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The climate movement needs the kind of leverage that comes from shutting down the economy — and it can only get there through deep organizing with workers.

Honestly, in this strange world of ours, what is there to write about except, of course, Donald Trump?

Without Prop. 40 revenues, Californians could face hospital closures, job losses, increased food insecurity, and state budget cuts to public schools, yet tech billionaires are pouring millions into opposing the wealth tax.

A renewables developer with four grid-scale battery projects currently under development in Australia has been acquired by a Singapore based asset owner.

The post Singapore asset manager snaps up one of Australia’s leading renewable energy and storage developers appeared first on Renew Economy.

From soil health and supply chain collaboration to the importance of farmer voices, organic food systems call for shared responsibility, meaningful investments, and tasty and affordable climate-smart ingredients. 

The past, present, and future of organic agriculture were reflected on and celebrated during “The Roots of Organic: From Soil to Shelf,” an all-day Summit at Climate Week NYC presented in partnership with Organic Trade Association, Organic Valley, Once Upon a Farm, Handsome Brook Farms, Stonyfield, and Amy’s Kitchen, and in collaboration with Organic Voices, Lundberg Family Farms, Tradin Organic, and Rodale Institute.

“The organic movement didn’t grow because of one certification,” says Danielle Nierenberg, President of Food Tank. “It grew because people built relationships that allowed ideas to spread.”

Watch the livestream recording on Food Tank’s YouTube channel.

“The farmers are the true roots of this movement,” says Matthew Dillon, Co-CEO of the Organic Trade Association. 

The organic agriculture moment was built by farmers who believed deeply in sustainability and took risks to build consumer trust, he said—and organic farmers must be recognized for their contributions to the sector’s future, too. This means giving farmers resources to adapt and ensuring their voices and expertise are centered.

“How do we make sure that farmers are at the table for all of these major milestones?” asks Organic Valley CEO Shawna Nelson. “Organic farmers, I find, are the most innovative. They’re willing to continuously improve; they’re willing to look at the solutions.”

Critically, these solutions have to be financially viable, especially given a difficult economic environment for the farming sector, panelists said. Strategies like stronger supply-chain collaboration can help farmers achieve sustainability goals without taking on increased cost burdens, panelists said. At the same time, financial support tools like accessible technical assistance and cash incentives for low-emissions practices can also help farmers adopt the sustainable practices they believe deeply in.

“There’s not a one-size-fits-all solution,” says Britt Lundgren, Senior Director of Sustainability and Government Affairs at Stonyfield. But “if the cost falls at the farm level, we’re not going to succeed.”

But as organic farmers know, sustainability is not only the ethical choice but also a good business strategy.

“Sustainability is a three-legged stool. We all talk about the climate, but you also have social and financial benefits,” says Tracy Favre, Senior Vice President of Sustainability and Organic Strategies at Handsome Brook Farms. 

However, organic farmers are only one part of broader sustainable supply chains: Food producers and retailers play a significant role in communicating the specific benefits of organic agriculture and in building broader consumer interest for climate-smart eating, panelists discussed.

“We’ve just been deceived by Big Food for many years that (conventional and ultra-processed) is the only way,” says Paul Schiefer, CEO of Amy’s Kitchen. Our food choices are deeply tied to our identities and taste preferences, he said, so “we have to meet people where they’re at and help them see that they can be themselves and choose better food.”

It can be “a difficult needle to thread,” admits Jane Kuhn, Senior Director of Strategic Sourcing & Sustainability at Once Upon a Farm, but organic agriculture needs to be accessible for both farmers and consumers, without expensive bottlenecks in the value chain.

The scientific backing for organic agriculture is strong, too, said Amber Sciligo, Senior Director of The Organic Center. However, when research priorities are rooted in conventional systems and when measurements focus on individual metrics, like carbon, researchers can occasionally miss the more interconnected holistic picture. 

“Organic, regenerative, perennial systems are much more complex…and that helps them thrive,” she said. “If we want to truly understand what is happening on the farm, we have to move away from these single metrics.”

Beatriz Daim, Sustainability Specialist at Tradin Organic, echoed this point, noting that “carbon is just one metric. You need to look at a farm as a much wider ecosystem.”

