Category Archives: US

Guest Blog by Sonya Landau: Heat and COVID Disparities

Walking outside in southern Arizona right now is akin to walking into a giant oven. Waves of heat waft toward you from all sides the moment you set foot out the door. We always joke, “but it’s a dry heat,” … Continue reading

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Sputnik and China: US Response to Tech Rivalry

Back in April, I outlined President Biden’s new American Job Plan. Granted, the $2.3 trillion plan was more of a wish list than a proposal; given the 50-50 split in the Senate and the narrow majority in the House, it … Continue reading

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The First One Hundred Days

President Biden has now been in office for 98 days. We look at the first 100 days as an important marker of a president’s accomplishments: The 100-days concept is believed to have its roots in France, where the concept of … Continue reading

Posted in administration, Climate Change, Sustainability, US | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Earth Day 2021

Earth Day is in two days. It’s a big day. Among other distinctions, it is both my wife’s birthday and that of this blog (this is now 9 years!). From a climate change perspective, this year’s celebration is special because … Continue reading

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The American Jobs Plan & Power Generation by Source

Last week, when I discussed the new $2.3 trillion “American Jobs Plan,” I listed the costs of items that directly address climate change mitigation. The second most expensive item was the $174 billion program for electric vehicle incentive. A few … Continue reading

Posted in administration, Electric Cars, Sustainability, US | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The American Jobs Plan

I started to write this blog a day after President Biden presented his infrastructure plan in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The location’s symbolism was obvious; this was the same city where President Trump announced his withdrawal from the Paris Agreement: I was … Continue reading

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Production Gap: Actual Emissions vs. Paris Promises

Figure 1 – Relative country contributions to total global carbon emissions and percentages of emissions over time, 2017 The new administration and the accompanying new leadership of many federal offices have strongly signaled a renewed and strengthened dedication to confront … Continue reading

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The Green Climate Fund

President Biden signed 15 executive orders and two agency directives on the day of his inauguration (January 20th). Most of this activity was targeted at trying to reverse President Trump’s previous directives. One of the new executive orders that attracted … Continue reading

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Energy Resilience: Winter in Texas

 I have written often about resilience and its importance in our energy transition. You can put the word into the search box and see a plethora of posts. Most of them focus on California and Australia, where climate change has … Continue reading

Posted in Climate Change, Electricity, Energy, Extreme Weather, Sustainability, US, Water | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Climate Change, Social Media & Politics

I teach different levels of climate change courses and do my own research on the subject. My semester started at the end of January and I had four senior students who needed to select their own research topics regarding the … Continue reading

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