Topics
The Big Picture
According to the Global Commission on Climate Adaptation, an investment in five key areas of $1.8 trillion could generate $7.1 trillion in total benefits over the 2020-2030 time period…
Energy Efficiency and Electrification
Clean energy jobs, including energy efficiency, solar and wind, are already employing more than 3 million people in the US…
Natural Climate Solutions
nature-based solutions can provide up to 37 percent of the emission reductions needed by 2030 to keep global temperature increases under 2°C…
Climate Finance and Community Prosperity
the value at risk, as a result of climate change, to the total global stock of manageable assets as ranging from $4.2 trillion to $43 trillion between now and the end of the century…
Circular Economy and Waste
When applied to four key industrial materials (cement, steel, plastic and aluminum) circular economy strategies could help reduce emissions by 40% in 2050…
Health and Wellness
The health, economic, political, and environmental implications of climate change affect all of us. The tolls on our mental health are far reaching…
Green Products, Services and Jobs
The US green economy is already estimated to represent $1.3 trillion in annual sales revenue and to employ nearly 9.5 million workers…
Life Cycle Analysis – Coal produces 25 times more greenhouse gases than solar photovoltaics
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has performed a "harmonization," or a further refinement, of hundreds of studies of life cycle analysis of solar photovoltaics, and compared it to the life cycle analysis greenhouse gas emissions of coal. The image above from...
Press Release 10/02/20: Local solar business wants to donate solar systems worth $20,000 each to local nonprofits that can generate the most community support over the next two weeks
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 2, 2020 Contacts: Aur Beck, AES Solar, 618 893 1717, tech@aessolar.com; Amy McMorrow Hunter, The Climate Economy Education Inc, 618 713 2896, amy@theclimateeconomy.com Website: https://acommunitythrives.mightycause.com/story/Coal2sol ...
Press Release 9/30/20: Investment in Southern Illinois communities and people is the focus of this upcoming webinar series
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 30, 2020 Contact: Byram Fager, Southern Illinois Community Foundation, 618 997 3700, blfager@sicf.org; Amy McMorrow Hunter, The Climate Economy Education Inc, 618 713 2896, amy@theclimateeconomy.com Website: www.keepingmoneylocal.com ...
Press release 9/23/20: Local fundraiser looks to stir up community support for free solar installations at local nonprofits
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 23, 2020 Contacts: Aur Beck, 618 893 1717, tech@aessolar.com; Amy McMorrow Hunter, The Climate Economy Education Inc, 618 713 2896, amy@theclimateeconomy.com Local fundraiser looks to stir up community support for free solar...
CLEANetwork – CLimate Economy Action Network
WHAT IS THE CLIMATE ECONOMY ACTION NETWORK (CLEAN)?The Climate Economy Education Inc (TCE) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation that provides education, ideas and resources about how to thrive in a world with a changing climate by reconnecting to nature, our fellow...
Metro East Kickoff – Local Community Investment and Funding Strategies – May 27 2020
Presenters and PanelistsA million thanks to our keynote presenter and our panel of experts! Listen to author and economist Michael H. Shuman discuss local community investment strategies. Michael Shuman is an economist, attorney, author, and entrepreneur, and a...
Metro East Kickoff – Regenerative Organic Agriculture – May 13 2020 – And Funding Resources
Much appreciation and thanks goes out to our esteemed presenters and panelists! Presenter L. Hunter Lovins Natural Capitalist Solutions, President, Founder, Author Watch the video on YouTube. Hunter talks about regenerative agriculture, gives examples of...
The Obsolescence of Ignorance
Ignorance is a lack of knowledge or information according to Dictionary.com. Ignorance is dangerous because it can result in people making bad choices and taking actions that harm themselves and others, and it is completely unnecessary. We don't have to get mad if...
Women and The Climate Economy
It's time for women to take over and fix the problems that have become too large for society to ignore, including violence against women, social inequality, and the theft of future generations' resources, all of course exacerbated by climate change. It's the challenge...
Saltwater Batteries
A major talking point of electric vehicle naysayers is that lithium-ion batteries are bad for the environment and not able to be recycled. This is mostly correct, and is leaving out the biggest problem. The materials for these batteries are coming primarily from...
Clean Energy Jobs Now and in the Future – Job Numbers and Human Welfare Going Up as We Work To Reduce Emissions
According to ClimateNexus, there were about 3,155,933 "clean energy" jobs in the US in 2018: (To increase the size of the text in the images, hit Ctrl and + as many times as you need, then to get it back to normal size hit Ctrl and -.) These numbers match up with the...
Stop Using Oil – A Spreadsheet
Recently, a bunch of oil blew up in Saudia Arabia, so suddenly US shale oil producers are all: OK let's ramp up production, more oil and natural gas! How about an alternative to that option, since: Nearly half of U.S. energy-related CO2 emissions are from petroleum...
