Imagine all the cool, fast trains we could have with the billions we spend on bombs.
07.03.2026 01:59
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Imagine all the cool, fast trains we could have with the billions we spend on bombs.
One of the best people i know, @gruberte.bsky.social came on this podcast to talk about the work she is doing with two of the other best people i know, @jmijin.bsky.social and @jlappen1.bsky.social.
One big takeaway for me is this...
Energy pundits who've been focusing on affordability should be thinking seriously about the spikes in natural gas and electricity bills that retail customers are about to see as the illegal US/Israel war on Iran drives up global oil and gas prices - and the role & history of US O&G export policy.
Via the NYT: Israel's state comptroller reported last year that, as of early 2025, "only 37 of the 11,775 public shelters are in Arab municipalities, and eight of those are not fit for use." www.nytimes.com/2026/02/28/w...
Scotland's Community Wealth Building Bill is a potentially world-changing strategic economic law with the power to end billionaire domination. Little wonder that *zero* English media outlets have covered it.
πThe federal judges in West Virginia, where ICE has been pulling over and detaining people on the freeway, are literally screaming about ICE's tactics.
"It is an assault on the constitutional order," Judge Goodwin says. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
pretty stunning chart
Someone has sure already made this observation but the fact they can convert all those empty warehouses into prison camps means they could have converted them into housing, community centers, job training centers or, hell, libraries or schools all along. Itβs always a matter of will not resources.
Who is leading the fight against the Trump admin attack on universities & our communities throughout this country?
Unions are!
@senbillferg.bsky.social @mddems.bsky.social & @mdhousedems.bsky.social, help us help defend democracy & MD universities by passing our collective bargaining bill!
Trump cut Medicaid & SNAP so he could use that money to warehouse millions of people who, according to DHSβs own numbers, pose no threat to public safety.
It's inhumane & a waste of your taxpayer money.
We need to claw back these funds & put an end to their prison camps.
DHS is shutting down because it refuses to obey the law. They are tear-gassing schools, killing American citizens, and disappearing legal immigrants. Democrats shouldnβt fund an out of control ICE.
Please enjoy our research paper on how Bluesky is the preferred home of academics of all stripes, including professors of rare moths. (Yes, we actually have lots of entomologists here).
academic.oup.com/icb/article-... π§ͺ
NEW: The FDA just shot down Moderna's new flu shot. From me:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
This is every city, every town, every urban centre, every single time car traffic is restricted. It is always a net social and economic benefit. There are no credibly documented exceptions.
France has ended up in a strange position after using some β¬250bn of tax-payer money to build a fleet of nuclear power stations. Wind and solar power is merrily entering the French power market at prices nuclear production can't match, resulting in huge surpluses of power.
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A large parking lot of electric vehicles with the text, "Most of China's provinces and cities are on track to meet or exceed New Energy Vehicle targets. The Center for Global Sustainability's analysis tracks successes and challenges."
What progress has China made towards meeting its new energy vehicle (NEV) targets?
CGS's recent report finds Chinaβs NEV market penetration rate rose by 20.4% from 2022 to 2024, and most provinces and cities are on track to meet or exceed 2025 NEV targets: go.umd.edu/ChinasEVH...
Many said we were exaggerating a year ago when we argued that Trump is a clear and present danger to our democracy. A year later they are eating their words.
Itβs up to every single one of us to save our democracy.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/u...
JUST IN | Israeli forces detonated and destroyed the Morag Water Station in Rafah today, a facility that supplied water to roughly one-third of the cityβs residents before the war, Palestinian investigative journalist Younis Tirawi Reuters with footage purportedly circulated by Israeli soldiers. The station, inaugurated in 2010 with funding from the Turkish Red Crescent, served around 70,000 people and has been assessed for urgent repairs by Oxfam and Gazaβs water utility in February 2025.
See new posts Conversation Younis Tirawi | ΩΩΩΨ³ @ytirawi Rafah | Israeli troops blew up the Morag Water Station today, which according to Gazaβs water utility supplied water to roughly one-third of Rafahβs residents prior to the war. Soldiers captioned it : βWe specialize in paint jobs, and small renovations. Details on DM"
JUST IN | Israeli forces detonated & destroyed the Morag Water Station in Rafah today, a facility that supplied water to roughly one-third of the cityβs residents before the war, Palestinian investigative journalist Younis Tirawi Reuters w/ footage purportedly circulated by Israeli soldiers. The...
Finally, the balance of equities and public interest favor a stay. The Government does not cite any reason termination must occur post haste. Secretary Noem complains of strains unlawful immigrants place on our immigration-enforcement system. Her answer? Turn 352,959 lawful immigrants into unlawful immigrants overnight. She complains of strains to our economy. Her answer? Turn employed lawful immigrants who contribute billions in taxes into the legally unemployable. She complains of strains to our healthcare system. Her answer? Turn the insured into the uninsured. This approach is many thingsβin the public interest is not one of them. For the reasons below, the Court GRANTS Plaintiffsβ Renewed Motion for a Stay Under 5 U.S.C. Β§ 705, Dkt. 81.
At the conclusion of her introduction Judge Reyes emphasizes what's really at stake here:
"Secretary Noem complains of strains unlawful immigrants place on our immigration-enforcement system. Her answer? Turn 352,959 lawful immigrants into unlawful immigrants overnight."
What could possibly go wrong?
www.npr.org/2026/02/02/n...
Lots of teargas at ICE tonight in Portland. People were just standing and chanting.
Next time someone asks you about energy and land use, maybe remind them that the ~35 million acres that currently grow corn for ethanol in the US could produce ~15 PWh per year of electricity from solar photovoltaics. That's ~3.5 times more than *total annual generation from all US power plants*.
New from @gruberte.bsky.social and I in @science.org: The energy transition is at risk, and energy models are missing the threat. Fossil energy networks from oil to coal to gas have minimum viable scales of operation, and those thresholds are closer than we think:
www.science.org/doi/epdf/10....
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A sprawling new immigration detention facility is planned for Western Maryland, and Washington County officials say there is nothing they can do to block it. buff.ly/OBV85Qp
1) Fuck ICE, and
2) in our ongoing pursuit of a more just, more dignified, more joyful, and better future, @jlappen1.bsky.social and I are really proud of our new piece in Science on managing fossil fuel phase-out
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
ICE currently has a code of professional conduct. Among other things, it requires agents to be "professional, police, respectful, considerate, helpful and patient in all official activities ... even in the face of considerable provocation."
AGU has an easy-to-use toolkit set for public feedback to proposed government actions. Now is a great time to respond to NSFβs proposed shuttering of NCAR. agu.quorum.us/campaign/154...
76 % of Democrats and nearly half of independents support aobolishing ICE. Who are the Democrats governing for, @schumer.senate.gov ?
I am a 'no' on the DHS funding bill. Not another penny for ICE.
We cannot give more money to a group of cowards who are making our country less safe.
