Our Picks for the Best Portable Solar Generators
Each product featured here has been independently selected by the writer. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission.
- Best Overall - Goal Zero Yeti 1500X
- Best High-Capacity - MAXOAK Bluetti EB150
- Best Expandable Power - EcoFlow RIVER Pro
- Best Compact Design - Renogy PHOENIX 300
- Best Portability - Suaoki S370
- Best for Camping - Jackery Explorer 300
- Best Price - Westinghouse iGen200s
How We Reviewed Portable Solar Generators
A good portable generator will offer you backup power in a convenient and reliable way. We have reviewed some of the top models on the market today, and arrived at a few that we think stand out from the rest.
To rank the best solar generators, we considered the following criteria:
- Size and weight. Smaller, more lightweight units offer much greater ease of use. We sought portable solar generators that aren't too challenging to lug around your home, or take with you when you go camping.
- Battery storage capacity. While your generator absorbs light through a solar panel, that energy is ultimately stored in a battery. The battery storage capacity, measured in watt-hours (Wh) determines how long you can use the generator before it requires a recharge.
- Inverter rating. Basically, inverter rating refers to the total number of watts that the solar generator can extract at any given time. Inverter rating, along with battery capacity, determine the wattage and power output of your generator.
- Expandability. Some generators come with a predetermined number of solar panels, while some allow you to add more solar panels as needed. This is an important feature to consider when looking for generators.
- Price point. Naturally, when looking for a new solar generator, staying on budget is always going to be a factor. We chose generators that are competitively priced.
The Best Portable Solar Generators
With these ranking factors in mind, here are our picks for the best portable solar generators available in 2021.
Goal Zero Yeti 1500X
goalzero.com
Goal Zero's line of Yeti portable power stations are well-suited for a wide range of off-grid uses, including emergency power, camping trips, and more. The Goal Zero Yeti 1500X is their most-popular large power station with enough power for everything from cell phones and laptops to medical devices like CPAP machines and even full-size refrigerators.
Why buy: The Goal Zero Yeti 1500X includes a 2000W AC (3500W Surge) inverter giving you the equivalent of a wall outlet power supply on-the-go. It also has seven different port options and a top-of-the-line app that makes it easy to monitor and manage your solar powered generator, no matter where you are.
MAXOAK Bluetti EB150
maxoak.net
For a high-capacity power station, check out the Bluetti EB150 from MAXOAK. Though it's not the most affordable option, you'll get a lot of features and utility for your investment. It includes a lithium ion battery capacity of 1500 Wh. When connected to three 150W solar panels, it can be recharged in about 3.5 to 4 hours.
Why buy: For a portable solar generator designed to power most household appliances under 1000W, the high-powered Bluetti EB150 is a great choice. MAXOAK also backs their product with a 24-month replacement or maintenance warranty.
EcoFlow RIVER Pro
ecoflow.com
EcoFlow boasts an impressive catalog of portable power stations, as well as reliable solar panels. We like the EcoFlow RIVER Pro power station because its technology enables incredibly fast recharging; you can connect it to two 110W solar panels to recharge in as little as 4.5 hours.
Why buy: The EcoFlow RIVER Pro includes a wide range of best-in-class technologies. Offering 720 Wh of power with three pure sine wave AC outlets, and weighing only 15.9 pounds, these units are well-suited for camping and hiking, as well as use around the house. You can also add an additional EcoFlow battery pack to upgrade the power of your generator as needed.
Renogy PHOENIX 300
renogy.com
Renogy produces several different power stations and chargers, but we especially like the PHOENIX 300, a solar power solution that's extremely lightweight and compact. It comes with an easy-grip handle and only weighs 6.4 pounds, making it one of the most portable solar generators around while still offering up to 200W of AC power for off the grid activities.
Why buy: The PHOENIX 300 can provide 337 watt-hours for up to 8 hours of AC continuous power without the noise or fumes associated with gas generators. It includes a number of the most common charging ports like two AC adaptors, a USB-C, USB-A, USB, and a D-Tap port for photography equipment.
Suaoki S370
suaoki.com
Suaoki is a company that's known for simple, functional, reliable technology. Their S370 portable solar generator isn't necessarily flashy, but it's an extremely lightweight option, perfect for camping, hiking, and other outdoor adventures. It includes 14 outlet ports and a pure sine wave inverter, making it a versatile power option.
Why buy: This is one of our top picks for camping and hiking, though it may also serve your needs as a backup power station for small appliances and electronics. A lithium-ion battery gives this generator an incredible capacity battery life, particularly in relation to its compact size.
Jackery Explorer 300
jackery.com
Jackery's portable power stations are ideally suited for camping and hiking. The Explorer 300 offers great portability and fast rechargeable power at an affordable price. It includes two AC outputs, a USB-C, USB-A, USB ports, and a 12-volt car port.
Why buy: The Explorer 300 generator is a good option for those who are new to solar power, thanks to its low price and easy-to-use controls. Jackery offers a number of portable solar panel options, and the power station's MPPT technology means that it can be recharged from the sun in just 5.5 hours.
Westinghouse iGen200s
westinghouseoutdoorpower.com
There are plenty of reasons to consider the Westinghouse iGen200s portable generator. This is one of the more affordable options on the market today, which makes it a good entry-level solar power solution. The unit offers four charging options. You can recharge with solar panels, with the power from your vehicle, with a household power outlet, or with a separate generator.
Why buy: For a simple and inexpensive solar power generator, Westinghouse makes an outstanding product. You can charge up to nine devices at a time; and, depending on how you use it, you can potentially get more than 40 hours out of your generator.
What Types of Batteries Do Solar Generators Use?
