Cold Eye Earth, formerly The Gregor Letter, tracks the progress of energy transition and takes its name from the stoic wisdom expressed in the well known, final lines of Yeat’s Under Ben Bulben: Cast a cold eye / On life, on death. / Horseman, pass by! Now that the first phase of energy transition is behind us—driven by powerful advances in technology and cost curves—the middle phase will require a renewed form of sobriety and realism about our rate of progress. Even as fossil fuels now come into their respective peaks, path dependency and continued global economic growth make for a stubborn set of consumption plateaus. To achieve actual declines in emissions, therefore, will require a new kind of effort—one that doesn’t rely solely on the deployment of clean energy.

Gregor Macdonald is a freelance journalist who covers cities, climate, and energy. After years spent in Boston, Los Angeles, and London, he currently resides with his family in Portland, Oregon. Writing about the energy transition for over a decade, his work has appeared in the Economist Intelligence Unit, Petroleum Economist, Atlantic Media’s Route Fifty, PV Magazine, Next City, Nature, The Rocky Mountain Institute, and Buzzfeed. Gregor also gives regular talks to university students and other professionals seeking to better understand the current energy transition.

Cold Eye Earth enjoys substantial readership internationally, and is widely read among academic, financial, and policymaking institutions. The letter primarily relies on industry knowledge gained through regular reporting, and consultation with a global network of experts. There is also a heavy emphasis on data collection and research. The publication cycle is every other Monday, and adheres to a strict deadline: just after midnight Pacific, in time for the morning readership in London.

Subscription rate options are $80 per year or $8.00 per month for individuals.

For groups, the rate is the same for individuals, but on an annual basis only, and is applied up to six “seats” or individual email addresses at $80 per seat or address, maxing out at $480 for each group. If you seek to coordinate a new group subscription, gather all your email addresses first, and then get started here at the Group Subscription page.

For institutions or groups wanting to distribute the letter internally to more than six users, the rate is negotiated starting at the base price of $480, and of course there would be a discount above that level. Institutions are billed separately, with traditional invoicing. Email contact: gregor at gregor.us

Additionally, all paid subscribers receive a complimentary copy of the Oil Fall series, which has now been updated with the final installment, Electric Candyland. Access to Oil Fall arrives with the Welcome Email, with every new paid subscription.

Feel free to peruse the archive, and if you represent an institution looking to subscribe, please see additional information here about costs and invoicing.

You can keep up with Gregor and his work at BlueSky.

email: gregor at gregor dot us

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tracking the progress of energy transition

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Journalist covering cities, climate, and energy.