Athens Newsletter April 2025
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Category: Athens
Athens Newsletter May 2025
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Athens Newsletter – February 2025
Dear Friends,
It has been two years since C-Change Conversations Athens began compiling this digest of local and statewide climate news in Georgia. It has been an exhilarating time. Clean tech has exploded, bringing high-paying jobs and economic growth to our state, bringing us hope. At the same time, we’ve also shared concerning news about how climate change is affecting our state.
We all agree that we need reliable, affordable energy. But our economic future also depends on a stable climate and we need to be clear-eyed about the risks if we want our wonderful Peach State to thrive. As a group of citizens concerned about the economic, health, and national security impacts of climate change, we hope to build consensus across the political spectrum about the urgent need to address it. We welcome your support and would love to hear from you.
We welcome questions and ideas. Please reach out to us!
Sincerely,
The C-Change Conversations Athens Team
News of Concern
Data centers are straining the power grid, and Georgia Power projects they could triple the state’s energy consumption over the next decade. In response, Georgia Power, the state’s largest utility provider, intends to grow its grid by 50% by 2030. That increased capacity will come from more renewable energy and upgrades to aging nuclear units and hydropower dams, but it also keeps two of the country’s largest coal power stations running past their planned retirements and expands methane gas production. Burning coal contributes more pollution than other fossil fuels and it is less efficient. The Public Service Commission will vote on Georgia Power’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) on July 15 after months of public hearings. (For more information about how to weigh in, please keep reading below under “Ways to Act.”)
Many clean energy projects in Georgia are on hold after President Trump’s order to freeze federal funding. Among the projects affected are at least $1 billion worth of upgrades to Georgia’s electric grid, EV charging, and battery installations in Athens, and clean energy workforce training in Norcross. The funding remains frozen despite two federal judges’ rulings that it be released. Georgia has been a magnet for clean domestic energy technologies since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. Seeking the law’s generous tax credits, manufacturing companies that supply batteries, electric cars, and solar cells have flocked to the state. The future of the law is now unclear.
Climate change is helping to drive up car insurance costs in Georgia. The rates climbed by 21% last year, according to a report by Insurify, in part because of “significant losses from severe weather events.” For example, an estimated 16,800 vehicles in Georgia were damaged during Hurricane Helene.
Ways To Act
You can ask the Georgia Public Service Commission to prioritize investments in clean, renewable energy production, battery storage, and energy efficiency programs during its public hearings about Georgia Power’s 2025 IRP on March 25–28, May 27–30, and June 23–25 (9:30-10:30 a.m. in Room 110, 244 Washington Street, Atlanta). You can also submit public comments through the online portal.
In recent weeks, the Georgia General Assembly passed legislation (SB 34) that would force Georgia Power to charge data centers for the cost of the energy infrastructure they require. In addition, a bipartisan group of legislators has introduced the Georgia Homegrown Solar Act of 2025 (SB 203) that would allow Georgia Power customers to buy a portion of their energy from a nearby solar farm instead of installing solar panels on their own roofs. This could lower energy costs for customers and help Georgia transition to clean energy. Please consider calling your state senator to ask them to support SB 34 and SB 203.
The Okefenokee Swamp is Georgia’s largest carbon sink. Mining Trail Ridge would drain peat beds on the east side of the swamp and release an estimated 86 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. Take action to support House Bill 561 to prevent future mining on Trail Ridge and House Bill 562, a five-year moratorium to prohibit mining permits in the Okefenokee. And remind legislators that 92% of voters support protecting the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and its wildlife.
Wade Davis, University of British Columbia professor of anthropology and the BC leadership chair in cultures and ecosystems at risk, will give the 2025 Odum Environmental Ethics Lecture as part of UGA’s third annual Humanities Festival. Davis’s talk is based on his 2009 book The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World. This free lecture will take place on April 2.
