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.

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.

6 states are considering laws that would make it a felony to even think about protesting against a proposed pipeline. That's no coincidence.

The post PIpeline Protesters Acquitted As War Against Free Speech Accelerates 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.

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.

Pope Francis recently gave a passionate call for the Amazon to be protected from big business and "consumerist greed" -- while in Peru, on a tour of Latin America.

The post Pope Francis Calls For Amazon To Be Protected From Big Business & “Consumerist Greed” 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.

To many, the president we have in the United States today is a crazy anomaly — just the result of decades of false but effective branding, decades of Hillary bashing, and a population hungry for change. However, I think the story is much more chilling than that. While I agree it’s important that Clinton won […]

The post Is An Insane President The Result Of A Society Losing Its Mind? appeared first on PlanetSave.

With the legislative and executive branches of government firmly committed to pretending climate change doesn't exist, will the courts act to protect the environment and the citizens of America? Don't bet on it. Here's why.

The post Cassandra To Courts — USA’s Activist Battle To Save The Climate appeared first on PlanetSave.

Norway, which is still a monarchy, has two sovereign wealth funds. The Government Pension Fund Global, also known as the Oil Fund, was established in 1990 to invest the profits from the country’s petroleum sales. As of September of this year, it was valued at more than $1 trillion, equal to $192,307 per Norwegian citizen. The other […]

The post Norwegian Oil Fund Ready To Divest From Oil & Gas appeared first on PlanetSave.

If you are watching the attacks on US democracy closely, it’s a bit shocking. Basic elements of the US Constitution and a functional democracy are attacked on a daily basis. There are attacks on an independent judicial systems, attacks on independent media (which is essential to provide societal checks on political power — Thomas Jefferson said […]

The post If You Don’t Want A Crappy Democracy, You Gotta Talk appeared first on PlanetSave.

The Alliance of World Scientists has issued what it calls a "Second Warming" about the danger to the survival of the human species if climate change is not addressed soon. Here are the thirteen steps the more than 15,000 signatories to that warning recommend.

The post 15,000 Scientists Suggest 13 Ways To Mitigate Climate Change appeared first on PlanetSave.

The United States is now the only country in the world not committed to the carbon reduction goals announced in Paris at the COP21 climate change summit in 2015. But that doesn’t mean all Americans have abandoned the fight. At the COP23 climate conference in Bonn, Germany, last week, more than 100 people from the […]

The post America’s Pledge — To Stop Global Heating appeared first on PlanetSave.

It is estimated that since the advent of the agricultural revolution Earth lost approximately half of its trees, and according to a recent survey as reported by Nature (the magazine), earth currently has only about three trillion trees. Image by UNclimatechange (some rights reserved) There are several organizations that are hard at work to plant back […]

The post Mapping The Global Efforts To Restore The World’s Forests! appeared first on PlanetSave.

The US Environmental Protection Agency will begin barring select scientists from serving on independent advisory boards — a move possibly intended to clear the path towards the installation of industry-friendly advisors on the panel in question, according to critics. The new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ban-list is focused on scientists who have won agency-awarded grants […]

The post US EPA To Bar Certain Scientists From Serving On Independent Advisory Boards appeared first on PlanetSave.

Hello, my name is Zach Shahan, and I have a problem. I’m a political nut. More seriously, I’ll admit that I’m strongly drawn to politics, follow policy & politics closely (some might say obsessively), and have sometimes struggled with how much time and emotion I invest into all of that. If I step back a […]

The post Why Republican Policy Sucks appeared first on PlanetSave.

Immediately after the last US general election, despite the fact that the Republican Party “won,” I wrote about Republican Party “civil war” and asked in the title of an article, “Can The GOP Survive?“ It may have seemed odd to write about political civil war in a party that just won a presidential election, but […]

The post Republican Civil War (Dancing With The Devil Leads To This) appeared first on PlanetSave.

I feel bad for the people who voted for Donald Trump thinking that he would improve their lives, that he’d help them with health care, to get jobs, to get unfathomably rich and famous. No, being born a millionaire works well for that, but being a poor or middle class voter and expecting Donald Trump […]

The post 4 Trump Campaign Promises & Current Results (Obvious Failures) appeared first on PlanetSave.

