The hottest Sustainability Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Climate & Environment Topics

The key takeaway from MIT’s Great Climate Policy Debate

Heterodox STEM • 163 implied HN points • 22 Dec 24
🌞 Climate & Environment Sustainability
  1. All four experts agreed that stopping nuclear energy development after the Three Mile Island accident was a big mistake. If nuclear power had been embraced earlier, we might have made better progress on reducing carbon emissions.
  2. There's a strong belief that we can still fully commit to nuclear energy now because the technology is safe and effective. The main barriers are complex regulations and legal challenges that make it hard to move forward.
  3. The panel recognized that achieving NetZero carbon emissions soon will be very difficult. It might be time for people with differing views on climate to collaborate and focus on making nuclear energy more widely used.

Why gardening is my religion

The Recovering Academic • 197 implied HN points • 11 Oct 22
🍲 Food & Drink Sustainability
  1. Consider exploring the 'why' behind your actions, as it can provide anchoring and clarity in challenging times.
  2. Gardening can be a sustainable practice as it promotes local food production and reduces energy consumption from transportation and storage.
  3. Gardening can offer a sense of belonging, connect you to your roots, and become a meaningful ritual for homemaking and honoring the land.

Critique of Kvarteret Backklövern detailed development plan in Solna

The Third Place • 59 implied HN points • 24 Jan 24
🪑 Design Sustainability
  1. Encouraging diversity in building typology within neighborhoods can foster inclusivity and community integration.
  2. Prioritizing pedestrian and cyclist accessibility in urban planning can lead to sustainable and vibrant communities, like Barcelona's superblocks.
  3. Balancing practicality with cultural enrichment, such as including entertainment or cultural facilities in development plans, is essential for creating thriving and lively communities.
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2024 Consulting Salaries released 🤑

Boiling The Ocean • 59 implied HN points • 11 Feb 24
💼 Business Sustainability
  1. 2024 consulting salaries have been released, with firms like Bain, McKinsey, and ghSMART receiving top rankings.
  2. Firms are engaging in 'Greenhushing' - scaling back on communicating their sustainability efforts.
  3. Vault's top 50 global consultancies have been announced, highlighting top firms across various categories.

Lump of Coal

Doomberg • 151 implied HN points • 18 Dec 24
🌞 Climate & Environment Sustainability
  1. Coal is a controversial fuel, and many people don't fully understand its value. It's important to look at its role in energy and society.
  2. As we'll explore, coal has had a significant impact on industries and economies. Understanding its importance can change how we see this resource.
  3. The goal is to dive deeper into coal's complexities and recognize its potential benefits alongside its challenges. This perspective can lead to better discussions about energy sources.

Hertz’s Bad Bet on EVs was a Good Strategy

Ruben Ugarte's Growth Needle™ • 59 implied HN points • 16 Jan 24
💼 Business Sustainability
  1. Hertz decided to sell 20,000 electric vehicles and switch back to traditional cars because customers weren't buying EVs as expected. The interest in electric vehicles isn't as strong as they hoped.
  2. Renting an EV can be challenging for customers since charging stations can be hard to find. This can make getting an electric car during a trip pretty stressful.
  3. Even though Hertz is backing away from their EV push, the decision to invest in electric vehicles initially was smart. In 2021, EVs seemed like a great opportunity for growth.

Cultivate your palate for a new type of food

WeBeGreen • 99 implied HN points • 09 Aug 23
🍲 Food & Drink Sustainability
  1. Cultivated meats offer a sustainable solution to the environmental impacts and challenges of traditional animal agriculture, providing a way to meet the growing global demand for meat without the same resource-intensive practices.
  2. Lab-grown or cultivated meats use cellular agriculture technology to produce meat from cells rather than raising and slaughtering animals, offering a more efficient and ethical approach to meat production.
  3. By transitioning to alternative proteins like cultivated meats, we can significantly reduce land use, greenhouse gas emissions, and reliance on animal agriculture, leading to a more sustainable and compassionate food system for the future.

Imperial And China

Surfing the Future • 39 implied HN points • 06 Mar 24
🌍 World Politics Sustainability
  1. Geopolitical trends will impact the sustainability revolution, causing controversy as the sector grows.
  2. China's focus on solar cells, lithium-ion batteries, and EVs is reshaping the sustainability sector's priorities.
  3. Collaboration between scientists and companies linked to China's military is now raising concerns compared to the past.

Tool libraries are about repairing communities

Fight to Repair • 98 implied HN points • 14 Mar 23
🎭️ Culture Sustainability
  1. Tool libraries offer a low-cost option for people to access tools, fostering repair and community building.
  2. Investing in social infrastructure like tool libraries can create more resilient, sustainable, and connected communities.
  3. Funding directly to support tool libraries can confirm their value to the community, rather than heavily relying on constant fundraising efforts.

