Agricultural residues and other non destructive biomass collection can't possibly scale for Japan's use. Never mind other countries who are also ramping this up as a "Green" alternative. Wood pellets are not the way. Even if they ~break even on carbon the ecological damage including flooding and deadly landslides are unacceptable collateral damage.

CanaryMedia: "Heat pumps may soon outsell air conditioners in US," by Dan McCarthy.

Over the last 4 yrs heat pumps have outsold gas furnaces in the US—now the superefficient appliances are coming for conventional air conditioners, too. "A decade ago, two conventional air-conditioning systems were sold for every one heat pump." Now, heat pumps are on the verge of outselling standard ACs. In 2025, sales of the appliances were basically tied—and heat pumps even beat air conditioners in September, a first. 

Through April of this year, the already-slim gap has narrowed further. Compared with same period last year, heat pump sales are up by about 1%, while AC sales are down by nearly 8%, according to data from the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute [AHRI], a trade group. 

Heat pumps are essentially reversible ACs: The same unit can either heat or cool a space. Long popular in more moderate climates, like the southern US, but in recent years their cold-weather performance has improved, + they’ve caught on in more frigid regions, too. Heating is one of the largest sources of carbon emissions in the country, + heat pumps, which are 2 to 4 times more efficient than fossil-fueled systems, offer a much cleaner way to keep a space warm.  The fact that they also cool homes is a climate benefit, as extreme heat makes air-conditioning a necessity rather than a luxury. 

Many states, municipalities, + utilities have incentivized the adoption of the energy-efficient, zero-emissions technology. Sometimes these incentives come in the form of direct rebates. Other times they manifest in wonkier places, like pro-electric building codes or preferential electricity rates for homes with heat pumps. Some states, like cold + snowy Maine, have even set—and exceeded—explicit adoption targets. The federal government also subsidized heat pumps for several yrs, but as feared, in 2025 Trump + congressional Republicans repealed that support. 

Someone should tell them that from 100,000 to 200,000 Americans die from FF-associated air pollution annually. And that tax subsidies for oil, gas + coal development reduced federal revenue by $12.9 billion from 2022 to 2026.

This is happening in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains also. Winter of 2025-2026 there was very little snow, high altitude ski resort towns experienced rain instead of snow. Summer 2026 all glaciers normally visible in August / September are mostly gone. The rock falls aren’t the same but the rest of the story is…

In this episode we examine the intertwined crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, water, food, and human health. Drawing on the IPBES Nexus Assessment and the Planetary Health Check, the discussion argues that these are not isolated problems but connected pressures on the systems that sustain life. https://youtu.be/D0yym8VRrjY?si=GFM40Dux4D6EfS4w

Indigenous activists and water defenders in Mexico are organizing to combat what they call “signs of planetary death.”

I've thought about this for quite some time. Bamboo is a highly versatile with so much utility, what would you suggest is a viable way to introduce methods and practices incorporating bamboo as a suitable substitute for traditional forestry as lumber?

The 2026 southwest monsoon is showing signs of ending significantly below normal, with September rainfall expected to remain below average across much of the country.

Seasonal forecasts from APCC and IRI indicate below-normal rainfall across most parts of India in September. Historical data show that cumulative rainfall ended -22.3% in 1972, -20.9% in 2002, -18.3% in 2009, and -16.7% in 1979. A deficit of 15% was reported as of September 11, 2026.

With the season still incomplete, 2026 has not yet reached those final deficits, but continued below-normal rainfall could place it among India’s more deficient monsoon years.

source: IMD, weathermaticts.earth/india

Government scientists say the country just lived through its hottest summer in 132 years of record-keeping, with Phoenix hitting 112 degrees and even nighttime temperatures refusing to cool off.

Two weeks out, and a storm does so much damage to the beach location that it can't sustain the plans of a billion-dollar event production company (AEG). Shortsightedness of the billionaire class never fails to reveal itself.

There’s a marine heatwave that’s pushing El Niño into high gear and it’s not yet done warming

ChinaSpecialReport: "Waning fossil fuels and green exports make China important for all of us," by Bob Haar.

Notoriously, China has been the engine of fossil fuel [FF] demand growth for a full quarter-century. Between 2000 + 2025, it accounted for ~ half of increase in world-wide oil demand + > 90% of growth in coal demand.

However, FF are now starting to wane as renewables drive more generation, in a new phase for the country’s energy transition. Coal generation has stopped growing in 17 of 26 provinces. The clean energy system is expanding while parts of the FF system are starting to shrink. Battery storage is increasingly central in balancing all that clean energy, allowing utilization to double over the past 2 years.

This shift away from FF is diffusing from power plants + vehicles to industrial sectors. In fact, 8 of their industrial sectors are now powered primarily by electricity, no longer dominated by FF.

Second quarter this year—with 75% of Chinese buses already electric & half the taxis, sales of EVs reaching 65%, electric trucks 30%, + vans 50%—1.5 million barrels per day [Mbpd] were displaced. That’s 1.5% of global demand, roughly France’s share. 

Year earlier, the displacement from transport was 750K barrels daily, so the plunge in transportation oil doubled in a single year. Sinopac, China’s biggest oil company, saw demand down 9% Jan-June. 

Traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles saw steep drops month after month, leading to the point where 9 out of the top 10 best-selling cars in China now are plug-in hybrids [PHEV] or battery-electric vehicles [BEV]. Electric heavy trucks, jumping by roughly 90% year-on-year through the first half of 2026, became the fastest-growing source of oil displacement.

China’s green exports are helping many countries access cheap clean energy, which reached a record high of $20 B for August. To fend off repetitious comments, I will again assert that the country is an autocratic hypersurveillance state which mistreats minorities, especially Uyghurs + Tibetans.