Rather than dwell on self-defeating pessimism, some environmental experts are focusing on powerful local initiatives as well as steps individuals can take toward a future that is both sustainable and attainable.

Also, a conversation with Bill Moomaw, one of the world’s leading climate scientists, and his wife Margot Moomaw, a consultant on energy use by homeowners, about the gorgeous all-solar house they built in an effort to live a climate-friendly life.