The hottest Climate change Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Climate & Environment Topics

Far and Wide

Some Unpleasant Arithmetic • 13 implied HN points • 03 Dec 25
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate change
  1. Urban sprawl leads to bigger homes but worsens traffic and pollution. As people move away from city centers, commuting becomes longer and driving increases, causing congestion and environmental damage.
  2. The growth of gated communities is driven by a desire for safety and socioeconomic segregation. These neighborhoods often exclude lower-income residents, creating a divide in access to resources and services.
  3. Urban sprawl also drives up housing costs, making it harder for people to afford homes. Stricter zoning laws and lower housing supply contribute to higher prices and reduced economic opportunity for everyone.

The energy transition in five charts

Renewable Revolution • 219 implied HN points • 05 May 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate change
  1. The switch to renewable energy is all about using better technology. Renewables like solar and wind are cleaner, cheaper, and more efficient than fossil fuels.
  2. Renewable energy growth isn’t slow and steady; it’s growing quickly in an exponential way. This means countries and companies need to move fast to keep up.
  3. China is leading the way in renewable energy technology. Their advancements are setting the pace for other countries like the U.S. and those in Europe.

How Bad Will Things Get Now?

OK Doomer • 171 implied HN points • 22 Jan 25
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate change
  1. Climate disasters like wildfires, storms, and heatwaves are expected to get much worse in the future. We need to prepare for more extreme events.
  2. There's concern about how leadership is addressing climate change, with some leaders denying its seriousness. This adds to fears about future environmental policies.
  3. The next decade is crucial, and people need to understand the potential threats to humanity so they can advocate for better solutions.

Imagindairy Secures FDA Clearance, Australia’s Alt Protein Surge, and the Massive Economic Potential of Alt Proteins

Better Bioeconomy • 78 implied HN points • 07 Jan 24
🍲 Food & Drink Climate change
  1. Imagindairy secures FDA clearance for animal-free dairy proteins; aiming to supply innovative ingredients to food manufacturers.
  2. Australia emerges as a key player in alternative proteins, projected to generate billions in sales, create jobs, and address global challenges like climate change.
  3. Investing in alternative proteins can have significant economic benefits, create jobs, and indirectly address health issues, food insecurity, and climate change.

X-change: Electricity

Renewable Revolution • 159 implied HN points • 13 Jul 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate change
  1. Solar and wind energy are growing really fast, but we need to speed up even more to hit climate goals. Continuous growth is happening, and it's pretty exciting!
  2. Even though there are obstacles, the reasons for switching to renewable energy are stronger. Solutions are everywhere, and they're outpacing the barriers we're facing.
  3. The fossil fuel era is coming to an end. By 2030, renewable energy could produce a lot more electricity than fossil fuels, and it’s crucial we keep pushing for change.
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Greenhouse Gases Deadly Dance: CO2, N2O and CH4 Emissions' Alarming Card

Adetokunbo Sees • 208 implied HN points • 23 Nov 24
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate change
  1. Carbon dioxide emissions are still rising and could reach over 41 billion tons this year, which is concerning for our climate.
  2. Methane and nitrous oxide emissions are also increasing, with agriculture being a major contributor to nitrous oxide levels.
  3. To tackle these issues, we need to cut down on fossil fuels and change how we farm and use land to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Fractured Planet: Glaciers Thawing, Rivers Running Dry, Reefs Vanishing

Adetokunbo Sees • 208 implied HN points • 16 Nov 24
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate change
  1. Glaciers are melting at alarming rates, with many disappearing completely. This is a big concern for water supply and ecosystems.
  2. Rivers around the world are drying up, with thousands vanishing completely in recent decades. This can affect agriculture, drinking water, and wildlife.
  3. Coral reefs are facing serious threats, with significant losses in the past few decades. If we don't act now, most coral reefs could be gone by the end of the century.

Will people move for climate change?

The New Urban Order • 119 implied HN points • 27 Jul 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate change
  1. People are currently moving towards disaster zones, like Florida, Phoenix, and Austin, instead of away due to climate change.
  2. Many Americans moving to high-risk areas are aware of potential property damage from climate change but prioritize current benefits like views and low cost of living.
  3. The media might underestimate Americans' strong attachment to their communities, demonstrated by factors like interest in remote work and NIMBYist sentiment.

Land Subsidence: the Megadanger lying in Wait for Megacities

Adetokunbo Sees • 416 implied HN points • 02 Mar 24
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate change
  1. Megacities around the world are facing the threat of land subsidence, sinking at a faster rate than sea levels are rising.
  2. Groundwater extraction is a significant factor contributing to land subsidence in various regions, such as Africa, Asia, and the eastern coast of the United States.
  3. Combining the effects of land subsidence and rising sea levels due to climate change poses a frightening challenge for coastal cities globally, emphasizing the importance of sustainable water management practices.

