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Climate Break Posts

Rerun: Could Windows Be A Source of Solar Power? with Professor Stephen Forrest


Office buildings, high rises, and greenhouses are covered in windows. What if we used all that window space to capture solar energy and add to the grid’s renewable energy supply? Listen to University of Michigan engineering professor Steven Forrest explain how a change in the semiconducors used in solar panels could allow us to transform windows into power sources — without sacrificing light and transparency.

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Climate Change Litigation on Behalf of Young People, with Julia Olson

Young people worldwide, represented by organizations like Our Children’s Trust, are increasingly using litigation to force governments to take climate action. This trend is illustrated by notable cases like Juliana v. United States and Held v. Montana.

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Cool surfaces: Reflecting heat and reducing emissions, with Ronnen Levinson

Can cool surfaces—roofs, walls, or pavements that are generally light-colored and highly reflective—help combat climate change? We spoke with Ronnen Levinson, a staff scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, about how such surfaces combat climate change by reducing heat and lowering energy consumption in buildings.

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Improving on 100% Renewable Portfolio Standards through Hourly Matching, with Jan Pepper of Peninsula Clean Energy

Electricity providers can meet renewable energy portfolio standards while still relying on fossil fuels during high-demand hours. But by matching renewable energy supply to demand every hour of the day, San Mateo County’s Peninsula Clean Energy seeks to fully decarbonize the grid. We spoke with CEO Jan Pepper to learn more.

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Growing a Conservative Youth Environmental Movement, with Karly Matthews from the American Conservation Coalition

Climate Break talks with Karly Matthews, the communications director for the American Conservation Coalition. The coalition seeks to mobilize young conservatives to support climate action by harkening back to earlier generations of Republican leaders that favored environmental protection.

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Municipal Investment in Clean Energy Tech through Community Choice Aggregation, with Rob Shaw

How can local governments can help advance clean energy technology? Investor-owned utilities dominate the electricity market in the United States, but community choice aggregators let municipalities control their own energy strategy. 

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The Clean Energy Potential of Nuclear Fusion, with Annie Kritcher

Unlike nuclear fission made famous by the atomic bomb, nuclear fusion produces energy by fusing together hydrogen isotopes. It’s been an elusive but ultimately unattainable goal. That is until a recent breakthrough at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. Physicist Annie Kritcher led the team that made this advance.

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