The Community of Air

Field Guide to the Anthropocene • 98 implied HN points • 10 Mar 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Sustainability
  1. The documentary 'All That Breathes' highlights the powerful connection between empathy and ethics in caring for wounded birds.
  2. Noticing the suffering of the natural world is a crucial step in understanding our place in the Anthropocene era.
  3. The High Seas Treaty signals a transformative shift by regulating human activity to protect ecosystems in the deep oceans.

Reviving Chromebooks with Ubuntu: Autonomous Servers, Planned Obsolescence, and Permacomputing

Sunshine and Seedlings: A Newsletter by HydroponicTrash • 98 HN points • 24 Mar 23
🕹 Technology Sustainability
  1. Chromebooks are often discarded and become obsolete due to planned obsolescence by companies like Google.
  2. Reviving old Chromebooks with Ubuntu can turn them into useful autonomous servers, reducing waste.
  3. Permacomputing offers a sustainable approach to technology, focusing on reuse, modular design, and stewardship of resources.

Building the Future by Hand

Field Guide to the Anthropocene • 98 implied HN points • 05 May 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Sustainability
  1. The Green Revolution Requires a Blue-Collar Revelation - Trades jobs are in high demand for the clean energy transition.
  2. If You Go to College, Study the Real World - Encouraging students to study practical skills, even alongside a college degree.
  3. Future Career Advice for Students - Emphasizing the importance of hands-on work and making a meaningful impact on the world.

Solar Panels for Collapse, Are They Worth It? Here's an Honest Answer.

OK Doomer • 114 implied HN points • 06 Feb 25
🌞 Climate & Environment Sustainability
  1. Installing solar panels can be a smart move during power outages or natural disasters. They helped one family during a tornado, allowing them to stay in their home instead of facing a difficult situation.
  2. While solar panels can add value to a home and provide energy security, they also come with risks. It's important to consider whether they are truly worth the investment based on individual needs and local conditions.
  3. Finding scalable and adaptable solutions, rather than just relying on expensive setups, is key. Community support and cheaper options may be more beneficial in the long run.

Homesteading: Pig Weed cometh

Who is Robert Malone • 13 implied HN points • 20 Nov 25
🍲 Food & Drink Sustainability
  1. Pigweed is a big problem for farmers because it has become resistant to many herbicides, making it hard to control. It thrives in compacted, nitrogen-rich soil and can produce a lot of seeds, which add to the issue.
  2. The new miniature cows on the farm are adorable and require special care to help them grow strong. It's also a challenge to manage pigweed stickers that can be harmful to both people and animals.
  3. Bananas used to taste a lot better than they do now because of the switch from the Gros Michel variety to Cavendish. Many plants are being replaced due to diseases, which could change the banana market again in the future.

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 Sustainability
  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.

Iceland's new found popularity

The Global Jigsaw • 119 implied HN points • 03 Sep 23
🏝 Travel Sustainability
  1. Tourism is Iceland's biggest export industry, but there are concerns about the impact on the environment and culture.
  2. Tourism has played a significant role in Iceland's economy, especially in times of crisis like the financial crash and pandemic.
  3. The increase in tourism has led to infrastructure challenges and a debate on sustainable tourism practices in Iceland.

The cost of wind, the price of wind, the value of wind

Jérôme à Paris • 510 implied HN points • 08 Aug 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Sustainability
  1. Cost, price, and value of wind power are different concepts in the energy market, with costs being related to production, prices driven by market forces, and value including externalities like pollution and carbon emissions.
  2. Wind power has fixed costs, zero marginal cost, and can lower electricity prices for consumers, making it an attractive option compared to fossil fuel-based generation.
  3. Externalities like intermittency, carbon emissions, and security of supply contribute to the overall value proposition of wind power, impacting its role in the system and the pricing mechanisms in place.

Why real environmental action is so hard

Technology, Environment, and Art • 39 implied HN points • 19 Feb 24
🌞 Climate & Environment Sustainability
  1. The global capitalistic-consumerist system is fundamentally destructive and promotes unsustainable practices, causing cognitive dissonance in individuals.
  2. Efforts to address environmental issues are often evaluated based on their ability to further global consumerism rather than their actual impact.
  3. To truly make a difference, we need to challenge the current industrial and capitalistic systems, reassess our reliance on technology, and make significant lifestyle changes to prioritize sustainability over convenience.

Apple Calls for National Repair Law

Fight to Repair • 78 implied HN points • 27 Oct 23
🕹 Technology Sustainability
  1. Apple is pushing for a national right-to-repair law in the US after California's legislation, aiming to balance repairability with product integrity, usability, and safety.
  2. Apple's announcement reveals a strategic shift to shape the national law and potentially exclude certain aspects by emphasizing safety and privacy concerns.
  3. The tech industry is exploring creating Memorandums of Understanding to navigate right-to-repair laws, aiming to standardize repair practices and influence legislation.