Henry Huiyao Wang: China must ensure its green energy leadership is good for the world

Pekingnology • 56 implied HN points • 24 Jul 25
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate change
  1. China is becoming a leader in green energy, producing more solar panels and electric vehicles than ever before. This shift is important for both their economy and the global fight against climate change.
  2. The transition to green energy is not just about technology; it requires cooperation across countries to truly make a difference. Everyone needs to work together to address climate issues that affect us all.
  3. Trust is key for China as it moves into this new green economy. To help the world, China should invest in other countries and build relationships that benefit everyone.

The Thing We All Need to Survive. We Don't Get Nearly Enough.

OK Doomer • 146 implied HN points • 24 Jan 25
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate change
  1. The world is facing many challenges like climate change, pandemics, and political issues. These problems are interconnected and make life more complicated.
  2. Truth and honesty are very important during tough times. We need to acknowledge reality and not hide from the truth.
  3. There is something essential for survival that we often overlook. It is as vital as food and water, but we rarely talk about it.

Optimism and Contrarianism

Risk Musings • 401 implied HN points • 03 Mar 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Climate change
  1. Optimism can coexist with contrarian thinking, prompting reflection on unseen factors in economic forecasts and societal trends.
  2. Critical challenges like climate change, education gaps, and healthcare system issues require immediate attention and action.
  3. Geopolitical conflicts and societal malaise are ongoing concerns, emphasizing the need for realistic optimism and proactive efforts to address global issues.

Finding Glaciers in the West

Street Smart Naturalist: Explorations of the Urban Kind • 139 implied HN points • 29 Jun 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate change
  1. In the 1800s, scientists believed there were no glaciers in the U.S. outside of Alaska until Clarence King discovered them in the Cascades. This was a surprising revelation since people had been aware of glaciers in places like Switzerland long before.
  2. Many explorers and writers, including Native guides, had actually seen and written about the glaciers in the Cascades before King announced their existence. Their contributions were often overlooked by later scientists.
  3. Today, glaciers are rapidly disappearing due to climate change. In the future, people may react with similar excitement if glaciers are found in the U.S. again, as there will be very few left.

Planting Trees Is a Great Plan B

Climateer • 755 implied HN points • 12 Mar 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate change
  1. Planting trees is a good way to help mitigate climate change, but it's not a substitute for reducing emissions and protecting existing forests.
  2. Reforestation projects should aim to recreate natural forests using native species to avoid negative impacts like habitat destruction and loss of biodiversity.
  3. While aggressive tree planting could remove significant amounts of carbon, realistic forestation efforts need to consider costs, competing land uses like agriculture, and the challenges of maintaining forest areas.

L.A. Will Keep Having Catastrophic Fires No Matter Who You Blame

KERFUFFLE • 131 implied HN points • 12 Jan 25
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate change
  1. Los Angeles is naturally a grassland, not a desert, and wildfires are part of its ecosystem. This means that as long as we live there, we're going to deal with fires.
  2. Urban development in L.A. happened very quickly, making it one of the few cities that sits right next to wild nature. This close proximity makes it more likely for fires to spread from wild areas to neighborhoods.
  3. Many of the problems with wildfires come from development patterns established long ago. The places where we live today were built before the fire risks were fully understood.

The IPCC and the Gates-Kerry-Gore axis of smug, jet-setting pseudoscience aren't interested in CO2 reduction. They're tyrannical zealots bent on reducing human thriving

Beck of the Pack • 58 implied HN points • 11 Jan 24
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate change
  1. The IPCC and certain renowned figures are seen as zealots focused on controlling human thriving instead of reducing CO2
  2. Disillusionment led to questioning established truths in various fields such as pharma, 9/11, and the green agenda
  3. Climate change may be influenced more by natural factors like fluctuations in sunlight and planetary dynamics rather than human actions

Religion of today

Wood From Eden • 576 implied HN points • 15 Jul 23
⛪ Faith & Spirituality Climate change
  1. People often believe in things just because many others do, like in a religious way
  2. There are different perspectives on climate change, with debates on data interpretation and policy urgency
  3. It's crucial to give attention to various potential disasters, not just focus on a single issue like carbon dioxide emissions

A different way to look at solar

America in Crisis • 59 implied HN points • 30 Dec 23
🔬 Science Climate change
  1. Solar power, despite being intermittent, can be made more efficient with government assistance and innovative solutions like storing excess electricity as hydrogen.
  2. Creating a widespread network of solar-powered hydrogen wells could lead to a cost-effective production of green aviation fuel, potentially revolutionizing the energy industry.
  3. Investing in infrastructure for renewable energy, like hydrogen wells, can serve as a stimulus project, offering economic growth opportunities and addressing critical environmental concerns.

Infinity Missions

Not Boring by Packy McCormick • 164 implied HN points • 29 Oct 24
🕹 Technology Climate change
  1. Infinity Missions focus on avoiding infinite downsides, like preventing existential threats, which often leads to massive government spending on projects like the Manhattan Project and climate change initiatives.
  2. Private companies are now pursuing Infinity Missions to chase infinite upsides, such as developing Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), which is seen as having vast potential rewards.
  3. These Infinity Missions change the usual rules of investment and resource allocation, allowing for long timelines, attracting top talent, and enabling funding for projects that may seem wasteful in traditional contexts.