The Big Picture: U.S. and Global Climate News
What’s more important? Political fervor or economic reality? Culture war rhetoric or constituents’ wellbeing? We are about to find out.
The new administration is moving at breathtaking speed to bolster fossil fuels, roll back federal policies and departments, and blunt the clean-tech transformation. Fortunately, the transition is happening on such a big scale and on so many different levels – globally, locally, and increasingly individually – that this gumming up of the process cannot stop it. Unfortunately, these reversals in national support will slow down the transition, drive up energy costs, and handicap the United States in the new-energy race.
Let’s cut to the chase: we need an affordable, reliable, and safe energy system. Historically, fossil fuels have been our only choice, and they still provide almost 80% of our energy in the United States. But the new kids on the block (wind, solar, and batteries) are now outcompeting them, providing much cleaner energy that, when coupled together, can be pretty darn reliable and handle increasingly larger parts of the load – all at a much cheaper price. That’s why in 2025, 93% of new power generation in the U.S. is expected from wind, solar, and batteries, while only 7% from natural gas, and none from coal.
While renewables aren’t perfect, their economic advantage is causing a tsunami within the energy sector. The stark reality is that we need this record-breaking growth to continue, in part because renewables are so much quicker to bring online than new natural gas or nuclear that they can more immediately meet the burgeoning power demand for AI and electrification. Other forms of clean technologies, like new nuclear and long-term storage, hold great promise – and need policy support as well. Tellingly, our economic nemesis, China, continues to provide aggressive policy support and investment to dominate these new technologies, spending more than the U.S., UK, and EU combined last year.
Another economic reality? The clean-tech transition has reshored manufacturing jobs and created investment opportunities across the United States, attracting $1 trillion in investment. Importantly from a political perspective, 60% of projects and 85% of dollars are in conservative districts.
In the short run, the administration’s moves may score with the political base. But in the long run, they cause economic pain for all of us – squelching job growth, driving up energy costs, hampering reliability as demand is soaring, and exposing all of us to higher costs from climate impacts. Political fervor or economic reality? The winner of this race sets the pace for our future.
Notable Quote
“As Republicans, we should take a thoughtful approach and seek to refine and improve the IRA’s energy provisions in a way that promotes market certainty and continues to incentivize a comprehensive energy strategy. As a surgeon I would say, use a scalpel, not a sledgehammer.”
– Congresswoman (IA) Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Conservative Climate Caucus chair
News of Concern
Local jobs and growth are the most important drivers of any administration’s success, which is why the pushback against clean tech is such a lose-lose scenario. Red states – including Georgia, North Carolina, Montana, and Nevada – actually have the most to lose from the administration’s federal funding freeze on clean energy. The private investment bonanza and “once-in-a-generation manufacturing boom” promised to workers in these states is in jeopardy. Where is the economic sense in that?
This energy policy whirlwind has been set against the backdrop of the hottest January on record across the globe – except in the U.S., where a polar vortex is misbehaving and plunged most of the nation into a deep freeze (except Alaska, which experienced record highs). Our heads are spinning – global warming could perversely be causing extreme cold as well as extreme heat, and a growing body of research predicts this pattern could worsen in a warming world.
It’s only going to get worse as it gets warmer. The administration’s proposed cuts to FEMA will mean fewer dollars in aid when weather-related disasters occur – and these disasters tend to happen more in Republican states, which get more relief funding than Democratic states. Again we ask: which is more important – politics or economics?
Saying it isn’t real doesn’t keep you safe. In West Virginia, only 57% of residents believe climate change is happening but experts say the devastating flooding the state experienced in February was made more extreme by warming temperatures, and that it is likely to happen again. On the federal level, the new administration has changed policy to enable roads, bridges, and federal buildings to be built without factoring in the new threats from climate change, putting billions of infrastructure dollars at risk. We can’t make ourselves safer unless we accept the realities and plan for them.
