Bureau of Environmental Security

In episode 5 of our YouTube series, Bending the Curve: Positive Progress on the Environment, we explore how Some political strategists are advising clients to stop talking about climate change. They believe the issue turns voters off. But is “climate hushing” just a new kind of climate denial?

Political strategists have found that many Americans accept that climate change is real but don’t want to hear about it all the time. According to one poll, more than 70 percent of Americans believe that climate change is affecting the planet. But rising prices, jobs threatened by artificial intelligence, lack of affordable housing and other daily concerns may feel more urgent.

Climate change can also seem remote or overwhelming. BBC weather presenter Matt Taylor has noted that audiences can become weary of the subject and switch off.

Last year, the left-leaning consulting firm, the Searchlight Institute, ran this headline: The First Rule About Solving Climate Change: Don’t Say Climate Change.

That creates a problem for anyone trying to communicate about climate.

From Greenwashing to Green Hushing

Businesses face the same pressure.

A few years ago, corporations competed to announce emission cuts and climate targets. Now some companies have become reluctant to discuss their environmental plans. This has been called green hushing.

Grist writer Kate Yoder reported that many companies with sustainability goals are becoming less willing to publicize them. One reason is concern about regulations designed to stop greenwashing and false environmental claims.

Those rules serve a purpose. Companies should be able to support what they claim. But there is a risk when businesses doing legitimate work decide that saying nothing is safer.

Silence Has Consequences

Massachusetts senator Sheldon Whitehouse has rejected climate hushing. Writing in the online magazine for public radio station WBUR-FM in Boston, he says leaders set the public agenda, including on the climate.

“In politics, you can make your own wind, or you can make your own doldrums,” he says. “The hushers are conceding defeat, falling into circular reasoning, asking us to make our own doldrums.”

Climate change won’t be fixed because people are tired of discussing it.

We know the planet has warmed. And it’s continuing to warm. Wildfires destroy homes. Hurricanes damage coastlines. Heat threatens lives and infrastructure. Avoiding the term “climate change” does not change those facts. In fact, it insults the victims.

The challenge is finding ways to discuss climate without ending the conversation before it begins. Matt Taylor, the BBC weather presenter, says finding the right moment when people are open to discussion may be key.

Talk About What Works

Another answer is to spend less time describing catastrophe and more time showing progress.

Wind and solar power are replacing part of the electricity once generated with coal and natural gas. Electric vehicles are gaining ground in major auto markets. New technologies are changing how homes, businesses and transportation use energy.

These developments do not mean climate change is solved. They mean people are working on it. That distinction matters.

People want to hear about problems they can help solve. They want evidence that policies, technologies and individual choices can produce results.

Climate change deserves discussion because its effects are already part of daily life. But that discussion does not have to begin and end with fear. Temperatures are rising. People are rising to the occasion, too.

That is a story worth telling.

Watch Episode 5 of Bending the Curve on YouTube.

What do you think? Should we stop talking about climate change? Or is it a kind of denial?

Image: Pixabay

Bending the Curve: Positive Progress on the Environment is a YouTube series that finds the places and projects where people are solving problems, testing new ideas, protecting vulnerable communities, and pushing environmental protection forward.

In Episode 4 of Bending the Curve, vulnerable communities are challenging polluters, inventors are finding cheaper paths to electric transportation, new business models could put backup batteries within reach of more homeowners, and hero conservationists are giving endangered animals a second chance at life. Some politicians, however, are starting to play down the issue of climate change.

“Gaslit” Turns a Spotlight on Louisiana’s LNG Industry

A new documentary is bringing national attention to communities living alongside Louisiana’s enormous petrochemical industry. The film, Gaslit, hosted by activist and actress Jane Fonda, focuses on the liquefied natural gas industry and the environmental consequences associated with it. The story was reported by Verite News.

Louisiana has become an important center for LNG exports. Natural gas extracted elsewhere, including gas produced by fracking in Texas, is transported to Louisiana, chilled into liquid form and shipped overseas. But many facilities connected with these operations are located along an 85-mile stretch of the Mississippi River that residents have long called “Cancer Alley.”

The area contains hundreds of industrial facilities, many of them near low-income and predominantly African-American communities. Residents and environmental advocates have raised concerns for years about pollution, health problems and the loss of traditional livelihoods.

Gaslit argues that the expansion of LNG infrastructure is adding another layer to those pressures.

The documentary was produced in partnership with Greenpeace USA and has received recognition on the film-festival circuit, including an award for Best Documentary Feature at the 2026 Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

Politicians Are Playing Down Climate Change, Fearing Voter Exhaustion

Another environmental story is unfolding in a very different arena: Congress. The National Coordination on Adaptation and Resilience for Security Act, commonly called NCARS, would reorganize how the federal government prepares for natural disasters including hurricanes, floods and extreme heat.

The basic idea is straightforward. Instead of allowing federal agencies to approach resilience separately, the legislation would encourage greater coordination and long-term planning.

What makes the proposal particularly interesting, however, is not simply what it contains. It is the changing language surrounding it.

