Jonathan Gilligan

Media Appearances

• Special report: Tennessee's power generation is cleaner than ever. The next step is a 'huge question'

  Even without widespread battery use (TVA will only have 51 megawatts of storage online by the end of the year, according to federal data), TVA could still increase solar’s share of the energy mix from its current 3% up to 20% without problems, said Vanderbilt engineering professor Jonathan Gilligan.

  October 26th, 2022

• Op-Ed: Here’s how companies can strong-arm their suppliers into cutting carbon emissions

  The Inflation Reduction Act is both the most important federal climate legislation ever and sadly inadequate to protect the U.S. and the world from the effects of climate change. Where it falls short, states could intervene with tougher regulations — but many won’t. That leaves corporations, which can pressure their suppliers to take the actions necessary to prevent global warming’s most devastating effects.

  October 4th, 2022

• Electric Vehicles Don’t Have To Be Elitist - They Can Erode Social Inequities

  Vanderbilt University professor Jonathan Gilligan tweeted recently that “transition to electric vehicles can be a powerful force for social and environmental justice if we do it right.” I agree with him. When I asked Terry Travis what does success look like, he told me, “We would like to see the communities hit “worst and first” leading the conversation around clean and sustainable transportation, energy and environmental equity while simultaneously we have moved beyond mere consumerism and created workforce and economic opportunities for these burdened communities in the Auto 2.0 ecosystem.”

  March 11th, 2022

• As more climate migrants cross borders seeking refuge, laws will need to adapt

  Climate change is upending people’s lives around the world, but when droughts, floods or sea level rise force them to leave their countries, people often find closed borders and little assistance.

  June 8th, 2021

• Tips to make laundry day more gentle on the environment

  But it’s getting easier to clean your clothes while staying green. “You do have to wash your clothes, but you can do a very good job of minimizing the impact,” says Jonathan Gilligan, an associate professor of earth and environmental sciences at Vanderbilt University who has studied the effects of individual actions on greenhouse gas emissions. Although one consumer’s decision to switch to a more efficient washer isn’t going to counter the cumulative effects of major industries on its own, he says “it can have an effect.” Individual actions add up.

  May 18th, 2021

• This past winter in Nashville was unusually warm and rainy. And it looks like spring will be, too.

  "Winters have gotten so warm in the last 20 or so years that people forget. Weather that wouldn't have been remarkably cold 30 or 40 years ago seems extraordinarily cold today," said Jonathan Gilligan, associate professor of earth and environmental sciences at Vanderbilt University.

  March 19th, 2019