What do we gain through the scuttling of offshore wind projects, when costs have come down so fast and job opportunities have supported so many people in (again) primarily Republican districts? What gains will balance out the $1 billion that taxpayers will lose from the shut down of EV chargers on federal property?
One last note before moving on to more hopeful news: we are worried about chocolate in our warming world. Last year, 71% of cocoa-growing regions in West Africa were threatened as they experienced six extra weeks of extreme heat (above 89.6°F). Can you imagine Valentine’s month without chocolate? Heartbreaking.
News of Hope
Fortunately, while the administration pulls back on the reins of climate action, the rest of the world is spurring it on. Leaders of almost every country are pushing forward on climate goals. Leaders of most faiths are rallying as “good stewards of the Earth.” Philanthropies are pledging continued support for climate action. And states – even conservative ones – are staying the course toward net-zero. Because they can all see the economic pain of failure and the gain of successfully transitioning to a lower-carbon economy.
Those gains are spurring global investment in our low-carbon energy transition – to the tune of more than $2 trillion for the first time last year. Even the Middle East is transitioning as major solar projects are on track to make renewables 30% of total capacity in five years in seven countries. There’s simply no denying – even by oil-rich countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia – that renewable energy makes financial sense.
Back home, simpler transitions – how we heat and cool our homes, for example – are gaining traction. Heat pump sales are soaring as we realize that turning to cleaner energy doesn’t have to mean sacrificing comfort or convenience. Heat pumps are simply more efficient and less polluting than fossil fuel furnaces, so they just make more sense.
Energy innovation continually astounds us, and here’s one project that caught our fancy. JetWind Power is using windmills to harness the air turbulence created by jets as they land and take off and using it to power nearby car chargers. These are the ideas that bring us hope when times feel tough. If we think it, we can do it – and we’re truly thankful for all of the minds that are pushing the boundaries to create climate solutions.
Notable Graphic
Whether you tune in for the game, the commercials, or the munchies, the Super Bowl is a big event in the United States – and climate change is becoming a player. This graphic shows how much warmer Super Bowl Sunday has become since 1970. And in fact, all 30 NFL cities are seeing two weeks more of extremely hot days, which imperils the health of the players as well as our joy in the game.
Notable Video
If you were watching the Super Bowl, you might have caught this compelling ad about the importance of climate action. Created by Science Moms, a nonpartisan group of mothers who are also climate scientists, the commercial is a touching plea for all to recognize how climate change will impact our children’s health and future. We were moved and thrilled to see a climate change message on such a national platform.
Athens Newsletter January 2025
Dear Friends,
It has been two years since C-Change Conversations Athens began compiling this digest of local and statewide climate news in Georgia. It has been an exhilarating time. Clean tech has exploded, bringing high-paying jobs and economic growth to our state, and providing lots of fodder for our news of hope section. We’ve also shared concerning news about how climate change is affecting our state.
We all agree that we need reliable, affordable energy. But our economic future also depends on a stable climate and we need to be clear-eyed about the risks if we want our wonderful Peach State to thrive. As a group of citizens concerned about the economic, health, and national security impacts of climate change, we hope to build consensus across the political spectrum about the urgent need to address it. We welcome your support and would love to hear from you.
Sincerely,
The C-Change Conversations Athens Team
News of Hope
News of Concern
As we mourned the loss of Georgia’s own Jimmy Carter, we were reminded of his environmental legacy and forward-thinking approach to energy. Carter was among the first world leaders to heed scientific research that burning fossil fuels results in carbon dioxide pollution that warms the planet. He pushed legislation to encourage the research and use of alternative fuels and even installed solar panels on the roof of the White House. Carter’s environmentalism was rooted in a childhood spent hunting and fishing in the woods and his words and actions continue to inspire conservationists today:
Future generations of conservation leaders must remember that we are stewards
of a precious gift, which is not an unpleasant duty but rather an exciting challenge.
We must safeguard our land so that our children and grandchildren can enjoy
freshwater, clean air, scenic mountains and coasts, fertile agricultural lands, and
healthy, safe places to live and thrive.