For too long, there has been an unwritten rule that religion is off limits as a discussion topic when it comes to global warming and climate change. The new book Drawdown examines the 100 best policies that humanity can implement to reduce the effects of climate change. The empowerment of women is in the top […]

The post How Global Gag Rule Will Punish Women And Speed Climate Change appeared first on PlanetSave.

While the murder of anti-deforestation activists and environmentalists is nothing new in most parts of the world nowadays, the recent news that a plane carrying members of Brazil’s special environmental protection forces recently crashed due to “unexplained” causes does still stand out. Image by CIFOR (some rights reserved) If nothing else — I’d there was foul-play involved, […]

The post Plane Full Of Anti-Deforestation Activists Crashes In Brazil Due To “Unexplained” Causes, Investigation Underway appeared first on PlanetSave.

Once upon a time, there was a well known British television show popularly called TW3, which stood for “That Was The Week That Was.” If it was still in existence, the past week would certainly qualify as one of the most tempestuous in American history thanks to the putative president continuing to soil his diapers […]

The post Donald Trump Crashes, His “Worst of the Worst” Admin Crashes — Infighting, Galore appeared first on PlanetSave.

People complain about Big Oil controlling our government, slowing climate action, killing clean air policies (and, thus, countless humans), brainwashing the public through the mass media, and doing all-around shitty shit. We know it — Big Oil is not your friend. Yet, as much as we complain, as much as we talk about the corruption, […]

The post The US Is An Oil-tocracy — How To Fight Back appeared first on PlanetSave.

Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Cool Effect have just partnered to ensure protection of the diverse ecosystem in Makira Natural Park in Madagascar.

The post Saving Endangered Lemurs in Madagascar with Wildlife Conservation Society and Cool Effect appeared first on PlanetSave.

It’s rather crazy to me — the Republican Party is supposedly the “Christian” party and has the long-standing support of Bible-reading Christians in rural areas and Evangelicals. Somehow, a few loud-mouthed Christians and political propagandists have pulled on the strings of religious channels in order to get the public to put the Republican Party in the “Christian” bucket. […]

The post How Does The Republican Party Claim The “Christian” Label? (Total Hypocrisy) appeared first on PlanetSave.

One kid decided that he would become an activist to save the oceans. He's enlisted other kids to clean California's beaches as a way to make a difference.

The post Walk This Way: MicroActivist Leads Kids on California Beach Cleanups appeared first on PlanetSave.

Over 600 people responded to a question on Ask Reddit to explain why they changed their minds about the dangers of climate change.

The post Confessions Of Former Climate Change Deniers appeared first on PlanetSave.

Erin Schrode is a citizen activist that can inspire us all. Learn about how this young woman is shaping activism, engagement, and politics at home in California and beyond.

The post Citizen Activism with Erin Schrode appeared first on PlanetSave.

We were recently treated to a preview screening of the film “Kombit” which unpacks the work being done by way of a partnership between the non-profit “Smallholder Farmers Alliance” and the Timberland company in Haiti. Haiti has a major issue with deforestation with over 98% of the nation stripped of trees as a direct result of […]

The post ‘Kombit’ Documents the Struggle to Reforest Haiti (Film Review) appeared first on PlanetSave.

The noted anti-deforestation and environmental rights activist Isidro Baldenegro was murdered in the northern state of Chihuahua in Mexico on Sunday. Baldenegro was killed by gunmen who subsequently fled the scene, one of which has reportedly been identified but not yet detained. The murder follows not too long after the March 2016 murder of the […]

The post Noted Anti-Deforestation Activist Isidro Baldenegro Murdered In Chihuahua (Mexico) appeared first on PlanetSave.

Originally published on EdenKeeper.org Creation Care leaders are predicting the coming Trump presidency will prompt more ecojustice activism, including non-violent civil disobedience, within US faith communities. Writing for Baptist News, Jeff Brumley states that “Faith-based protests of pipeline projects, global warming and other environmental causes won’t just be for the hard core anymore, thanks to […]

The post EcoJustice Expected To Rise Under Donald Trump appeared first on PlanetSave.

The best way to fight fake news is to learn strategies to think critically about the media.

The post 5 Ways to Counter Fake News about Climate Change by Thinking Critically about Media appeared first on PlanetSave.

