This Must Be the Place

The Good News Roundup #4

Photo by Brandi Alexandra on Unsplash

I wasn’t sure I could write good news this week. But I’m refusing to center what is being amplified in the news cycle.

This piece is not toxic positivity. I know the U.S. has left the Paris Climate Agreement. I know that DEI offices are being shuttered, and that Los Angeles is still burning. But I want you to know that isn’t the entire story.

I’m still in the Paris Agreement, are you?

Bloomberg philanthropies and other climate funders have announced they will ensure the U.S. will meet its global climate obligations following the federal government’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement. Local organizations are All In —Cities, counties, states, businesses and other institutions— will continue to work together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions up to 62% by 2035 to align with climate science and the goals of the Paris Agreement.

There is No Mandate

There is no clear mandate that the American public wants climate action to cease and diversity, equity inclusion efforts to halt. That is a false narrative.

In fact, Costco’s shareholders voted today to overwhelmingly reject an anti-DEI proposal. Ninety-eight percent of shareholders rejected the proposal because DEI aligns with their values and is good for business, profitability and employee retention.

We can still use good tools to advance equity in sustainability. We wouldn’t really be doing sustainability if we don’t do that. The EPA’s Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST) is offline as of yesterday, but the Harvard Environmental and Energy Law Program has the data and supporting documentation available here.

More People are Waking up to Climate Change

The journal, “Climatic Change” published “Changes in Global Warming’s Six Americas: An analysis of repeat respondents”. In Yale’s summary of it, they report that in just a few years, more people are becoming alarmed about climate change over time. Alarmed is defined as “worried and see climate change as human-caused and urgent.

Now, I don’t want people to feel this way. I do, and it’s not fun. But what I would like to move towards is that in addition to feeling alarmed, people also find agency to advocate and to take action.

The demographics most likely to move into the alarmed category includes black people, people who earn less than $100,00 a year, younger adults and females—people in the study who may be disproportionately impacted by climate change.

The US Grid is Greener and Greening

The US EPA updated its Emissions & Generation Resource Integrated Database (eGRID) which is a comprehensive inventory of environmental attributes of electric power systems. The data show most regions of the US are reducing the carbon intensity of electricity and every region has reduced its share of coal generation.

Renewables are Driving Generation Growth

The US Energy Information Administration reported this month that growth in US power generation over the next two years will be largely driven by solar energy—adding 48 GW of solar capacity in that time. In 2024, 37 GW of solar capacity were added. Wind capacity additions will increase by around 8 GW in 2025 and 9 GW in 2026, slight increases from the 7 GW added in 2024.

The EIA is also forecasting an 8% (15 GW) reduction of coal energy generation by 2026.

Renewable sources were the second-largest contributor to U.S. power generation in 2024 and accounted for 945 billion kWh, up 9% from 2023.

EV Batteries may last much longer than we thought

Last month Standford released the results of a study of EV battery longevity using real-world driving instead of laboratory tests. They found these batteries could last up to a third longer than previously thought. This has implications related to critical minerals needed for batteries, the pace and scale of battery recycling and material recovery facilities and the economics of being an EV driver in general.

We Are Place-Based

Wendell Berry wrote in How to Be a Poet, “Stay away from anything that obscures the place it is in. There are no unsacred places; There are only sacred places and desecrated places.” Don’t let political theatrics obscure the place you are in. Stay focused. Stay local. Lead with heart. America is beautiful.