The Lightship AE.1 all-electric travel trailer. (Courtesy of Lightship)

Welcome. This week, counting cygnets and tracking El Niño. But first, this technological breakthrough could change how Americans go on vacation.

If the American Dream had wheels, it might look like an Airstream trailer. The silver torpedo beckons from the future, even as it evokes ’60s-era roadside burgers and moon rockets.

Like many things in American life, it’s electrifying.

Last year, manufacturers shipped roughly 342,000 recreational vehicles to American dealers, according to the RV Industry Association — everything from a $10,000 pop-up trailer to a million-dollar land yacht cruising America’s highways. Some are built for weekend getaways; others, for a never-ending road trip.

For decades, the industry barely changed. Three companies — Thor Industries, Forest River and Winnebago — manufacture most of the nation’s rigs in factories around Elkhart, Indiana, mostly using technology that debuted in the 1950s.

But, starting about three years ago, the electric revolution arrived. Incumbents began seriously field testing EV technology, and start-ups like Lightship and Pebble announced battery-powered, self-propelled trailers.

The result is a new generation of mobile palaces that look nothing like what my dad towed into state parks when we went camping as a kid. The electrification of American camping — at least the car-camping kind — is cleaner and quieter than the era of vibrating generators and hissing propane tanks.

Here’s how millions of Americans may soon spend their weekends, or their year, camping on the road without using fossil fuels.

How do you camp? Write me at climatecoach@washpost.com. I read all your emails.

Field Sample

Just how extreme could this El Niño get?

The Washington Post is tracking how feverish those ocean temperatures are becoming.

Forecasts show temperatures continuing to rise on a record trajectory this year. The peak average increase of 3.9 degrees Celsius (7.0 degrees Fahrenheit) projected in December is about a degree higher than 2015’s record-breaking El Niño.

Read about why 2027 is likely to be the hottest year ever.

Learning Curve

As the Iran war sends gas prices soaring, EVs are becoming even cheaper to fuel up compared with gas-powered vehicles in nearly every state.

Gas now costs on average $149 a month, a 37 percent increase since the start of the war, while the average, EV drivers spend $106 a month, up 16 percent.

The Post built an interactive to compare your monthly fuel costs here.

Snapshot

The annual “Swan Upping” near London is the annual census of the swan population along the Thames. Dating back to the 12th century when the British Crown claimed ownership of the birds, today it is for conservation purposes.

Swans and cygnets are released after being measured and weighed during the annual "Swan Upping" on the River Thames in Windsor, west of London, on Monday.

The swans and cygnets are released after being measured and weighed.

Read more about the practice.

Scoops of the Week

Introducing scoops of the week by Jake Spring, climate and environment policy reporter at The Washington Post. Spring has delivered regular exclusives including recent stories on ending public disclosure of deaths in national parks, paying for Trump’s July 4 plans with Americans’ national park passes and a White House plan to open California to offshore oil drilling.

This week, he’s sharing the spotlight: “Sometimes scoops are hiding in plain sight. Hat tip to Politico’s Scott Waldman for this one on how a climate skeptic is leading the U.S. government program that produces the National Climate Assessment, the country’s flagship report on climate change. His social profile openly says he leads the program — the guy even had followed me on X — but neither I nor anyone else had noticed. The Post and other media scrambled to write it up the next day.”

Second Degree

Last week, I wrote about how to stop ChatGPT from ruining how you think.

Many of you were skeptical artificial intelligence will live up to the hype, echoing stories of mangled answers, factual errors and just bad advice.

One lawyer occasionally asks ChatGPT how to negotiate thorny legal negotiations. “I have yet to resolve a negotiation in the manner recommended by ChatGPT,” they wrote. “What ChatGPT does not understand is the way people think and more importantly the way people feel … In my opinion, AI will never be able to successfully compete fully with the complexity of the human spirit and imagination.”

(The Washington Post has a content partnership with OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT.)

Of course, others have found out what AI is good at — and where it falls down on the job: “After retiring, I took up gardening and have started using Google AI to advise me … but at the end of the day it’s down to me to drag 40-pound bags of compost and mulch around the garden and carry the watering cans. If anyone has figured out how to get AI to do the weeding, I’d be eternally grateful.”

On the Climate Front

From The Post:

Trump says a nuclear renaissance is coming. The deals aren’t.

White House appoints climate science critic to lead key climate program

Trump rule says habitat destruction does not harm endangered species

Cancer cases worldwide are expected to soar in the coming decades, a report finds. Here’s why.

From elsewhere:

Why climate scientists need to talk more about the very worst‑case scenarios (The Conversation)

This permit, common for dry cleaners, is now being used to build AI power plants (Floodlight)

The climate fix isn’t cutting all meat — It’s targeting the people who eat the most. (Anthropocene)

How About an E.V. Charge With That Fried Chicken? (New York Times)

I spent this weekend rock climbing in South Lake Tahoe. If you can guess this route (hint: it’s rated a 5.5), I’ll answer the question of your choice in the next newsletter.

HF

Send me your photos and stories at climatecoach@washpost.com

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See you next Tuesday,

Michael Coren, Climate Coach