It's important to note that solar power generators may employ different kinds of batteries. The most common option is the lithium-ion battery. These tend to be more expensive than lead-acid batteries, at least on the front end. With that said, a lithium-ion battery will prove more durable, which usually makes it the smarter investment in the long run. Solar generators include charge controllers, which regulate the volts of energy coming from the solar panels to the battery to make sure the battery isn't overcharged and damaged.
The energy stored in the battery is converted from DC power into AC power using an inverter or adapter.
What Can You Power With a Portable Solar Generator?
There are different types of solar generators. A backup generator is primarily used to power your home, should your electricity go out. In this article, we focused on portable generators, which are mostly used for hiking and camping. With that said, a portable generator can also be really useful during power outages, potentially keeping your lights, electronic devices, and small devices or appliances on for several hours. Depending on the watts of power your solar system generator kit can support, you can use it to power things like phones, tablets, laptops, TVs, coffee makers, a mini-fridge, certain medical devices, and most anything you would plug into a car charger.
Some of the generators we've listed here can be charged by solar energy or via other sources, including vehicles and power outlets. These different charging solutions make a generator more versatile, though of course, solar energy is what you'll want to use if staying away from fossil fuels is your goal.
What are the Benefits of a Portable Solar Generator?
There are a number of reasons why you might consider a portable solar generator:
- These units are ideally suited for camping and hiking. The ones on our list range in weight from under 10 pounds to over 50, but they are all fairly easy to cart around as needed, or to keep in your camper or RV.
- Though they are not primarily intended to be emergency backup generators, they can certainly be used in that capacity. In particular, they can provide emergency power to important medical devices as well as phones and computers.
- Unlike gas generators, portable solar generators offer power without making a lot of noise or creating a lot of fumes. This makes them much more appealing for campsites.
- Portable solar generators are better for the environment, since they don't rely on gas or diesel fuel to run.
- Using a solar generator is ultimately more cost-effective as you will never need to purchase fuel to recharge it.
Solar Power Can Take You Further
Solar power is one of the best options for dependable, renewable energy. Not only can it help power your house, but you can use these portable generators to carry that power with you, wherever you may go.
There are clearly lots of options on the market today. We hope our guide is helpful to you as you assess our own backup power needs, and as you determine which portable solar generator will give you the greatest value. Note that you can find many of these solar power options through third-party retailers like Amazon. Do your due diligence as you seek the perfect, portable solar solution for you and your family.
Josh Hurst is a journalist, critic, and essayist. He lives in Knoxville, TN, with his wife and three sons. He covers natural health, nutrition, supplements, and clean energy. His writing has appeared in Health, Shape, and Remedy Review.
20. Cornell University — Score 74.47 | Ithaca, New York
ANABEL'S GROCERY IS A STUDENT-RUN INITIATIVE DESIGNED TO COMBAT FOOD INSECURITY ON THE CORNELL CAMPUS, PROVIDING LOW-COST GROCERIES TO STUDENTS.CORNELL UNIVERSITY
Last year, Cornell launched Anabel's Grocery, a student-run food supply providing low-cost access to local, organic, and culturally inclusive foods. It also broke ground on the Sustainable Landscapes Trail, designed to highlight 14 campus spots that showcase Cornell's commitment to natural lands management (think rainwater capture stations, pollinator plants, and permaculture plots). Since 2008, this Ivy has reduced campus emissions by 36 percent and cooling energy by 86 percent, largely through proprietary innovations such as Lake Source Cooling—running a pump from one of upstate New York's nearby deep lakes to pipe cold water through campus. The Touchdowns are now experimenting with Earth Source Heat, a new system that involves drilling into the earth's upper crust and piping thermal heat through the often-chilly campus.
19. Loyola Marymount University — Score 74.74 | Los Angeles, California
LOYOLA'S OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY AND STUDENTS DESIGNED AND BUILT A SOLAR GOLF CART. LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY
Not only has LMU operated a self-funded recycling plant since 1990, but it also won Los Angeles's inaugural "RecycLA" platinum award this year, thus becoming a model for the rest of the city. LMU was also the first university to sign onto the Lonely Whale Foundation's pledge to purge plastic straws. "The Cycling Lion," a shipping container turned bicycle hub, offers a recycled bike shop and bike-share program. The Lions are on track to divert all food waste by the end of 2019, thanks to a campus-wide food waste disposal and awareness program and a robust composting program. Students also work within a nearby underserved neighborhood to boost awareness of composting, provide food waste options, and develop a community garden.
18. University of Dayton — Score 74.93 | Dayton, Ohio
UD'S FIRST GREEN ROOF ON THE KENNEDY UNION PATIO, THE CULMINATION OF YEARS OF WORK BY STUDENTS, FACULTY, AND STAFF IN MANY AREAS ACROSS CAMPUS.BRUCE DAMONTE
The first Catholic university in the nation to divest from fossil fuel companies also has an Energy Team composed of students who work with campus facilities departments to perform energy and lighting audits. The team proposes and implements conservation projects, the funding for which often comes from UD's green revolving fund, which pays for itself through energy and other environmental savings. UD boasts low-flow showerheads and 1.3-and-counting megawatts of solar. Students living in university-owned campus houses receive feedback on their energy usage (their "energy GPAs"). Dayton Flyers can study environmental biology, pursue master's degrees in renewable and clean energy, and work the earth at nearby Lincoln Hill Garden, an urban farm and community green space the school established with community partners
17. Lewis & Clark College — Score 75.05 | Portland, Oregon
LEWIS & CLARK STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN NUMEROUS MODES OF ACTIVE TRANSIT, INCLUDING BIKING, WALKING, TAKING THE BUS, AND CARPOOLING. LEWIS & CLARK COLLEGE
In the past year, Lewis & Clark has committed to selling off its fossil fuel investments, passed a policy to phase out all single-use plastics, and launched a "Hot Topics" series through which speakers come to campus to discuss issues such as environmental justice, biodiversity, and socially responsible investing. The school's Farm to Fork Initiative mandates that campus dining spend 20 percent of its funding on food sourced from small, local farms and producers, and the campus, which runs into two watersheds, recently re-upped its Salmon Safe designation. Lewis & Clark students can study ecopsychology and natural resources law, and take classes in the political economy of food. When they're not in class, many are involved with extracurricular pursuits including the beekeeping club, bike co-op, and garden collective.