This reality is complex and sometimes messy, and we need to respect that, says Abianne Falla, Founder of CatSpring Yaupon—which, she points out, “is sometimes hard when we live in a culture of soundbites.”

Farmers themselves understand the full scope of their climate-smart land management practices and efforts to reduce emissions, of course—but their time is devoted to the actual work of farming, which means food system partners need to pick up the mantle of communication and engagement. 

“There are only so many hours in a day, and dairy farming requires most of them,” says Annie Watson, an Organic Dairy Farmer at Sheepscot Valley Farm and a Stonyfield Producer. “If we don’t tell the stories of farm life, no one will know. Farms are disappearing, and so are their stories. Somebody has to tell them.”

So how does the organic movement chart a collective course forward? By continuing to place innovation and inspiration at the center, panelists said. 

“It’s easy to define organic for what it’s not,” says Maria Rodale, Board Co-Chair of the Rodale Institute. “But we have to start defining it for consumers for what it is—and what it is is safe food you can trust.”

And big-picture climate solutions must also continue to center the people who grow food and hold generations of agricultural knowledge, says Leah Penniman, a Farmer, Author, and Food Justice Activist at Soul Fire Farm. 

“There is a powerful need to take a stand for the people who know the earth most intimately,” she says. “We are not going to solve the climate puzzle by ignoring the people who are tending to the climate.” 

“It’s not just about consumer choices and labels; we have to be political advocates.”

Explore the entire Food Tank event schedule during Climate Week NYC 2026, and live-stream every Summit on FoodTank.com and Food Tank’s YouTube channel.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo by Ryan Rose for Food Tank.

The post The Roots Of Organic Agriculture—And The Future Of Climate-Smart Food—Are Farmers appeared first on Food Tank.

Dan Tehan's attempt to win the climate wars carried a whiff of napalm - dropped on the Opposition itself, and of course the industry.

The post Coalition’s pursuit of Agent Orange climate policies will deliver an investment apocalypse soon enough appeared first on Renew Economy.

Plans to build a 1,561 km gas pipeline from the NT Beetaloo Basin to south-east Queensland could cost as much as $9.74 billion, a new report has found, adding huge costs to a heavily polluting project.

The post Cost of “preposterous” fracked gas pipeline could balloon to $10 billion, locking in higher bills for decades appeared first on Renew Economy.

A fundamental challenge of the energy transition risks being overlooked: managing complexity. But this is where two decades of investment in quantum could start to pay off.

The post Why Australia’s energy transition needs quantum in the mix appeared first on Renew Economy.

The most important imperative for Australia is to get rid of diesel. It is a no brainer for the economy, for national security and the environment. But there is no policy.

The post Australia can gain more from eliminating diesel than enabling AI appeared first on Renew Economy.

Contracts awarded for the biggest new wind project in Australia for more than two years, which is expecting to begin construction soon.

The post Key contracts awarded for Australia’s biggest wind project in more than two years appeared first on Renew Economy.

A solar-powered vehicle that straddles the line between an e-bike and a car is plotting a comeback — and sparking questions about the rise of micromobility options that don’t fit neatly into existing vehicle categories.

A crowdfunding campaign to relaunch the “ELF” has racked up more than $380,000 on the strength of a big promise to deliver “the world’s safest bike” and “the next generation of transportation.”

Originally launched in 2012 based on the acronym “electric, light, and fun,” the ELF quickly became a curiosity among many cycling advocates, who puzzled over its quirky blend of recumbent trike features — pedals, three wheels, a battery that powers a motor to get up to 28 miles per hour — and design elements more reminiscent of an automobile, like a windshield and a roof.

With an array of solar panels on top and up to 200 miles of range, though, its inventors argued that their quirky “velomobile” was actually a brand new, cutting-edge mobility solution rather than something out of the The Busy World of Richard Scarry. And with enough momentum, they claim it could have the power to get a whole new segment of Americans out of their automobiles.

The original-recipe ELF never took off at broad scale on US roads; fewer than 850 were ever produced, compared to the roughly 2.2 million e-bikes that were imported in 2025 alone. But founder Rob Cotter argues that with gas prices on the rise and the e-bike landscape rapidly shifting, light electric vehicles like his are ready for takeoff – and maybe, the ELF 3.0 can lead the surge.

