Christian "Otto" Billson

Activist, environmentalist, student, volunteer, veteran, outdoor enthusiast, ocean research, political junkie, writer, [email protected], born @334ppm

[Thomas Reis @peakaustria]

Remarkable or just unbelievable how fast things change. Many bad or denial reactions on a comment about how we used pergolas and textiles over streets to cool down the streets and not to trap the heat with bright facades and mirrored windows in the streets. we will not passive cool down the oceans or our thin out cities with less people, we are not able to fade out in more comfort.

[Felix Hamer • electricfelix @electricfelix]

Netherlands, 🇳🇱
Denmark, 🇩🇰
Sweden, 🇸🇪
Austria 🇦🇹 are the China of Europe 🤣
🇪🇺🇪🇺🇪🇺
#electrictruck
🚛🚛🚛

[Geoffrey Lean @GeoffreyLean]

The number of heatwaves in the Arctic ocean has grown significantly over the last decades, and their length is increasing faster than anywhere in the world. The longest lasted 480 days.
https://t.co/W250t6xDjV

[Robert D. Bullard @DrBobBullard]

El Niño is back with a vengeance – and fears of ‘Godzilla’ strength may be the least of our worries | El Niño southern oscillation | The Guardian https://t.co/PASn2eJQBL

[Assaad Razzouk @AssaadRazzouk]

Meanwhile, just at the moment:
>Europe's heatwave is relentless into late June and shocking for its early timing, in a world already ~1.5°C+ warmer than pre-industrial levels
>Insane 42.7°C (108.8F) peak in Portugal & Spain (21 June)
>Widespread alerts: Spain/Portugal (red/orange warnings, 39–40°C+ possible); France, Italy, Germany (up to 38–39°C); UK (amber extreme heat warnings, possible mid-30s to low 38°C in south) and so on

2003’s catastrophic heatwave killed ~70,000 across Europe, and that was *before* we permanently crossed today's ~1.5°C threshold.

These events are now more frequent, more intense and arriving earlier, while heat records continue to fall worldwide

Phase out dirty fossil fuels *now*, or this nightmare just gets worse every year. Stop approving pipelines and expand renewables and electrification at emergency speed. Your move, politicians.

[Jeff Berardelli @WeatherProf]

Europe is melting! The size, intensity, and longevity of this #heatwave is enormous. Peak temperatures will reach 45°C / 100-115°F this week in #France . You are looking at temperature anomalies in the cloud layer over the next 2 weeks, which peak at +20°C. #Europe is Earth’s fastest warming continent, and European heat extremes are increasing faster than models project they should, likely due to changes in steering flow. In a rapid attribution study by Climameter it is estimated that #climatechange has made this June heatwave up to 4°C hotter (7°F) than it would have otherwise been without warming.

[Colin McCarthy @US_Stormwatch]

As a historic heatwave bakes Europe on land, a strong marine heatwave is emerging in the Mediterranean Sea.

Water temperatures have reached up to 5.5°C above normal off the coast of Italy with peak water temperatures exceeding 28°C (82°F).

This will further enhance heatwaves on land through increased humidity and also have major impacts on marine ecosystems.

This marks the 5th straight summer of a severe marine heatwave in the Mediterranean Sea, a run that has driven mass die-offs of critical species across the basin.

[Chris Meder @EVCurveFuturist]

With Congo scoring its first ever World Cup goal last week, it's great to see positive news coming out of Africa for a change.

Here's more.

🇨🇩 The Democratic Republic of the Congo already generates around 99% of its electricity from renewable sources, almost entirely from hydropower.

Yet despite one of the cleanest grids on Earth, around 77 million people still lack access to electricity.

That's why what happens next is so interesting.

In March 2026, Chinese solar panel exports to the DRC reportedly surged from 1,352 tonnes to 21,370 tonnes year-on-year. In April, imports were reported to be up 482% YoY.

This isn't a decarbonisation story.

It's an electrification story.

The DRC has:
💧 ~100 GW of hydro potential
☀️ Excellent solar resources
🔋 Some of the world's largest cobalt reserves
⚡ World-class copper deposits
👥 A population of ~110 million and growing rapidly

Unlike most countries, Congo doesn't need to clean up a fossil-heavy grid first.

It can build on top of a grid that is already almost entirely renewable.

That's what makes the recent surge in solar imports so fascinating.

Rather than extending expensive transmission lines across one of Africa's largest countries, many communities may leapfrog straight to distributed solar, batteries and mini-grids. In areas already connected to the grid, behind-the-meter solar and storage can help improve reliability while reducing dependence on imported diesel.