16. University of Oregon — Score 75.42 | Eugene, Oregon
ALLAN PRICE SCIENCE COMMONS IS ONE OF THE SCHOOL'S NEWEST LEED GOLD-CERTIFIED BUILDINGS.UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
A year and a half ago, student activists pressured the University of Oregon to renew its climate action plan. As a result, the school has already reinsulated 16 miles' worth of campus steam and condensate pipes, thus reducing at least 54 metric tons of annual greenhouse gas emissions. The Ducks' new-and-improved climate plan is also funding environmental economists' research into internal carbon taxes that U of O, and perhaps eventually other institutions, could implement. The university is currently installing a shipping container outfitted with LED lights wherein students can experiment with the latest in indoor agriculture and recently received a grant to integrate sustainability courses with the work of area municipalities and nonprofits—meaning students will be working to solve real-world energy and transportation issues. Through "rEV Up Eugene," the University of Oregon hosts free community workshops about electric vehicles.
15. Oregon State University — Score 75.82 | Corvallis, Oregon
OSU STAFF MOVE MATERIALS DURING THE MOVE OUT DONATION DRIVE, WHICH IN 2018 COLLECTED OVER 32,300 POUNDS OF REUSABLE MATERIAL.OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
Oregon State's trustees are in the process of developing a plan to divest a portion of its funding from fossil fuels and to diversify its portfolio of carbon-free funds. Meanwhile, students are enrolling in programs such as "humanitarian engineering," "sustainable agroforestry," and "sustainable cemeteries management." The consumption-wary Beavers have a textbook loan program in place as well as an "OSUsed" store and cap-and-gown return program. OSU dorms employ Eco-Reps, who educate residents on green lifestyle practices, and the school works with local food distributors, caterers, and restaurants to divert food waste to its campus food pantry.
14. Chatham University — Score: 76.09 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
EDEN HALL CAMPUS.CHATHAM UNIVERSITY
No matter their major, every undergrad at Chatham must take sustainability courses, and most undergrads, grad students, and MBAs pursue degrees in sustainability or food studies. This year, Chatham is launching a new program to help prepare nursing students and other future health professionals for climate-change-induced public health threats. Thanks to its solar thermal greenhouse and "work-and-pick" garden, Chatham produces enough food to help supply its dining hall. Many students recently banded together to present a divestment proposal. Good news: Chatham's Board of Trustees is likely to approve it by October.
13. Santa Clara University — Score 76.13 | Santa Clara, California
SCU'S CENTER FOR SUSTAINABILITY HOSTS A "WASTE CHARACTERIZATION" ALMOST EVERY QUARTER FOR STAFF, FACULTY, AND STUDENTS. SANTA CLARA UNIVERSITY
Nine out of 10 students attending the "Jesuit University in Silicon Valley" engage in community-based learning for course credit. A food justice outreach program, for instance, works within marginalized neighborhoods to bolster community gardens and helps elementary students to develop urban gardens. Thanks to a deal wherein faculty can receive stipends to integrate eco- and/or social justice-oriented curricula into their syllabi, 93 percent of Santa Clara departments offer sustainability courses. The Broncos are currently working to reduce their food waste by 20 percent by 2025 and to increase the use of the school garden's on-site composting center.
12. American University — Score 76.53 | Washington, DC
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY EMPHASIZES THE IMPORTANCE OF ALTERNATE TRANSPORTATION DURING ITS ANNUAL TRANSPORTATION FAIR. HERE, A STUDENT SUSTAINABILITY EDUCATOR DEMONSTRATES HOW TO PUT A BIKE ON THE FRONT OF A BUS. AMERICAN UNIVERSITY
American University achieved carbon neutrality last spring (two years ahead of schedule) with help from its seven on-campus solar arrays, several off-site arrays, and a unique portfolio of carbon credit purchases. At home in DC, the Eagles plant trees to offset commuting emissions; at the school's study-abroad hub in Kenya, AU provides communities with efficient cookstoves to help offset students' air travel. Through AU's film program, many students create and showcase environmental documentaries. The school recently acquired a Virginia farm in hopes of offering students opportunities to study sustainable agriculture while developing farm-to-table cafeteria menus.
11. Sterling College — Score 76.86 | Craftsbury Common, Vermont
STERLING COLLEGE STUDENTS PREP SEED POTATOES FOR PLANTING WHILE A CLASS PREPARES A HUGELKULTURE BED, A PERMACULTURE TECHNIQUE FOR MAKING A RAISED BED (BACKGROUND). STERLING COLLEGE
At Sterling, where most students labor on farms and forestlands in exchange for tuition (and produce upwards of 30 percent of food served on campus), the focus is on how best to steward working landscapes. So it's fitting that students are putting Wendell Berry's writing to work through a new partnership with the Berry Center, located in the author-activist's native Henry County, Kentucky. Each semester, students have opportunities to go south and help cultivate a different landscape. Meanwhile, Sterling faculty is developing curricula for Kentuckians seeking to implement holistic and sustainable farm plans. Back in Vermont, students are learning the craft of woodworking using ecologically harvested timber at Sterling's new Rural Arts Center.
