Speaking truth to Trump on climate change
The 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or…
Wildfires are driving up California electric bills. Lawmakers need to act
Uncomfortable truth time: The biggest reason California’s electric rates are rising so fast is that utility companies are spending billions of dollars each year to…
Why you shouldn’t make deals with the (climate) devil
I saw a great meme created by Dustin Mulvaney, an environmental studies professor at San José State University. It has to do with President Trump’s…
The protectors of Santa Monica Bay are caving to Trump’s dangerous demands
Even as many businesses and universities rush to abandon their climate goals, diversity commitments and small-d democratic values for fear of reprisal from an increasingly…
California politicians, neglect rooftop solar at your peril
One point I didn’t make in last week’s column on California’s endless solar infighting: More rooftop solar systems could mean (relatively) less need for sprawling…
California’s rooftop solar infighting is a colossal waste of time
California can’t seem to decide whether it wants to maintain its status as the nation’s rooftop solar leader.Two years after Gov. Gavin Newsom’s appointees slashed…
A podcast about climate politics, water, public lands and more
Please forgive my starting with a little self-promotion: It’s been six weeks since we launched the Boiling Point podcast, and if you haven’t been listening,…
Time for California to get serious about cheaper, cleaner energy
Californians pay some of the nation’s highest electricity rates. They’re also being devastated by the consequences of fossil fueled climate change, including more deadly and…
Want to fight climate change? Then talk about climate change
When people ask me what they can do to support climate progress, one piece of advice I give again and again is to annoy their…
Not a great year for climate change at the Oscars
And the Oscar for best climate change film of 2024 goes to ...“The Wild Robot,” a beautiful animated movie that takes place in a world…
Longer flights, more climate pollution for college football teams
When UCLA, UC Berkeley and Stanford ditched the fabled Pac-12 athletic conference, most college sports fans probably weren’t thinking about what the changes would mean…
Democrats who make nice with Trump aren’t helping on climate
What do you do, as a politician, when your lawfully elected opponents reveal they have nothing but contempt for the Constitution, rule of law and…
Forget Trump’s wrecking ball. Here’s how to treat America’s public lands
Russell Scofield remembers when federal officials first started getting applications to build solar farms on public lands. It was the mid-2000s, and he was working…
Trump’s lies are dragging down democracy, journalism and the climate
A single social media post illuminates the precarious state of the American democratic experiment.When President Trump said last week that the military had “just entered…
The Los Angeles fires are no excuse to slow down on clean energy
If we want to build a safer future for Los Angeles, we can’t keep repeating the mistakes of the past.So I was disappointed to learn…
Farewell to Ivanpah, the world’s ugliest solar plant
Sometimes, government makes a bad bet.Case in point: the Ivanpah solar project. Maybe you’ve seen the unsightly, blindingly bright towers while traveling from L.A. to…
The Republican Party is betraying a devastated Los Angeles
Try to imagine how Americans would have reacted last fall — after Hurricane Helene slammed Florida’s Big Bend region, killing dozens of people — if…
The L.A. Times is starting a climate change podcast
The world has changed since I started writing Boiling Point five years ago. There are more solar farms, fewer coal plants and more movies about…
Los Angeles is a climate disaster. The fires will change nothing
Los Angeles is burning. Fossil fuel companies laid the kindling. Soon the world will stop caring.I’m sorry for sounding callous, but it’s true.You’ve probably seen…
Taylor Sheridan’s ‘Landman’ needs less fossil fuel propaganda
A recent episode of “Landman” — the latest western soap opera dreamed up by “Yellowstone” co-creator Taylor Sheridan — was packed with thrilling interpersonal drama…