to calculate risk, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has been writing extreme "worse case" scenarios for years. However, this past year the NRC has staffed a new team of engineers who are calculating the unimaginable: fal.cn/3xtDM
#BreakthroughInstitute
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The Breakthrough Institute's statement on the murder of George Floyd and the current civil unrest.
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When #nuclear reactors are taken off the grid, fossil fuel use — and the emissions that come with them — consistently increase.
Will shutting down Diablo Canyon, which generates more than all of CA’s wind and half of its solar power be any different?
bit.ly/3r98sPu
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"Air pollution is a very different challenge than climate change. It's highly local and regional, and mitigation has immediate impact." -@erikolsonn, summer fellow, in his final presentation.
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Are cities the answer to our environmental problems? Maybe, but it's a big issue that deserves deep engagement. #RisingTides
"I hope by the end of this session you are usefully confused." -@CharlesCMann
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BREAKING: BTI's @jamesonmcb and @Dr_A_Stein sent a letter to Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Chuck Schumer, Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, and Sen. Joe Manchin urging Congress to expand federal tax credits for clean energy to include advanced nuclear energy.
thebreakthrough.org/press/bt…
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Nuclear power plant closures consistently result in increased emissions.
In the case of San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant, it meant an additional 37 million metric tons of additional emissions for California, write @Dr_A_Stein & @jamesonmcb.
Learn more: bit.ly/3KyDd9W
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We're hosting a webinar with @leahstokes, @vsiv of @ColumbiaUEnergy, and @atrembath on the role of clean energy deployment policy and how existing solar and wind tech fits into pathways towards decarbonization.
6.4.20 10am PT / 1pm ET.
Register here:
bit.ly/register-renewables-d…
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Meat and dairy alternatives are much more climate-friendly than all animal-based foods—even chicken produced in the US—when the carbon opportunity cost of production is accounted for.
Read our analysis: bit.ly/38Da7rU
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"The climate movement increasingly aims not simply to advocate for its own demands for radical action but to silence more moderate, pragmatic, and nuanced viewpoints."
Read @TedNordhaus on the incompatibility of enviromentalism and the abundance agenda.
breakthroughjournal.org/p/en…
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"State regulators are failing to eliminate fossil fuels from CA’s energy stock, and with alternatives lacking in scale, @TheBTI 's experts believe a more realistic path to achieving CA’s climate goals is by salvaging our last nuclear facility." (2)
bit.ly/36YpOFQ
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"And yet even faulty technical concepts and practices are difficult to move away from because of the climate industry that benefits from them -- and the heightened views of risk they support."
@JessicaWeinkle for @thebti's Journal: thebreakthroughjournal.subst…
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Why do progressives hate progress? @sapinker kicks off the first panel of the Breakthrough Dialogue. #DemocracyInTheAnthropocene
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💡 Our new report, "Advancing Nuclear Energy," is out today!
We find that advanced #nuclearenergy can play a valuable role in the US #cleanenergy transition and national energy security.
Read the key findings here:
bit.ly/3NMw46u
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We're excited to welcome our 2021 Senior Fellows:
Jennifer Hernandez, @gyude_moore, @jessicadjewell, @KenCaldeira, and @linusblomqvist!
Learn more here:
thebreakthrough.org/articles…
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NEW REPORT: @wang_seaver and @juzel_lloyd confront a glaring issue that the climate community and solar sector have avoided for too long:
Solar manufacturing in Xinjiang is linked to forced labor and environmental injustice, and we need to act.
bit.ly/3hKJOnI
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Nuclear power plant closures consistently result in increased emissions.
In the case of San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant, it meant an additional 37 million metric tons of additional emissions for California, write @Dr_A_Stein & @jamesonmcb:
thebreakthrough.org/blog/the…
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After a short hiatus, Breakthrough Journal will be relaunching on Substack. We will publish essays on topics relevant to climate politics, environmentalism, development, and more. Read our launch post, from @TedNordhaus, @atrembath, and @alexjmssmith here: thebreakthrough.org/journal/…
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"If you wanna start up [the US nuclear industry] again, you’ve got to get serious about building new plants, about training the workforce, about developing a fuel supply that’s not dependent on Russia."
ICYMI, @TedNordhaus with @CNBC's @SullyCNBC:
cnb.cx/3CHEJVd
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Our Mangaging Editor, @egbrush23, is thrilled to see her hard work in print. The latest @TheBTI Journal is bursting full with fascinating ideas, including pieces by @sapinker, @vsiv, @tishaschuller, and @symons_jon.
Find the full online version here: thebreakthrough.org/index.ph…
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We are excited to announce that we are launching a new publication, The Ecomodernist.