10. Middlebury College — Score 76.99 | Middlebury, Vermont
THE KNOLL, MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE'S GARDEN, IS HOME TO VEGETABLE AND FLOWER PRODUCTION, AN OUTDOOR OVEN, RESEARCH, MINDFULNESS TRAINING, AND MORE. MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE
After reaching its carbon neutrality goal in December 2016, the overachievers of Middlebury were hungry for more. In January, the Panthers broke ground on a Sustainability Solutions Lab designed to source students' most innovative ideas—for ways the school could source 100 percent renewable power by 2028, for instance—and to teach them how to seek support, calculate risks, and navigate the administrative challenges of effecting change. This year, Middlebury conducted an ecological assessment of its 6,000+ acres of forestland to account for flora and fauna as well as the lands' cultural/anthropological value and recreational and aesthetic bona fides.
9. California State University, Chico — Score 78.00 | Chico, California
ANGELICA RODRIGUEZ COLLECTS WATER SAMPLES FOR HER CHICO STEM CONNECTIONS COLLABORATIVE SUMMER RESEARCH PROJECT. JASON HALLEY
One of 12 founding signatories of 2007's American Colleges & Universities Climate Commitment, Chico State has since reduced its emissions by more than a third, constructed seven (and counting) LEED-certified buildings, and initiated an Eco Resident Certification for dorm dwellers who live lightly. Through 14 courses, Chico State's Resilient Cities Initiative has involved students in assessing the community's transportation infrastructure, urban tree cover, and luminescence, with the goal of making recommendations—such as solar roadways and expanded bike lanes—to government planners. For the Regenerative Agriculture Initiative, students and faculty partner with farmers in California's Sacramento Valley to research tilling practices, methane capture and other means of sequestering carbon.
8. Seattle University — Score 78.410 | Seattle, Washington
SEATTLE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS AND STAFF SORT ONE DAY'S WORTH OF TRASH AT THE ANNUAL GARBOLOGY EVENT. SEATTLE UNIVERSITY
Seattle U students put the fossil fuel divestment challenge to their administration six years ago and never piped down. As a result, the trustees are on track to approve divestment this fall. The very edible campus has been pesticide-free since 1979, and its 50-acre urban wildlife sanctuary is designed to attract birds with lush, native flora. Every other year, the Redhawks host an environmental justice summit, which this year will ignite student and faculty activism around restoring the nearby Duwamish River, Washington's most industrialized waterway. Seattle U is working to become carbon negative by 2020.
7. University of Massachusetts, Amherst — Score 79.076 | Amherst, Massachusetts
NEARLY 45 TONS OF PRODUCE ARE GROWN ANNUALLY ON THE STUDENT FARM. UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS, AMHERST
The home of New England's largest campus solar installation is synthesizing its 400-plus environment-related courses into a new School of Earth and Sustainability, which will make eco-oriented resources, opportunities, and faculty more accessible while promoting collaboration across departments. All students and faculty can apply for support from the Sustainability Innovation and Engagement Fund. The fund helps underwrite an annual New2You back-to-school sale of recycled dorm wares, a student-run sustainable vineyard, and an organic CSA program.
6. Dickinson College — Score 80.676 | Carlisle, Pennsylvania
STUDENTS INVOLVED IN THE HIVE BUILD AND IMPROVE NATIVE BEE HABITATS ON AND OFF CAMPUS. DICKINSON COLLEGE
This past year, Dickinson not only broke ground on a new LEED Platinum–certified dorm but also launched a Residential Life Sustainability Program. Students attend sessions on sustainable cooking and shopping, water and energy conservation, and transportation. Dickinson also launched a beekeeping cooperative, modeled after its seven-year-old campus bike co-op, that has students tending pollinator gardens and crafting balms, soaps, and candles that they gift to the larger community. Thanks to a three-megawatt solar array that went online in August, Dickinson is on track to meet its 2020 carbon-neutrality goal.
5. Arizona State University — Score 81.043 | Tempe, Arizona
ASU AND LOCAL UTILITY VOLUNTEERS PLANT TREES IN PHOENIX FOR CARBON OFFSETS.ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
Even with a record 100,000-plus students enrolling this fall, ASU keeps getting cooler by the year. There are incentives for athletic teams to earn Sustainable Sports Certifications and for research units to become official Green Labs. ASU just approved a carbon-neutral policy for new buildings as well as a novel Carbon Project fund that will be supported by contributions to offset faculty and student air travel. The Carbon Project will pay for programs such as planting trees in the low-income heat islands of sprawling Phoenix, planting an on-campus "carbon sink" forest, and electrifying the university's car fleet.
4. Colorado State University — Score 81.22 | Fort Collins, Colorado
CSU WAS DESIGNATED A PLATINUM-LEVEL BICYCLE FRIENDLY UNIVERSITY BY THE LEAGUE OF AMERICAN BICYCLISTS. COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY
Colorado State offers more than 800 sustainability-related courses. This year, the Rams got a new football stadium, and students rallied to assemble a zero-waste team of volunteers tasked with schooling sports fans on what's recyclable, compostable, and landfill bound. Thanks to students' activism, the university also adopted a fair-trade-preferable purchasing policy: Unlike most state universities, which are required to take the lowest bid, CSU now will weigh environmental and labor factors in all buying decisions.
3. University of Connecticut — Score 81.765 | Storrs, Connecticut
THE HUSKY MASCOT DECKED OUT FOR WOMEN'S BASKETBALL GREEN GAME DAY. UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT
The only university to attain Green Restaurant Certification for all eight of its dining halls, UConn offers food that is 47 percent organic or locally sourced, and all food waste gets hauled to an anaerobic digester. It's part of the Huskies' plan to become carbon neutral by 2050 and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent, from a 2007 baseline, by 2020. But UConn's greenness isn't merely top-down. The largest extracurricular club is the Eco Huskies: students who sort trash at games, perform green audits on campus, and operate a recycling patrol and a clothing swap.
