We’re All Climate Refugees

Don't underestimate the health risks of wildfire smoke

Active fires and smoke July 24, 2026

I’m hiding in a hotel as I write this.

The wildfire smoke outside is off the scale.

I was staying in my son’s apartment, but it doesn’t have air conditioning. The apartment is in a city that never used to get hot or have to deal with smoke. That’s all changed in the past few years because of climate change.

Need-to-Know: We underestimate the health risks of wildfire smoke.

There is no place that hasn’t been affected by climate change. Everyone is being impacted, whether they want to admit it or not.

We’ve all become climate refugees in the sense that we’re forced to cope with the impacts of a hotter climate.

Hundreds of millions of people are being exposed to dangerous levels of wildfire smoke AGAIN this summer.

Need-to-Know: Wildfire smoke is more than a nuisance; it’s a serious health risk.

What the latest health studies show:

• Wildfire smoke can be up to 10 times more harmful to people than smog or smokestack emissions.

• Wildfire smoke contains enormous amounts of tiny PM2.5 particles, some of which are carcinogenic. [PM2.5 levels outside right now are 22X higher than the World Health Organization safe level.]

• PM2.5 particles can get deep into the lungs, enter the bloodstream, and cross the blood-brain barrier.

• Wildfire smoke, in addition to exacerbating asthma and COPD, increases rates of stroke, heart and kidney disease, can hasten the onset of dementia, and lead to low-weight births.

• At least 52,480 Californians died prematurely as a result of their exposure to wildfire smoke between 2008 and 2018. (The results do not include the worst fire years of 2018, 2020, and 2021.)

• Wildfire smoke causes nearly 16,000 deaths annually in the U.S. This could double by mid-century, according to an analysis.

  

  Active US wildfires July 24, 2026. Source: AP

Need-to-Know: Coping with wildfire smoke isn’t easy

How to reduce your health risk:

• Keep an eye on your air quality; it can change hour to hour. I use IQAir maps and their app to get readings of the PM2.5 count. Lots of weather sites provide air quality readings and forecasts.

• HEPA filters in your home can keep indoor air safer. You can even make your own for $100 or so. Here’s an 8-minute video on how to do it.

• Mask up outside. A good N95 mask can be quite comfortable to wear. The best option is a respirator that filters 99.9 percent of particles like this one. If you need to spend lots of time outside in smoke, I’d get one.

You’ll likely be the only person wearing a mask. Not many folks realize the health risks of breathing wildfire smoke for extended periods.

It is depressing to be forced by smoke to hide indoors day after day. Or worse, in a hotel room. But at least I have that option; otherwise, I’d probably end up in a hospital.

By using a good mask and air filtration, I hope all of us in the smoke zone can stay healthy and feel ok.

Until next time, be safe and be well.

Stephen

P.S. If we want reduce wildfires we need to cool the climate. Here’s some things you can do:

Some of the most impactful according to Project Drawdown.

• Cut food waste – Buy only the food you know you’ll eat

• Eat more veggies – Replace some of your meat with healthy protein-rich plants

• Switch to clean energy – Upgrade to renewable energy in your home

• Insulate your home – Improve your home’s window and wall insulation

• Save with LED lights – Switch to energy-efficient LED light bulbs

• Heat & cool smarter – Install heat pumps or smart thermostats

• Get solar – Invest in solar panels and solar hot water

• Get around greener – Share a ride with others or travel by bike, public transit, or foot

• Drive electric or hybrid – Make your next car an electric or hybrid vehicle

• Fly less – Stay local, make a video call, or find another way to travel

• Reduce & recycle – Avoid single-use plastic and recycle right

Don’t discount the ripple effect of your actions. Engaging in any of these can impact the behavior of others. For example, reducing your meat consumption signals to your grocery store and food producers that people want less high-emitting meat and dairy production, and more healthy plant-based options.

Heat Waves are More Dangerous and More Common than We Realize

Source: Jeff Berardelli @weatherprof

A young adult walking slowly will show cardiovascular strain, with a “feels like” temperature of only 27 °C*, according to a lab study conducted in a special hot box.

Crank the temp and humidity up to 29.4 °C, and a young person’s heart starts to work harder to cool the body even when sitting down.

These are healthy young adults being tested.

Prolonged exposure to these levels of heat and humidity may become dire for vulnerable populations such as the elderly and those with heart disease and other chronic conditions, the study concluded.

Even in dry, hot environments, there is a limit to how much the body can sweat and still stay cool enough. For example, 45 °C with 20% humidity can cause cardiovascular strain in a young person, even when sitting in the shade.

Our bodies sweat to cool off via evaporation. When it’s humid, water evaporates slower, making it harder to cool down. If we can’t cool off, our body’s core temperature rises, which causes our hearts to work harder to pump more blood to the skin to help dissipate the heat. Should our core temperature continue to rise, our internal organs can be damaged, and death can occur within a few hours.

Need-to-Know: Dangerous heat waves now affect most of the world every summer.