Earlier versions of resilience legislation put climate change front and center. In 2022, the word “climate” appeared prominently in the legislation’s name and repeatedly in public statements promoting it. By 2023, the word had disappeared from the bill’s title and appeared less frequently in supporting materials. In the 2026 announcement, references to climate had declined further.

That shift reflects a larger political phenomenon sometimes called “climate hushing”: talking about policies that address climate-related problems without emphasizing climate change itself.

Some political strategists argue that voters respond more strongly to immediate concerns such as insurance costs, wildfires, flooding, energy prices or disaster preparedness than to the broader phrase “climate change.”

But changing the vocabulary does not change the underlying risks. Heat waves still arrive. Wildfires still burn. Floods still damage communities. Hurricanes still threaten coastlines.

And they’re magnified by climate change. Failing to acknowledge this fact risks reinforcing the denial expressed by some, instead of calling them out for their malfeasance.

For more on climate hushing, check out the article on Inside Climate News.

What If You Could Turn Your Old Pickup Into an EV?

Buying an electric vehicle is one way to reduce gasoline consumption. But what if you didn’t have to buy a new vehicle at all?

Seattle inventor Tom Gurski of Blue Dot Motorworks is working on another possibility: converting an existing gasoline-powered pickup or SUV into a vehicle that can also operate using electric power. The concept preserves the vehicle’s existing gasoline engine while adding a battery and electric motor, effectively creating a new type of hybrid.

As reported by KUOW-FM, Gurski believes the transition to cleaner transportation doesn’t have to mean replacing every existing vehicle immediately. Retrofitting some of the millions of cars and trucks already on the road could eventually become another tool in the clean-transportation toolbox.

Cost remains one of the biggest barriers to EV adoption. A new electric vehicle can cost $50,000 or more. Gurski’s conversion concept could potentially cost an owner somewhere in the range of $6,000 to $10,000.

Whether the investment makes financial sense depends on several factors, including local electricity prices, the condition of the existing vehicle, how much it is driven and how many additional years it can remain on the road. Spending $10,000 upgrading an aging vehicle could be a poor investment in some cases.

In others, however, extending the useful life of a reliable pickup or SUV while reducing gasoline consumption could make both economic and environmental sense.

A $30-a-Month Battery Could Change Home Energy

Home battery systems can keep lights, appliances and critical equipment running when the electrical grid goes down. They can also be expensive.

A residential battery backup system can cost $15,000 or more. Rebates and incentives can lower that price, but navigating the paperwork can be complicated. Canary Media is reporting that a Massachusetts program from Haven Energy is experimenting with a different model: lease the battery instead of buying it.

Under the program, the company owns the battery while the homeowner pays a monthly subscription fee of roughly $30.

For homeowners, the attraction is practical: keeping the lights on. The battery charges while grid power is available. If electricity fails—even briefly—the battery can begin supplying power to the home.

That can be particularly valuable in rural areas and places vulnerable to outages, especially for households that depend on equipment requiring uninterrupted power.

But the idea becomes even more interesting when thousands of batteries are connected to the grid. During periods of high electricity demand, a battery company can draw small amounts of stored electricity from participating homes and sell that power back to utilities. These networks of distributed batteries can function somewhat like a power plant.

When demand spikes on a hot summer afternoon, utilities traditionally may have to turn to additional generating capacity, including fossil-fuel plants that operate primarily during periods of peak demand. A large network of batteries could reduce some of that need.

For consumers, the model could offer backup power without the enormous upfront investment. For utilities, it could provide another resource for stabilizing the grid.

Programs involving shared residential battery capacity are now appearing in numerous states and Puerto Rico. Check with your local utility to see if a leasing program is available.

Jack the Orangutan Gets a Second Chance

Our final story may be the most hopeful of all. Animal rescuers in Indonesia discovered a young orangutan named Jack being kept captive inside a box high in a tree. A chain around his neck had caused a deep wound.

According to Earth.org, Jack was taken to a rescue center in East Kalimantan, where he is recovering.

Orangutans are among the world’s most endangered primates. Destruction of the tropical forests they depend upon remains one of their greatest threats.

A young orangutan would normally spend years learning survival skills from its mother. Without that opportunity, Jack must learn those skills another way.

His caregivers plan to send him to what conservationists sometimes call “jungle school”, where young orangutans learn how to move through the forest, find food, interact with other orangutans and develop the skills needed to survive independently.

Graduation is release into a forest protected by law. That process can take years, but every successful rehabilitation matters for a species struggling to survive.

Watch Episode 4 of Bending the Curve on YouTube.

Have you seen an environmental success story we should cover? Tell us about it in the comments.

Gaslit title image via Greenpeace USA

In the third episode of Bending the Curve, the YouTube series that highlights environmental successes, achievements, and results, scientists and engineers are rethinking aviation fuel, testing electric aircraft, preparing coastlines for stronger storms, helping farmers adapt to a hotter climate, and using new technology to measure pollution more accurately. And respected leaders continue to speak.

Environmental problems present opportunities, as much as they threaten the survival of earth’s plants and animals. People are developing new tools, changing industries, and learning how to live more successfully on a warming planet.