Understanding Your Carbon Footprint
Consider this: @AssaadRazzouk An American's fridge uses 458 kw/h per year. That's 7 times more electricity than the average Ethiopian uses in total in one year 3 times a Nigerian or Kenyan 1 times a Pakistani a or a Bangladeshi 57% of an Indian or Indonesian 27% of an...
Visions of the Climate Economy: An Incredible Illustration of the Benefits of a Low-Carbon Future
The New Climate Economy's report: "Unlocking the Inclusive Growth Story of the 21st Century: Accelerating Climate Action in Urgent Times" is one of those reports that I'm reading from cover to cover, with lots of highlighting and written-in thoughts and ideas. So many...
Moms and Dads Carbondale Meetups
The first meetup is Friday, September 13, 5:00 - 6:30 p.m. at Turley Park in Carbondale, Illinois. We are in charge of buying things for our family, of making sure we can provide for them, and making sure that they get the education they need. We want to do what’s...
Key Takeaways, Presentations, Videos from June 12 2019 Event in Carbondale
Fifteen presenters helped to set the stage for community resilience in southern Illinois. One senior executive from St. Louis said: This is the best networking I've ever had. Panel discussions provided ideas and perspectives on energy, economic...
Innovation Panel – June 12 2019 – Carbondale, Illinois
The Innovation Section, with keynote and panelists, will wrap up the day's events at The Climate Economy in Southern Illinois - Creating Resilient Business, Jobs and Communities. The cultivation of southern Illinois' rich natural resources and waste streams are...
Economic Diversification Panel – June 12 2019 – Carbondale, Illinois
Economic development and diversification is a key component of community resilience. Consider this excerpt from L Hunter Lovins et al's "A Finer Future": The key may be to start not with the nation but at a more local level. Imagine what might be called the Just City....
Energy Panel – June 12 2019 – Carbondale, Illinois
Here are some details about the energy panelists and topic areas at the upcoming June 12 event in Carbondale: The Climate Economy in Southern Illinois - Creating Resilient Businesses, Jobs and Communities. Our energy panel is going to help us look at our current...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Conference and Workshop Coming to Carbondale June 12-13: The Climate Economy in Southern Illinois – Creating Resilient Businesses, Jobs and Communities
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date: May 8, 2019 Contact: Amy McMorrow Hunter, 618 713 2896, amy@shopcarbondale.com Conference and Workshop Coming to Carbondale June 12-13: The Climate Economy in Southern Illinois - Creating Resilient Businesses, Jobs and Communities Education...
Biochar – Expanding Our Economic Choices
Biochar is an example of flipping our traditional way of thinking on its head. There are so many crazy things that humans do in mindless ways that result in damages to the environment. All we have to do is think differently. We have a choice before us now,...
Moral Imagination, Strategic Foresight and Backcasting for Sustainable Futures
The Climate Economy requires a way of thinking that includes the future in every strategic decision. We do this all the time in our daily lives without thinking too much about it. We help our kids with their homework so they can be more likely to succeed in the...
Shop Local – Unleash Your Inner Entrepreneur
Since it's Labor Day, we're going to talk about how the shop local movement is not just about shopping; it's about people doing jobs that are rewarding, useful, entrepreneurial, and less impactful on the environment, while contributing to community growth and...
EcoTourism
With summer upon us, you may be looking for vacation ideas. Not to rain on your parade, but your vacation is probably not going to be great for the environment. Most mass-market tourism, the way we often practice it nowadays with no-holds-barred travel, accommodation,...
Blockchain for Carbon Credits in the Climate Economy
Well there's a mouthful! It might sound like a foreign language to you, but probably in less than a decade it will be the source in billions of dollars of economic activity. We gave a brief introduction to "blockchain for energy" in a previous post; if you're to...
Climate SWOT
Here's a skill we're going to need more of in the future: Climate SWOT. What's SWOT? It's a tool for competitive analysis. It's a business analysis where you consider: Strengths / Weaknesses / Opportunities / Threats - Read more on Investopedia. What's Climate SWOT?...
Biochar: Resurrection
Biochar is something you make out of dead organic stuff (e.g., wood waste), by bringing it back to life with a new purpose. Biochar has been around for a long time. It's been found in ancient forests, responsible for maintaining the health and productive capacity of...
Why the Climate Economy #7: Leave Denial Behind, and Act
It's time to stop pretending that it's not happening. It's time to stop making excuses. It's time to stop saying it's too hard or it's too late. It's time to stop acting like our daily decisions don't make a difference. It's time to stop being in denial that you need...
Natural Climate Solutions: Trees, Water, Land and More for 37% of GHG Reductions in Near Term
Building on the soil theme, there's a fabulously detailed new study on "natural climate solutions" (NCS); it tells us how to use conservation, restoration, and land management actions across forests, wetlands, grasslands, and farmland. The actions will increase carbon...
