25% Renewable
One quarter of US electricity will be produced by renewables by next year estimates the Electricity Information Administration. Coal has been steadily declining since at least around 2013, with just a small blip upwards in 2021. Good news indeed!
Mont St. Michel
This amazing abbey and mini town just off the coast of Normandy in France is the most visited site in France, after Paris. Built a full millennium ago this year, the management of tourism at the site is getting some sustainable upgrades and ‘slow tourism’ is helping to protect not only the abbey but also the surrounding ecosystem.
I hope this place is preserved for another millennium of visitors. It’s extraordinary, and if you’re in that region, it’s a must-visit.
645% Increase
A cool site called Exploding Topics tracks all sorts of trending searches and themes. Apparently the number of searches for Environmental and Social Corporate Governance rose over 600% since about 2019. ESG has been around a lot longer than that, but we know that increasing ESG-focused investment options as well as corporate drives for sustainability (perhaps in response to Gen Z now entering the workforce? Not sure) have both likely had some influence on the rise.
And I first saw this graphic on a Substack newsletter I read called Entrepreneurs for Impact by Chris Wedding. Lots of info on where investors are putting their dollars and other great content for entrepreneurs themselves.
Music City District Energy Plans
Nashville TN is booming, but it has a District Energy system that might help it remain (and hopefully improve) its energy sustainability. Although most district energy systems are not purely renewable-powered (and Nashville’s is mostly natural gas power), it generally makes it easier to use renewable energy once you have a district energy system. The system also tends to be cheaper for users, and more efficient overall.
These are the kinds of stories that I think represent important progress. Is it perfect? No. Is there still resistance in some quarters? Yep. But it all helps us move forward.
And, even better news in the same article: Vanderbilt University - just outside of downtown Nashville - projects it will meet its 2050 carbon neutrality goals by later THIS year. Amazing.
And a final quote to ponder over the weekend
'“…nothing is more powerful than people who do something because they want to do it.”
From ‘HumanKind. A hopeful History’, Rutger Bregman.
__
Have a great weekend y’all!
Friday Bits and Bobs (Jan 27th)
And - nice to see some good news in Tennessee! Go Vandy!
Oh the horror! ;)