Who is this for anyways?

cleanenergyreview • 19 implied HN points • 10 May 24
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate change
  1. Public-facing writing on climate and clean energy faces challenges due to varying levels of expertise and intent in the audience.
  2. It's important to focus on questions like under what conditions assertions are true and how things may change in the future for better reporting and thinking on energy topics.
  3. The author aims to use their platform to clarify their thinking on energy-related topics by focusing on key questions often not covered by others.

How the German energy transition has committed taxpayers to paying billions of Euros for the sun to shine

eugyppius: a plague chronicle • 169 implied HN points • 25 Oct 24
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate change
  1. Germany's energy transition has made taxpayers pay billions for solar energy, even when supply exceeds demand. This means people are paying producers for electricity that isn't really needed.
  2. The costs for solar feed-in tariffs are rising every year, and future projections expect them to reach even higher levels. This could lead to major budget issues for the government.
  3. New rules for solar subsidies aim to prevent overproduction from larger solar farms, but smaller operators remain a problem without a clear solution. Many small solar users may not benefit from these changes.

Underestimating climate damage

Klement on Investing • 2 implied HN points • 02 Feb 26
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate change
  1. Models that only use average temperature changes miss important effects and tend to underestimate economic damage from climate change.
  2. Higher average temperatures increase the chance of extreme heat waves and heavy precipitation, and these extreme events cause most of the economic harm.
  3. Including within-year temperature variation raises estimated damages a lot—roughly 13% more in temperate regions and about 47% more in continental climates—showing impacts differ greatly by region.

Recasting climate change as an ethical problem

The Global Jigsaw • 79 implied HN points • 17 Nov 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate change
  1. Climate change is an ethical issue, especially concerning the historical emissions of rich Western countries.
  2. Ethical considerations suggest equal per capita carbon emissions for a fair global policy, but this faces challenges.
  3. Climate change requires a global moral obligation beyond typical social circles and questions political interests over moral responsibility.

Renewables Mania And Woke Dogma Behind Hawaii Fire, Not Climate Change

Public • 469 implied HN points • 17 Aug 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate change
  1. Climate change may not have directly caused the Hawaii fire, as the strong winds from Hurricane Dora played a significant role.
  2. Human-made changes to the landscape, including the growth of invasive grasses due to former sugar cane farms, contributed to the fire's intensity.
  3. Issues like failure to clear flammable grasses around electric wires and delayed release of water by a state official also played crucial roles in the Hawaii fire.

Why Global Warming Has Accelerated: Hansen's Lay Explanation

God's Spies by Thomas Neuburger • 100 implied HN points • 14 Feb 25
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate change
  1. Cleaning up air pollution from shipping is leading to more warming because fewer clouds are blocking sunlight. It’s like removing a blanket that kept our planet cooler.
  2. Recent findings suggest that the climate is more sensitive to CO2 than previously thought, meaning small increases in CO2 could lead to bigger temperature rises.
  3. If warming continues, it could disrupt ocean currents, leading to severe weather changes and rising sea levels as ice melts. This could change the climate in places like Europe drastically.

Running From Zombies in The Snow: A Guide to The Arctic Apocalypse

OK Doomer • 109 implied HN points • 16 Jan 25
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate change
  1. Weather is becoming more unpredictable due to climate change, with extreme cold temperatures affecting areas not used to such conditions. It's important to understand that climate collapse means more chaotic weather patterns.
  2. Even if people talk about climate change, many are not willing to make real changes to combat it. The impact of our actions now will be felt by future generations.
  3. Everyone should be prepared for sudden weather changes, whether it's hot or cold, dry or wet. It's smart to have necessary supplies and warm clothing ready, no matter where you live.

Carbon Sinks Are Failing

God's Spies by Thomas Neuburger • 150 implied HN points • 16 Oct 24
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate change
  1. Carbon sinks, like forests and oceans, are not absorbing as much CO2 as they used to. This could lead to faster global warming.
  2. Recent research shows that land carbon absorption was almost zero last year, raising concerns that current climate models are not accounting for this collapse.
  3. We need to be aware and prepared for potential warming beyond the predicted timelines, as natural processes that help regulate climate are breaking down.

Aridity, Acidity, and Salinity: How Greenhouse Gases are Choking Our Soil

Adetokunbo Sees • 104 implied HN points • 11 Jan 25
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate change
  1. A large portion of the Earth's land is becoming drier, significantly affecting agriculture and ecosystems. This trend could worsen and impact billions of people who may face water shortages.
  2. Many lands are also suffering from high salinity and acidity, which makes it difficult for plants to grow. If these problems continue, we could see a lot of agricultural land damaged.
  3. Climate change is a major driver of these issues, causing higher temperatures and more extreme weather. To combat this, planting trees and using better irrigation can help improve soil health.