Al Gore: 20 Years After An Inconvenient Truth, the Climate Debate Has Changed

The year 2026 marks the 20th anniversary of one of the most influential environmental documentaries ever released: Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth. Gore, who served as vice president of the United States during the 1990s, was among the first major national political figures to make climate change a central public issue.

When the film appeared in 2006, it became a landmark moment for the environmental movement. It won an Academy Award and brought climate science to a much larger audience.

It was also fiercely criticized. Opponents described the film as alarmist, extreme, or scientifically inaccurate. Two decades later, Gore told ABC News that he believes the major scientific conclusions presented in the documentary were “dead right”.

“Renewable energy occupies a far larger share of the electricity system,” Gore says. Solar and wind generation have expanded rapidly, and expectations about future fossil-fuel consumption have shifted as cleaner technologies become more competitive.

Gore has remained active in climate-related work. One of his more recent efforts is Climate TRACE, a project that uses satellites, artificial intelligence, and other data sources to independently estimate greenhouse-gas emissions.

The goal is straightforward: Make it harder for governments and corporations to hide or underestimate how much pollution they produce. Gore has taken on the challenge is measuring who is responsible, understanding where emissions are coming from, and identifying practical ways to reduce them. Accountability is the key.

Making Aviation Fuel From Air, Water, and Clean Electricity

Air travel remains one of the more difficult parts of the economy to decarbonize. Commercial aircraft require enormous amounts of energy, and conventional jet fuel is derived from fossil fuels.

A new facility in Moses Lake, Washington, as reported by KXLY-TV, is testing a very different approach. The plant, called Air Plant One, produces aviation fuel without using crude oil as its primary feedstock. Instead, the process uses carbon dioxide captured from the air, water, and renewable electricity.

The facility is operated by California-based company Twelve, which says its fuel can produce substantially lower carbon dioxide emissions than conventional aviation fuel.

The company is organized as a public benefit corporation, and major investors include Microsoft, Amazon, and Alaska Airlines. The airline has also committed to purchasing the fuel later this year.

Air Plant One represents an attempt to move sustainable aviation fuel out of the laboratory and into the commercial economy. If the technology succeeds at scale, it could offer airlines another path toward reducing emissions without waiting for an entirely new generation of aircraft.

Hawaii Firm Tests Electric Aircraft for Island Flights

Another aviation experiment is taking place in Hawaii. Mokulele Airlines is testing an all-electric aircraft built by Vermont-based manufacturer BETA Technologies, according to Hawaii News Now.

The aircraft is designed for relatively short trips, making Hawaii a particularly interesting testing ground. Flights between islands are much shorter than most mainland airline routes, which could make battery-powered aircraft more practical.

The plane can reportedly travel hundreds of miles on a charge, enough for many inter-island routes. And its electric propulsion system produces no direct tailpipe emissions. Recharging the batteries on the ground takes only an hour.

The technology can also save money. According to the company, electricity used to power the aircraft can be far cheaper than conventional aviation fuel. Lower fuel costs could eventually make electric aircraft attractive not only for environmental reasons but also for economic ones.

For now, however, these flights are still demonstrations. The planes will initially carry cargo rather than passengers while the company tests them under real-world operating conditions. BETA is also working with the Federal Aviation Administration toward certification.

Mangroves Could Become Front-Line Climate Infrastructure

The World Wildlife Fund has highlighted the growing importance of climate adaptation and resilience as communities prepare for stronger heat waves, floods, storms, and other climate-related hazards. An essay in Climate Home News highlights one area of research: mangrove forests in Mexico.

Mangroves are unusual coastal ecosystems adapted to saltwater environments. They also perform several jobs that are extremely valuable to human communities.

Mangrove forests can help absorb storm energy and reduce coastal erosion. They provide shelter and nursery habitat for fish and other wildlife. They also support people who depend on healthy coastal ecosystems. Mangroves increasingly look less like scenery and more like natural infrastructure.

The World Wildlife Fund is studying how climate change itself may affect these forests.

Researchers are also using artificial intelligence tools to better understand changes in mangrove ecosystems and determine how conservation strategies may need to evolve.

For many years, conservation focused heavily on preserving ecosystems because of their intrinsic ecological value. But scientists and planners are increasingly recognizing that healthy ecosystems can also protect human communities. Adaption may mean a new sea wall and protecting a forest.

Climate Change Is Forcing Winemakers to Adapt

Of all human activities, agriculture is one of the most vulnerable to global warming. Temperature, rainfall, and drought all affect the quality and quantity of every crop.

Wine grapes are particularly dependent on local conditions. Small differences in elevation, soil, temperature, and exposure can influence which grape varieties thrive and what the finished wine tastes like.

Growers have several possible adaptation strategies.

• They can shade vines with specialized cloth to reduce heat stress.
• They can plant grape varieties better suited to warmer conditions.
• Or they can move vineyards toward cooler areas.

All of those strategies cost money, which leads to an important economic question: Will consumers help pay for climate adaptation?

