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…
Per Capita Davis: Batten down the hatches
By John Mott-Smith Crossposted from the Davis Enterprise From page A9 February 01, 2017 The last column was about the “calm before the storm,” one way of looking at what was then the impending change in the office of president of the United States. Way back…
Per Capita Davis: One step forward, two steps back?
Crossposted from the Davis Enterprise December 21, 2016 By John Mott-Smith I typically use the last column of the year to sum up progress, or the lack of it, in reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. This year there’s so much to say, perhaps summed up as “elections…
Per Capita Davis: Let the sun shine on our solar panels
By John Mott-Smith Cross Posted from the Davis Enterprise From page A10 | July 06, 2016 Each year I try to assemble data from each of the cities, and Yolo County, on the number of solar photovoltaic systems installed on homes and businesses. The quality of record-keeping varies…
Per Capita Davis: Progress being made under the radar
This article has been reproduced from the Davis Enterprise published March 2, 2016 By John Mott-Smith The Paris climate talks created enthusiasm and hope that the world is moving away from fossil fuels and toward renewables. The U.S. commitment to this goal leans heavily on…
Per Capita Davis: The battery bonanza
By John Mott-Smith From page A4 | July 16, 2015 Cross posted from the Davis Enterprise | Photo Credit: Davis Enterprise This is the second of three (I think) columns on the topic of energy storage; specifically, electrical energy storage. Why so much time spent…
A shout-out to Cool Davis
Cross posted from the Davis Enterprise, May 7, 2015. On Earth Day last month, Cool Davis announced awards to several local residents in two categories: Climate Solutions and Eco-Heroes. I couldn’t really tell what the distinction was between the two categories; everything seemed important. Cool…
Per Capita Davis: Solar energy is sizzling in Yolo County
By John Mott-Smith Cross posted from the Davis Enterprise, 2-19-2015 Rooftop solar photovoltaic systems sprouted up on an increasing number of homes throughout Yolo County in 2014. Of course, many, many systems were installed prior to 2004, and it would be interesting to go backwards…
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Greywater Showcase 2018: Shower greywater systems - Cool Davis
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Thursday July 19th 5:30-7:30pm Davis Senior Center1 day ago