2. University of New Hampshire — Score 84.3029 | Durham, New Hampshire
UNH STUDENTS REMOVE INVASIVE BUCKTHORN ON CAMPUS.UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
The home of the nation's oldest endowed sustainability office embeds ecology into nearly all of its academic offerings. UNH has the very first eco-gastronomy major as well as a dual major that allows students to study sustainability through the context of, say, economics or Spanish. The Wildcats, who made an impressive 18-spot leap in our rankings this year, pipe methane from a landfill to campus, thus supplying 85 percent of campus energy needs. Considering UNH's on-campus Amtrak stop, organic dairy farm, and food-waste-reduction system through which water is extracted from dining hall leftovers to be recycled before the food waste gets composted, eco-stewardship is clearly integral to the school's ethos.
1. (TIE) University of California, Irvine — Score: 714.66 | Irvine, California
KATHERINE MACKEY (TOP), CLARE BOOTHE LUCE ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE, CONSULTS WITH DOCTORAL RESEARCHER RAISHA LOVINDEER. STEVE ZYLIUS / UCI
In its ninth year among Sierra's 10 coolest colleges, UCI leapt seven spots—thanks in part to net-zero-emission housing construction and a pioneering power-to-gas hydrogen-pipeline injection project in which solar power generated on campus is converted into hydrogen and inserted into the Anteaters' gas supply, creating a partially decarbonizing effect. Last year, undergrads in the College of Sustainability compiled a climate-friendly cookbook, and other students developed a program to encourage broader bicycle use.
1. (TIE) Green Mountain College — Score: 745.80 | Poultney, Vermont
GREEN MOUNTAIN COLLEGE STUDENTS WORKING ON RIVERINE FLOODPLAIN FOREST RESTORATION PLANT AN AMERICAN ELM ALONG VERMONT'S POULTNEY RIVER. GREEN MOUNTAIN COLLEGE
The second college in the nation to reach carbon neutrality is aggressively working toward a new goal of powering its campus solely via renewable energy by 2020—with help from a student-initiated biomass facility and the purchase of carbon offsets from a landfill-gas-capture project. GMC has also tweaked its eco-centric core curriculum to better account for economic and environmental justice issues. New practicums have students examining the nexus of hunger, food, and homelessness in New York City and decorating the campus with a series of "What Is Social Sustainability?" posters.
Reposted with permission from our media associate SIERRA Magazine.
Our day began at Logan Pass, the high point of the park's famed Going to the Sun Road, where plows work for months to carve a byway through walls of deep snow. By July that snow has melted into a predictable patchwork, and even on the highest summits the south slopes are bare. As Jonah and I set out from the parking area on skis, tourists raise their phones to take pictures of the spectacle while children from warmer climes throw snowballs.
Aaron Teasdale
An hour later the crowds are far behind us as our snow patches run out and we arrive at the foot of a south-facing mountainside and remove our skis. A bare-chested man with a vigorous hiking stride looks up the daunting pitch above us. Our plan to ascend it, he opines, "sounds like a lot of work."
Despite my confident response to Mr. Bare Chest, I'm secretly worried. There's a fine line between passing on your love of the mountains to your kids and alienating them by pushing them too far. Jonah is 15 and a high school athlete. He can handle this. I hope.
But so far he's a bit morose in that dispiriting way particular to teenagers, so I offer him the option of turning around and doing something easier in the tourist zone. To my pleasant surprise he opts for the bigger, much more challenging adventure. So we lash our skis to our packs, find one of Glacier's many informal climber's trails, and begin our climb into the world of mountain goats and summer snow.
Aaron Teasdale
Aaron Teasdale
Hours later we gain a knife ridge at 8,000 feet. Sharp peaks laced with waterfalls spear the sky in every direction. The northern side of the mountain drops steeply into a sheltered alpine bowl harboring a thick snowpack. "Told ya we'd get to snow!" I exclaim to Jonah—who is focused on trying to communicate telepathically with the mountain goats lounging on the snowfield.
Below us stretches a beautiful, wild ski run of 1,000 vertical feet. Its high alpine fastness makes it virtually unreachable in winter, but its shady northern aspect in a sheltered cirque preserves it for a fine run in July. We strap on helmets and click into our skis. The slope is steep enough that only the beginning is visible before it plummets away out of sight.
I tell Jonah to follow my line closely, as there are rock bands, small crevasses and other hazards to avoid. After I take a couple turns to test the snow, which has an amenable surface perfectly softened by the day's sun, I tell him to drop in behind me. He's on my old skis, which are a bit long, but he carves his way down the mountainside like he's been doing it all his life. Which is probably because he has.
His father is what you could call a skiing addict. Nothing mainlines joy for me like the wild poetry of gliding down snowy mountainsides, and I've tried to instill proper values in my two sons. If it snows more than six inches, abandoning school for a ski day is optional; more than 10 inches and it's mandatory.
But it wasn't until well into adulthood that I realized you needn't put skis away when winter ends. It started with May. I figured out that even by that late date, snow sticks to high mountains and provides stable glissè opportunities on steep slopes that would be too perilous in avalanche-prone mid-winter. From there, it was only a matter of time until I found myself skiing in the first days of June, when most people are gardening. But making the jump to true summer skiing took a bit longer because, well, snow is harder to find in summer.
Then a friend who's a backcountry skiing guide showed me the hidden side of Glacier's Logan Pass and began inviting me on adventures into remote places that involved fording creeks with skis on our backs and other alpine shenanigans. As you might imagine, we were always the only people back there. Which was all I needed. Wilderness exploration with glorious ski runs far from madding crowds? Sold.