We live on a much hotter planet than 60 years ago. And it’s getting hotter every year.

(See my 2022 post: Europe Now Endures 3 to 4 times More Heatwaves).

Heat kills thousands of people every year, often because they have other health issues. That doesn’t diminish the risk. We all will have health issues at some point that could endanger our lives during a heat wave.

There are record-breaking heat waves worldwide every year now.

Need-to-Know: Heat waves last longer and are hotter than in the past.

We need to understand the health risks of extreme heat and learn how to live with a hotter climate.

Equally important, we need to stop making things hotter to protect ourselves, our families, and our communities.

Until next time, be safe and stay cool.

Stephen

*"Feels like” or “real feel” or "heat index" temperatures are similar to wet-bulb temperature (WBT) used in the study. WBT takes temperature, humidity, wind speed, and other variables into account.

Clean Energy Progress Summary

At least 12 Need-to-Know Facts

Global Overview

Investment in clean energy topped $2.3 trillion last year and outpaced investments in fossil-fuel supply for a second consecutive year. (A trillion anything is hard to get your head around. Try this: A trillion seconds is 31,689 years. (Probably didn’t help.))

Need-to-Know: Clean energy surpassed coal to become the largest source of electricity globally in 2025. (Yes!!)

Solar and wind have become the default source of new power generation because they are cheaper and faster to build.

U.S.A.

Contrary to some headlines, U.S. clean-energy investment hit a record $378 billion in 2025, up 3.5%, largely driven by economics.

Need-to-Know: Electricity from solar with battery storage is cheaper than from a gas plant

Unsubsidized solar and wind projects cost less than nearly all fossil-fuel projects, according to Lazard’s latest levelized-cost-of-energy analysis. (Caution: Energy nerd zone.)

For example, the median cost of utility-scale solar with storage (i.e., batteries) is $0.09 per kWh, compared to widely used natural gas peaker plants at $0.20 per kWh.

Solar’s lower cost and speed of installation have made solar the largest source of new U.S. electricity-generating capacity added each month for the past 27 months. (Psst! Don’t tell Trump!)

Europe

In the European Union, wind and solar generated a record 30% of electricity last year—more than coal and gas power for the first time.

Need-to-Know: The EU produced more electrical power from wind and solar than coal and gas

Without wind and solar, the EU would have spent an additional $160 billion on gas imports from 2022 to 2023. And they’d be spending even more this year, if not for renewables. (For more on this see Break free from the fossil-fuel trap.)

Rest of World

Renewable energy’s growing economic and energy-security advantages are of particular interest to India, Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia.

Consider the following view of Michael Liebreich of EcoPragma Capital and founder of BNEF, paraphrased from a recent Cleaning Up podcast:

What should we buy?

A million-dollar investment in solar or wind buys an asset that will produce 15 times the energy per dollar over the asset’s lifetime compared to making a one-time million-dollar purchase of gas or oil.

To me, it’s a no-brainer.

India is of particular importance. Low-cost solar, batteries, and EVs are enabling India to develop without the long fossil detour taken by the West and China, avoiding billions of tons of CO2 emissions.

Electric Transportation.

Electric vehicles are the preferred new-vehicle choice in China, the EU, and Norway, with other countries not far behind. In fact, nearly $900 billion was spent last year on electrifying transportation.

Need-to-Know: Electric outsold petrol-vehicle sales in Europe

Europe

EVs, including plug-in hybrid electric sales in Europe, were up 51%, and outselling petrol-vehicle sales for the first time last year, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.

Need-to-Know: High fuel prices accelerate the shift to electric

Petrol and diesel accounted for just 30% of new car sales in the EU from Jan to April this year.

China

About 51% of all new car sales were electric vehicles in 2025.

China is also building electric heavy- and medium-duty trucks and charging infrastructure to replace diesel and LNG-powered trucks.

China’s oil demand declined nearly 5% as a direct result.

This was fun. Right?

Until next time. Be well.

Stephen

Break free from the fossil-fuel trap

We're going to pay an extra +$500 billion for oil and gas this year

Solar fencing in Germany

Solar, wind, batteries, electric vehicles, and heat pumps offer an affordable escape from the volatile world of fossil energy.

Jet fuel prices have increased by 70%, gasoline prices by 30% to 40%, and wholesale gas by at least 60%. Heating oil, which many rural households rely on, has climbed even higher.

Need-to-Know: Countries spent at least $1.7 TRILLION importing oil and gas last year. It’ll be a lot more this year.

For every $10-per-barrel increase in oil prices, global net import costs rise by about $160 billion a year, according to a new report by Ember.

If oil averages $110 a barrel this year, it will cost oil-importing nations an additional $480 billion, compared to 2024.

Yes, that’s an extra $480 billion we’ll have to dig out of our wallets to maintain our addiction to oil.

It’s also a potential $480 billion windfall for the oil industry—the world’s richest in history.

Need-to-Know: We will be hundreds of $billions out of pocket because of the war in Iran.

