Philip Warburg

Senior Fellow, Boston University's Institute for Sustainable Energy

The Mass Solar Loan program ... made solar financing easier for nearly 5,800 Mass. homeowners, but little more than a third of those loans went to low-income households.  

America’s rooftops are a renewable energy goldmine, potentially supplying as much as 39% of our power needs nationwide.

How Solar Energy Policies Could Help More Low-Income Residents

An array of solar panels stands on the Dearborn STEM Academy roof. The roof is white to reflect heat on sunny days. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

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Covering Climate Now 

Covering Climate Now 2021

Economy

Environment

News

Opinion

Politics

The downscaling of our automotive goliaths is long overdue.

To meet Biden’s goal of achieving a 100% clean energy economy by 2050, maximizing energy efficiency will be as important as ramping up our supplies of carbon-free electricity. 

Biden Calls For An All-Electric Federal Fleet. GM Is Going Electric. And Your SUV Is Still A Big Problem

Photo taken late afternoon traffic of West Mineral Ave. and South Santa Fe Dr. intersection in Littleton, Colorado on Thursday. January 28, 2021. (Hyoung Chang/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

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Commentary

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Technology

Coronavirus And Climate Change: 2 Compelling Reasons To Stay Close To Home

A woman runs along the Charles River in Boston. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

A runner out in the heat by the Charles River. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

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Novel Coronavirus

Boston

Health

Life

We Need More Than Campaign Slogans To Decarbonize The U.S. 

Todd Miller stands next to solar panels on the roof of his solar installation business in Ankeny, Iowa. For years wind and solar were friendly twins in the campaign for green alternatives to fossil fuels, but the relationship is getting ugly in a number of states, especially in Iowa, where more than 4,000 turbines generate 37% of the state’s electricity, the second highest rate in the country. (Charlie Neibergall/AP)

Covering Climate Now

Bailing out old, financially shaky nuclear plants is a short-sighted response to a huge challenge that requires much bigger, much more transformative thinking. 

Japan Nuclear

... ocean winds are a renewable energy frontier that we would be foolish to forego.

What Red State Kansas Can Teach Blue State Mass. About Renewable Energy

Three wind turbines in the the Gulf of Maine, off Block Island, R.I. (Michael Dwyer/AP)

In many emerging nations... efforts to limit greenhouse gases are likely to be overwhelmed by high rates of population growth...

The material demands of a rapidly growing world population will only make it harder to achieve a transition to more sustainable energy sources.

7.4 Billion And Counting: Could Curbing World Population Help Cool The Planet?

It’s time to make well-informed reproductive choice a central part of our climate change agenda, writes Philip Warburg. (Davide Ragusa/Unsplash)

WARBURG, Philip World Population Banner

A child runs out into the street after a ball, right in front of a driverless car. To dodge the child, does the car swerve onto a sidewalk where half-a-dozen people are waiting for a (driverless) bus?

...we should give ethicists a bigger role in weighing the implications of this utterly transformative technology prospect.

The Ethical And Environmental Implications Of A Driverless Future

Before ejecting drivers from our vehicles, Philip Warburg writes, we should pause and take a serious look at what would be gained and lost if we do. Pictured: A pedestrian crosses in front of a vehicle as part of a demonstration at Mcity, used to test driverless and connected vehicles, on the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor, Mich. (Paul Sancya/AP)