Soon I was exploring the Northern Rockies' other hotbed of summer skiing, the Beartooth Mountains on the Wyoming-Montana border. I heard stories of people doing the same in the Cascades, Rocky Mountain National Park, and California's Mount Shasta. Many of them are part of an ever-growing tribe of year-round skiers—calendar-obsessed souls who've vowed to ski at least once in every month of the year. I now have multiple friends who've been doing so for over 10 years. From them I've learned of the ever-more esoteric locales they use for August and September runs, shadowy creases and perennial snowfields hanging in alpine basins. I'm not quite there yet—I'm loathe to let things like calendars and clocks dictate my agenda. But I no longer think they're crazy. Summer skiing, it seems now, is little more than a day hike in the mountains with a more elegant route back down.
Jonah is all smiles as we fill our water bladders from a snowmelt creek at the bottom of our first run. From there we have another big climb up a steep slope of loose rock. Again I'm worried it might break his effervescent spirit. But letting him choose our climbing route and lead the way imbues him with newfound energy. Although we've been clambering around for at least six hours, he moves up the rough terrain with enthusiasm and we chatter cheerfully without pause.
It's a perfect example of what happens when you bring kids into the wilderness: Removed from civilization's coddling hands, young people perk up, sensing they have only themselves and their companions to rely on. Give them responsibility and that sense of wild agency crystalizes and before you know it, you've got an adventurer on your hands. At least that's what it felt like watching Jonah scramble up that mountainside as if the mountain goats had passed on to him some secret caprine wisdom.
We high-five at the top where the world opens up again. Logan Pass sprawls below us, tourists marching in a line like ants up the snow-covered boardwalk. There's another long ski run at our feet and more tourists will stop and point and take pictures as we carve our way down it, marveling at the crazy people skiing in mid-July. I marvel, too, as I watch Jonah gleefully and even expertly soar down the mountain below me. It's then that I realize that I've been wrong to think that nothing brings me joy like skiing. I now know that nothing brings me joy like watching my son ski a wild mountainside—and then plunging down behind him.
Reposted with permission from our media associate SIERRA Magazine.
The place I'm going to tell you about is big enough, and still wild enough, to accommodate a week-long backpacking trip. It's a landscape that's textbook California savanna—a terrain of mammoth black oak and valley oak that, in the springtime, explodes into wildflower fireworks. And—best of all—it's a place that you can get to in a relatively painless two-hour drive from San Francisco or Oakland.
I'm talking about Henry Coe State Park, the largest state park in Northern California. At 88,000 acres, it's about 25 percent larger than Point Reyes National Seashore, but it hosts a tiny fraction of the estimated 2.5 million visitors who travel to the national seashore every year. It's also stupid-close to the mish-mash of freeway mazes and sprawl that make up most of the Bay Area. As the crow flies, the park is a scant 35 miles from the Apple headquarters in Cupertino.
All of which makes Henry Coe the perfect escape. Once you get there, you'll feel far away—even if you're still close to home.
Jason Mark
Jason Mark
I should say that if you're the kind of backpacker who hungers for epic alpine vistas or the sharp beauty of the desert, you may at first be disappointed by Henry Coe. There's little grandeur there. No big peaks or stunning buttes, no rough rivers or knock-you-on-your-ass tall trees. It's a place of subtle charms. With its broad sweeps of tall grass and swooning oak trees, Henry Coe feels like it's ripped from a John Steinbeck novel, the epitome of Old California. The place is merely pretty—but after weeks stuck in the city or the 'burbs, pretty is more than enough.
At a good half mile above sea level, this northernmost outpost of the Diablo Range has a lushness unusual for Californian savanna. Gray pines are scattered among all of the oak trees. There are ponderosa, including a few giants that seem like they've been transplanted from the kneecaps of the Sierra Nevada. Coyote Creek, one of the park's main arteries, manages to flow even through the dusty days of August and September.
Then there are the flowers—my God, the flowers. My field guide, Wildflowers of Henry Coe State Park, features 67 species. If you time your visit for late winter or spring, you'll be gobsmacked by the chaos of colors: blue lupine, pink and red paintbursh, football field lengths of orange poppy, crimson columbine, yellow fiddlenecks arching their heads above the grasses like herds of giraffe. There's purple everywhere: purple owl's clover, purple shooting stars (two different types), purple clarkia.
You've got a good chance of seeing some wildlife. Henry Coe's usual critters are common: deer and coyotes, flocks of turkeys zigzagging through the understory. If you behave yourself (that is, if you're practiced at being still) you might catch something more elusive. Once, I spotted a red fox, jumping through the beam of my head lamp. On another trip, I came across a bobcat, right in the middle of the trail. During a New Year's solo trip, I saw a feral hog above Coit Lake. It was the size and color of a wine barrel, tearing up a hillside with the speed of an NFL linebacker.
If you really want to play with solitude, Henry Coe will demand some work. Anything within a day's hike of the visitor center at Coe Ranch is reliably busy with day-trippers, crews of college backpackers, and mountain bikers a'shredding. (Many of the park's trails are old ranch roads, broad and with a brutal grade, which makes them popular with the two-wheelers.) But if you go farther afield, it gets lonely quick enough. Few folks make it out to the Orestimba Wilderness, a 22,000-acre state wilderness punctuated by the impressive chert outcropping of the "Rooster Comb," where miles-long groves of blue oak cast their candelabra arms skyward. I doubt more than a dozen people a year make it to the old corral below Bear Spring.
Did I mention that if you live in the Bay Area, Henry Coe is ridiculously easy to get to? The proximity is the point. Often as not, the backyard beats the bucket list destination. I've backpacked through Henry Coe nearly 10 times, and its lack of pretension has grown on me. At this point, it seems like an old friend.
I'd encourage you to start planning your route. Just remember: You didn't hear this from me.
Follow in the Writer's Footsteps
Where: Henry Coe State Park. Take California Highway 101 to the city of Morgan Hill and exit at East Dunne Avenue. Follow Dunne Avenue eastward, and follow the park signs up into the hills.