A Cornell University study discussed in the episode suggests that they might. Researchers found that consumers who learned that winemakers were investing in climate-adaptation strategies said they were willing to pay somewhat more for the resulting wine.

Of course, what consumers say in a survey does not always match what they actually buy. However, the results might encourage farmers to invest in expensive adaptation measures if they believe customers will recognize the effort and support the additional cost.

That could create a useful feedback loop: Growers make their operations more resilient; consumers reward those investments. Agricultural regions gain a better chance of continuing to produce crops under changing climate conditions.

Climate adaptation throughout agriculture will require new seeds, irrigation systems, shade structures, altered planting schedules, and sometimes entirely new crops. Consumers may ultimately play a role in determining how quickly those adaptations happen.

Watch Episode 3 of Bending the Curve on YouTube.

Have you come across an environmental success story that deserves more attention? Share it with us by writing a comment below.

In the second episode of Bending the Curve, we report on how solar power is replacing coal as a source of electricity in Texas. Plug-in solar or “balcony solar” is becoming a hot choice for homeowners. Residents of a low-income California city are fighting pollution one sensor at a time. Coral reefs may hold the seeds of their own recovery. And a park ranger records a rare African bird after seventy years.

Welcome to Bending the Curve, a blog and video series which reports on practical successes, encouraging discoveries, and evidence that environmental problems are solvable with science and hard work.

Solar Is Challenging Coal in Texas. And Winning.

Texas is synonymous with fossil fuels. Oil and natural gas have shaped the state’s economy and culture for generations. That’s what makes the state’s electrical grid so interesting. Canary Media reports that solar power is expected to overtake coal generation on the Texas grid for much of 2026.

The shift is already underway. In 2025, solar generation exceeded coal generation on a monthly basis from March through August. In 2026, solar is expected to beat coal in Texas from March through December. That’s almost an entire year.

Texas occupies an unusual position in the American electrical system because much of its grid operates separately from the major interstate grids. That independence has produced a distinctive electricity market, where economics can strongly influence which generating technologies get built and used.

Solar and wind are now winning that competition. And it’s happening in a politically conservative state whose economic history is deeply tied to fossil fuels.

The energy transition has grown beyond an environmental aspiration. It’s now key to responsible economic growth. Even politically conservative states have a reason to adopt renewables regardless of ideology.

Regulations, building codes, utility policies, and market rules can either make renewable energy easier to build or create obstacles to it. Removing unnecessary barriers could accelerate the transition toward cleaner electricity.

Texas may seem like an unlikely place to demonstrate that idea, but that’s exactly why the story matters.

Could Solar Power Become as Simple as Plugging in an Appliance?

Putting solar panels on a roof can be expensive and complicated. What if you could simply buy solar in a box, hang the panels from a balcony, and plug them into your home? That’s the basic idea behind portable plug-in solar, sometimes called balcony solar.

These compact systems use solar panels to generate electricity that can power household appliances. Instead of requiring a conventional rooftop installation, the panels might be mounted on a balcony railing or placed in another sunny location. That could reduce electricity bills while giving households a modest degree of energy independence.

Germany has led the way with more than a million systems installed. According to a story from Grist, that success caught the attention of a Utah state legislator who thought his state ought to emulate the European country. He and other lawmakers subsequently backed HB 340, legislation designed to allow Utah residents to use portable plug-in solar power.

Utah may not be alone for long. About 30 other states are considering portable plug-in solar as an option for residential energy generation. The recent emergence of plug-in solar in the US reveals a signficant challenge, however.

The United States does not yet have comprehensive nationwide or industry-wide safety standards specifically governing these systems. The Utah law encourages Underwriters Laboratories, a research non-profit, to examine the technology and work on standards.

If appropriate safety standards and regulations emerge, plug-in solar could make small-scale renewable energy available to people who cannot install conventional rooftop systems, pushing the on-going energy revolution forward.

Pacoima Residents Are Measuring Their Own Air Pollution

Environmental justice often begins with a simple question: What exactly are we breathing? Residents of Pacoima, a predominantly Hispanic community north of Los Angeles, have good reason to ask.

The neighborhood includes homes alongside industrial facilities, landfills, auto-body shops, a small airport, and several freeways. Together, those pollution sources have raised serious concerns about local air quality and its effects on families and children.

Residents tried to get answers from from government air-quality authorities, but their response didn’t reassure.

So the community is collecting its own evidence. As reported by The Guardian, residents are working with community organizations and academic researchers to install air-quality sensors around Pacoima. Some sensors are attached to homes and offices.

One particularly interesting part of the project involves portable sensors small enough to carry in a backpack, purse, or shopping bag. That effectively turns an ordinary resident walking through the neighborhood into a mobile air-monitoring station.

Instead of relying entirely on a few permanent government monitors, residents can collect highly localized information about pollution throughout their community. The resulting data could help identify pollution hotspots and strengthen demands for action from regulatory agencies.

Environmental monitoring has traditionally been something governments, universities, and large organizations perform on behalf of communities. Low-cost sensors may be changing that relationship.

When residents can gather credible evidence themselves, they gain another tool for demanding cleaner air and holding institutions accountable.

