Europe Gets It
The European Union has generated more electricity from wind and solar than fossil fuels this year. Woohoo!
LISTENING: to this coffee shop play Taylor Swift on repeat
FEELING: hopeful, still!
SEEING: others grind away on their laptops, too
What is community? Is the handful of people in your favorite group chat? Neighbors on the block? Your city? Your country?
Community comes in different shapes and sizes. Today, I'm thinking a lot about the values of my American community — and how different those values look from the European community. In Europe, nearly all nations offer some form of universal healthcare. There are also generous family leave policies when parents welcome a new baby home.
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I bring this all up because, well, Europe gets it. They're building a community over there that prioritizes health and well-being — for people and planet. A new report out this week found that wind and solar generated more electricity than fossil fuels in the E.U. during the first half of 2024. As one would expect, the success of renewable energy is responsible for the decrease in fossil fuel generation.
But that's not the whole story. As I'm learning for a story I'm writing, money and financial investments are factors here, too.
Welcome to Possibilities, a creative climate newsletter on the possibilities that lie where crisis meets community. I'm Yessenia Funes, and I'm celebrating some good news.