A quiet crisis is unfolding in our rivers. A global assessment created with The Nature Conservancy finds 325 migratory freshwater fish species at urgent risk. Their numbers have fallen 81%. Rivers connect us, and united action can still change their future.
Read more here https://nature.ly/4c64foV
Posts by Michael Clifford
The flowers are blooming in Death Valley.
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%
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.
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.
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
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]
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
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: www.unep.org/resources/eye-methane-20...
#CutMethane
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...
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 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! 🔌💡
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.
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...