Newsletter
- June 2
Can I still like old cars? (Yes)
Saul explains it all this week as he answers questions from Adrik Mordan, a 12th grader at The White Mountain School in New Hampshire. In this edition of Ask Dr. Electrfiy, Saul answers Adrik's questions about their shared sentimentality towards gas-powered vehicles and how everyone needs to be involved in reducing our carbon emissions.
- May 13
Obviously good things
There are certain things that we should know to be true across partisan lines. Like puppies and rainbows, clean energy jobs and massive investments in our shared economic future should be easy agreements. But extremists in the House Republican caucus are intent on taking away these no-brainer wins, and voted last week to pass a bill that would torque the clean energy investments that have already resulted in 142,000 jobs and $242.81 billion in new investment.
- April 28
The best AC is actually a heat pump
We talk about heat pumps a lot. But despite all of that hot air, there’s a key thing about them that many people still don’t know: they’re actually air conditioners. And as hot weather season approaches and people consider buying an AC, it’s essential to know that a heat pump is also the best way to COOL your home.
- April 13
It’s time to update how we Earth Day.
It’s time to update how we Earth Day. For the first 50+ Earth Days, "reduce, reuse, recycle" served us well. But in 2023, it’s time for a new strategy: "reduce, reuse, rewire."
- March 31
You deserve better (appliances).
You deserve better (appliances). We break down how electrification offers the best chance for a better, more plentiful future and all the ways fossil fuel technology is, well, fossilized.
- March 17
Democratizing electrification to electrify democracy
Rewiring CEO Ari Matusiak welcomes Stacey Abrams to the team as senior counsel. Why electrification is the most equity-centered climate strategy we have to live our best lives.
- March 3
Zapping Electric Myths
Myth busters—electrification style! We break down a handful of the most common electrification myths. Also a bonus note from Mr. Heat Pump himself!
- February 17
100,000 jobs, 90B in investment, and a heat pump telling you he loves you
It’s the Inflation Reduction Act’s 6-month anniversary! New and renewed clean energy projects are popping up around the country. Meet Tonya Hicks - one of the people doing the work of electrification.
- February 3
I cool, I heat, I’m really neat
For all the heat pump lovers out there - this one’s for you. Heat pump sales beat out gas furnace sales in 2022. Learn more about the boxy electrical wonder taking the world by storm.
- January 19
New-ish Year - New Electric You!
This is the year we put the IRA to work. Watts the deal with these tax credits and rebates? How do I get started with electrification? Read on, friends.
- December 22
Thank you for electrifying with us!
Our 2022 year end wrap. The Inflation Reduction Act passed! The President said “heat pumps”! We expanded our supporters grid and capped the year with a report on how the whole of government can electrify.
- November 8
A White House announcement, winter $ savings and how to be an electric enthusiast
As the White House announced last week, the work of our new electric coalition will see us reach more than 10 million households.
- September 13
The limitless possibility of our electric potential
We must electrify one billion machines across 121 million households in the coming years. It’s an ambitious goal, making this the decade of electrification. Here's how the Inflation Reduction Act will help us achieve it.
- August 17
Let the electric gains begin!
The IRA is the most important climate legislation America has ever seen, but it won’t be the last. It’s the beginning of a better story.
- August 8
Have you been hopescrolling?
The Inflation Reduction Act is monumental in its scope and the positive impact it will have on our communities, country and planet. And now it has passed the Senate and is on its way to the House of Representatives.
- August 5
The Inflation Reduction Act gets one step closer to law
We are closer than we have ever been to the most significant climate legislation in our nation’s history. Yesterday’s news that Senator Sinema would support the Inflation Reduction Act was welcomed by so many people who have worked towards the passage of this bill for so long.
- July 29
Let's Go! An Electric Explainer, and where we go from here!
In the spirit of no time to waste, we put together our analysis of some key programs in the Inflation Reduction Act. An Electric Explainer, if you will. The climate investments are broken up into over 100 programs. Here we detail eleven of our favorites.
- July 8
Electrification Won't Break The Grid, It Will Make It Smarter.
Panels in our homes are incredibly important to electrifying everything. If we do it the right way, we can upgrade the panels of households across the country, making our grid more efficient and resilient by treating the panel itself as a critical part of our grid infrastructure.
- July 1
The Sky Hasn't Fallen, But It Has Darkened. And What We Must Do About It.
The Court is behind the times because the effect of its ruling will be an energy tax on American families that undermines our energy security here at home. Families today are rightly concerned about the effects of inflation: nine out of ten Americans raise it as an issue they discuss at their kitchen tables.
- May 6
Exporting More Energy Than We Import ≠ Energy Independence!
You might think that being a net exporter of energy would make the U.S. “energy independent,” immune to the global changes in supply and demand of energy caused by geopolitical strife. You’d think we’d have enough energy to take care of our own domestic needs. But you would be wrong.
