Per Capita Davis: One step forward, two steps back
It seems the news on most topics around the globe alternates between scary and hopeful. The Climate Crisis is no exception. I’m not sure if we are on a “one step forward, two steps backwards” trajectory or a “two steps forward, one step backwards” journey….
Per Capita Davis: The ‘tipping point’ revisited
Back in 2007 when I began writing these articles there were a few terms that captured the discussion about global warming. One was the term in the prior sentence: “global warming.” It may have been adequate at the time, but the soft, fuzzy, cozy, under-a-blanket…
Per Capita Davis: Who’s going to pick up the tab?
We here in California have our battles over who will pay for massive infrastructure projects such as the tunnels to deliver water to Southern California and high-speed rail to move people up and down the state. Most of what was built, most of what we…
Per Capita Davis: Scientists got it mostly right
The article on the front page of the New York Times was headlined, “The Year Global Warming Turned Model Into Menace.” The article itself basically says that predictions scientists have been making for decades based on computer models have now been proven correct. The planet…
Per Capita Davis: There are some positive signs for renewables
My inbox gets filled with articles and information that’s interesting and important, but which doesn’t rise to the level of a 900-word column. Here are three of those items. But will they vote? Back in May, the Conservative Energy Network sponsored a poll conducted by…
Per Capita Davis: Power companies may be motivated by the ‘X’ factor
Long before there was an X Prize there was an Orteig Prize. According to Wikipedia, way back in 1919, a French hotel owner offered a prize of $25,000 for the first person to fly nonstop across the Atlantic from New York to Paris. Charles Lindberg…
Per Capita Davis: Here’s more on science and population
The last column (June 22) generated quite a bit of response. This column responds to some of the responses. Three people let me know about or sent me a copy of an article by David Roberts at Vox titled “I’m an environmental journalist, but I…
Per Capita Davis: The elephant in the room
This column is titled “The Elephant in the Room” because there is an aspect of the climate crisis that is rarely talked about, or at least not given primacy of place in ranking the many factors involved in heating up our planet. The issue is…
COOL SOLUTIONS: The Whole House Fan
The summer months in Davis are often pretty hot, and it can be a challenge to keep your home cool and comfortable. Most of us rely on air conditioners to maintain a desired temperature, but there are many other energy-efficient and inexpensive ways to cool…
Per Capita Davis: News from the ‘Doom and Gloom’ file
Keyword: Climate change impacts I keep folders to collect information on specific topics related to the climate crisis such as solar, renewables, water, the Arctic, etc. I also have folders on general themes, two of which are “Good News” and “Doom and Gloom.” This column…
Per Capita Davis: When scientists disagree
One thing is clear; the climate crisis is real, human burning of fossil fuel is by far the major driver, and we are feeling the predicted effects right now. OK, that was three things. The truth of this cleanly divides scientists from deniers. What is…
Per Capita Davis: A few positive signposts
Hopefully we haven’t leapfrogged from winter into summer, and we’ll get to enjoy spring weather for a while. Spring always brings with it a burst of life energy as dormant trees begin to leaf out, the hills and fields are covered with an intensely beautiful…
Per Capita Davis: Speaking about the climate crisis
A consistent theme in these columns has been an ambiguity from the author over how to talk about the climate crisis in a way that motivates rather than depresses. Two recent news reports take on this topic directly. First, a study published in the Journal…
Per Capita Davis: I will be a hummingbird
Wangari Maathai started the Green Belt Movement in her native Kenya in 1977 in order to, as the GBM website indicates, “respond to the needs of rural Kenyan women who reported that their streams were drying up, their food supply was less secure, and they…
Per Capita Davis: A white roof is a cool roof
I don’t know how it could have happened, but somehow I missed every single one of the 100 episodes of “Bill Nye the Science Guy.” Most probably, this was because the show was aimed at children and aired during the daytime when I was at…
Per Capita Davis: Seven big reasons for hope
I love getting knocked out of my bubble, where it sometimes seems to constantly rain bad news about the climate crisis that crowds out anything positive. There was a recent article in The Guardian, a news organization dedicated to “independent investigative journalism,” that brightened my…
Per Capita Davis: These companies mean business
Crossposted from the Davis Enterprise From page A9 | November 15, 2017 There’s been an avalanche of news recently about the current discussions in Bonn, Germany, about the climate crisis. Leaders of all of the countries of the world are gathered to follow up on the…
Per Capita Davis: Tour the country for heartening energy-saving news
Crossposted from the Davis Enterprise Still engaged in an internal fight between optimism and pessimism about the climate crisis, I took an online tour around the country to see if We the People are all in on reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. Examples of what I found…
Per Capita Davis: Good news for local solar power
April 19, 2017 By John Mott-Smith Crossposted the Davis Enterprise page A10 This column is primarily about rooftop solar in Yolo County, but before we get to that, there have been at least two interesting announcements from the tech world recently in terms of the future…
Per Capita Davis: Words matter when describing this crisis
By John Mott-Smith From page A8 | March 01, 2017 I was watching a news show the other day and a reporter asked an elected representative in Congress if he believed in climate change. The somewhat smart-alecky response was, “Sure I do, the climate changes…
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