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.
It’s Cement, It’s Steel, It’s Superwood!
A fascinating new field of cutting-edge super-strong enhanced wood prAoducts is emerging in America, providing a new building material as tough and resilient as concrete or steel (often even better!) but with much lower carbon emissions.
Startup InventWood Inc. just raised $15 million to build a factory in Frederick, Maryland, to mass-produce their “Superwood” product (invented at the University of Maryland). It’s set to produce one million square feet of Superwood annually, starting in summer 2025.
Superwood is a sustainable building material 10 times stronger than steel, thanks to reconfigured cellulose molecules. It has 50 percent better tensile strength than steel plus a 10 times better strength-to-weight ratio. It’s made by transforming normal wood with a multi-step heating, compressing, and chemical reaction process that reconfigures the structure of its cellulose molecules — with no plastic-based resins, emissions heavy cement-making, or coal burning smelting required. In addition to making it much stronger and lighter, the compression and molecular reconfiguration process also makes Superwood highly resistant to corrosion, rot, and fire. It should be available starting later this year and has the potential transform the U.S. building sector.
At an earlier stage of innovation, researchers in Florida have successfully introduced iron directly into the cell walls of red oak planks, a new method of making super-strong wood. Very promising work — and a good indicator that more startups in the enhanced-wood space are on the way!
In the United States, the major speed bumps slowing the spread of new construction and housing technologies tend to be regulatory and legal hurdles. Th e use of enhanced super-strong wood products as building materials would likely spread much faster if building codes and state laws and tax structures unambiguously clarify that it’s allowed to be used — or even encouraged. Policy makers should know that their constituents support accelerating this win-win innovation with a supportive regulatory structure.
Tell your state leaders to support and incentivize super-strong enhanced wood and stop cutting down legacy forests.
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Climate Action Now: “Your Daily Dose of Climate Hope: The coming of Superwood!” June 6, 2025: https://climateactapp.substack.com/p/your-daily-dose-of-climatehope-may-2ec
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Renewable Energy Has a New Elevator Pitch
At a time of waning climate action and volatile geopolitics, renewable power sources like wind and solar are rebranding from planet-saving, emissions-reducing clean technologies to must-haves for energy security and peace-of-mind.Th e narrative is shifting around the world due to a confluence of factors, but it’s perhaps most visible across Europe.
An energy crisis spurred by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has boosted the desire for energy independence and stable homegrown power sources. Add to that industrial competitiveness challenges, the rise of climate-skeptic far-right parties, and, more recently, concern around the policies of U.S. President Donald Trump, and it’s not surprising renewable industry leaders are seeking to keep their businesses relevant in turbulent times.
“It’s more politically resilient to talk about energy security, competition, innovation and the European industry than just ‘climate,’” said Linda Kalcher, executive director of Brussels-based think tank Strategic Perspectives.
These new dynamics were on display at the recent energy security conference organized by the International Energy Agency at the end of April in London, where both leaders and business executives touted the benefits of renewable energy in the current fraught international political order. It’s a big shift from about five years ago when public opinion, the rise of Green parties, and Greta Thunberg-inspired student climate protests helped put decarbonization at the top of the European Union’s agenda.
At that time, investing in renewables was a key pillar in the efforts to make the European Union climate-neutral by 2050. Fast-forward to today and the “why” behind going green is changing with the times.
“It has become much more than decarbonization,” said Sonia Dunlop, CEO of the Global Solar Council, the organization representing the global photovoltaic industry. “I’ve become convinced over the last years that renewables … are absolutely crucial to the new energy security.”
At the London conference, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke about how the EU reduced its dependency on Russian fossil fuels by accelerating the roll-out of renewables. “In the medium term, this is the best means to ensure energy security,” she told participants.
In the run-up to the IEA summit, the Global Renewables Alliance and other renewables organizations ran a half-page ad in the Financial Times with “Energy Security = Renewable Energy” featured in big, bold font. Almost 150 companies and associations also signed a statement backing the message and calling on governments to prioritize energy storage, efficiency and grid enhancements.
The pro-renewables messages at the IEA conference from European leaders stood in contrast to the rhetoric of the American delegation. Tommy Joyce, acting assistant secretary of international affairs at the U.S. Energy Department, criticized renewable energy and instead framed energy independence around an increased reliance on fossil fuels — a hallmark of the Trump administration’s energy policy.
One problem that renewables have is a potential vulnerability with their manufacturing origins. The supply chains for manufacturing renewable technologies like solar panels and wind turbines are overwhelmingly dependent on just one country — China. In addition, the IEA has identified China’s control of the minerals refining industry as an emerging energy security risk.
This fact has not escaped the renewable energy industry, which is calling for diversification.
“It’s a fair point, but this is also a very different kind of supply chain than if Russia shut off gas supplies,” Dunlop said. “Within a day or two, people would not have heating anymore. But for solar modules, for example, there is a lot of inventory and a crisis would take years to be felt.”
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Cipher: “Renewables Rebrand as an Energy Security Must Have” by Anca Gurzu, May 14, 2025: https://www.ciphernews.com/articles/renewables-rebrand-asan-energy-security-must-have/
