TGIF… Do you agree? Why do the weeks with a Monday holiday often feel like the longest? Is it because we are thrown off our routine? Anyway, after a week of Thursdays, I’m so happy it’s finally weekend eve!
Also, happy belated to Abe Lincoln, the president to set aside the land that is now Yosemite National Park!
This week’s must read: Yes, Republicans Support Solar and the Environment. My City Is Living Proof (Real Clear Energy)
“We embraced solar as part of our city plan, and we also invested in other energy and environmental needs: raising seawalls, upgrading stormwater systems, attracting tech companies with zero-carbon nuclear power, and building flood-resistant infrastructure,” writes former Miami Mayor Francis Suarez. “Why? Because my Republican voters understood you can’t have a strong economy and thriving society without stewarding the natural assets that make your city valuable in the first place.”
Let’s talk nukes
This week’s EcoRight Speaks conversation is with Ross Matzkin-Bridger, Senior Advisor for The Nuclear Scaling Initiative and Senior Director for NTI’s Nuclear Materials Security Program. In these roles, he works at the nexus of clean energy and security, leading efforts to strengthen nonproliferation norms, minimize inventories of weapons-usable nuclear materials, and promote solutions for nuclear waste.
Previously, he’s held high level positions with the U.S. Department of Energy, where he coordinated policies and programs with global partners across a diverse set of government equities, ranging from clean energy and decarbonization to supply chains and security; the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo; and at the National Nuclear Security Administration, where he was responsible for negotiating agreements and managing projects to remove weapons-usable nuclear material from vulnerable locations around the world. From 2010-2016, he helped eliminate over 1,000 kilograms of highly enriched uranium and plutonium from 10 countries.
Coming up next week, my conversation with the newly minted director of the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication, John Kotcher. (AKA the “new Ed Maibach, but Ed, if you’re reading, please know we regard you as truly one of a kind!) John talks about the latest update on the Global Warming’s Six Americas survey and more!
If you build it, they will come: New England’s biggest grid battery is up and running in Maine (Canary Media)
You know I’m a sucker for news from my home state, so this article caught my attention. A new new 175-MW project less than ten miles from Portland (by the way, have you been to Portland? Go to Portland. Especially if you love seafood, breweries and coffee. It’s so cute) is already “providing a much-needed boost to the Northeast’s efforts to expand clean and affordable energy.” It also helped keep the lights on during Winter Storm Fern. “We were 100% available and ready to contribute capacity with no emissions.”
This is a great example of the art of the possible! (Maine is also a leader in residential heat pump adoption, having surpassed its goal of 100,000 installations by 2025 to curb reliance on costly (and polluting) oil heating.
Meanwhile, in Texas…
Our friend Larry Linenschmidt is fighting the good fight against disinformation spreading in the Lone Star State over energy storage. In a recent op-ed, When fear replaces facts (The Boern Star), Larry writes:
“Energy storage allows electricity to be stored when power is abundant and affordable, then delivered when demand is highest. That means lower costs, greater reliability and a stronger safety net for families, hospitals, schools and businesses…Some Hill Country residents have responded to fearmongering and disinformation by trying to ban battery storage from their communities, but when decisions are driven by lies and exaggerated claims rather than evidence, we all lose. Shutting the door on this technology doesn’t make our grid safer. It makes it weaker — and more expensive.”
We appreciate Larry and his dedication to clean energy and climate p0licies that protect people and our communities.