About 75% of the world’s population lives in fossil-fuel-importing countries, including the UK and the EU. These countries spent at least $1.7 trillion on oil and gas imports in 2024, assuming an average oil price of $80 per barrel.

Before the war in Iran, most forecasts had projected oil prices of $60 to $65 a barrel for 2026. Oil was $120 a barrel yesterday.

It’s the same story for countries that import LNG. They are paying $billions more for this frozen, pressurized gas.

Need-to-Know: Fossil-fuel volatility has become a clear threat to global stability.

So, where is all this money for this coming from?

We’re all being forced to pay higher prices for everything as a result.

Many governments (France, Italy, Canada, Ireland, and dozens more) are using $billions of dollars in public money to moderate oil and gas price increases. That means higher government deficits and cuts to publicly-funded programs like health care, education, social security, and so on.

The fastest and most affordable way to protect oil- and gas-importing countries from the price and supply volatility of oil and gas imports is with electrotech—solar and wind power generation, battery storage, electric vehicles, and heat pumps. (See: Our Electrotech Revolution.)

Need-to-Know: Electrotech brings energy security, stable power prices, and big CO2 reductions

Fortunately, electrotech alternatives have become cheaper, better, and more readily available since the 2022 energy crisis.

For example, since 2022, the cost of solar panels has dropped by half, and annual solar installations have nearly tripled. Battery prices decreased by 36%, and yearly deployment of grid batteries increased sevenfold.

Unlike fossil fuels, wind and solar energy resources are abundant and accessible everywhere. The sun and wind are not affected by geopolitics, tariffs, shipping delays, chokepoints, price volatility, currency fluctuations, or conflicts.

Although intermittent, solar and wind power have a significant efficiency advantage since 60% to 65% of energy produced by fossil fuels is lost as waste heat. (See: Yes, One Third of ALL Energy USED is from Renewables.)

Need-to-Know: About half of low-income countries have a higher share of solar energy than the U.S. and higher rates of electrification

The lowest-income countries have been among the most eager to reduce their oil and gas imports with electrotech such as Pakistan, Senegal, and South Africa.

Cuba, currently under an oil embargo by the U.S., has increased its solar capacity by 350% since 2024, using low-cost Chinese solar panels. Solar and other renewables may provide 15% of Cuba’s power this year.

Need-to-Know: EVs eliminated over 800 million barrels of oil

Electric vehicles have already slashed oil consumption by 2.3 million barrels per day last year. That will jump to 5.25 million barrels a day in 2030, according to BloombergNEF’s analysis.

Before the +40% hike in gasoline and diesel prices, owning an EV saved up to $2,200 a year in fuel costs, according to a 2024 analysis by the U.S. Department of Transportation. (The webpage has escaped the purge by the Trump White House.)

Need-to-Know: EV sales are soaring nearly everywhere.

India’s EV sales jumped 24.6%, Europe was up 31%, the UK was up 24.2%, and Australia saw a huge 89% increase. South Korea 172% increase in February, thanks to a revised subsidy program.

Hope this was helpful. Do share

Until next time. Be well.

Stephen

How you can save $1,777 on transportation costs

And get fitter too!

Replacing 1 in 5 of your car trips with walking, biking, or public transit would save an average of US $1,777 per year, according to RMI’s Smarter Mobility Calculator.

Need-to-Know: The less you drive, the more you save.

The average American household could save $840 in annual fuel and vehicle maintenance costs, and over $900 per year in vehicle depreciation and parking expenses by reducing their car use by 20%.

Costs savings vary from state to state

These savings are based on 2024 costs. Gasoline prices are about 30% higher today. Car repair costs have also increased, along with car prices—the average price of a new car was $50,000 last year.

I’m not going to get into how these savings are calculated. The main Need-to-Know: the less you drive, the more you save.

Here’s another Need-to-Know that doesn’t get enough attention.

Need-to-Know: Owning a car costs $12,300/year

The average annual cost to own and operate a car in the U.S. was $12,300 in 2024, according to the US Department of Transportation.

Yes, $12,300* a year.

(*Includes average costs of fuel, maintenance, tires, insurance, license, registration, taxes, depreciation, and finance to drive 15,000 miles a year. $8500 of those costs are fixed, so you pay even if the car sits in your driveway all year. Details here.)

Knowing this, we got rid of our second car a long time ago.

Source: US Department of Transportation

Need-to-Know: The less you drive, the healthier you’ll be

Additional incentives to driving less: Walking and cycling are great ways to stay in shape, and less driving means less pollution that worsens conditions like asthma and heart disease.

Driving cars has social costs, too. A 20% reduction in miles driven would improve air quality and save billions in health care costs. There’d be a substantial decline in car crashes, saving even more billions of dollars, and preventing a whole lot of pain and grief.

Investments in buses and rail transit, and safe, protected routes for cyclists and pedestrians, are investments in our health and well-being. They also more than pay for themselves when the true costs of personal car use are included.

Check out RMI’s detailed analysis and pass it on to your local representative so they can make better decisions about our transportation needs.

Until next time. Be well.

Stephen