Much of the conversation about the changing climate is doom and gloom. In one way, it's appropriate: Rapidly rising global temperatures are causing myriad extreme problems. In another, it's not: There are plenty of reasons to be hopeful.
Journalist Bill McKibben is an expert on the topic, and he has become a leading proponent of climate action in the United States. In a conversation with Yale Climate Connections, he talked about his work and the developments that are ushering in a clean energy future.
In his latest book, Here Comes the Sun, McKibben details the advantages of solar and wind power and the promise of worldwide equitable energy access. He told YCC that China, earlier this year, was installing 3 gigawatts of solar power every day, which he compared to "a coal-fired power plant every eight hours." He noted that there has been a similar upswing in Pakistan, powered by everyday people.
"I've watched what has happened over the last year when a flood of very cheap Chinese solar panels enabled Pakistanis to essentially remake their country's electric grid," McKibben said. "They built the equivalent of half the country's electric grid in eight months just using TikTok videos to put together solar panels."
He added that solar is the only thing that could be scaled quickly enough to cut off the flow of heat-trapping gases into Earth's atmosphere.
Installing panels at home is the best way to save money on energy costs, and EnergySage offers free tools to get quick installation estimates and compare quotes. With the help of the independent clean energy adviser, the average person can save up to $10,000 on a solar system.
The federal government is also offering tax credits of 30% of the cost of projects. However, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will end this incentive on Dec. 31. EnergySage has a mapping tool that shows the average cost of a solar setup as well as details on incentives for each state.
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McKibben said the Trump administration, as well as the high cost of solar panels and varying regulations, were impediments the U.S. must overcome. Changing the conversation would help show people how affordable and efficient solar energy is. In the footsteps of those in European and African countries, Americans could put aside "absurd excuses" such as aesthetic preferences and fully embrace cleaner, cheaper, renewable energy.
"This is our chance. Not to stop global warming, too late for that, but to stop it perhaps short of the place where it cuts civilization off at the knees," he said. "Every tenth of a degree Celsius that we can shave off the eventual temperature of the planet keeps another 100 million people in a comfortable climatic zone instead of moving them to a dangerous one."
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