Originally published on the NRDC Expert Blog. By Arjun Krishnaswami The cost of energy storage is plummeting as performance is improving, and Congress is moving to help storage technologies continue to advance. Spurring innovation is far from all we need to do to address the climate crisis facing us, but it’s a necessary component and a […]

The post Congress Charges Ahead on Energy Storage: (BEST) Act appeared first on PlanetSave.

The winning projects of a global competition for innovative carbon-free and resilient urban projects were announced in Oslo and sent to us by C40 CITIES. Have a look.

The post First Round of 15 Winners of Reinventing Cities Competition Announced, Creating New Beacons of Sustainable Design & Construction appeared first on PlanetSave.

It’s honestly astounding. Take just about anything that was at the top of the ideological list for Republicans 5–10 years ago, and it is now trampled on by the Republican president and Congresspeople. It’s astounding. It’s a masterful course in propaganda, gaslighting, and essentially brainwashing. The thing I keep coming to is: What the heck […]

The post Why Do Republicans Now Hate On Christian Morals, National Security, Democracy, The US Constitution, The Rule Of Law, The FBI, The CIA, Honesty, & The US Deficit? appeared first on PlanetSave.

Donald Trump rose to political prominence by pushing a fake story that President Obama wasn’t born in the USA. He rose up in the public consciousness via a fake “reality TV” show that was produced to make him look like a much more competent and successful businessman than he’s ever been. His career, it has […]

The post Don The Con & Crew Creating Alternative Reality That Is Almost Completely Fake appeared first on PlanetSave.

If Vladimir Putin ran the United States, what would he want? He’d want the US to pull out of NATO. Donald Trump has pushed for that. He’d want sanctions lifted from Russian oligarchs. The Trump administration just lifted them on a company of an oligarch tied to Paul Manafort — he “no longer runs the […]

The post Putin Wants *Everything* Trump Is Giving Him — #DonTheCon for #RussiaFirst appeared first on PlanetSave.

Ørsted Cancels Divestment Of Power Distribution & Residential Customer Businesses Under Government Pressure A day after Danish energy company Ørsted announced that the Danish Ministry of Finance had raised concerns with the company’s plans to divest its Danish power distribution and residential customer businesses, the company has announced that it has discontinued the structured divestment […]

The post Ørsted Cancels Divestment Of Power Distribution & Residential Customer Businesses appeared first on PlanetSave.

https://twitter.com/ThingsWork/status/1076186680556769283 Following yesterday’s post about 11 top political tweets of the day, here’s one on 15 top political tweets since that article. Again, each tweet is followed by a two-liner. You misspelled USA. https://t.co/lcSt5oHfdB — Jonathan Capehart (@CapehartJ) December 21, 2018 Tweet of the day. #NailedIt Mexico Agrees to Pay for Trump’s Psychiatric Care https://t.co/u8Gu4t0Z1b […]

The post 38 Top Political Tweets of the Day — #TrumpShutdown #ResignTrump appeared first on PlanetSave.

Twitter is a bit annoying — too many trolls and discussions are too shallow. But it is hella fun for political one-liners. Below are perhaps my 11 favorite political tweets of the past day, each of which are followed by in-depth explanatory two-liners. 😉 Trump's former secretary of state says he's a "moron." Trump's former […]

The post 11 Top Political Tweets of the Day appeared first on PlanetSave.

Okay, I am going to go out on a limb here, but I will make a prediction: If the Democrats take control of the House of Representatives in the midterm elections, Donald Trump will not be president when the new House is sworn in. The famous op-ed piece that appeared anonymously in The New York […]

The post When Will Trump Be Gone? appeared first on PlanetSave.

By George Harvey Zachary Shahans’s CleanTechnica articles, “How Russian Attacks On Democracy & The USA Relate To Cleantech,” and “Where Does US Democracy Go From Here?” moved me to examine American Putin and the Alt-Right, the heirs of the old Soviet system and the American right-wing. Together, they are undermining American politics to a dangerous […]

The post Putin and the Alt-Right — Lying Together appeared first on PlanetSave.

How anti-democratic, insane, and stupid do you have to be to be a Donald Trump (aka Don the Con) supporter? What has he done for the US public? Nothing. What has he done for the middle class? Nothing. What has he done for hard-working Americans? Nothing. Meanwhile, what has he done for himself? Well, he […]

The post Donald Trump Echoes Stalin, Holds Secret Meeting With Putin That Has “No Apparent Purpose” In Midst Of Investigation About Potential Putin–Trump Conspiracy To Cheat US Democracy appeared first on PlanetSave.

