Jonathan Koomey

4 Apr 2012 • 1 min read

Video of my talk at the VERGE conference on "The computing trend that will change everything"

I gave a talk on the implications of the trends in the energy efficiency of computing at the VERGE conference in Arlington, VA on March 15, 2012. I just received the video and have embedded it below. It’s what the VERGE folks call a “one great idea” talk, and

27 Mar 2012 • 3 min read

The key factors causing coal plant retirements

Dave Roberts has posted a cogent summary of the key implications of the new EPA rule related to new coal plants. These points follow: 1. This rule applies to new power plants, not existing or currently permitted plants, meaning it won’t have any real effect until well after the

26 Mar 2012 • 2 min read

EPA to promulgate greenhouse gas emissions standards for power plants!

This is big news. The Washington Post is reporting that the Obama Administration is about to propose regulations on new power plants that would limit greenhouse gas emissions per kWh. Juliet Eilperin writes The Environmental Protection Agency will issue the first limits on greenhouse gas emissions from new power plants

20 Mar 2012 • 1 min read

A brilliant graph summarizing the communications quandary about climate change

Michael Tobis (with help from Stephen Ban) posted a wonderful schematic graph back in January 2012 contrasting the state of media coverage about climate with what informed opinion actually says. It’s not intended to be quantitatively accurate, but I think it conveys things pretty well, based on my experience

12 Mar 2012 • 1 min read

I need your help for a guerrilla campaign to get Cold Cash, Cool Climate on the New Earth Archive book list for 2012

The New Earth Archive opened voting for the most “powerful and influential books on topics like climate change, sociology, economics, politics, technology, philosophy, and many, many other areas.” They are asking for “help in choosing the 25 that have the power to inspire college readers to change the world,” based

29 Feb 2012 • 1 min read

Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) just posted a short summary of Cold Cash, Cool Climate

Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), where I am affiliated as a Senior Fellow, just posted my short summary of key arguments from Cold Cash, Cool Climate: Science-based Advice for Ecological Entrepreneurs. For the full post, go here.

23 Feb 2012 • 1 min read

Can entrepreneurs save the climate?

That’s the question Dan Lashof of NRDC leads with in his review of Cold Cash, Cool Climate. Lashof has published extensively on climate science and policy, so I was happy he chose to review the book. Here are the first few paragraphs of the review: “Entrepreneurs have to be

23 Feb 2012 • 1 min read

My podcast interview with Allyson Klein of Intel about Cold Cash, Cool Climate

Intel’s chip chat podcast recently featured an interview with me that focuses in part on the book Cold Cash, Cool Climate, and the implications of that book for entrepreneurial innovation in information technology (IT). In that interview I summarize the three areas where IT can help us reduce emissions,

16 Feb 2012 • 1 min read

Why Entrepreneurs Offer the Best Hope as Climate Heroes

Matt Wheeland of Greenbiz.com did a thoughtful Q&A with me about my new book that was posted yesterday. I reproduce the first question and answer below. Why entrepreneurs offer the best hope as climate heroes Matthew Wheeland: Why are entrepreneurs the best hope for this scale of

15 Feb 2012 • 6 min read

My latest book, Cold Cash, Cool Climate, comes out TODAY! Here's a summary of the argument

This blog post summarizes the overall argument in Jonathan Koomey’s latest book, Cold Cash, Cool Climate: Science-based Advice for Ecological Entrepreneurs, released today (February 15, 2012) by Analytics Press. Written for entrepreneurs and investors, this book describes how to profit from tackling climate change, one of this century’s

14 Feb 2012 • 6 min read

Property rights and the climate

In discussions about the climate issue, I’ve often heard the argument that no one, including the government, has a right to interfere in the disposition of private property. In essence, supporters of this view believe in unrestricted property rights and place great faith in their sanctity. This position is

14 Feb 2012 • 4 min read

The central problem of governance

I’ve worked with my friend Stephen Decanio, an economics professor emeritus at UC Santa Barbara, for many years. He’s an economist who, like me, has a deep skepticism about the computer models used to analyze the economics of climate change. He’s also a keen observer of the

14 Feb 2012 • 3 min read

What kind of government do we want?

Imagine a company where the CEO says “We’ll never raise prices, borrow money, or increase our expenses under any circumstances, nor will we act to expand existing or create new markets when we have a competitive advantage in doing so”. You’d think that CEO was loony. But this

14 Feb 2012 • 3 min read

Climate scientists and money

One commonly expressed belief among those who deny climate change is that the scientists are “in it for the money”. Texas governor Rick Perry stated this point of view bluntly (but inarticulately) on Aug. 17, 2011: “I do believe that the issue of global warming has been politicized. I think

31 Jan 2012 • 1 min read

Finally, someone in the mainstream media applies sensible analysis to claims about who created the national debt

While I don’t agree with all the details, the Washington Post’s Ezra Klein has taken a decent first crack at the question of who’s responsible for the increase in the national debt these past few years. As I pointed out last August, it’s incumbent on people