Tag: #solar — 31 segments on Living on Earth
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April 17, 2026:
'Clearing the Air' and Climate Solutions Hope
Climate solutions like renewable energy tech that requires intensive mining can run into skepticism from people across the political spectrum. But according to data scientist Hannah Ritchie, many of the concerns are based on partial and misinformation, and the outlook for addressing the climate emergency isn’t as grim as some people may think. Ritchie is the author of Clearing the Air: A Hopeful Guide to Solving Climate Change in 50 Questions and Answers and spoke with Host Steve Curwood.
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April 10, 2026:
$1 Billion to Abandon Offshore Wind
The US Department of the Interior recently announced an agreement to pay the multinational company TotalEnergies nearly $1 Billion to abandon its offshore wind leases and instead invest in oil, natural gas and LNG production in the U.S. Yet several major offshore wind projects are coming online, including Revolution Wind in New England and Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind. Katharine Kollins, president of the advocacy group Southeastern Wind Coalition, speaks with Host Jenni Doering about the Trump administration deal with TotalEnergies and the state of offshore wind.
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January 30, 2026:
Hot Prospects for Geothermal Energy
As geothermal heating and cooling slowly spreads in the U.S., some communities and utilities are looking to grow small pilot projects into much larger networks of pipes and heat pumps that extract and store heat in the earth to warm and cool homes and businesses as needed. Inside Climate News journalist Phil McKenna joins Host Jenni Doering to discuss the bipartisan interest in geothermal and describe a large geothermal HVAC system that demonstrates the possibilities and benefits of scaling up.
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December 12, 2025:
Bill McKibben on Abundant Solar and the Waning Power of Fossil Fuels
Climate activist Bill McKibben, who authored The End of Nature nearly 40 years ago, is back with Here Comes the Sun: A Last Chance for the Climate and a Fresh Chance for Civilization. He joins us for a wide-ranging discussion on the stunning growth of renewable energy from the sun and wind, led in part by China, even as the fossil fuel industry digs in.
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November 14, 2025:
Energy Powers Democratic Wins
November’s elections brought victories across the country for state and local Democratic candidates who pledged to address rising energy costs. Marianne Lavelle, Washington bureau chief for our media partner, Inside Climate News, joins Hosts Aynsley O’Neill and Paloma Beltran to talk about the challenges of meeting those promises the new Governors-elect of Virginia and New Jersey, and the newly elected Mayor of New York, will likely face.
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October 17, 2025:
Coalition Defends Solar for All
Facing lost jobs and higher energy prices after the Trump EPA canceled $7 billion in low-income solar grants, a coalition of labor, green and anti-poverty groups is teaming up to fight in court for clean energy jobs and save “Solar for All.” Patrick Crowley, President of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, and Kate Sinding Daly, Senior Vice President for Law and Policy at the Conservation Law Foundation, join Host Steve Curwood to explain the impact of the canceled grants and the legal basis for their lawsuit.
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October 10, 2025:
Balcony Solar
Compared to traditional rooftop solar, “balcony solar” offers renters, apartment dwellers and folks on a tighter budget a much less expensive solar energy starter kit. Balcony solar is already common in Europe and Asia, and now it’s getting a boost from state legislation in the US. Steve Hegedus, professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Delaware, joins Host Paloma Beltran to explain the appeal and how it works.
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May 23, 2025:
Public Lands Reprieve
Last-minute changes in the House budget reconciliation bill included scrapping one of the more controversial amendments that would have sold off public lands in the southwest to private developers. But the overall bill isn’t a complete win for the environment, with even deeper cuts to clean energy tax credits added at the last minute. Wyatt Myskow is the Mountain West Correspondent for Inside Climate News and joins Host Aynsley O’Neill to explain.
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May 02, 2025:
Tariffs and Green Energy Cuts
The Trump Administration’s on-again, off-again tariffs and cuts to renewable energy programs are bringing instability and uncertainty to the future of US energy. Collin Rees of Oil Change International talks with Host Paloma Beltran about how the trade turmoil and policy whiplash are impacting and sidelining the U.S. renewable energy industry.