Some Coral Reefs Are Finding Places to Survive

Few images symbolize climate change as powerfully as a bleached coral reef.

Corals are small animals that live in close partnership with microscopic algae. When ocean temperatures become too warm, that relationship can break down. Corals lose the organisms that give them much of their color and energy, leaving reefs pale or white and putting the coral under severe stress.

But new research discussed by The New York Times suggests the picture is not uniform. Even within areas suffering extensive bleaching, researchers have identified small pockets where coral reefs are surviving better than those around them.

As on land, conditions can vary depending on where you measure. Some reefs benefit from cooler currents. Others receive less intense sunlight. Some are positioned outside the usual paths of powerful tropical cyclones. If healthy coral populations remain in these refuges, they may eventually provide the biological foundation for restoring damaged reefs elsewhere.

That matters far beyond the coral themselves.

Coral reefs support extraordinary biodiversity. Roughly one-quarter of ocean species depend on coral reefs during some portion of their life cycle.

People depend on them too. Healthy reefs support fisheries, tourism, and coastal economies. For communities that rely on fishing or visitors attracted to reef ecosystems, their survival can be directly connected to household income.

The discovery of these resilient pockets does not mean coral reefs are safe from climate change. But if scientists can identify places where reefs have a natural advantage, protecting those areas could give coral ecosystems a better chance to endure, and perhaps help damaged reefs recover.

An African Bird Missing for More Than 70 Years Reappears

For more than seven decades, no one had photographed a bird known as the black-lored waxbill. Ornithologists hadn’t thought the bird had gone extinct, but after so many years without photographic evidence, its status was a blank.

Then a young park ranger made an extraordinary discovery, according to a story in Yale Environment 360. While working in a national park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, he encountered a group of the birds in remote marshland. He took a few snapshots, which provided confirmation that the species still survives.

Finding the birds gives conservationists an opportunity to learn more about their population, understand their habitat requirements, and determine what threats they face. But the DRC is no ordinary environment. The country has endured decades of political instability, armed conflict, and exploitation of natural resources. Those pressures can make wildlife conservation extraordinarily difficult.

Discoveries like this can focus new attention on overlooked habitats. Protecting the marshland where these birds survive could benefit not only the waxbills but many other species sharing the ecosystem. That could be a source of new pride for a troubled nation.

Watch this episode of Bending the Curve on YouTube.

Have you found an environmental success story that deserves more attention? Share it in the comments below.

Photo by Larry D. Moore, retrieved from Wikimedia Commons

Environmental news has a habit of emphasizing what is going wrong. Rising temperatures, habitat loss, expensive energy, endangered species, and so on. The problems are real, but we’re not paying enough attention to what’s changing for the better. Bending the Curve hopes to highlight positive progress on the environment.

Welcome to Bending the Curve, a new series of blog posts and YouTube videos highlighting environmental achievements, successes, and results.

In this first episode of Bending the Curve, we discover that renewable energy is growing rapidly. Some of the most frightening climate projections are becoming less likely. Electric vehicles are attracting new interest. And one of the world’s most endangered whale populations has just had an unusually successful breeding season.

The Worst Climate Scenario Is Becoming Less Likely

Scientists regularly use different scenarios to estimate how much the planet could warm by the end of this century. These range from relatively optimistic outcomes to extreme scenarios based on very high greenhouse-gas emissions.

According to a report highlighted by The New York Times, researchers increasingly consider some of the most severe warming scenarios unlikely. An earlier worst-case scenario suggested that global temperatures could rise by roughly 5 degrees Celsius, or 9 degrees Fahrenheit, by the end of the century.

More recent data and modeling suggest an outcome closer to 3.5 degrees Celsius, or a little more than 6 degrees Fahrenheit. The likely range described in the story is approximately 2.5 to 3 degrees Celsius.

Why are these scenarios looking a little better? One important reason: the energy system is changing.

Solar and wind power have become cheaper. Electric vehicles have become more practical and affordable. Governments and industries have also adopted policies that reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Those changes are beginning to show up in the projections. They show that the trajectory is not fixed. Human choices are already changing it.

Higher Gas Prices Are Driving Interest in Electric Vehicles

High gasoline prices are painful for drivers, but they can also change purchasing decisions.

Canary Media reports that rising fuel prices are encouraging more consumers to consider electric vehicles, particularly in Europe. European EV sales were reportedly **27 percent higher in April, 2026 than during the same month the previous year**. Rising gasoline prices contributed to that growth, along with the increasing availability of inexpensive Chinese-made electric vehicles.

The picture is different in the United States. American consumers are also showing growing interest in EVs. According to the report, shopping platforms including Cars.com and CarGurus, have recorded increased searches for electric vehicles as gasoline prices have risen.

But American drivers don’t have access to many of the inexpensive Chinese EVs available elsewhere. Consumers appear increasingly willing to consider electric transportation when gasoline becomes expensive. But whether they actually make the switch may depend heavily on whether affordable EVs are available.

Why aren’t they buying? Tariffs and national-security regulations have effectively kept those vehicles out of the U.S. market. The lesson is straightforward: Price matters in the clean-energy transition.