Atlanta-based Coca-Cola recently abandoned its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and lowered its recycling targets. Environmental groups that perform trash audits have found the company to be the top plastics polluter globally.
Ways To Act
Research now confirms that the Planetary Health Diet can lower your risk of premature death by 30% and lower your carbon footprint. More information on the diet can be found here.
The Big Picture: U.S. and Global Climate News
The new year started with a bang. The heartbreaking and apocalyptic destruction of Los Angeles from a climate-enhanced winter wildfire juxtaposed against a new president who vows to increase production of fossil fuels, pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement climate accord on day one, and has frozen federal funding supporting clean energy.
Unlike it did in 2016, the new administration does not deny that climate change exists. It simply does not deem the threat significant enough to override or influence other important policy goals, such as lowering inflationary pressure, marginalizing Russia’s geopolitical sway, increasing domestic manufacturing, and producing more energy to stabilize the grid. Calling fossil fuels the “gold beneath our feet” and dismissing the promise of clean energy to meet those policy objectives, President Trump clearly enunciated a direction that differs from the past four years, one that may seem seductive at first sight but is fraught in the long term.
The new administration’s actions won’t change economic reality: the costs of moving to a lower-carbon economy are much less than the costs of climate change’s damages. In almost every corner of the world, new power generation from renewable energy sources is much less expensive than from the lowest-cost fossil fuel provider (utility solar was 56% less expensive and wind was 67% cheaper on a global average for 2023). Innovation will disrupt legacy players even more, and the economic potential of the energy transition will only increase.
It’s going to be a wild ride as political aspirations and promises bump up against economic reality. There are conservative approaches to lessen the climate threat, but we need to start with a clear-eyed recognition of the problem. Stick with us as we guide you through the new challenges and opportunities ahead.
Notable Quote
“Here is the reality: The very metabolism of the Earth has been thrown off by an atmosphere choking on greenhouse gasses, and it will take more than political bickering to set things right. Another reality: Fixing the problem first requires understanding – and, even more fundamentally, accepting – the science. Only then can we implement policies and put in place protocols that help us both reduce the likelihood of more such crises and minimize the death and destruction when they ultimately do occur.”
– Jeffrey Kluger, Time magazine
News of Concern
This month, NASA, NOAA, and other scientific organizations confirmed that 2024 was the hottest year on record with average global temperatures about 1.47°C above mid-19th century averages. Sea surface temperatures also broke heat records last year. This news, coupled with the inferno in California, was yet another wakeup call, fast on the heels of the supercharged hurricanes that wrought devastation in the fall. And while incidents like these may not necessarily be caused by climate change, they are usually “enhanced” by it – for example, foliage in the Los Angeles area was 25% drier due to climate change, enabling the fires to burn more quickly and ferociously. And Los Angeles’ destruction won’t be the last – three-fourths of the world has gotten drier due to climate change, which means one in three people live in “moisture-deprived areas” at risk not just of fire, but of drought, crop failure, and dust storms.
The personal and economic loss from the Los Angeles fires is yet another reminder that our insurance system is not built for such disasters. This article (published before the fires as well as before Hurricanes Helene and Milton) shows the magnitude of areas that are being underserved or dropped from coverage. Our once-great system that protected our homes and livelihoods no longer works – we’re building in places that we can’t afford to protect and our rates have become so high that many can’t afford policies (if they’re even available). To stay safe, we have to build safe, but costs are prohibitive and locations that are resistant to climate change are becoming scarcer.
There are even more troubling climate signals worldwide. Scientists who studied 2023’s high heat say it may have been caused in part by a decline in low clouds over the ocean, which lead to higher absorption of solar radiation. Recent satellite data shows that methane emissions (which trap 80 times more heat than CO2 in the short run) from landfills may be much higher than we thought. And whether we like it or not, what’s happening to polar bears and glaciers are a harbinger for all life on Earth as the Arctic heats up faster than any area of the world.