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March 21, 2025:
GOP and Clean Energy Tax Credits
As President Trump and the Republican-led Congress aim to shrink the federal government and renew major tax cuts, hundreds of billions of dollars in clean energy tax credits could be on the chopping board. Twenty-one House Republicans whose districts are benefiting from the tax credits are petitioning GOP leadership to keep them intact. Inside Climate News Reporter Dylan Baddour joins Host Paloma Beltran to discuss.
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January 10, 2025:
Jimmy Carter's Green Legacy
The Carter Presidency left a legacy of environmental action, ranging from major habitat protection to trying to address the then largely unrecognized threat of fossil fuels to climate stability. Gus Speth chaired the White House Council on Environmental Quality under Jimmy Carter and sat down with Host Steve Curwood to recall pivotal moments and ponder what might have been if the solar-panel-loving President had won a second term.
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November 15, 2024:
Puerto Rico’s Solar Power Problem
After Hurricane Maria destroyed Puerto Rico’s power grid in 2017, much of the island was left without electricity for up to a year, leaving vulnerable populations in the lurch. Many Puerto Ricans are pushing for a reliable, sustainable electricity system, but a proposed utility-scale solar project has sparked concerns. Ruth Santiago, an environmental attorney who serves on the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council, joins Host Paloma Beltran to discuss the future of solar energy in Puerto Rico.
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September 06, 2024:
Bright Future for Western Solar
The Bureau of Land Management is updating its master plan for developing solar energy on BLM lands in the West, to help the US meet ambitious clean energy targets. Gregg DeBie is an attorney with the Wilderness Society and joins Host Aynsley O’Neill to explain how the proposed plan aims to reduce barriers to solar by highlighting “previously disturbed” lands and automatically excluding critical habitat.
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August 30, 2024:
Virtual Power Plants
The aging grid is struggling to accommodate the surge in renewables like wind and solar. And since they don’t produce electricity around the clock, there’s often a mismatch between when the power is being generated and when it’s being used. Ryan Hledik of the consulting firm The Brattle Group explains to Host Steve Curwood how “virtual power plants” can tap home and electric vehicle batteries and shift the timing of HVAC and appliance demand to help close this gap.
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August 30, 2024:
Hydrogen Fueled Future
If you combine hydrogen from carbon-free sources and oxygen in a fuel cell, you get water and electricity. Bruce Gellerman reports on how this chemical reaction is fueling visions of future, carbon free flights and changing voyages of fantasy into reality.
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February 16, 2024:
Mann Bites Lapdogs (Beyond The Headlines)
This week, Living on Earth Contributor Peter Dykstra and Host Steve Curwood catch up on climate scientist Michael Mann’s $1 million legal victory over bloggers who were found to have defamed him. Also, Puerto Rico is encouraging more solar development to help with grid reliability and reduce emissions, and in history they look back to when an ice jam left Niagara Falls high and dry.
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February 02, 2024:
Renewable Power Surge in China
China surged ahead of other countries in 2023 to add 66% more wind power than it had before and bring online as much solar energy as the entire world had developed in 2022. Isabel Hilton, founder of China Dialogue, joins Host Aynsley O’Neill to examine the geopolitical and economic implications of China’s dominance in the renewable energy sector.
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January 12, 2024:
Beyond the Headlines
This week, Living on Earth Contributor Peter Dykstra joins Host Paloma Beltran with a couple of stories about thoughtful dwelling design. In sweltering Egypt, buildings that incorporate centuries-old techniques help naturally keep inhabitants cool. And in Florida, residents in a new development designed with plentiful rooftop solar and energy efficiency pay nothing for electricity. In history they look back to when the Nixon administration stepped in to block a massive jetport that could have impacted the delicate Everglades ecosystem.
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December 15, 2023:
Beyond the Headlines
This week, Living on Earth Contributor Peter Dykstra joins Host Aynsley O’Neill bringing news of a step towards phasing out natural gas in Massachusetts, and a lost-then-found tomato in space. In history, they mark an anniversary for the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act that’s helped conserve seals, whales, and more.
