November 1, 2025: The Dirty Electrification of the United States
October 25, 2025: Pollution and Climate Change articles
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Tudor is a collective of bloggers that explores design in many forms – from interior design and architecture, to the culinary and decorative arts.

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NEW YORK-THE HOUSE OF WISDOM
NGÔI NHÀ TRÍ TUỆ- NEW YORK
Making More Room in Your Home Office
Jan 14

Jan 14 Making More Room in Your Home Office

Lanifah Dao
Furniture, Crafts

If your home office is no bigger than a walk-in closet, here are some DIY tips that can create more space for your productivity.

How a Shelf Can Tell a Story
Jan 13

Jan 13 How a Shelf Can Tell a Story

Lanifah Dao
Styling

The objects you collect can represent moments in your life or parts of your personality. It’s how you display them that turns them into a tale.

Oak & Granite
Jan 11

Jan 11 Oak & Granite

Lanifah Dao
Furniture

Chris and I love this store. They had a beautiful antique bureau desk. Simply unfold the desk to turn any living room into a study.

California Dream: Derek Nguyen’s Bungalow
Jan 10

Jan 10 California Dream: Derek Nguyen’s Bungalow

Lanifah Dao
Living Rooms, Plants

I got a chance to visit Santa Barbara and stayed at my uncle Derek’s house. Other than impeccable taste, he really has a green thumb.

Repurposing an Antique Spice Cabinet
Jan 8

Jan 8 Repurposing an Antique Spice Cabinet

Lanifah Dao
Plants, Furniture

A cabinet can be decorative in more ways than one. Storing plants in extra drawers is an innovative way to breathe life into any space.

Sit on a Zabuton
Jan 7

Jan 7 Sit on a Zabuton

Lanifah Dao
Living Rooms, Furniture

In Japan, it’s common to sit on the floor with a only a cushion for comfort. So, is the zabuton furniture or accessory?

Spa Treatment
Jan 6

Jan 6 Spa Treatment

Lanifah Dao
Bathrooms

Sometimes a bathroom makeover just needs a coat of white paint. Simply add antique items and fixtures to create a classier ambience.

Landscaping with Amory Herd
Jan 5

Jan 5 Landscaping with Amory Herd

Lanifah Dao
Interviews

In a male-dominated industry like landscaping, Amory Herd has set herself apart by shaping gardens the natural way.

Linen Couch Slipcovers
Jan 4

Jan 4 Linen Couch Slipcovers

Lanifah Dao
Furniture

Winter is when we prep for the summer heat, or at least dream of it. Here’s a perfect solution for keeping your couch cool.

 
 

The Hidden Cost of Electrification in the United States

By Leonard Hyman & William Tilles – Oct 13, 2025, 2:00 PM CDT

Mining rigs for Cryptocurrency Use a lot of Power

The United States is working hard to use more electricity for things like electric cars, data centers, and heat pumps. But there’s a big problem — much of that electricity still comes from fossil fuels like coal and natural gas.

Even though we’re trying to be greener, many lawmakers are still allowing new natural gas plants to be built, and some coal plants are staying open longer. This means we are using “clean” technology powered by “dirty” energy.

The Electrification Mistake

Many people believed that using electricity instead of gas or oil would automatically make energy cleaner. That turned out to be wrong.

Electric cars and heat pumps help cut down on fossil fuel use, but they still depend on electricity — and that electricity often comes from power plants that burn coal or gas.

Instead of switching to cleaner sources like solar power, batteries, or small nuclear reactors, the U.S. is building more fossil fuel plants. Once a new power plant is built, it can run for 40 years or more, which locks in pollution for a long time.

The Cost of New Power

All new power plants are expensive to build. Even clean energy projects like wind or solar cost a lot at first. But over time, they save money because wind and sunlight are free, unlike gas or coal, which you have to buy.

Fossil fuel plants cost more to run because they need fuel every day. Over 30 or 40 years, that adds up to a lot of money — and pollution. Sadly, many people ignore this because of politics.

Tech Giants and Power Hunger

Some big tech leaders, like Eric Schmidt, a former Google CEO, have said that building more data centers is more important than cutting carbon emissions. At a conference, he basically said, “Forget about climate goals — you won’t meet them anyway.”

He even suggested that data centers might somehow help solve the climate crisis, though he didn’t say how. What really stood out was that he seemed to think companies should be free to pollute if it helps business.

Big tech companies like Google want more power for their computers and servers. They don’t care much if that power comes from fossil fuels — as long as it’s cheap and always available. To get that, they want to build more gas plants, which could cost hundreds of billions of dollars.

If utilities build these plants, the cost could fall on regular customers in the form of higher electric bills.

What Washington Thinks

The big question now is: Do U.S. leaders agree with this way of thinking?

If the government allows more gas plants, the U.S. could end up with a power grid that uses even more fossil fuels. There haven’t been any new coal plants for years because natural gas is cheaper.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects around 18.7 gigawatts of new gas power to be built by 2028 — which sounds like a lot, but it’s small compared to what happened in the early 2000s. Between 2000 and 2005, the U.S. added over 160 gigawatts of new gas power, with 50 gigawatts in 2000 alone.

So today’s “big growth” is actually pretty small.

The Bottom Line

Right now, the U.S. seems focused on electrifying everything — from cars to computers — but not necessarily on making that electricity clean.

If we keep building new fossil fuel plants instead of clean energy, we’ll have more power but also more pollution. The promise of “green technology” will remain tied to “dirty energy.”

30 Vocabulary Words

  1. carbon – a chemical element found in all living things; linked to pollution when burned as fuel

  2. climate – the usual weather of a place over a long time

  3. coal – a black rock used as fuel to make electricity

  4. conference – a large meeting where people talk about ideas

  5. data – information or facts, often stored by computers

  6. decarbonization – removing carbon pollution from energy sources

  7. electricity – energy that powers lights, machines, and devices

  8. electrification – changing things to run on electricity instead of fuel

  9. energy – the power to do work or make things move

  10. fossil – the remains of plants or animals from long ago, used in “fossil fuel”

  11. fuel – something burned to make heat or energy

  12. gigawatt – a very large unit for measuring electricity

  13. government – people who run a country or make its laws

  14. green – used to mean friendly to nature or good for the planet

  15. heat pump – a machine that moves heat from one place to another

  16. leader – a person in charge or someone who guides others

  17. lawmakers – people who make or pass laws

  18. natural gas – a type of fuel found underground, used for heat and power

  19. plant – a building where power, fuel, or goods are made

  20. pollution – dirty or harmful things added to the air, water, or land

  21. power grid – the network that carries electricity to homes and businesses

  22. renewable – energy that comes from sources that don’t run out (like wind or sun)

  23. resource – something useful that people can use (like water, coal, or wind)

  24. solar – using the sun’s energy for power

  25. technology – machines and tools that help people work or live

  26. utility – a company that provides power, water, or gas

  27. Washington – used here to mean the U.S. government or its leaders

  28. wind – moving air; used to make clean energy

  29. pollute – to make the air, water, or land dirty or unsafe

  30. future – the time that comes after the present

 

 

article and image credit: oilprice.com