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<p>Join Climate Smart and 350 Montana this <strong>Sun</strong><strong>day, September 21, at 9 a.m. on Missoula's Beartracks Bridge on Higgins Avenue</strong>, to demonstrate support for solar energy. This is part of a national awareness campaign, with more than 440 events in 47
states! The idea is to build visibility and
momentum, showing politicians and media that Americans want clean, less expensive energy. </p>
<p>It might seem a strange time to celebrate, given the dearth of
leadership in Montana and nationally. But just take one second to look
at the numbers the writer Bill McKibben has compiled to prove that green energy is
cheaper, more reliable, and . . . inevitable:<strong><span></span></strong></p>
<ul><li>It took from the invention of the photovoltaic solar cell,
in 1954, until 2022 for the world to install a terawatt of solar
power. The second terawatt came just two years later, and the third
will arrive either later this year or early next.
</li><li>Worldwide, people are now putting up a gigawatt\u2019s worth of
solar panels, the rough equivalent of the power generated by one
coal-fired plant, every fifteen hours.
</li><li>Last year, 96 percent of the global demand for new electricity
was met by renewables, and in the United States 93 percent of new
generating capacity came from solar, wind, and batteries. </li><li>In March, for the first time, fossil fuels generated less than
half the electricity in the U.S. Meanwhile, in California, on May
25 this year, renewables were producing a record 158 percent of the
state\u2019s power demand. California is the world\u2019s fourth-largest
economy.
</li><li>At night, batteries are often the main supplier of California\u2019s
electricity. As a result, California is so far using 40 percent
less natural gas to generate electricity than it did in 2023. (This
is why the oil-a-garchs are so frightened.)
</li><li>Texas is now installing renewable energy and batteries faster
than California. The chances of emergency outages have dropped to
less than one percent, mostly because the state had added ten
thousand megawatts of solar power and battery storage.
</li><li>China currently installs more than half the world\u2019s renewable
energy and storage. In May, China had installed a record 93
gigawatts of solar power\u2014amounting to a gigawatt every eight hours.
Carbon emissions in China linked to producing electricity fell
nearly 6 percent, as solar and wind have replaced coal. In 2024,
almost half the automobiles sold in China, which is the world\u2019s
largest car market, were full or hybrid electric vehicles.
</li><li>In South America, a decade ago there were plans to build
fifteen new coal-fired power plants. Now, none are on the drawing board.
In India, the world\u2019s fastest-growing major economy, a surge in
solar production has kept coal use flat and cut the amount of
natural gas used by a quarter. In 2021, Poland set a goal for
photovoltaic power usage by 2030. It has already tripled that goal.
</li><li>Over the past 15 years, the Chinese have cut the cost of energy
storage by 95 percent. The world will add eighty gigawatts of
grid-scale storage, an eight-fold increase from 2021. The U.S.
alone put up four gigawatts of storage in the first half of 2024.</li><li> In 2026, solar will generate more electricity than all the world\u2019s
nuclear plants combined. By 2029, it will generate more than all the
hydro dams. By 2031, it will have outstripped gas and, by 2032, coal.
Solar will become the world\u2019s primary source of all energy, not just
electricity, by 2035. So says the International Energy Agency (IEA).</li></ul>
<p>So ... grab a travel mug of coffee and make your way by
9 a.m. to Beartracks Bridge.</p>
<p>Jeff Smith, co-chair, 350 Montana</p>
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