Updates

How to Scale Investments in Nature This is one of the fundamental questions right now: How do we scale investments in nature? And after 24 years as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs and a decade-plus running The Nature Conservancy, I keep coming back to the same answer: Start by keeping it simple. Eric Wilburn […]

Drayton and Mackenzie gets the clean tech grind right Every so often, we like to take a close look at literature here at The Instigator. You can see some of our recommendations here, here, here, here, and here. (And please do send us yours!) While we pride ourselves on being generally well-read, we’re particularly into climate fiction. The best of the

Why Eugene Kirpichov believes mobilizing human talent is the key to solving climate change At 250, America still gives us much to stand in awe of. Despite our problems (and we know there are many), this is still the land of opportunity. The spirit of entrepreneurship that fuels this country is alive and well, both

Clean Speed Has Come a Long Way I’ve been driving an EV for years now, but I haven’t had much luck converting even my most climate-conscious friends. I find myself repeating the same arguments: EVs are quieter, faster off the mark, cheaper to maintain, and if I’m honest, just more fun to drive. You’d also

How Washington is Undermining Markets, Clean Energy, and Public Health US climate and energy policy has entered a strange new phase. Instead of letting markets drive a cheaper, cleaner energy transition, the federal government is now spending public money to keep old fossil assets alive. . . and to slow their replacement by cleaner alternatives.

Google’s Water Pledge A typical mid‑sized data center uses something like 300,000 gallons of water a day. That’s roughly equivalent to the amount used by 1,000 U.S. households. And large facilities—the kind we are told will be built in significant numbers—can use millions of gallons per day. AI is already the most rapidly adopted general-purpose

We can’t let the Colorado River run dry When I worked at The Nature Conservancy, the Colorado River was always on our radar. It’s a marvel of engineering and ecology—a key artery that feeds cities, farms, and canyons across seven states and two countries. At the time, we watched with real concern as the river

Commit to the Next Generations Al Gore is not the only one with an inconvenient truth. Jodi Kantor’s piece in The New York Times last weekend put one right in the title: This is a hard time to start a career. In our realm, we are fortunate to have so many young people who are eager to roll up their

Reclaiming What Matters in The Age of Distraction What is the value of your attention? I just wrapped up a week of business travel in Japan. Jet lag was having an impact, and I was also distracted by some personal challenges. Then I found myself checking news updates on my phone much more than usual

A Wake-Up Call for the Nonprofit Sector Editor’s Note: We are coming to you with a special off-schedule edition of The Instigator in order to respond in a timely manner to Sunday’s New York Times article on The Giving Pledge. Let us know what you think! The New York Times ran a piece yesterday that should stop every