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Why Coal Remains A Stubborn Part Of Our Energy Mix

Since 2006, trillions of dollars have been invested, both directly and through government subsidies, into wind and solar power technologies, carbon offsets programs, and NGOs trying to rid the Earth of fossil fuels. The environmental industry is still booming, but is it actually delivering on its promise of saving the planet? How will our renewable energy …

Breathe a Little Easier: Why America’s Air is Among the Cleanest in the World

Breathe a Little Easier is part of our ongoing effort to explain the role that energy has played in improving human living standards over the past two centuries. This project examines trends in air quality in the U.S. in order to push back at the doom-and-gloom narratives that dominate so much of our thinking about energy …

EV Ownership Ticks Up, but Fewer Nonowners Want to Buy One

Seven percent of Americans, up from 4% a year ago, report that they own an electric vehicle. That increase is matched by an equal decline in the percentage saying they are seriously considering buying one, from 12% to 9%. Meanwhile, fewer Americans – 35%, down from 43% in 2023 – say they might consider buying …

The advantages and disadvantages of renewable energy

New developments in renewable energy are making headlines worldwide, from a remote Arctic village working to harness solar and wind power under challenging conditions to a U.S. Air Force base planning an advanced, utility-scale geothermal power system. But for all of the advantages of renewable energy, its development and use has disadvantages, too. Let’s take …

As Renewable Energy Increases in the Generation Mix, Power Outages Grow

Texas and California lead the nation in power outages and in wind and solar generation. Since 2019, there have been 263 power outages across Texas–more than any other state–each lasting an average of 160 minutes and impacting an estimated average of 172,000 Texans. From 2019 to 2023, California had 221 power outages, ranking second, and …

Democrats pushed climate action. Then utility bills skyrocketed.

There is intensifying political pressure on state lawmakers to do something about utility bills that have shot up by as much as 127 percent over the last decade. Climate spending — from wildfire prevention to building out transmission capacity and paying for renewables — is partly to blame. …