Best Time to Visit: Spring is the most popular season for visiting Henry Coe, on account of the explosions of wildflowers. If you want to beat the crowds, consider visiting in winter, when the grasses are typically green and lush and the temperatures still relatively mild. The park can be punishingly hot and dry in the summer, and water difficult to come by.
Backcountry Hack: Each spring, the park hosts what it calls "Backcountry Wilderness Weekend," when park staff and volunteers from the Pine Ridge Association organize a shuttle system along the old ranching roads to establish a temporary trailhead on the east side of the park, affording hikers and equestrians easy access to the Orestimba Wilderness. Downside: The typically quite-far reaches of the park become packed with people. Upside: It's a good way for families to get to places like the Rooster Comb, which requires at least two days of hard trekking to reach.
Bring Your Fishing Pole: If you're an angler, consider bringing your pole. There's good fishing—bass, crappie and sunfish—at Coit Lake and Mississippi Lake. But both lakes are fringed with thick stands of tule reeds, so getting to a good place to cast requires some bushwhacking.
Pro-tip—Brave the Narrows: Many backpackers or hikers seeking to get from the park headquarters to the eastern side of the park will avoid the narrow gulch of Coyote Creek marked on the map as "The Narrows" and will instead take the punishing ranching roads up and over the ridges. But if you're a half-experienced trekker, you should brave the Narrows (unless it's after a big rain). Between Poverty Flat Campground and China Hole you'll be rewarded with a sycamore-strung single-track free of mountain bikers. In the spring, the pools between China Hole and Los Cruceros are often filled with various species of duck.
More Information: The Pine Ridge Association website offers more detailed visitor information than the official park site.
Reposted with permission from our media associate SIERRA Magazine.
I love being in the humbling expanse of the San Luis Valley. Its conservation-focused ethos gives me hope at a time when optimism often feels foolish. Tucked into the western foothills of southern Colorado's Sangre de Cristo Mountain range since 2001, the nonprofit Orient Land Trust has labored to preserve this valley's pieces of human history, push for sustainable farming, and protect habitat for several species of animals, including the massive colony of bats that take over the abandoned Orient Mine each summer.
"What is that smell?" asked my husband Mike, approaching my perch from a patch of scrub oaks. I look around, shrug. Then, the ammonia hit my nostrils.
Scott, our guide for the night—and an amateur biologist and volunteer with the OLT—quickly pipes in, explaining that that the odor, which is reminiscent of a pit toilet and comes in waves over the next hour or so, is simply guano. In preparation for the night's hunt, bats void their bladders and bowels before taking flight. Any minute now, Scott said they should start the flight out, so I lean back, watch the sky turn pink and wait, listening to chirps of swooping swallows, yips of distant coyotes, and the excited chatter of 23 human strangers, all here for the same show.
Stacey McKenna
It starts suddenly: A stream of Brazilian free-tail bats (pictured, right, courtesy of iStock/the4js) splits the sky above my head. And as people's voices fall away, the only sound left is the river of wings. Throughout the night, they'll dine on moths, beetles, and other insects that inhabit the valley's agricultural wetlands and nearby hot springs. The critters weigh roughly half an ounce and have wingspans averaging 13 inches. Since this particular roost is composed mostly of males who have temporarily separated from larger colonies of females, most of whom are busy lactating and rearing their newborn pups, it's considered a bachelor colony. Females give birth in June, and since males don't help raise their young, they typically split off during this period. The Orient Mine bachelors' counterpart maternity colony summers further south, in New Mexico's Carlsbad Caverns
In fact, The Orient Mine hosts not only the largest bachelor colony of Brazilian free-tail bats in North America (interestingly, bachelor colonies are typically much smaller, numbering in the hundreds or low thousands), but also the highest in terms of elevation. The migratory mammals have been spending summers here since at least the 1960s. They usually arrive from Mexico in mid-June and return south via Carlsbad Caverns by the end of September, but this year's exceptionally dry, relatively warm winter brought them early, and in unofficial but unprecedentedly high numbers.
As soon as we left our camper in Moffat, Colorado's Valley View Hot Springs and set out on the trail that climbs 700 feet to the Orient Mine, Mike and I began noticing plenty of evidence of the region's chronic aridity and acute drought—the valley saw less than half its usual snowfall this winter, and the Rio Grande is running at 20 percent of its 120-year average. Early summer in the San Luis Valley is usually wildflower season, but the only visible blooms, pale yellow ones, unfurled from the prickly pear cacti at my ankles. As we hiked, the rain clouds we saw streaking black over the valley provided a guessing game: Were they scattered thunderstorms? Or (more likely) signs of virga, a form of precipitation that reaches toward but never quite touches the earth?
Stacey McKenna
About a third of the way into the hour-long hike, the main trail veered right and massive piles of rust-colored tailings came into view. From 1880 until its closing in 1932, the Orient Mine produced two million tons of limonite and supported more than 400 people. Cutting through the piñon-juniper forest, smaller paths lead to old foundations and rusted barrels—the ruins of Orient Town.
The bats were first recorded in the Orient Mine about 35 years after extraction operations ceased. Ever since, they've been roosting throughout the small caverns that shoot off from the main cave, where temperatures stay consistently cool and the labyrinth provides shelter from potential predators. The bats' nightly hunts, coupled with the valley's dry climate and bitter winters, reduce the need here for agricultural pesticides.
According to OLT Executive Director Doug Bishop, the 2,200-acres it protects are home to common Colorado wildlife such as weasels, elk, and pronghorn, as well as two threatened species of fish—the Rio Grande Chub and the Rio Grande Sucker. Near the hot springs, the humidity and warm waters create a microclimate that supports a rare mountain orchid, a hot springs endemic snail, and one of Colorado's few populations of fireflies. The organization encourages responsible stewardship of this fragile, high desert environment. Beyond teaching visitors about the bats at Orient Mine, they operate the cabins and campground at Valley View Hot Springs using hydroelectric power, and lead educational hikes and programs at Everson Ranch—a nearby historic homestead where the OLT runs sustainable agricultural and green energy projects.