- April 15
Science Moms say ‘Electrify’ (Or No Cookies For You)
Moms make 80 percent of household financial decisions,” says Anne-Marie Kline, managing director of Science Moms. “They’re the ones we need to inform.” Currently, she says, awareness of electrification and its benefits – for the climate, for kids’ health, and for the pocketbook – is low.
- March 25
The Grass Really is Greener in Vermont!
When it comes to electrifying everything, the town of Burlington, Vermont has become a model for how to get it done.
- March 18
It’s The Opposite of Driving Off the Dealer’s Lot…
We’ve been pumping up heat pumps for a while now, and more so in the wake of Russia’s illegal and tragic invasion of Ukraine. We see the pump's power as a tool for crushing fossil fuel demand.
- February 18
Congressional Electrification Caucus to Senate: Let's Go!
On Wednesday, we took part in a press conference surrounded by the all-star team of the Congressional Electrification Caucus, including Senator Martin Heinrich, Senator Tina Smith, Representative Paul Tonko, Representative Kathy Castor, as well as Mayor Sylvester Turner of Houston, and Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman. We shared the stage to push for an acceleration of nationwide electrification.
- February 14
The 2021 Texas Power Crisis was Preventable
Widespread electrification – and a fortified grid system to rely on in moments exactly like this – could have absolutely prevented this tragic event.
- December 15
Electrify Guide
Joel Rosenberg’s Electrify Everything In Your Home is the nuts-and-bolts handbook for American households to electrify their homes and lives, from how they heat their homes and water, cook their food and dry their clothes to the cars they drive.
- December 9
Winter Heating Brief
With winter rapidly approaching, the projected costs to heat our homes and fill up our cars are rising and more volatile. But what exactly should you expect?
- November 11
Show Us Your Gas
We’re looking for a few hundred folks to spend about 15 minutes walking around their house photographing breaker boxes and furnaces and the like and uploading them into our questionnaire.
- October 11
It’s Here: Electrify, by Saul Griffith
In Electrify, Saul lays out a detailed blueprint—optimistic but feasible—for fighting climate change while creating millions of new jobs and a healthier environment.
- September 10
Optimistic Signs of the Times
We're working to merge the Zero Emissions Home Act – which seeks to make household electrification easy & affordable through consumer rebates – with the Hope for Homes Act, which offers grants for training and rebates for energy efficiency.
- August 20
Silver Linings Playbook
At Rewiring America, we are radically optimistic, and if you signed up for this newsletter, so are you. So read on for silver linings.
- July 16
We’re at a Tipping Point Now…
We’re at a tipping point now -- but the good news is that we still have time to keep the earth’s atmosphere within livable limits if we follow one fairly simple path: electrify everything.
- June 30
New Legislation to #ElectrifyEverything!
We’re excited to announce that Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM) is planning to introduce new infrastructure legislation to help solve a critical piece of the climate puzzle.
- June 15
Electrifying the Senate
We’re adding 40 billion metric tons of CO2 pollution to the atmosphere per year, and we’ve got to stop. How? As we’ve pointed out, we don’t need a miracle, we just need to #electrifyeverything.
- June 3
How to Decarbonize? Start With a Rebate
We’ve partnered with the Center for American Progress to propose new consumer rebates for the purchase and installation of electrified household appliances and breaker boxes.
- May 21
We Had a Very Big Week Here at Rewiring America!
We had a very big week here at Rewiring America, with events that are making us feel truly energized about our electrified future! We released a report with the CGC focused on delivering the benefits of household electrification to LMI families and partnered with Act Now.
- April 16
49 Million Homes Are in the Money. Is Yours?
To electrify everything, we need to start with households and the appliances in them, where we can solve for 42 percent of our energy-related emissions without moonshots or tradeoffs.
- April 1
Breaker Breaker
The intersection of climate progress and economic prosperity is at the heart of our work at Rewiring America, and we are thrilled that President Biden has put these issues front and center in his American Jobs Plan.
- March 23
Replace Machines
Last week we shared our new research, showing that in order to lower our carbon emissions enough to keep global warming within livable limits, we need to install or replace one billion machines to electrify our homes.
- March 16
One Billion Machines
We’ve dug in to just how many machines we’d need to install or replace to accomplish our goal of zero emissions: One billion.
- November 8
It’s Not About Red or Blue
We thought we would take a look at how decarbonization would affect red and blue states differently, and who would gain from massive electrification. Spoiler: The answer is everyone wins.
- October 30
How to Decarbonize the American Household
We asked co-author Sam Calisch, MIT-trained engineer and energy nerd, to walk us through our latest report on household electrification savings.
- September 1
Welcome
In our very first newsletter, we talk through our handbook for climate action and outline pathways to success.