Environmental benefits may attract consumers, but affordability can turn interest into action.

Wind and Solar Pass Natural Gas in April

The electrical grid has passed another milestone. According to Canary Media, wind and solar power combined generated more electricity globally than natural gas during April. It’s the first month in which the two renewable sources crossed that threshold.

The same report notes that solar alone supplied a large share of the world’s additional electricity demand during the previous year. Other low-carbon energy sources contributed much of the remainder.

Coal remains an especially formidable competitor. It still generates more electricity globally than wind and solar combined. But the trend is moving against it.

For decades, renewable energy was treated as a supplemental source of power. Now it’s becoming the power source of choice in a warming world.

Is the Renewable Transition Really Too Slow?

That brings us to another common claim by activists and some politicians: the world simply isn’t moving toward renewable energy fast enough to make a meaningful difference.

The environmental news site Earth.Org examined several renewable-energy myths, including the idea that the transition is proceeding so slowly that little progress is actually being made. The numbers from China provide a striking counterexample.

In May 2025 alone, China reportedly added 93 gigawatts of solar capacity. Put another way, the pace of installation was roughly equivalent to adding 100 solar panels every second throughout the month. China’s combined wind and solar generating capacity also surpassed its total thermal-power capacity for the first time in early 2025.

The broader Asian energy transition is equally important. About 74 percent of new renewable-energy capacity added worldwide in 2025 was installed in Asia, according to the figures discussed in the story. Fossil fuels remain deeply embedded in the global economy, but the energy transition is happening.

A Welcome Baby Boom for North Atlantic Right Whales

Though the earth’s biosphere is going through challenging times, there’s some encouraging signs. Inside Climate News reports an unusually successful breeding season for one of the world’s most endangered large whales: the North Atlantic right whale.

The species came dangerously close to extinction during the era of commercial whaling. By the early 20th century, only a tiny number remained. Protection allowed the population to recover somewhat, and today roughly 340 North Atlantic right whales survive.

This year’s news is particularly encouraging: 23 calves were born.

For a species with such a small population, that’s a significant number. Some years produce very few calves, and occasionally none at all. Of course, not every calf will survive to adulthood.

North Atlantic right whales continue to face major threats, and changing ocean conditions could alter the location of the food they depend upon. Climate-driven changes in ocean currents and temperatures may force the whales farther north in search of suitable habitat.

Still, a strong breeding year offers something conservationists don’t often get with critically endangered species: breathing room.

Watch Bending the Curve: Episode 1 on YouTube.

Have you come across an environmental success story that deserves more attention? Share it in the comments below.

Image by victor sky from Pixabay

The state of Washington has started a $112 million fund to help businesses dependent on diesel-powered vehicles to purchase low-emission electric commercial vehicles.

Much of the attention on electric vehicles has focused on passenger cars for the consumer. But now commercial vehicles that run on diesel are getting a closer look. Washington State has led state efforts to reduce carbon emissions, and a new program aims to reduce them further by encouraging purchase of electric trucks.

Fund offers vouchers for electric vehicles

The state’s Department of Transportation has announced a $112 million fund to finance vouchers that could pay as much as 40 percent of the cost of a new electric commercial vehicle. Called the Washington Zero-Emission Incentive Program, or WAZIP, the program covers more than 100 low-emission medium- and heavy-duty trucks as well as types of construction and farm equipment. Marine equipment is covered as well.

During a launch event in April, Washington Governor Bob Ferguson touted the program’s economic benefits. “It helps businesses modernize their fleets, dealerships increase their sales, and residents live healthier lives through reduced emissions,” he said.

Four states offer money for major manufacturers

Washington is among four states offering the vouchers. California, New York, and New Jersey offer similar programs. Major manufacturers are supported, such as Volvo, Freightliner, Hyster-Yale, and Silverback Marine.

Like passenger cars and vans, battery-powered and hybrid commercial vehicles are improving rapidly, with longer range and sodium-ion battery options less prone to fires.

Vouchers offered first-come, first-served

Vouchers are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Small businesses with less than $10 million in annual gross receipts may be eligible for larger incentives.

WAZIP is funded by Washington State’s Climate Commitment Act, passed in 2021. The law set up a market-based cap-and-invest program designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the state.

Have you switched from diesel to electric? Tell us about it in the comments.

Gas prices breaking your bank account? A used electric vehicle might be a good choice, but they can be hard to find. Here’s some tips and tricks to help, including a “green” financing option.

Volatile gasoline prices are taking big chunks out of consumer budgets. Many people are wondering if it’s time to buy an electric vehicle, but the prices of new vehicles are sometimes out of reach. A used EV might be a good option, especially as the market expands. According to the website Green Cars, as many as 300,000 used EVs may hit the market in 2026 as lease-holders return cars purchased before the end of a federal tax credit in September, 2025.

Finding and buying are different

Buying a used EV is significantly different than buying a conventional pre-owned vehicle. (See my last blog post on the subject, which gets into the details.) One of the main challenges is actually locating a good used EV. Though they have a lot of visibility, there still aren’t that many on the road, and even fewer for sale. Only about two percent of cars these days are electric, although the share of sales for new EVs is growing.

