Climate Good News
Around the world people are taking the initiative to mitigate climate change.
Here are some good news briefs compiled by the Climate Issue group
of the LWV of Bellingham/Whatcom.
Out of Scifi Into Real World
In March 2025, Chinese regulators granted permission for two companies, EHang Holdings and Hefei Hey Airlines, to operate pilotless electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) human passengercarrying drones. These are essentially self-driving electric flying cars — and they’re now cleared to carry passengers in the skies over China. One of those companies, EHang, has also recently flown their EH216-S craft in Mexico. We may soon get a wave of flying Chinese EVs right on the heels of the current wave of ground level Chinese EVs, transforming urban m type uses in cities.
This is all made possible by the amazing advances in battery technology. More precisely, electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOLs), essentially extra-large people-carrying battery-powered drones. (Or, putting it another way, extraquiet zero-emissions vertical takeoff-friendly helicopters. The big advantage of eVTOLs over helicopters is that helicopters generally need to go forward when taking off and so require runways, while eVTOLs can go straight up, making them a more realistic prospect for “flying taxi”-type uses in cities.).
eVTOLs may seem like a new toy for rich people at first, but new technology has a habit of starting out that way before becoming cheaper, more accessible, and widely useful. Small quadcopter-type drones also seemed like toys at fi rst, and now they’re doing vital, transformative work from delivering life-saving medical supplies across sub-Saharan Africa to scaling up aerial reforestation around the world. Early eVTOL models have already been used to transport medical supplies during the Covid-19 crisis, and, in the near future, they could be used as super-fast and maneuverable ambulances.
The potential of this technology is extraordinary, and we’re likely going to learn a lot more about it very soon. eVTOLs have moved in recent years from a long-held dream of science fiction to a nascent reality — and, if the United States isn’t careful, China could dominate this emerging technology sector as they’re starting to do with many others.
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Climate Action Now: https://www.climateactionnow.com/featured-action/?can_vv_campaign_id=125974&can_action_source_id=26933&utm_campaign=daily-dose&utm_source=substack
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New Installment Procedures Save Time and Money
Massachusetts has developed a highly effective integrated “turnkey” program providing and installing solar panels, heat pumps, home efficiency upgrades, and home batteries for low- and moderate-income households. The Cape and Vineyard Electrification Offering (CVEO) is currently providing 55 homes with free or heavily subsidized clean-tech, while substantially lowering barriers to entry by handling installation logistics and deploying multiple integrated technologies at once.
“We are going to be advancing this as a model that should be emulated by other states across the country that are trying to achieve decarbonization goals …
This is the first and only instance where solar and battery storage are being presented in combination with electrifi cation and traditional effi ciency.
Instead of having several siloed programs, it’s all being presented to the customer in a package, which makes everything work together better.”
— Todd Olinsky-Paul, Clean Energy Group.
This model should be scaled up across the nation! In addition to sharing the benefi ts of the global energy revolution to directly increase households’ prosperity, installing multiple integrated clean energy technologies at once (especially solar-plus home batteries) helps reduce emissions and provide cleaner air while reducing the load on the local grid. State leaders can and should use this pilot program as an example that can be fine-tuned and scaled up across their own states.
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Clean Energy Group : “Solar+Storage+Electrifi cation: A Clean Energy Equity Model For Massachusetts” by Olivia Tym, https://www.cleanegroup.org/publication/solar-storage-electrification-cveo-massachusetts/
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Penguin Pebbles
When we heard Trump had put a 10 percent tariff on exports from our island [Heard Island, Australia], we were in quite a flap. Sure, no humans live here — but maybe it was time for us to contribute to the global economy. So, we put our beaks together and devised a plan to launch our first ever export: pebbles. Normally we use them for nests, flirting, or keeping our chicks entertained.
But now? We’re selling them to build our nest-worth — even if it’s a bit taxed!”
According to World Wildlife Fund Australia, two islands in the heart of the Southern Ocean — Heard Island and McDonald Islands — are home to “some of the most iconic and ecologically significant penguin species on the planet,” including the macaroni, eastern rockhopper, gentoo, and king penguins. And now, you can support those vulnerable penguin species by buying pebbles from them at the Heard Island Pebbles shop (https://www.heardislandpebbles.com/).
On the Heard Island Pebbles Shop, web page, a digital pebble is listed as “a stunning symbolic purchase to donate money to conservation efforts.” The team added that the illustrated graphic is “wonderful for posting on social media to show your support for the penguins of Heard Island — and your confusion on why tariff s were imposed on a human-free island in the first place.” The shop also features a real, tangible pebble that’s “wonderful for nest building, impressing love interests, or keeping the chicks entertained,” chimed in the penguins.
“If you’re not a penguin, our pebbles make great pot plant decor, paper weights, or a centerpiece for weighty conversations on international trade,” the website adds. “Please note, if you live in America, pebbles will cost an extra 10 percent. Because tariff s [frowning face].”
“If we want to protect this pristine wilderness and ensure the survival of its iconic penguin species, we must take action now.”
In addition to purchasing pebbles, penguin lovers can sign an online petition calling on the Australian Minister for the Environment and Water, Tanya Plibersek, to increase protection for the critical marine habitats and even “adopt” a penguin — a donation that comes with a penguin stuff ed animal and an adoption certificate.
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Goodgoodgood.co: https://www.goodgoodgood.co/articles/trumptariffs-heard-island-penguinspebble-export