Stacey McKenna
As the light fades, the bats become harder to see, but I still know when they pass. Their wings move through the air like a whip when they buzz my head. It's difficult to know exactly how many leave the roost on a given night, but estimates put this colony between 100,000 and 250,000 individuals, depending on the month and year.
The bats flow from the cave for 45 minutes, almost twice as long as they will later on in the summer, as the season peters out. At first, they follow one another's echo-location, forming a tight ribbon that zooms toward the valley floor. As their numbers thin from about 100 bats per second to 40, the stream widens and they begin moving independently. "[When there are fewer bats] it's easier for them to hear the moths, so they can follow them instead of each other," said Scott. "That's why they seem more erratic."
At 9:14 pm, as suddenly as the out flight began, it's over. We pack up and don headlamps for the 1.5-mile hike back to the Valley View Hot Springs campground. Stars emerge, bright pinpricks in the inky moonless sky. After leaving our bags at the campsite, Mike and I wind through the woods to take a final soak in the hot springs, tracing steamy streams lit by fireflies that wink along their banks. As I sink into the warm water, constellations shimmer on its glassy surface, and I feel the air shudder as a bat wings past my ear.
Follow in the Writer's Footsteps
Where: The Orient Land Trust in Moffat, Colorado
Getting There: It is roughly 200 miles (about a 3.5 hour drive) from Denver to the Orient Land Trust and Valley View Hot Springs Welcome Center. From there, the hike is approximately 1.5 to 2 miles, with a 700- to 800-foot elevation gain. I recommend the free guided hikes OLT offers nightly throughout the summer (weather permitting). Valley View Hot Springs is well equipped as a home base for the hike, with cabins as well as campsites for RVs, campers and tents, but it fills up early.
Best Time to Visit: mid-June through September
Fees: The hike is free. Overnights at Valley View range from $10 per night to $75 per night, plus a $30-per-person soaking fee.
What to Wear: OLT and Valley View are clothing-optional (this goes for the hike up to Orient Mine, too). However, Colorado weather can be mercurial, and temperatures drop quickly after dark, especially at 9,000 feet, so whether you choose to wear clothes or not, bring layers for rain and warmth, plenty of sunscreen, a hat, and a headlamp for the return hike.
Respecting the Wildlife: To avoid disturbing the bats during their out flight, don't use flash for videos or photography, keep your movements calm and quiet, and speak in low voices, or not at all.
For More on Bats: Check out Sierra's most recent slideshow featuring various bat species that were photographed by veteran biologist and photographer Merlin Tuttle.
Reposted with permission from our media associate SIERRA Magazine.
The olinguito, a carnivorous member of the raccoon family, wasn't discovered in Colombia and Ecuador until 2013. The Burrunan dolphin was found in the waters off Australia in 2011. In a new study published in the journal Ecology and Evolution, Molly Fisher and other researchers at the University of Georgia used a predictive model to conclude that 303 mammals have yet to be discovered.
Most of these unknown mammals, the researchers found, are likely in tropical regions of the world, many of which are threatened with habitat destruction. This makes discovering them a race against time before they go extinct. "If a species goes extinct before we discover it, how can we know what went wrong? If we lose a species without knowing it existed, we lose a lot of information," said Fisher.
Fisher said that she chose to study mammals because they are the most charismatic of terrestrial species, and therefore more likely to be protected. But less glamorous creatures, like plants and arthropods, are disappearing at even faster rates than mammals, which is worrying to scientists.
"We're concerned about why extinction rates are on the rise," said Fisher. "We're losing a lot of biodiversity, most of which exists in our remaining forests in places like the Amazon." Some researchers now talk about "biological annihilation," citing cascading extinctions, dwindling population sizes, and range shrinkages among vertebrate species.
Sumatran Orangutan Conservation ProgrammeMaxime Aliaga
Fisher and her team employed scientific modeling to measure discovery and extinction rates. Without direct interaction, however, it's impossible to know whether a species has disappeared completely or just hasn't been seen in a while. This occurred recently with the Guadalupe fur seal, a species found in California and Mexico that was rediscovered after years of suspected extinction.
The model used by the University of Georgia researchers is similar to one used to predict the remaining unknown number of plant species in 2011. It was constructed by counting the total number of species discovered and described by scientists from 1760 through 2010 by five year increments. "The model utilizes a statistical technique called 'maximum likelihood,' which allows scientists to approximate the total number of species that are likely to have existed in order to produce the number of descriptions actually recorded by taxonomists, scientists who classify new species," said Fisher.
As the number of such scientists has increased, so has the number of classifications accounted for in the model. The researchers also noted "taxonomic efficiency" or how good scientists are at discovering new species. Like the Tapanuli orangutan, many species once thought to be identical are, upon closer inspection, found to be genetically distinct. Dr. Michael Krützen from the Department of Anthropology at the University of Zurich was part of the team that helped discover the Tapanuli using genomic analyses from orangutan samples. He said that Tapanuli orangutans differ significantly, most notably in tooth and skull shape, from those outside the region, because their populations had been disconnected for at least 20,000 years. But with so few of them left, it's easy to see why the species wasn't discovered until recently.
Fisher and her team approximate that 5,860 mammal species currently exist. She was surprised to find that Europe and Asia had a significant number of undiscovered mammals. The model showed that 10 percent of species in this part of the world have yet to be discovered, possibly because many are located in lightly populated Siberian regions.
7 Amazing New Fish Species Discovered in 2017 https://t.co/bgbUq28XEM @wwwfoecouk @GreenpeaceUK— EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)1514888706.0
Reposted with permission from our media associate SIERRA magazine.