Why the Climate Economy #6: For Future Generations
We are optimists at TheClimateEconomy.com, but we deal with reality and facts. We look at the facts, sometimes unpleasant, right in the face to understand what we need to do. This post is a reality blast in the face. It's alarming, but there's hope. If we...
Labels for Impact
The world needs a meaningful measure developed for products (and services) that provide information about life cycle environmental/social impact. How much energy is used, how much waste is produced, water used, if they stay under a certain carbon footprint (or zero...
Fossil Fuels Aren’t Cheap
Do you want cheaper energy? Maybe you need to go clean. Google "fossil fuels aren't cheap" (with quotations) and you get something like 300+ results. Why is that? Lots of fossil fuel folks say we need to keep them around because they're so cheap. Who's right? Well,...
A Fashion Transformation
"One truckload of clothing is wasted per second." Are you kidding me? This is from the findings of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's (EMF) new report on the textile industry. Also this: "If the industry continues on its current path, by 2050, it could use more than 26...
Soil: The Next Carbon Frontier?
Have you heard about the permafrost melting? This is soil or ground that's been frozen for sometimes thousands of years, and it covers one quarter of the land in the northern hemisphere. As recently reported, in places like Alaska and others, we're finding out that...
Climate Change and Behavioral Health
Did you happen to see the news about the continuing mental health trauma for people in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, since the floods now more than a year ago? Many died, thousands were forced out of their homes, they still haven't returned in many cases, some people lost...
Break a Leg, Climate Change
There has been quite some controversy recently about a story out of NY magazine: The Uninhabitable Earth. It goes into detail about things that "could" happen to the planet with projected changes in climate, such as food shortages, plagues, continuous wars, etc. Some...
TCE Opinion: The Paris Climate Agreement “Decision”
TheClimateEconomy.com has been closely watching for the Trump administration's "decision" regarding the Paris Climate Agreement. There are two things we feel are important to know about it at this point: At TheClimateEconomy.com we prefer to follow the truth, as in...
Waste Not Want Not
Waste is a huge opportunity. We're talking mainly here about waste from human consumption and daily activities (food, shelter, clothing, etc.). Humans produce it daily by the bucket loads (about 4.4 pounds per day per person according to most estimates). According the...
Why the Climate Economy #5: Um, Climate.
We humans kind of need planet Earth to be healthy so that we can all, well, survive. If the planet gets really sick, the only ones who will survive will likely be those hydrothermal vent creatures and super rich who can escape to the moon or Mars. Do you fall into...
Smart Buildings and Energy Efficiency
I'm not going to be able to say it better: Any successful climate protection strategy must consider residential and commercial buildings, which are responsible for almost 40 percent of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions. From houses and hotels to schools and skyscrapers,...
Why the Climate Economy #4: Resilience
Rising temperatures, increasingly extreme weather events, and melting ice caps leading to rising sea levels are just a few of the things that are happening right now that are going to bring about monumental changes in life for everyone on the planet. There were 15...
Blockchain for Energy
If you're interested in computer science, this post is especially for you! If you're not into computer science, you still need to read on... Blockchain, according to Wikipedia: is a distributed database that maintains a continuously growing list of records, called...
Why the Climate Economy #3: Jobs
The Climate Economy is an infinite and transformational opportunity for jobs. You can pursue your passions and develop your own business, develop your community, or you can participate in may of the industries at the helm of the Climate Economy. For example, energy:...
Carbon Sequestration Gets the Gas
Some say that we have to focus on not only reducing our emissions, but on capturing carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere or being created by manufacturing and energy processes. This is known as carbon capture and sequestration (CCS; check out the Global CCS...
Why the Climate Economy #2: Health
It's a fact that the Clean Air Act saved 160,000 lives in 2010 alone. Top medical associations have sounded the alarm on the dangers of pollution and climate change. And just yesterday we have an article about research led by Harvard about the increase in people...
Electric Vehicles Dent the Market
Just today we're hearing: Tesla Passes Ford by Market Cap Before Musk Delivers Model 3. Ouch, who would've thought! Now you never know if that will stick but it's a pretty substantial moment. Why should we be thinking about electric vehicles (EV's)? Well, for...
Why the Climate Economy #1: Money
There are many good reasons for caring about the climate, but since we're talking economy we'll start with money. Here are two of many good studies regarding the financial benefits of pursuing a climate economy now: NextGen Climate: The Pricetag of Being Young;...
What is the Circular Economy?
The Circular Economy takes the old fashioned linear take-make-dispose model and turns it circular, designing out waste and optimizing resource use. It's not just recycling, it's more like designing the product from the start to be zero-waste. Businesses save money by...
What is The Climate Economy?
The climate economy is where we learn how to create a world where humans, the climate and the economy can all prosper. it's not only possible, it's going to lead to more prosperity, equality, health and happiness for everyone. Not only that, it's cutting edge in a...