One of the key lessons I learned while getting my first degree in sociology is a simple one, but it’s also a profound one that is too often glossed over. The lesson is that democracy is fundamentally built on two pillars: 1) widespread availability of accurate, nearly complete information; and 2) a citizenry that engages […]

The post US Democracy Is Under Threat. Where Is It Going Next? appeared first on PlanetSave.

July 11, was World Population Day as defined by the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme in 1989, an outgrowth of the interest generated by the Day of Five Billion, which was observed on July 11, 1987. Family planning is a human right The current United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has a theme […]

The post Enough With The Global Population Boom Scare Talk, Please! appeared first on PlanetSave.

As soon as I go home, I lock the door. Eventually, I close the blinds and curtains. I also lock the doors of my vehicles and fences. I keep my wallet to myself and no one really knows how much is in my credit union account. But when it comes to social media, Baby, I’ll […]

The post Big Companies Fight Tooth & Nail Against California Consumer Privacy Measure appeared first on PlanetSave.

There’s been wide variation for years now in how political pundits and commentators interpret Donald Trump’s statements and actions. Is he confused? Is he stupid? Is he just trolling progressives? Is he using hyperbole and other rhetoric just to entertain his base? Of course, many supporters claimed he would become presidential after the nasty campaign […]

The post What Do You Expect? The Con Man Claimed For Years That Obama Wasn’t American appeared first on PlanetSave.

You may remember Billy Bush — he’s that Bush who went into entertainment instead of politics but still almost had a dramatic effect on US politics. He’s the guy who was chatting with Donald Trump in the leaked “Access Hollywood” recording while Trump bragged about sexual assault. Interestingly, he was on an episode of “Real […]

The post Trump Lies To You Like No One Else — When Do The Conned Get Tired Of Getting Conned? appeared first on PlanetSave.

The European Union has this week formally adopted Member States' annual greenhouse gas emission reduction targets for 2021 to 2030 which, though they differ by country, will deliver a 30% reduction in EU emissions on 2005 levels across a wide variety of industries. 

The post EU Member States Commit To 30% Emission Reductions By 2030 appeared first on PlanetSave.

Environmental conservatism is the newest euphemism for supporting market forces before acknowledging the planetary degradation the western world has caused.

The post Environmental Conservatism? Just Another Name For Capitalism First, Planet Last appeared first on PlanetSave.

Carbon dioxide emissions stemming from fossil fuel use in the European Union rose by around 1.8% in 2017 as compared to 2016, according to the most recent estimates from Eurostat. Despite fossil fuel derived carbon dioxide emissions as a whole rising in the European Union during 2017, the split across countries was by no means […]

The post EU Emissions Rose 1.8% In 2017 appeared first on PlanetSave.

Europe has voted to ban three of the most common pesticides which are believed to affect bees. It is also searching for ways to increase the use of recyclable plastics to 50% by 2030.

The post Pesticide Ban And Plastic Recycling Agreed To By European Commission appeared first on PlanetSave.

Last month, a three-member high court panel in Pakistan, composed of some of the country’s top judges, issued a court ruling that ordered the government there to document in detail the efforts being made to curb the growing air pollution problems there. The head of the three-member high court panel in question, Chief Justice Mian […]

The post Pakistan Has Begun Installing Air Quality Monitors, Following Last Month’s High Court Ruling appeared first on PlanetSave.

Climate action non-profit The Climate Group this week unveiled its new Under2 Policy Action Map, an interactive tool which illustrates the numerous successful climate-related policies being implemented by subnational governments around the world which are part of the Under2 Coalition.

The post Climate Group Unveils Interactive Map Showcasing Global Under2 Policies appeared first on PlanetSave.

Seven Member States from the European Union have called on the EU and other Member States to align their long-term climate ambition with the objectives of the Paris Climate Agreement. 

The post Seven EU Member States Call For EU To Align Climate Ambition With Paris Agreement appeared first on PlanetSave.