The country already exports the minerals used to build batteries, EVs and solar panels. Now it's starting to import those technologies back.

If solar imports are exploding, batteries are likely next. Then come electric motorcycles, electric buses, solar mini-grids and distributed energy systems that can reduce exposure to imported fuel and future oil price shocks.

Many countries must transition from fossil grids to clean grids.

The DRC may do something very different:

99% renewable grid → distributed solar and batteries → mass electrification.

Sometimes the biggest energy transition isn't replacing fossil fuels.

It's connecting millions of people to electricity for the first time, and there's no better way to get there than by leapfrogging fossil fuels altogether. ⚡🇨🇩☀️🔋#Bettrification

[Jan Rosenow @janrosenow]

NEW RECORD: 692 GW of renewables were added globally in 2025, more than ever before.

Asia built 74% of 2025's new capacity. But look at the growth rates. Middle East +28.9%, Africa +15.9%, its fastest year ever.

More in next Substack, sign up here: https://t.co/In5lBaF2ox

[Vance Ulrich @VanceUlrich]

Initial SoCal swing House district partisan results:

CA27 (Whitesides): D+20
CA42 (Garcia): D+8
CA45 (Tran): D+6
CA47 (Min): D+11
CA48 (Open): D+1
CA49 (Levin): D+7

D gerrymander looks effective and Dem Marni von Wilpert looks like likely CA48 nominee in Palm Springs/San Diego

[Mark Z. Jacobson @mzjacobson]

California — Lowest Wholesale Electricity Prices in the USA

-thus the most stable grids, despite the large amount of variable solar and wind on it - batteries are the key

https://t.co/fFqeml8Xes

@cleantechnica @zshahan3

[Liam Dillon @dillonliam]

State worker unions threatening lawsuit under California Environmental Quality Act over the governor's return-to-office mandate: “Putting 90,000 people on the road and pumping that much carbon into the air has an environmental impact."
https://t.co/y5m509eVAX

[Paul Mitchell @paulmitche11]

We will have three polls in the Gov race come out this week:

- Berkeley IGS
- PPIC
- Emerson

Of those, Berkeley and Dean of CA Pollsters, Mark DiCamillo weighs the greatest. But all three will matter. The Dem winning in these polls could see a big pile-on among late voters.

[Senator Scott Wiener @Scott_Wiener]

The Senate just passed my “Plug & Play Solar Act” — allowing people to install small plug-in solar devices, sometimes known as “balcony solar,” in order to lower electric bills.

SB 868 will make plug-in solar an option for millions of Californians who are now shut out from the benefits of solar energy.

Currently, plug-in solar is rarely used in California since you have to enter into a full interconnection agreement with your utility, which isn’t feasible.

Plug-in solar is a great solution for renters, who are largely excluded from the cost-reduction benefits of solar, & for homeowners who can’t afford the upfront costs of rooftop solar.

I’m grateful to our coalition & to my colleagues for passing the bill.

[Russell Foster A New Texas @RussellFosterTX]

In Texas, our droughts are so bad that whole bridges are burning. How exactly are we supposed to handle dozens of datacenters when we don't have enough water already, even for emergencies?

[Ian James @ByIanJames]

"It’s a huge, huge win for a grassroots movement." Three months after residents began waging a campaign on Instagram saying herbicides are poisoning creeks, officials announced they are halting spraying, for now, in waterways throughout Orange County. https://t.co/b4pPYzliIz

[Canary Media @CanaryMediaInc]

In Indiana, neighbors of a coal plant fought to shut it down. But Trump kept the facility running, and now, a gas plant and data center are headed their way too.
https://t.co/kJJTj4Kabb

[Energy Empire Podcast @EnergyEmpirePod]

Octopus turned NIMBYs into wind turbine advocates by giving them a cut of the power it generates. The faster it spins, the bigger the discount. 10,000 UK communities are now asking for turbines. Incentives work.

[Climatehope (@climatehope.bsky.social) @Climatehope2]

Fossil gas is on the way out - everywhere. Apart from renewables + Storage being a better solution, no-one wants to be dependent on volatile prices of imported gas.
https://t.co/m9iEdQgncN

[Jan Rosenow @janrosenow]

Electrification league table:

🇳🇴 Norway 49%
🇸🇪 Sweden 33%
🇯🇵 Japan 31%
🇨🇳 China 29%
🇺🇸 US 22%
🇪🇺 EU 22%
🇬🇧 UK 21%
🇩🇪 Germany 21%

Global average: 23%.

China is ahead of every major Western economy.

Want more of this? Sign up to my Substack: https://t.co/In5lBaF2ox