We know these hotter temperatures put our health at risk in the long term, but we’re also getting ill now. Flesh-eating bacteria [paywall] that thrive in the warm waters that come ashore during hurricanes. Increased food spoilage and food-borne illnesses. Unbreathable toxic wildfire smoke. The cost on our well-being – and on our wallets – is ratcheting up.
This heat is also dulling the spice in our lives – literally. Chili peppers are getting blander, as are coconuts and cabbage. And to be honest, we’re bitter about it – much like our coffee is tasting, too.
And even though we are creating more and more of our energy from renewable sources (you’ll read more below), the conundrum of how we meet our power demand while not increasing our fossil fuel usage remains, perhaps, the biggest challenge of our time. Off-the-charts power demand from AI, increased electrification, and climbing cooling needs are straining our grid to its breaking point.
At some point – and soon – something has to give.
News of Hope
While we are indeed looking at a bumpy road for a while, we also have positive news to keep us moving forward. Carbon-free energy made up 96% of new power on the U.S. grid in 2024. It’s remarkable progress … although, yes, it does come with an asterisk. Most of our electricity still comes from gas, and we used almost 4% more in 2024. But there’s a mind-boggling amount of renewable energy – 2.6 terawatts, or about double our grid’s current capacity – in the queue. If we can find a way to integrate enough of that clean energy, our system will become both more secure and economic.
While solar power remains king of the renewables, we’re ready to put our money on geothermal energy as second in command. The International Energy Agency (IEA) says geothermal has the next-highest clean power potential after solar, thanks to next-gen technologies that could harness heat from deeper inside the Earth. Scientists and business leaders alike are racing to make this vision – one that could provide 140 times the world’s current power demand – an economic and engineering reality.
Despite the current uncertainty about incentives for electric vehicles in the United States, sales were strong last year – and experts say they will likely remain so as battery costs continue to decrease, technology keeps improving, and new models that appeal to skeptics come onto the market. Other countries have embraced EVs in force – Bloomberg predicts EVs will make up 50% of the global market share by 2030 – and U.S. automakers do not intend to be left behind.
Even with a pin stuck in federal climate policies, states and cities have made big strides in lowering carbon emissions, and most have no plans to stop now. Case in point: Chicago, where all city municipal buildings – more than 400 of them – now run on 100% clean power. This transition is largely powered by solar and is predicted to reduce emissions equal to taking 62,000 cars off the road. Now that’s what we call driving change!
There’s also change afoot on the legal front. Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal by oil and gas companies to block a Hawaiian lawsuit that seeks billions for damages wrought by climate change disasters. It’s a vital precedent for future and impending legal proceedings. So is the decision of the Montana Supreme Court, which upheld a landmark case won by young climate activists who said state policies violated their right to a clean environment. Similar cases are on dockets in other states, including Florida, and around the world, as a younger generation raises its voices against policies and polluters that could put their future at risk.
Finally, let’s take just a moment to remind ourselves about the myriad, lower-tech ways that nature can help us reduce our carbon footprint. Consider bamboo – its forests absorb vast amounts of carbon and it can be used as fuel, building materials, and even food. Just imagine the potential of bamboo if, instead of fearing it as an invasive species as gardeners have been taught, we embrace its potential as an ally in lowering emissions. The possibilities could be endless – what a soothing thought.
Climate Quiz
We had fun challenging ourselves with this short New York Times quiz about climate costs and impacts. Take a minute to test yourself!
Notable Graph
Here it is in color – temperatures are rising fast, but so are the solutions that not only can mitigate our risks, but can reap economic benefits as well. We’ll be watching closely in 2025 and hoping cool heads prevail.
Notable Video
What if we could see emissions polluting the air? Would we care more? Take a look at a typical natural gas venting episode in Florida. Infrared optical gas imaging captures what our naked eyes can not.
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