SPECIAL LABOUR DAY EDITION
Long reads and great listens to send you back to work informed and inspired
No matter how much you love what you do, it can be tough to go from spending your days dockside to deskside. And the end of summer can be extra jarring if you feel like you left your work brain somewhere at the bottom of the lake.
To help you ease into your new fall routines, we’ve put together a special back-to-work clean energy primer—featuring a few of our favourite long reads and listens from the summer.
Come across other inspiring articles or recordings this summer? Share them on Twitter or Facebook!
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MERRAN SMITH | Executive Director | @merransmith
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 Essay: When the climate fight gets personal
It's hard to envision a more dedicated advocate for climate action than Bill McKibben. In a recent essay in the New York Times, the renowned activist opened up about the personal toll of speaking out: being followed 24/7 by a team of professional "stalkers" eager to document signs of hypocrisy that would discredit McKibben and undermine his message.
Anyone who spends their days working to change the status quo can relate, to some extent. McKibben writes: "Environmentalists also live in the world we’re trying to change: We take airplanes and rent buses for rallies; we make a living, shop for groceries....Changing the system, not perfecting our own lives, is the point. 'Hypocrisy' is the price of admission in this battle." That's not a free pass, but rather an admission that we are all part of the system. Change can start with each of us, but it can't end there.
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A deep dive into EV demand and disruption
Should OPEC be "scared to death" at the prospect of more electric vehicles rolling off the lot? A niche product today, EVs could account for 40 per cent of vehicles globally by 2040. The Financial Times digs into the disruptive potential of plugging in.
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DAN WOYNILLOWICZ | Policy Director | @danwoy
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World War...C?
Bill McKibben raised a few eyebrows recently with an essay arguing that fighting climate change—and winning—would require mobilization of the scale not seen since WWII.
Among the eyebrow-raisers is Vox writer David Roberts, who explores the pitfalls, and the positives, of McKibben's thesis in an even-handed critique. Ultimately, Roberts concludes, the historical and political limitations of the wartime analogy mean "there’s no skeleton key, no framing so dire that it will part the political waters" and achieve the scale of action needed—but different narrative strokes work for different folks.
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Leave it to the Danes
Denmark—known for pricey pints, renowned restaurants and serious cyclists—is also home to "the world's most aggressive clean energy targets." In Quitting Carbon, Justin Gerdes explores how the Danes got to be decades ahead in shifting off fossil fuels.
(P.S. Rather listen than read? Check out Chris Nelder’s interview with the author on The Energy Transition Show.)
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JULIA KILPATRICK | Communications Director | @juliakilpat
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 See who's chirping loudest in the online climate conversation
With some 500 million tweets being sent each day, it's tough to cut through the noise on Twitter to find new insight and genuine dialogue about climate change and the clean energy transition.
But what if the noise is part of the story? Researchers from Right Relevance, commissioned by Carbon Brief, have mapped how that conversation is unfolding on Twitter, drawing intriguing visual links between online influencers and clusters of ideas, assumptions, sectors and more. The next round of maps will drill down into that conversation further, exploring who's shaping the discourse on specific types of energy. See who's in your echo chamber, and whose messages are breaking through.
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Smart and sophisticated: how energy-saving tech is raising the bar for modern home design
The July/August issue of Dwell proves energy efficiency can be sexy. For fall reno inspiration, check out an automated passive house in Seattle, a LEED Gold-certified property in Aspen that purifies rainwater, and a bright, battery-powered Finnish retreat.
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CLARE DEMERSE | Federal Policy Advisor | @claredemerse
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 (Not) all about that price
The executive summary of the new EcoFiscal report comparing the stringency of carbon pricing policies should be required reading for all climate policy geeks ahead of this fall’s federal and provincial climate plan negotiations.
But lest anyone think that’s the whole story, check out the amazing one-two punch of Dave Roberts quoting the Broadbent Institute's Brendan Haley to explain that climate policy is much bigger than the price alone. The fall's discussions are gearing up to be interesting indeed.
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Is America's energy future on the line?
This summer shed new light on Clinton's and Trump's different priorities on energy and climate. ICYMI, Think Progress delves into Trump's fossil-heavy plans, while David Roberts explains Clinton's policy outlook and where the two stand on carbon pricing.
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SARAH PETREVAN | Senior Policy Advisor | @sarahcpetrevan
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Podcast: Meet the Energy Gang
Make your time in transit more productive with the Energy Gang podcast. Episodes feature a range of perspectives and cover a lot of ground, from unpacking Elon Musk's plans for Tesla, to what's ahead in sustainable transportation, and how to retool the energy grid.
For the super keen crowd, a subscription to GreenTech Media's The Interchange podcast will get you access to weekly episodes featuring in-depth discussions about the latest industry developments, from the existential status of cleantech venture capital to the cutting edge of commercial energy storage. Preview it here.
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Generating community, one kilowatt at a time
When communities back renewable power generation, the benefits return to the residents—and not just through clean electricity. Community-owned projects lead to more jobs, higher economic activity and better social licence than corporate projects, TREC finds.
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JEREMY MOORHOUSE | Senior Analyst | @J__Moorhouse
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 B.C. takes its cue from The West Wing for climate plan drop
If the cast of The West Wing taught us anything, it's that Friday afternoons in the middle of summer (not to mention the Olympics) are supposed to be a good time for governments to release bad news. The only problem the B.C. government ran into when unveiling its updated climate plan was that the timing was so conspicuously bad that everyone seemed to be watching.
Policy experts and proponents of climate action widely panned the plan, since it would leave emissions at basically the same level in 2030 as they are today. For a comprehensive look at where B.C.'s ambition falls short, take a scroll through commentary from Mark Jaccard the Times Colonist, the Pembina Institute, Peter Robinson and Mossadiq Umedaly.
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World Bank finds carbon tax pays off for B.C.
The whole idea of pricing carbon pollution can be a tough sell, but the World Bank says it pays off. Whether in Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, France, California, or British Columbia, the study found carbon fees caused no harm to industrial production or economic growth.
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FRONT BURNER
Alberta Climate Summit
Sept. 20 | Calgary, Alberta
Explore challenges and opportunities emerging in a new era of climate leadership in Alberta and Canada. Session topics include the role of fossil fuels in a 2050 carbon constrained world, investment and business strategies for a low-carbon world, realizing the benefits of utility-scale and community-owned renewable energy, and more. Hosted by the Pembina Institute. Learn more.
Sept. 9-11 | Various locations (Ontario/Alberta/B.C.)
Green Energy Doors Open: Test drive an EV, down a sustainable brew, rock out at a pedal-powered concert or snoop around your neighbour's solar array at events across Ontario, Alberta and B.C. Hosted by the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association, Decentralised Energy Canada, and the B.C. Sustainable Energy Association. Learn more.
Sept. 12-15 | Las Vegas, Nevada
Solar Power International: Join the largest gathering of solar installers, manufacturers, and energy storage professionals for four days of networking and discussion. Hosted by the Solar Energy Industries Association and Smart Electric Power Alliance. Learn more.
Sept. 19-22 | Santa Clara, California
Verge 16: Billed as the place where “the clean economy comes alive,” this international conference brings together the leaders, thinkers and doers using tech and innovation to accelerate the sustainable economy. Hosted by the Green Biz Group. Learn more.
Sept. 22-23 | Vancouver, B.C.
Progress Summit BC: Join policy experts, influential thinkers, industry, government, labour and business leaders from Western Canada at this non-partisan conference exploring public policy and sustainability. Hosted by the Broadbent Institute. Learn more.
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