More We Can Do This; California IS!
California is showing we can really make changes that matter.
On 8/1/26 Blanca Begert in tthe LA times reported:
“California hit a major milestone in May, generating more than half its electricity from the sun in what is believed to be a global first, according to an analysis of federal data…
“It’s also the second significant power record set by the state recently. For the first five months of 2026, California made more electricity from solar than from natural gas, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Burning natural gas has long been the dominant source of electricity in the state. This could be the first year that solar beats gas in California’s power mix.
“California has been trending in this direction for years, but the boom in new battery storage around the state allows it to save solar power when it’s overabundant and use it when the sun goes down…”
The rate of change is staggering:
“Since 2020, the energy provided by battery storage in California has grown from 500 megawatts to 16,000. The amount of solar power being made has also more than doubled, as the state built vast solar farms in the deserts and elsewhere, and incentivized homeowners to install it on their rooftops.
“As a result, by 2026, California had about 23,400 megawatts of utility-scale solar capacity, second only to Texas, according to the EIA. When you add in rooftop and other small-scale panels, California had more than any other state, about 43,500 megawatts.”
The amount on rooftops and small-scale panels is not trivial! It is unfortunate that the current national administration of science deniers and fossil fuel profiteers have taken away incentives.
“California is still nowhere close to China’s buildout of clean electricity. No one is. The country built out seven times as much solar just last year as the total California has installed. The difference is, California’s electricity emissions are going down. China’s are not yet.
“The state has continued its transition, despite strong efforts from the federal government to slow it down.”
Take that in. Emissions going down!
Vote and help your friends and relatives to vote for sanity.