Indigenous people from Sami Nation have played a major role in supporting the Sioux Nation in its battle with the Dakota Access pipeline by convincing Norwegian investors to divest themselves of their financial interests in the pipeline.

The post Indigenous Norwegians Force Bank To Withdraw Support For Dakota Access Pipeline appeared first on PlanetSave.

Originally published on Edenkeeper.org Violence is escalating against the Water Protectors of the Standing Rock Sioux. On Sunday night, November 20th, temperatures were below freezing when peaceful protesters were fired on with water cannons, tear gas, and rubber bullets. We need to act now to help support their peaceful, unarmed efforts to protect their sacred […]

The post #NoDAPL – Pray for the Water Protectors & Sign the IPL Petition appeared first on PlanetSave.

A camp of Dakota Access Pipeline protesters will be closed by December 5, 2016 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The post U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to Close Dakota Pipeline Protesters’ Camp appeared first on PlanetSave.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is the newest target of conservative think tank fake news.

The post Elon Musk is the Newest Target of Fake News appeared first on PlanetSave.

What role do mission-driven businesses have in ocean conservation? Meet Shilpi Chhotray, the founder of Samudra Skin & Sea, a social enterprise focused on responsible products and increasing ocean awareness.

The post How one Social Entrepreneur is Paving the Way for Ocean Awareness appeared first on PlanetSave.

Advertisements have a way of persuading us about larger social issues. What can a Budweiser commercial tell us about sustainability and society?

The post Budweiser’s “Not Backing Down” Ad: Corporate and Political Parallels appeared first on PlanetSave.

Initiative 732 would create a carbon fee structure in the State of Washington. Fossil fuel interests opposed it because it goes too far. The Sierra Club opposes it because it doesn't go far enough.

The post Fate Of Initiative 732 Carbon Fee Proposal In Washington State In Doubt appeared first on PlanetSave.

Terry Williams of Utah bought an oil and gas lease at a BLM auction but says she wants to leave the oil and gas in the ground. That's illegal, BLM says. Are they right?

The post BLM Refuses To Issue Oil And Gas Leases To Utah Couple appeared first on PlanetSave.

On October 18, 2016, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) held Climate Victory 2016 night. At the event, the non-profit, non-partisan organization Hip Hop Caucus and its President and CEO Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr. took home the prestigious Climate Leadership Award for activism around climate change. The organization stimulates civic and electoral activism among young […]

The post League of Conservation Voters Awards Climate Prize to Hip Hop Caucus appeared first on PlanetSave.

A judge in North Dakota on Monday rebuffed a request by an overzealous prosecutor to charge journalist Amy Goodman with rioting after she filmed protesters at the site of the Dakota Access pipeline.

The post Judge In North Dakota Refuses To Charge Amy Goodman With Rioting appeared first on PlanetSave.

Originally published on EdenKeeper Committed to working towards a sustainable future, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is divesting from its fossil fuel investments! A majority of the 900 voting members approved this historic resolution at its 2016 Churchwide Assembly on August 13. Rev. Barbara Rossing, a professor at the Lutheran School of Theology […]

The post US Lutherans Divesting from Fossil Fuels! appeared first on PlanetSave.

Another fossil fuel pipeline project — the Dakota Access pipeline — is being held to a considerable level of environmental scrutiny. Leading national and local environmental, tribal, and landowners’ rights organizations have submitted a letter on to President Obama voicing concern about the Army Corps of Engineers’ approval of some of the permits for the […]

The post Environmental, Tribal, Landowner Groups Seek Obama Repeal Of Permits For Dakota Access Pipeline appeared first on PlanetSave.

Originally published on EdenKeeper.org   Holding down two fronts in the battle against the Dakota Access Pipeline, Native Americans and supporters are swelling in Cannon Ball, North Dakota, and outside a courthouse in Washington, D.C. Joining several hundred members of North Dakota’s Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in D.C., actors Susan Sarandon, Shailene Woodley, and Riley […]

The post Native Americans Standing Up Against Dakota Access Pipeline appeared first on PlanetSave.

Joe O'Connor and 4 other SolarCity engineers have installed 3 solar powered micro grids at ranger stations in Verunga National Park so rangers can better protect the animals and flora inside the park from poachers.

The post SolarCity Contributes To Solar Micro Grids For Virunga National Park appeared first on PlanetSave.