Owing to the aim of reducing air pollution and local auto accidents, cars will be banned this summer from New York City’s Central Park — after more than a century of free use — the city’s mayor Bill de Blasio has announced. So, to say that a different way, New York City’s Central Park will […]

The post New York City Banning Cars From Central Park For First Time In A Century This Summer appeared first on PlanetSave.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has reached an agreement with constituent countries to put a plan into place to reduce the shipping sector’s greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% by 2050, as compared to 2008 levels. The deal follows international talks this week in London between reps from relevant countries. Notably, the final deal […]

The post International Maritime Organization Agrees To 50% Carbon Emissions Reductions By 2050 (Compared To 2008 Levels) appeared first on PlanetSave.

More than 100 companies around the world have had their emissions reductions targets approved by the Science-Based Targets initiative, which helps companies align their targets with what climate science confirms is necessary and required to prevent dangerous global warming. 

The post More Than 100 Companies Now Have Science-Based Targets appeared first on PlanetSave.

Hillary Clinton was indeed investigated for years — er, decades. What did she get busted for? Ah, yeah, nothing. Obama was investigated for … wearing a brown suit? being too academic? trying too hard to compromise with Republicans? Can you imagine if Hillary Clinton or Obama were running the country while … … being investigated […]

The post Remember When Hillary Clinton & Obama Paid Off Porn Stars & Playmates? appeared first on PlanetSave.

While most people like to place all of the blame for the recent about-face that the US Environmental Protection Agency has done with regard to pollutions controls on President Donald Trump, the reality is that there’s a broad amount of support for such actions throughout the government. With that in mind, the US Senate has […]

The post US Senate Has Confirmed Former Coal Industry Lobbyist As Deputy At EPA appeared first on PlanetSave.

In an announcement that mostly just amounts to a milking circumstance for PR purposes, the current administration in New Zealand has announced that it won’t be granting any new offshore oil and gas exploration permits or holding an associated tender process. To explain that a bit more, owing to relatively low global oil prices in […]

The post Current New Zealand Government Administration Won’t Grant New Offshore Oil & Gas Exploration Permits, Prime Minister Says appeared first on PlanetSave.

An enormous $44 billion combined oil mega-refinery and petrochemicals complex is now in the works for development on the west coast of India. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was just signed between Saudi Aramco and a large consortium of India-based firms. Those involved in the consortium just mentioned — Ratnagiri Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (RRPCL) […]

The post Saudi Aramco Developing $44 Billion Mega-Refinery & Petrochemicals Complex In India With Local Consortium appeared first on PlanetSave.

More than 200 US environmental groups from across the country have signed a letter to senators urging the rejection of the nomination of Mike Pompeo for Secretary of State, citing his long history of climate change denial and "extreme anti-environment, anti-consumer safety agenda.” 

The post 200+ Environmental Groups Call On US Senate To Reject Pompeo As Secretary Of State appeared first on PlanetSave.

Why Do Fox Viewers & Trump Supporters Deny Reality So, So, So Much? First of all, apologies to any Fox viewers or Trump supporters who somehow stumbled upon this piece. It’s probably best for your emotional peace to just move along now and not read on. If you’ve been following the Trump administration and Russian […]

The post Fox News Is A Cancer On Society appeared first on PlanetSave.

There are a set number of ways that a deck of cards can be dealt out. As you see the cards being dealt, you’re in fact watching possibilities being destroyed and inevitabilities arising. What exactly those inevitabilities are, depends upon the cards that you have just witnessed being dealt. The deck as a whole could […]

The post The Trickster & The Trump — The Politics Of America Seen Through The Lens Of Mythology appeared first on PlanetSave.

Donald Trump is not that normal, but he is human. He is a human who has lived essentially all of his life with a totally stacked hand, to bring in a gambling analogy. He has still managed to lose all of his or his companies’ cash several times, but then his connections in the benevolent […]

The post Putin Puppet Donald Trump Giving Russian Oligarchs Everything He Can appeared first on PlanetSave.

Is democracy the best societal avenue for humans to go down? That’s a question many of us in democratic countries don’t typically ask. The assumed answer is: “duh.” But democracy does indeed have its drawbacks. Tyranny of the masses is no small concern. That said, the underlying point of democracy is sort of straightforward: Humans […]

The post Democracy Dropping, USA In Tier 2 appeared first on PlanetSave.

There are several common assumptions about Republicans and the Republican Party that are simply untrue. These are major assumptions that have persisted for a long time. You would think that time and a little sunlight would reveal the truth underneath the magic trick, but a few effective practices have allowed the myth to persist in […]

The post Republican Policy Benefits The Rich At The Huge Expense Of The Poor & Middle Class appeared first on PlanetSave.