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December 08, 2023:
UN Climate Summit COP 28 Update
As the UN Climate Summit in Dubai heads towards its scheduled final day on Tuesday, December 12, delegates have yet to achieve consensus for the Global Stock take. That’s a report on progress meeting the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement, which aspires to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. A majority of delegates and climate advocates say there is insufficient progress to meet those goals and want COP28 to find consensus to adopt additional measures. Many nations and NGOs are also decrying the failure to fully fund climate adaptation for poor nations.
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December 01, 2023:
Beyond the Headlines
This week, Living on Earth Contributor Peter Dykstra joins Host Jenni Doering to share some good news about regulations on PFAS “forever” chemicals. Also, a new freshman dorm at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska uses updated rooftop solar thermal technology to heat water. And in history, they look back to a major Alaska public lands bill that protected 100 million acres in 1980.
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November 24, 2023:
Debunking Solar Energy Fears
As solar energy costs fall and installations of solar panels rise, some are raising concerns about the materials they’re made from and are promoting disinformation about the safety of recycling these modules. A team at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory clarified this waste from solar panels and recently published an essay in the journal Nature Physics. Lead author Dr. Heather Mirletz joins Host Jenni Doering to put solar panel waste in perspective.
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November 24, 2023:
Beyond the Headlines
This week, Living on Earth contributor Peter Dykstra and Host Jenni Doering discuss the clean energy infrastructure popping up in former fossil fuel strongholds. Also, waste pickers who comb through trash to glean recyclable metals and plastics are asking for a seat at the table in the negotiations for a global plastic waste treaty. And in history, they look back to when scientists debunked the “Piltdown Man” hoax fossil.
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October 27, 2023:
Beyond the Headlines
This week, Living on Earth contributor Peter Dykstra joins Host Steve Curwood to divulge how decommissioned offshore oil rigs can become homes for sea life in what are dubbed “rigs to reefs.” Also, churches are putting solar panels on their roofs to engage in “creation care.” And in history they look back to the opening of the first New York City subway line, all the way back in 1904.
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October 27, 2023:
Hydrogen Fueled Future
If you combine hydrogen from carbon-free sources and oxygen in a fuel cell, you get water and electricity. Bruce Gellerman reports on how this chemical reaction is fueling visions of future, carbon free flights and changing voyages of fantasy into reality.
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September 08, 2023:
Hydrogen Fueled Future
If you combine hydrogen from carbon-free sources and oxygen in a fuel cell, you get water and electricity. Bruce Gellerman reports on how this chemical reaction is fueling visions of future, carbon free flights and changing voyages of fantasy into reality.
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August 25, 2023:
Power to the People
New York state has adopted a law aimed at using federal funds to boost public power from renewables and shut down six polluting “peaker” gas power plants. Lee Ziesche, a spokesperson for Public Power New York, joins Host Jenni Doering to discuss how it will lower electricity rates and boost public health, environmental justice, and energy access.
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May 19, 2023:
Power to the People
New York state has adopted a new law aimed at using federal funds to boost public power from renewables and shut down six polluting “peaker” gas power plants. Lee Ziesche, a spokesperson for Public Power New York, joins Host Jenni Doering to discuss how it will lower electricity rates and boost public health, environmental justice, and energy access.
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April 14, 2023:
Revving Up U.S. EV Manufacturing
The government offers a $7,500 tax credit to new car buyers to help meet a goal that 50% of all new vehicles sold in the U.S. should be electric by 2030. But to qualify, cars must now meet a new set of requirements. Auto reporter Jim Motavalli joins Host Jenni Doering to talk about how EV manufacturers are responding.
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March 17, 2023:
Beyond the Headlines
PFAS “forever” chemicals are everywhere, including in toilet paper, Peter Dykstra reveals in this week’s chat with Living on Earth’s Bobby Bascomb. Also, everything’s big in Texas, including renewable energy, and the state is by far the biggest producer of wind and solar in the U.S. And 55 years ago, prospectors struck black gold on Alaska’s north slope, forever changing the state’s economy and environment.
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March 03, 2023:
Beyond the Headlines
In this week’s trip beyond the headlines, contributor Peter Dykstra and Host Jenni Doering discuss the impressive clean energy achievement of a small town in France. Next, they consider a study about growing threats to narwhals from shrinking Arctic sea ice before going back in history for a look at the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899.
