Bitterroot

A newsletter about the people and ideas that are shaping the American West. Written by @jakebullinger

[Bitterroot @BitterrootMag]

So long, folks. Thanks for reading, and here's to a better West.

[Jake Bullinger @jakebullinger]

Sad news today: After two years of covering the West's politics, economy, culture, and environment, @BitterrootMag is coming to an end. I shall now pour out gratitude in a thread ...

[Jake Bullinger @jakebullinger]

@BitterrootMag @RadPowerBikes @strawbale_CR @ESS_info Big thanks to @vertuelab for supporting this series. Now, onward to a cleaner, greener future.

[Jake Bullinger @jakebullinger]

@BitterrootMag I was fortunate to glimpse this climate-friendly future. Commutes on @RadPowerBikes. @strawbale_CR houses built of mud and straw. @wallowaresources rejuvenating a once-struggling timber town. @ess_info batteries powering microgrids. This stuff works.

[Jake Bullinger @jakebullinger]

@BitterrootMag Step 4: Establish a restoration economy. "Natural resources" used to mean extraction. Going forward, it needs to mean renewal and stewardship: https://t.co/D8EjfuXtDL

[Jake Bullinger @jakebullinger]

@BitterrootMag Step 3: Build structures that incorporate the nature that surrounds them. A house in Moab shouldn't look like a house in Tacoma. Climate-smart buildings both feel cooler and look cooler. https://t.co/uCUsYnZTMq

[Jake Bullinger @jakebullinger]

@BitterrootMag Step 2: Keep building out renewables (check!), and store that energy in as many places as we can. Li-ion batteries. Flow batteries. Hydrogen. We can use it all. https://t.co/mJbRyIPtAV

[Jake Bullinger @jakebullinger]

@BitterrootMag Step 1: Make cities more bike-friendly, and it'll be *way* easier to reduce transportation emissions. What's good for bikes is good for EVs & transit. https://t.co/DxNM1XwhnI

[Jake Bullinger @jakebullinger]

Thread: In my latest @BitterrootMag series, I looked at what it'll take for us to have a truly climate-friendly economy. The reporting left me ... hopeful!

[Bitterroot @BitterrootMag]

Could habitat restoration work lead to a new natural resources economy? https://t.co/DpTU18LayH

[Bitterroot @BitterrootMag]

Eliminating greenhouse gas emissions from our homes and buildings means we have to embrace nature. https://t.co/BJ4G0hlcUv

[Bitterroot @BitterrootMag]

Lithium ion batteries.
Flow batteries.
Renewable hydrogen.
If we want 100% clean energy, we need all the storage we can get. https://t.co/zVoExsLI0J

[Bitterroot @BitterrootMag]

If we're going to rely on renewable energy, we need more energy storage. A lot more. https://t.co/zVoExsu79b

[Bitterroot @BitterrootMag]

Experts say we need to cut vehicle trips by 25% to zero out transportation emissions. Ebikes from @Blixbike @RadPowerBikes & others could help us ditch our cars. https://t.co/bB7OqiWl7q

[Bitterroot @BitterrootMag]

Our cars and trucks are making climate change worse. But there's a two-wheeled solution. https://t.co/bB7OqjdVYY

[Bitterroot @BitterrootMag]

“The biggest solution [to our housing crisis] is obvious — it’s the construction of more homes, available to all income levels.”
To do that, we need to change one rule. https://t.co/fwBujJIZR6

[Bitterroot @BitterrootMag]

“There’s no monument, no tribute to a man. And when you come out of that center place ... you see that monument of Oñate — or, you did see that monument of Oñate.”
https://t.co/usGhmz6Dzi

[Bitterroot @BitterrootMag]

EVs aren't our golden ticket out of the climate crisis. https://t.co/DADDXaRPbn

[Bitterroot @BitterrootMag]

We want more affordable housing. But most cities won't let developers build it. https://t.co/fwBujJrosw

[Bitterroot @BitterrootMag]

The West has a history of building monuments to colonialism. The controversy around Albuquerque's "La Jornada" may have ended that. https://t.co/usGhmz6Dzi

[Bitterroot @BitterrootMag]

There's a simple way to solve the monuments controversy: stop building statues of people. https://t.co/usGhmz6Dzi