Inside door-to-door solar sales scams
As homeowners rush to install rooftop solar panels ahead of vanishing federal tax incentives, salespeople are leaning even more heavily into shady tactics. While solar can cut energy costs in the long run, sellers often overstate the potential cost savings or mislead customers into thinking they’re signing up for a government program, Meg Carney reports for Grist, That’s because, in many cases, the sellers focus more on the pitch than the product, which is dangerous at a time when rising utility costs spark both urgency and confusion. “Generally, if the company gives you a pitch, you repeat that pitch. It’s a numbers game. So, the more doors you hit, the more money you make,” one salesman told Carney under the condition of anonymity. Some of the shadiest sellers will even go totally dark after installations, blocking the customers’ numbers well before things like hidden costs arise.
What you can do: The best offense is good defense, and, in the case of rooftop solar, that means doing your own research and asking sales reps the right questions. You can check out our guide to figure out if suncatchers make sense for your home, and Grist also pulled together a list red flags and green flags to keep in mind when talking to a solar salesperson.
Ice cream, re-imaginged
I scream, you scream, we all scream for…plant-based ice cream? One of the world’s largest frozen treat companies is embracing a plant-based future. Magnum, owned by Unilever and known for its indulgent chocolate-shelled bars, is pairing with NotCo, maker of plant-based hot dogs, milks, ice creams, and mayos. To go full Wonka on these treats, the company leverages not Oompa Loompas, but Giuseppe, its AI platform that analyzes and recreates the flavors and textures of animal-based products with plant-based ingredients. That could be huge for anyone hoping to indulge in a more climate-friendly manner: Replacing dairy can slash the emissions of the average person’s diet by 8%, and the industry—including fellow Unilever brand Ben & Jerry’s—is still working to reduce dairy-derived emissions.
What you can do: Explore everything in moderation—including processed foods and the places where tactfully-deployed AI can make a difference. Try out a couple items from NotCo’s current slate of products, like the plant-based hotdogs it created with Oscar Meyer and the nondairy mac and cheese it collaborated on with Kraft, both of which were big winners in our taste tests.
A seventh ‘planetary boundary’ is breached
We’ve officially entered another “find out” chapter in our long history of screwing around with the environment. The 2025 Planetary Health Check, an annual report out of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact, finds that rising carbon emissions have made seawater so acidic it now exceeds what scientists consider a safe threshold. It’s the first time our oceans have failed this check. Ocean acidification is the seventh of nine so-called “planetary boundaries”—environmental guardrails that keep the planet livable for humans—that have now been breached. Blowing past that barrier threatens coral reefs, shell-forming organisms, and the ocean’s ability to absorb carbon. This is bad news. But, as Grist reports, it’s not irreversible. If rapid, large-scale emissions cuts and marine habitat restoration efforts are put into action, it’s possible pull the ocean back from this deeply unsettling tipping point.
What you can do: News like can be a real gut-punch, and it’s perfectly natural and absolutely OK to feel those feels. If you sense yourself sinking, we’ve got some tips to help you find your way through even the biggest flood of bad news.
An up-and-down week in NYC
There was a real push-pull during New York Climate Week—a mega-event comprised of around 1,000 minor-events that runs alongside the U.N. General Assembly. On the East Side, 120 nations and the E.U. shared their climate plans (aka their Nationally Determined Contributions or NDCs), but analysts say their commitments still add up to a lot of warming. They’ve been particularly underwhelmed by goals from China, the world’s biggest emitter. Elsewhere in the city, the Climate Week vibes were vibing, especially when it comes to the future of renewable energy. According to reporting in both Bloomberg and Semafor, the people holding the pursestrings are hot to funnel cash into solar, wind, and other renewables. Why? Because those sources are increasingly more affordable than fossil-fueled alternatives: “The green premium has gone, as has a lot of the fluff and froth, so the only things that will get funded are those that make economic sense,” James Socas, a an adviser with the center for private equity and venture capital at the Tuck School of Business, told Bloomberg.
What you can do: The best thing any of us can do—especially in the gross absence of federal climate progress—is focus on what you can accomplish at the state and local levels. The Climate Policy Dashboard can help you track what’s on the docket near you.