“We wanted something that was sort of the Honda Civic of comfortable, safe, weather-protected bicycles,” said Cotter. “We’re not talking about pulling anybody off of their existing bicycle; it’s quite the opposite. We’re trying to pull people out of their cars. So how do we replicate a car-like experience with bicycle technology?”

How the ELF was born …

A veteran of the automobile industry, Cotter’s enthusiasm for creating a “car-like” bicycles actually began with cars themselves — before he realized how auto-centric transportation infrastructure was impoverishing American families and endangering our climate future.

As his passion for transportation reform grew, so did Cotter’s appetite for innovation — and it led him to the science-fictional fringes of the cycling universe, in addition to his local bike shop. As a member of the International Human Powered Vehicle Association, he helped launch “recumbent streamliners” capable of achieving over 80 miles per hour on flat ground without a motor, in addition to watercrafts, submersibles, and flying machines right out of a DaVinci codex.

Recommended How To Get More People on E-Bikes Kea Wilson September 2, 2020

Cotter saw creating a human-powered vehicle for the everyday commute as a similarly heroic challenge — especially when it came to tapping the vast market of people who would never think of getting on a traditional bike, even if they had a dedicated lane right outside their door.

“There have been numerous studies about what they call the ‘blue ocean’ versus the ‘red ocean’ [of potential cyclists],” he added. “The ‘blue ocean’ is where bicyclists are currently — and there’s plenty of bicycle and e-bike manufacturers who build bikes that work for a variety of people most of the time.

“But the other category [includes the needs of potential riders] that aren’t being addressed: people who are elderly, who have disabilities, who need to carry children, who are concerned about the safety — the list goes on,” Cotter continued. “If you combined all those things together, that’s a much wider audience that bicycle industries are not currently addressing.”

… And reborn?

Of course, some advocates might argue that at least some of those needs would be better met by just building dedicated bike infrastructure or reforming to car-centric land use policies. Others might be concerned that at 3.5 feet wide, the ELF could crowd out traditional bicycles on the precious few paths we’ve already got.

Cotter argues, though, that the bicycle itself is ripe for reinvention, alongside our efforts to reinvent our cities with wider bike paths and slow-speed streets where all modes can safely intermingle. And there’s no time to do it like the present.

In the years since the ELF was last in production, Cotter notes that the ever-rising costs of car ownership have primed more Americans to explore non-automotive options for short trips, and that many state and local governments have answered with incentives to buy light electric vehicles. CNBC recently estimated that maintaining a car costs an average of $5,851 a year before any auto loan payments.

In a car-dependent country where a lot of people are hauling groceries and kids down multi-lane roads, though, Cotter says a “bike-car” might be the only e-bike many Americans would be willing to try — especially in regions prone to harsh weather.

“How can we replicate what cars do well, but base it on bicycle technology as much as we possibly can?” Cotter asked. “If you’re planning to travel long distances and want to pull a trailer — well, then this is the appropriate the vehicle for that type of use. If you’re disabled, we can make a vehicle for that. And if you just need a Class 1 vehicle to get back and forth to school with, because of your age or because the requirements in your state, we’ve created the vehicle for that, too.”

At least compared to a full-scale electric car, the ELF 3.0 looks like a bargain, with a projected sale price of $7,500, minimal maintenance costs, and no need for full-scale insurance. It also has little to no charging costs, since many riders report that the solar panels alone are enough to keep the battery full.

Recommended An American Buys an E-Bike Every 52 Seconds Kea Wilson July 1, 2021

Of course, some e-bike enthusiasts might argue their preferred form factor has already filled the ELF’s niche — and at a much lower price point that’s kept e-bike sales brisk for the last five years.

That surge, though, has been accompanied by an influx of ultra-fast e-motos marketed as “e-bikes,” tarnishing the reputation of the e-cycling movement as a whole as injuries caused by e-moto riders mount. State and local regulators have raced to contain the damage, but those laws vary wildly by jurisdiction, and sometimes snag perfectly safe pedal-assist vehicles in overly-restrictive dragnets.