Electric Vehicle Myths

Diane Francis • 519 implied HN points • 22 Nov 21
🌞 Climate & Environment Sustainability
  1. Electric vehicles are not fully green unless their electricity comes from clean sources. It's important to consider where the power to charge them is generated.
  2. The true environmental impact of electric vehicles depends on the electricity used to recharge them, not just the vehicles themselves.
  3. To make electric vehicles truly eco-friendly, we need to ensure a shift towards renewable energy for electricity production.

Help Bill Weihl Take LEAD On Climate Policy

Surfing the Future • 39 implied HN points • 13 Feb 24
🌞 Climate & Environment Sustainability
  1. Bill Weihl advocates for companies to play a stronger role in climate policy.
  2. Weihl uses AI-generated audio to communicate due to ALS, highlighting the importance of sustainability professionals' collective voice.
  3. The LEAD statement calls for companies to leave obstructing trade associations, elevate climate policy, advocate for specific climate policies, and commit to transitioning away from fossil fuels.

Why Global Warming Has Accelerated: Hansen's Lay Explanation

God's Spies by Thomas Neuburger • 100 implied HN points • 14 Feb 25
🌞 Climate & Environment Sustainability
  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 Sustainability
  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.

How the European Union passed a brave new law to protect our planet's forests, only to realise that it is a logistical and bureaucratic nightmare that nobody wants

eugyppius: a plague chronicle • 158 implied HN points • 08 Oct 24
🌞 Climate & Environment Sustainability
  1. The EU passed a new law to protect forests, but many people now think it's too complicated and doesn't really help anyone.
  2. The law could hurt trade relationships, especially with countries in South America, affecting a lot of local economies.
  3. Even the lawmakers who supported this regulation are now realizing it may be unworkable and possibly damaging to their own industries.

Not So Silent Spring

Street Smart Naturalist: Explorations of the Urban Kind • 139 implied HN points • 06 Apr 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Sustainability
  1. The sounds of spring are important, with creatures like Pacific chorus frogs and Steller's Jays making their presence known through their calls. These sounds are not just pleasant but also play crucial roles in their behaviors and interactions.
  2. Sound has a long history on Earth, with many natural noises existing for billions of years. Most modern sounds from animals, however, are relatively recent developments in Earth’s timeline.
  3. There's a growing concern about a 'sonic crisis,' where humans are losing touch with the sounds of nature. It's important for us to listen to these sounds to appreciate and protect our environment.

Stored Hydropower: an overlooked battery storage solution

WeBeGreen • 79 implied HN points • 31 May 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Sustainability
  1. Stored Hydropower is an efficient and cost-effective solution to the intermittency of renewables, offering a massive energy reservoir that can provide reliable backup energy to the grid.
  2. The inefficiency of traditional fossil fuel systems, which waste a significant amount of energy as heat, contrasts with the direct supply of electricity from solar and wind energy systems, making the transition to renewables more feasible than perceived.
  3. The advancement of renewable energy technologies, coupled with innovative energy storage solutions like Pumped Hydro Storage, signifies a shift towards a sustainable future and the potential to move away from fossil fuels.

How do I Choose an a Sustainable Forestry Certification?

Green Graphic Design • 78 implied HN points • 04 Jul 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Sustainability
  1. To choose a sustainable forestry certification, prioritize those that consider both environmental and human impact
  2. Consider forest conservation and Indigenous land rights when selecting a forestry certifier
  3. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is a global certification to look for due to its considerations for biodiversity and Indigenous rights

garden3d 2022 Sustainability Report

computers suck • 78 implied HN points • 05 Oct 23
💼 Business Sustainability
  1. The 2022 Sustainability Report from Garden3D highlighted efforts such as reducing studio size and purchasing carbon offset credits.
  2. The report detailed the breakdown of carbon emissions, with Scope 3 emissions making up the majority, especially from travel activities.
  3. Future goals for Garden3D include reducing unnecessary cloud computing usage, growing Seaborne consultancy, and continuing to engage in meaningful sustainability initiatives.

The Tricky Economics of Obsolescence

Fight to Repair • 78 implied HN points • 05 Oct 23
🕹 Technology Sustainability
  1. Planned obsolescence is deeply rooted in our economic systems; addressing it requires a larger systemic approach rather than just focusing on eliminating it.
  2. Repair activities offer a practical way to understand broader economic issues of consumerism, waste, and sustainability by extending the lifespan of goods and reducing environmental impact.
  3. Some governments, like France, are taking action against planned obsolescence, but challenges remain in enforcing laws and shifting from a throw-away culture to a repair mindset.

Greenlist Decarbonizes Online Retail Returns

Warming Up to Climate Tech • 78 implied HN points • 21 Mar 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Sustainability
  1. Greenlist enables peer-to-peer returns, reducing carbon footprint and connecting customers with out-of-stock inventory.
  2. Retail returns cost over $800 billion annually and contribute to pollution, but Greenlist cuts costs and waste by reducing miles traveled and promoting packaging reuse.
  3. Founder Jess Owens prioritizes sustainability, aiming to make a positive impact on the planet despite challenges in fundraising and market adoption.