At the core of democracy are a few key assumptions: One is that humans will make better decisions if everyone has some power. Another is that citizens will be informed. And yet another is that citizens will be engaged. Let’s skip the first point for now. That’s a rather philosophical question, but not entirely, but […]

The post Democracy — Swell When People Pay Attention & Try To Think With An Open Mind appeared first on PlanetSave.

We published an article recently that touched on the possible effects that the internet and smartphones seem to be having on the ability to think, or to function effectively as voters in a “democracy.” While I don’t disagree — smartphones are the real-life version of soma, as predicted by Huxley in Brave New World — that […]

The post H.L. Mencken, The Democratic Republic Of The United States, & Smartphones — Thoughts appeared first on PlanetSave.

Hillary Clinton, under investigation by the FBI for her campaign team’s potential coordination with North Korea to hack our elections, has repeatedly fired or tried to fire the team of people investigating her — Democrats, nonetheless. One after another, she has focused on smearing (often with false or misleading claims) the FBI Director, the FBI […]

The post Hillary Clinton Fired or Pushed to Fire FBI Director, Deputy FBI Director, & Special Prosecutor Investigating Her appeared first on PlanetSave.

Much of the United States — and the world — is in shock. A symbol of modern democracy is suffering through an anti-democratic cancer and virus. From the outside, Russia not only meddled in the latest US presidential election, but it’s getting much of what it could have hoped for as a result of its […]

The post US Democracy Faces Period of Crisis appeared first on PlanetSave.

Over the last 12 months of activity, the Under2 Coalition has grown its members to encompass 205 governments from around the world, representing 1.3 billion people and almost 40% of the global economy, and all of them have committed to reducing greenhouse gasses by 2050. 

The post Under2 Coalition Now Represents 205 Governments, 1.3 Billion People, & 40% Of Global Economy appeared first on PlanetSave.

Danone’s widely distributed Evian brand of bottle water will have transitioned to 100%-recycled plastic use by 2025, if recent announcements from company execs are to be believed.

The post Evian Vows 100% Recycled Plastic Use By 2025 appeared first on PlanetSave.

Five of the world’s largest oil companies are now in the process of being sued by New York City for their “contributions to global warming,” Comptroller Scott Stringer has revealed. The companies in question are: Chevron, BP, Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, and ConocoPhillips — arguably the 5 top oil firms in the world that […]

The post New York City Files Multibillion-Dollar Lawsuit Against 5 Major Oil Firms appeared first on PlanetSave.

The lawsuit that was filed by environmental groups in response to Norway’s announcement of plans to continue oil exploration in the Arctic has been dismissed by a court in Oslo. What that means is that the court ruled that the argument that such oil exploration was in violation of “people’s right to a healthy environment” […]

The post Norwegian Court Rules Against Lawsuit Calling For End To Arctic Oil Exploration — Arctic Oil Development Is A Go appeared first on PlanetSave.

How much longer does southern Florida have until real-estate values in the region collapse on the back of flagging demand? At some point the reality that the region is not long for this world will have to sink in, and when it does, demand for homes in the region will crater to a degree that […]

The post Florida — When Will Its Real Estate Market Go Underwater? appeared first on PlanetSave.

A federal audit has found that India’s government has only spent well under a quarter of the funds available to it for cleaning up the Ganges River over the last 2 years – with the audit determining that poor financial management and planning were then primary causes. To provide specifics, the audit — performed by […]

The post India Has Spent Under A Quarter Of Funds Available For Ganges River Cleanup Over Last 2 Years, Auditor Finds appeared first on PlanetSave.

Fiat Chrysler lawyers are now holding discussions with lawyers representing various owners and owners groups of diesel vehicles in the US that are in the process of suing the prominent auto manufacturer, in relation to allegations of excess emissions in old diesel models. The news — revealed by a court-appointed adviser at a hearing in […]

The post Fiat Chrysler Holding Settlement Talks With Diesel Vehicle Owners In US In Relation To Allegations Of Excessive Emissions appeared first on PlanetSave.

The air pollution problems facing Iran, in particular those facing the country’s populous capital Tehran, seem to be growing rapidly based on recent events. As the result of dangerous levels of air pollution, schools in Tehran and in many other large cities throughout the country as well, were closed last week state media reported at […]

The post Iran’s Air Pollution Problems Are Growing Fast, As Evidenced By Recent Events appeared first on PlanetSave.