Cotter argues the ELF 3.0 — which will certainly never be confused for a motorcycle-with-pedals — can help assuage that controversy by issuing over-the-air updates to customers in states with new laws, capping speeds at legally-compliant limits whenever regulations shift.

“It’s nice, because every state is going to be or can potentially be different,” he adds.

Recommended State Lawmakers Aim At Illegal E-Motos, But Hit E-Bikes Instead Ren Zaro Fitzgerald August 5, 2026

The new ELF promises other novel benefits, too. Safety cameras, LED turn-signals, and full suspensions to smooth out rides are just a few of the features offered to riders; the new model’s solar capacity will double the old one, too, and it also includes “lockdown method” and trackers to prevent theft.

Cotter is particularly proud of an optional package that will allow the ELF to double as a battery back-up unit to charge phones and even power home appliances during a blackout.

“Instead of getting backup generators, here’s one that functions mostly on solar — and it also provides transportation,” he added.

Listening to Cotter rattle off the features of the new ELF, it’s hard to think of a problem the adorable bike-car wouldn’t solve — at least if you believe its founder’s hype. With no firm delivery date set for the 3.0 model, that’s a big “if.” Many of its potential riders will undoubtedly opt for already-available e-bikes in the meantime, even if it means having to wear a raincoat or strap cargo onto a rack once in a while.

The 750 people on the wait list for the next model, though, suggest that ELF could find a niche. And if more innovative options like it were broadly available — not to mention more bike-friendly places in which to ride them — it’s possible we’d have a world with a lot fewer drivers.

• Waymo is partnering with Visa to reimburse customers’ transit fares (The Verge), which David Zipper and Jeff Wood both view as a mere PR move after rideshares’ long history of bait-and-switches involving being a last-mile partner for transit agencies.
• Speaking of autonomous vehicles, the Eno Center for Transportation has a lot of technical information about where regulations are headed, both in the U.S. and internationally.
• Nashville residents have seen a lot of unusual behavior from AVs since Waymos hit town. The question of who’s liable for a crash will likely result in a lot more lawsuit settlements, because gathering data from robotaxis will be expensive, and companies will want to avoid discovery, according to the Vanderbilt School of Law.
• These are not problems confined to just a few cities, as Uber plans to invest $10 billion in robotaxis over the next few years. (Axios)
• Cops are clearly not taking their Flock responsibilities seriously. (Electronic Frontier Foundation)
• A circular firing squad in the train community has erupted after someone launched a first strike against our common enemy, the running dog airlines. (Newsweek)
• The Atlanta city council voted unanimously for a resolution in support of transit along the Beltline. But when it actually comes time to fund the $3.5 billion project, will ambivalent Mayor Andre Dickens go along? (Urbanize Atlanta)
• The Charlotte city council reversed course and granted its support for adding toll lanes to I-77. (Q City Metro)
• The Texas DOT is building more roundabouts in San Antonio. (Report)
• Vision Zero remains a priority for Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson even as she submitted a budget with $50 million worth of cuts. (My Northwest)
• Lincoln broke ground on a new downtown transit hub — on top of a parking lot, no less. (Journal-Star)
• Grow Omaha explains how transit-oriented development will benefit the city as its streetcar comes to fruition.
• Ann Arbor bike and pedestrian advocates are demanding safer streets. (MLive)
• To raise awareness for transit, two Atlanta college students broke a Guinness record for fastest time visiting all of a city’s transit stations. (AJC)

State government says it has no plans to water down or pause a regulated phaseout of gas from homes and businesses, despite the bidding of one of Australia's largest gas infrastructure corporations.

The post Gas lobby bid to halt home electrification falls flat as Labor says it will stay the course appeared first on Renew Economy.

Lock the Gate Alliance says Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher’s admission that the Narrabri gas project will be economically unviable without high gas prices should prompt the NSW Government to withdraw its support for the project. 

A new report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) calls a plan to spend $54 million of Utah public funds on coal export terminals in Oakland, California, and Longview, Washington, “a high-risk gamble to spend … money on out-of-state projects that could leave rural Utah with limited economic benefits — even if the coal terminals are eventually built.”