👉Keep reading for a tip on EV financing!

Ask your friends and family

But there’s effective and efficient ways to find a pre-owned electric in your area. You can start by simply asking friends and relatives if they know of an EV car for sale. You might be surprised at the answer. General purpose online bazaars, such as Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace, can connect you with individual sellers in your city, even neighborhood. (Always observe safety rules when meeting strangers for financial transactions.)

Cruise dealer lots

Another strategy: Cruise dealer lots for used vehicles. Almost every new car dealer has a lot with trade-ins, and at least some of these are electric. The dealer might also certify the vehicle, meaning it has passed a basic safety and mechanical inspection. If so, ask to see the report, especially on the battery health. The dealer may also offer a short-term warranty in addition to the mandated 100,000, eight-year federal warranty on the battery.

Online research and marketplaces

If you’re a total data nerd like me, visit a website such as Recurrent, which compiles information about EVs that you can use to evaluate an auto that interests you. According to the site, its team studies dozens of data points, such as battery age and charging patterns, that go into charts and explanations on specific models. The site’s “For Shoppers” feature shows a good selection of EVs sorted by range, charging times, and efficiency.

If you’re ready to buy, you have a huge number of online marketplaces to surf. Edmunds.com, CarGurus and Carvana are three of the best-known marketplaces for all types of light-duty trucks and passenger cars, including conventional, gas-powered vehicles. Then there’s the EV specialists. Here’s a list of the most popular:

• https://myev.com/ (EV Marketplace)
• https://www.evercars.com/ (EV Marketplace)
• https://www.findmyelectric.com/ (EV Marketplace)
• https://recharged.com/ (EV Marketplace for certified electrics)
• https://plugmotors.com/ (Marketplace EV-only auction)
• https://ev-cpo.com/ (Tesla only)

Financial tip: A “green” loan

You’ve done your due diligence, found the EV that works for you, but you don’t have enough cash to buy it outright. The solution might be a “green” loan. These are standard car loans with a twist: special terms for clean vehicles. Community banks and credit unions offer these with finance rates up to a full percentage point lower than a loan for a conventional used car. That can save you hundreds, perhaps thousands of dollars, over the life of the loan. Be sure to check the fine print; Only certain makes and models may qualify, or there could be mileage or age limits, or you may be asked to automate (autopay) your monthly payment.

Take your time, do your research, and build your confidence before accepting the keys to your used electric vehicle. I can promise you that you’ll never go back!

Tell us about your experience buying a new or used EV.

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Skyrocketing gas prices in 2026 has many car owners checking out used electric vehicles. But buying a used EV is different than purchasing a conventional automobile.

The ups and downs of gasoline prices in 2026 has many drivers wondering if keeping a fossil-fueled vehicle is even worth it. They’re looking seriously at buying their first electric vehicle, which uses far less carbon fuels, even no carbon fuel. As of this writing, the average price in the U.S. for a gallon of gas is around $5.50. For the average size car in the U.S., that’s dropping almost $70 to $90 into the gas tank with every fill-up.

While it’s true that a new EV can be pricey, many drivers are seriously examining used EVs. One report says used EVs are priced just $897 more than comparable gas engine cars. There’s a good chance EV prices will come down even more. Over the past few years, much of the EV fleet was leased, and lease-holders are starting to return those cars to dealers. In 2026, as many as 300,000 leased EVs could come on the secondary market.

Review of EV types

However, buying a used EV isn’t quite the same as buying a conventional car. Let’s do a quick review: There are three main types of electric vehicle.

• Hybrid cars (HEV) have a battery and a gas engine. When running, a small gas engine and the brakes work together to keep the battery charged, which does most of the work.
• Plug-in hybrids (PHEV) are similar to regular hybrids, except that you can recharge the main battery at home or at a charging station.
• Full battery EVs (BEV) are powered with a battery only; no gas engine here. In order to go anywhere, you have to keep the battery charged.

This landscape suggests the main strategy for evaluating a used electric vehicle. You should pay close attention to the status of the battery, especially for an EV that might be a few years old.

The battery is everything

Ask for a report on the battery’s health from the car’s on-board diagnostics. Look at the range, which is the number of miles the car can travel on a charge. Does it meet your daily needs as a commuter or someone who makes several short trips a day?

Also, examine the battery’s capacity. Can it charge to 90 percent or some other number, compared to when it was new? It won’t be 100 percent, but it could be close. The higher the number, the better.

Ask if the battery has ever been replaced. Even if it has, get the diagnostic report.

Remember that federal law requires a manufacturer’s warranty of eight years or 100,000 miles. The warranty stays with the car, meaning it transfers to a new owner.

Other important things to check

Hybrids and plug-in hybrids have small gas engines. Though they likely have less wear and tear than a conventional car’s motor, you should ask for records to verify standard kinds of service, such as oil changes. In the case of plug-ins, make sure that you can recharge the battery at home with household current.

As with conventional cars, the condition of the tires, brakes, and safety equipment all matter.

