🌱 The Grumpy Optimists #155
From EVs as batteries to tortoises returning home, stability is the new climate strategy.
Happy Monday. 👋
Last week it felt like good climate news was everywhere. This week I had to look a little harder.
That said, the stories I did find shared something interesting. A recurring theme kept appearing: resilience.
If you strip away the political noise at the moment you find something more structural is happening. Countries you might not expect are investing in renewable energy. Cities are redesigning streets to cope with heat and pollution. Car batteries are being used to power homes. We are even restoring species that have been absent for nearly two centuries.
Climate action is increasingly being integrated into society, into the everyday. That’s a reason to be optimistic.
Although, if I have missed any great resilience stories, I would love to see them in the comments.
👀 News to make you feel good this week - resilience edition
🇨🇺 US sanctions, power cuts and climate crisis: why Cuba is betting on renewables. Facing repeated blackouts, ageing grid infrastructure and fuel shortages, Cuba is accelerating investment in decentralised solar installations. Rather than relying solely on large central power stations, the country is deploying smaller, distributed systems that reduce strain on the grid and improve energy reliability.
What began as a response to crisis is becoming a structural shift in how power is generated and consumed. In this context, renewables are not just about emissions reduction. They are about stability and independence.
🇫🇷 Paris announces Europe’s largest urban detoxification project. Paris plans to remove cars from historic avenues, plant hundreds of trees and expand traffic free school streets. Beyond emissions reduction, the initiative directly addresses urban heat, air pollution and public health risks that are intensifying with climate change. More shade, fewer vehicles and safer streets increase a city’s ability to cope with heatwaves and extreme weather while improving everyday quality of life.
💭 My thoughts? Climate resilience in cities is not abstract. It is cooler streets, cleaner air and infrastructure designed to withstand hotter summers.
🚗 GM announces lease programme for powering your home with your EV. General Motors is launching a programme that allows EV owners to use their vehicles to power their homes. Vehicle to home technology effectively turns cars into mobile battery units. During outages or peak demand periods, stored energy in cars can be redirected into households. This shifts EVs from being purely transport assets to distributed energy infrastructure.
💭 My thoughts? Once storage is embedded in everyday assets, grid resilience becomes decentralised. I listened to this podcast from Tortoise media and found it incredibly useful to understand how we can run an entire grid on renewables.
🔋 China’s water battery breakthrough can last 120,000+ cycles. Researchers in China have developed a water based battery that could last more than 120,000 charge cycles, dramatically extending operational life compared to conventional lithium ion systems. If scalable, it could reduce long term storage costs and ease material constraints. More durable storage strengthens grids as renewable penetration rises.
🌬️ UK backs biggest English onshore windfarm in a decade. After years of political hesitation, the UK has approved major onshore wind projects, marking the strongest push in a decade. Expanding domestic renewable generation reduces reliance on imported gas and buffers the economy from international fuel price shocks. Onshore wind remains one of the cheapest forms of electricity generation available.
🐢 Floreana giant tortoise reintroduced to Galápagos island after almost 200 years. Conservationists have reintroduced giant tortoises to Floreana Island nearly two centuries after they were wiped out. As keystone species, tortoises help regulate vegetation and restore ecological balance. Their return strengthens long term ecosystem stability.
💭 My thoughts? Climate action is not only about cutting emissions. It is also about rebuilding natural systems that can endure.
📚 Also worth your time
🇨🇳 China is becoming a green superpower as Trump retreats from climate leadership. Industrial scale clean tech investment is reshaping global economic power.
⚡ Chris Stark: The economics of clean energy ‘just get better and better’. The cost curves continue to move in one direction.
🇬🇧 River Thames site gains bathing water status after community pressure. Citizen campaigning pushes water quality standards higher.
🤝 UK and California deepen ties on clean energy. Subnational alliances are shaping climate momentum beyond national politics.
Today’s song recommendation is Tems, Burning. An absolutely brilliant tune for a kitchen playlist. Well, hopefully not what’s actually happening in the kitchen.
George, the Grumpy Optimist 💚