EEFA analyzed a recent report commissioned by the Rural Utah Infrastructure Coalition (RUIC) which recommended investing 80% of the funds ($43.2M) in Oakland and the remainder in Longview. IEEFA’s verdict is summed up in the title of its report, “Extensive financial risks and delays loom as Utah considers investing in coal export terminals that would divert funding from in-state needs.”

Ironically, the report commissioned by RUIC to justify investment in coal export terminals is full of red flags in IEEFA’s view:

The [Norda Stelo] report details a multitude of risks for investing in these projects, including:

• Far higher costs, hundreds of millions of dollars more than estimated by advocates
• Construction timelines at least two to three years longer than currently stated
• Lack of well-capitalized, experienced investors, including mining companies, commodity trading firms, or railroads that could see these projects through
• The very early-stage engineering status of the projects, especially Longview, greatly increasing the odds of delays and cost overruns
• Many potential bottlenecks that could sharply curtail export tonnage, including rail congestion, limited and inflexible terminal space, and loading equipment limitations
• International coal market risks
• Organized and influential state and local opposition in both California and Washington that has stopped previously proposed coal export projects

The report by the IEEFA, “which provides independent, evidence-based financial analysis of global energy markets, investment trends, and policies,” aligns closely with analysis of the Norda Stelo report published by No Coal in Oakland on September 8, 2026.

Though it matters very much to West Oakland residents and workers, the IEEFA didn’t comment on the open air stockpiles in which terminal operators plan to store as much as 300,000 tons of coal on the proposed terminal site — scrapping the empty promises and implications in conceptual drawings and legal filings with which developers marketed their dystopian project 8-11 years ago. It’s fair to assume that this looming threat flew under the IEEFA’s radar because the health and safety of Californians is not the State of Utah’s financial concern.

On the other hand, the IEEFA report details project risks that No Coal in Oakland did not raise in its ‘hot off the press’ analysis of the $488,000 RUIC-commissioned study.

For example, IEEFA cited the risk of increase in the already jaw-dropping OBOT construction cost estimate floated by Norda Stelo, reasoning that there are “significant and interrelated risk factors: additional equipment and construction cost inflation, unforeseen engineering challenges, rising interest rates, […] project delays [, and] the extremely limited size of the coal terminal site…”

IEEFA also called out “lack of well-capitalized, experienced investors” as a “financial red flag”; and the Norda Stelo admission that “rail congestion associated with BNSF and UP services to Californian west coast ports is increasing, with dwell times exceeding eight days at several ports” and “two rail bottlenecks near the Donner Pass that have ‘single-track tunnels with potential waiting and weather / rockslide / washout stoppages.’”

The independent IEEFA report then ends with a bang:

At this early stage of development, and given the absence of solid commitments from any financially strong and experienced commercial backers, these projects pose substantial risks to the RUIC’s money—risks that should not be borne by rural citizens of Utah.

The question now is whether Utah’s Community Impact Board (CIB) — the government entity that will decide whether or not to fund the risk-riddled OBOT project — will be gulled by RUIC’s smoke-and-mirror application for over $50,000,000 in public money … or whether they will act in the best interest of the people of Utah.

Stay tuned. The CIB meets next on October 1st, and it’s not yet clear whether they will evaluate the application for funding out-of-state coal terminals at that meeting, or whether RUIC will engineer a delay as the coalition of mining counties licks the wounds inflicted on its case by the IEEFA report.

 

A full PDF version of the IEEFA report is available here.

Image: State Capitol of Utah. Image credit: Strobel Adventures, via Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The effects of a meager mountain snowpack across the Upper Colorado Basin in winter 2025-2026 had made their way downstream to Lake Powell by summer. 

Tests in university classes show that simple, low-cost systems can remove airborne particles with little disruption from fan noise.

Documenting the seasonal fate of these tiny marine organisms is a step toward understanding how ecosystems in the world's fastest-warming region may change as ice recedes.

A new study found more than half of the city’s bike-share trips replace car trips, with each bike reducing annual CO2 emissions by up 120 kilograms (kg) per year.

In a discovery as broad and far-reaching as the Big Muddy itself, a new, Yale-led study says farmers along the Mississippi River Basin are storing more carbon dioxide (CO2) in the soil than they are emitting when they add limestone to their fields, an agricultural practice known as “liming.”