News & Commentary

In a month that has seen Texas sizzle under record-breaking heat, solar, and wind power have been key to helping keeping the lights on—and air conditioners humming.

Blaming any one power source is a mistake. We can’t make any one source of power foolproof, but we can make a grid that’s nimble, resilient, and reliable.

This morning, the Biden administration held the largest offshore oil and gas lease sale in U.S. history. Though the Biden administration has been bold on climate in other ways, this latest action is profoundly disappointing.

Continuing to offer more offshore oil lease sales is not the path to meeting the Biden Administration’s climate goals.

Among the animals at greatest risk from the impacts of seismic testing is the Gulf of Mexico whale—one of the most endangered marine mammals on the planet.

Electric grids across the Midwest, South, and in Texas failed a key resilience test during last month’s winter storm, and one key conclusion is clear: The grids connected via transmission lines fared significantly better than those isolated and on their…

Wind and solar power were not the primary cause of the grid failure in Texas—the main culprit was fossil gas plants that went offline. In fact, wind and solar are intrinsically more reliable than fossil power, but not in the…

The deadly winter storms and power outages in Texas last month are just the latest example of why the United States needs a National Disaster Safety Board.

Although both California and Texas recently faced traumatic weather events, the consequences for electric system reliability were dramatically different. 

Texas was just a glimpse of what’s to come. With increasing wildfires, drought, flooding, and sea-level rise, we must make sure our water systems can continue to operate during such events.

As Texans continue to grapple with the devastation from recent winter storms, weatherization and modern super-efficient heating technology are powerful tools that can ease the stress on the electric grid and help Americans stay safe and comfortable.

The extreme cold snap and the disaster it brought to the state is a reminder of the importance of good governance in a modern society—and the danger we court when we pursue policies untethered to the public interest.

States must update emergency response plans to avert the next water crisis.