Under the banner of The Ecomodernist, we will be publishing relevant analyses and essays that seek to build a new environmental paradigm. Read more here:
thebreakthrough.org/issues/f…
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"Many are looking for a clear culprit to blame for this disaster, with climate change being one of the most popular. This disaster, however, is the result of a confluence of natural and human-caused factors."
@PatrickTBrown31 on the LA fires:
breakthroughjournal.org/p/ca…
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"In the film, the scientists are fully behind the technological alternative. In real life, many climate advocates and experts reject obvious technological solutions like zero-carbon nuclear power," writes @atrembath via @ForeignPolicy:
foreignpolicy.com/2021/12/18…
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We’re pleased to announce that @rachellaudan will receive the annual @TheBTI Paradigm Award at the Breakthrough Dialogue this summer. thebreakthrough.org/index.ph…
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Food insecurity is a persistent challenge in African countries with low farm productivity. Western govts and eNGOs must come to grips with the fact that African farmers needs more fertilizer.
Read @vijramachandran + @alexjmssmith in Breakthrough Journal: thebreakthrough.org/journal/…
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1. Our joint NGO comment on Part 53 to the @NRCgov has now been published on regulations.gov! We're going to need a strong coalition of supporters to see real change in the rulemaking process for nuclear power.
Read the full comment below👇
bit.ly/3kcX5EB
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It’s the largest climate attitude survey ever conducted, with over 1.2 million respondents from 50 countries.
Unfortunately, it’s also not a very good survey — and that’s not by accident.
thebreakthrough.org/issues/e… by @KdeKirby
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The claims that growth is endless and the planet is finite aren't very useful. That doesn't mean future ecological collapse isn't possible, but it does mean we must change the kinds of questions we ask in order to build a resilient future.
thenewatlantis.com/publicati… @TedNordhaus
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The question isn't whether our future food system will be industrial—it already is. Instead, let's ask how it will evolve?
Ft. @pcronald @AgBioWorld @TamarHaspel & @jan_dutkiewicz
Register for our #BTDialogue live stream here:
bit.ly/3vOzxdJ
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If you're looking to CA as a model for state-level climate action, look with a critical lens.
"It's accomplishments are illusory," writes Jennifer Hernandez, " products of deindustrialization, high energy costs, and, more recently, depopulation."
thebreakthrough.org/journal/…
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California just passed a 100% clean energy standard. Check out @TheBTI and @ThirdWayEnergy’s recent report on the increasingly popular policy: thebreakthrough.org/index.ph…
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@elonmusk Every single one of Elon Musk's companies was made possible by decades of taxpayer subsidies.
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"Our state will need Diablo Canyon’s electrical generation to keep the lights on, and Gov. Gavin Newsom should be leading the charge to accomplish that."
New from BTI's @Dr_A_Stein and @atrembath in @CalMatters:
bit.ly/3GoMWhv
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"Solar in India is up to 50% cheaper than in the US. We can learn from India how to deploy clean energy more cheaply in the US. We should consider different policies beyond tax credits and loan guarantees to ramp up deployment faster." - @vsiv #BTIWebinar
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"Germany made enormous investments in renewables. So why isn’t it on target to meet emissions goals?” issues.org/33-2/inside-the-e… @ISSUESinST
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.@stewartbrand joins @atrembath digitally on the main stage for a live Q&A of the new @StewartBrandDoc “We Are as Gods” 🎥 #EcomodernJustice
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If every American replaced 4 of every 10 meals containing beef with chicken or pork, it would reduce US agricultural emissions by ~20%.
But this shift affects beef producers, so rural communities must be part of the conversation.
@alexjmssmith @danrejto
thebreakthrough.org/issues/f…
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"There can be no prosperity in a region wracked by extreme energy poverty. And putting restrictions on the energy choices of the people who need it the most is deeply unethical."
@gyude_moore on energy injustice on the African continent
thebreakthrough.org/issues/e…
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Most state Renewable Portfolio Standards expire in 3-5 years. As states revise their decarbonization mandates, they should consider #CleanEnergyStandards, which would enable much higher targets. It's a huge opportunity for state-level climate leadership: bit.ly/2KJTj5g
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We at @TheBTI deeply value two-sided conversations that move beyond tribalism and into pragmatic action. We want to unstick the sticking points and come up with new, productive frameworks. Here are some of the ways we do that. 1/7
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“It’s not fair to tell poor countries you need to stop when richer countries are simultaneously increasing their fossil fuel capacity.”
—@vijramachandran #EcomodernJustice
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Faster-growing, genetically-engineered trees used for timber production could effectively mitigate climate change by reducing deforestation, writes BTI's @EmmaKovak:
thebreakthrough.org/issues/f…
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"Given the historic trends of falling clean energy costs and strengthening climate policy, it seems unlikely that we will remain in a current policy-type world for the remainder of the 21st century," writes @hausfath.
It’s time to accelerate that trend.
thewellnews.com/in-the-news/…
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