Your neighborhood’s charging stations

We mentioned recharging at home, which brings up another consideration. If you have to take an extended trip in your EV, and a gas-powered car isn’t available, are there enough charging stations along your route? This also brings to mind the range question. Though the number of charging stations is rapidly growing, coverage can be spotty, especially in rural areas. Keep this in mind as you search for your electric vehicle.

Let’s not forget that while an electric vehicle can save tons of money on fuel, it does as much or more to keep planet-wrecking carbon out of the atmosphere. That means EVs help you short-term, and help everyone over the long haul beat climate change.

Tell us about your experience buying a used EV in the comments below.

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Consumers are taking a closer look at electric vehicles as gas prices become more volatile. Most buyers have three main types of EV to choose from: HEV, PHEV, and BEV.

You have the power to change how much you spend on energy and do your part for the planet’s future. With gasoline prices more volatile than ever, an electric vehicle is one of the best ways to bring your energy use under control. Most people drive a conventional car with a gasoline or diesel engine, so it helps to understand the basics of EVs. Consumers can purchase three main types:

Hybrid electric

Hybrid — A hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) combines a conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) burning gasoline or diesel with electric motors and battery storage. As you drive, the ICE and the electric system work together, increasing your miles per gallon and reducing the amount of gas you have to buy. Hybrids are among the oldest types of EVs on the road today, proving that the technology is reliable and popular.

Plug-in hybrid

Plug-In Hybrid — Like a standard hybrid, plug-in hybrids (PHEV) feature a small internal combustion engine paired with electric motors and a battery. However, the battery is somewhat larger and the gas tank a little bit smaller. That’s because you can plug in the car to your household outlet and let it charge overnight. You can also charge up at a charging station, which are multiplying by the thousands every year.

Keeping the battery charged means you only use gasoline when you need it, such as an extra long trip when charging isn’t as available. Many people with a plug-in hybrid go as long as a month without buying gas.

Battery-powered

Battery — The battery-only electric vehicle (BEV) gets rid of the engine entirely. Your EV is powered by electricity only, either by charging at home, usually overnight, or at a charging station. The number of these stations is expanding all the time, often in groups at lots maintained by local governments. You also find them at newer fast food restaurants, grocery stores, and shopping malls. Furthermore, the range of BEVs is growing, meaning you don’t have to worry as much about keeping the battery charged.

Plan your purchase

Buying Strategy — It’s important to study the available EV models by visiting local dealerships and searching online. Have the staff show you all the options. Many people accustomed to conventional cars move to hybrids, seeing the older style ICE as a kind of backup to the more modern battery power. A hybrid can be a stepping stone to a full BEV, especially if you live in an urban area and use a car to commute to work.

You may also be unfamiliar with many of the EV brands and manufacturers. In the U.S., the most popular EV makers are Tesla, Rivian, and Lucid. Some of the older carmakers, such as Ford and GM, have recently pulled back on their EV strategy, but rising gasoline prices may cause them to rethink their decisions. We’ve put together a list of EV makers as part of our BESt program.

Think carefully, spend wisely

Whether you’ve made an EV part of your driving future, or you’re just curious about this exciting new technology, the BES encourages you to think carefully and spend wisely. In the long-run, you’ll be reducing your energy budget and saving the planet for future generations.

What’s your experience buying and owning an EV?

Image by Benjamin Marder from Pixabay

Today’s high gasoline prices have people wondering whether an electric vehicle is in their future. Some states are offering tax credits and rebates to help spur the transition to clean transportation.

Does your anxiety spike every time to you approach your favorite fuel station? You can escape the gyrations of global geopolitics by ditching your fossil fuel vehicle for an electric vehicle. You’ve probably got a friend who boasts that she fills up her hybrid electric car just once a month. Or perhaps your neighbor with his all-electric car shakes his head every time he hears you curse your gas mileage. Now you can join the ranks of those who’ve weaned themselves off gasoline or diesel.

State tax credits and rebates

But aren’t electric vehicles expensive, compared to fossil-fueled cars and small trucks? Yes, it’s true in many cases. But several states and even a few cities, in their mission to reduce air pollution and mitigate climate change, offer rebates and tax credits to help you. The U.S. government once had a similar program, but Congress ended the program in 2025 at the behest of the administration.

Below are the states currently offering tax rebates or credits for electric vehicles purchasers, especially if you’re on a limited income. Be sure to check the details before applying.

• Colorado: $750 to $2,500
• Connecticut: Up to $4,000
• Delaware: Up to $2,500
• Illinois: Up to $4,000
• Maine: Up to $7,500
• Massachusetts: Up to $6,000
• New Jersey: $1,500
• New York: Up to $2,000
• Pennsylvania: Up to $4,000
• Rhode Island: $3,000

More states in the future?

Other states, such as California and Oregon, have offered similar programs in the past, but they might return in the future, depending on funding. Any maybe even the feds will get back into the act. Here’s a complete list of tax credits by state: https://20somethingfinance.com/electric-hybrid-tax-credits-by-state/ .

Happy electric motoring!

Did we miss your state? Let us know in the comments!

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