David Roberts
Seattleite transplanted from Tennessee; now blogging for Vox.com about energy politics. Climate hawk, deficit dove. Not a doctor.
Last synced from Twitter 16m ago
Beastie Boys - Sabotage
Music video by The Beastie Boys performing Sabotage. (C) 2009 Capitol Records, LLC
David Roberts
Just encountered a new (to me) term: "carbitrage," the practice of absorbing clean energy with your EV battery when it is plentiful and selling it back to the grid when it is more scarce. Keep thinking ...
5h
Nikola Corporation to Unveil Game-Changing Battery Cell Technology at Nikola World 2020
Nikola Motor Company designs and manufactures electric components, drivetrains and vehicles including the Nikola One and Nikola Two electric semi-trucks.
World’s governments plan to produce 120% more fossil fuels by 2030 than can be burned under 1.5°C warming
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David Roberts
"The world is on track to produce about 50% more fossil fuels in 2030 than would be consistent with limiting warming to 2°C and 120% more than would be consistent with limiting warming to 1.5°C."
6h
Trump hosted Zuckerberg for undisclosed dinner at the White House in October
The meeting took place during Zuckerberg’s most recent visit to Washington, where he testified before Congress about Facebook’s new cryptocurrency Libra.
Environmental co-benefits and adverse side-effects of alternative power sector decarbonization strategies
There lacks a consistent and holistic evaluation of co-benefits of different mitigation pathways in studies on Integrated Assessment Models. Here the authors quantify environmental co-benefits and adverse side-effects of a portfolio of alternative...
David Roberts
"While all decarbonization pathways yield major environmental co-benefits, we find that the scale of co-benefits as well as profiles of adverse side-effects depend strongly on technology choice." Renewables-heavy decarb produces the most co-benefits.
12h
With Impeachment, America's Epistemic Crisis Has Arrived | RealClearPolitics
With Impeachment, America's Epistemic Crisis Has Arrived | RealClearPolitics
The great American tax haven: why the super-rich love South Dakota
The long read: South Dakota is known for being the home of Mount Rushmore – and not much else. But thanks to its relish for deregulation, the state is fast becoming the most profitable place for the mega-wealthy to park their billions
Climate Change Is So Real There’s A New Pokémon Based On Dead Coral
The latest generation of Corsola in Pokémon Sword and Shield is a "ghost" type that was "wiped out" due to sudden climate change.
Rooftop solar panels charge your car while you're driving
Attaching solar cells to the roofs of electric cars sounds green but we’re a long way from eliminating the need to plug in.
Climate impact of hydropower varies widely
American Chemical Society: Chemistry for Life.
David Roberts
Hydropower is counted as 2/3 of the world's renewable energy, but "a new study reveals that the climate impact of hydropower facilities varies widely throughout the world & over time, w/ some facilities emitting more GHGs than those burning fossil fuels."
31h
Navy Wants to Eject From SEALs a Sailor Cleared by Trump, Officials Say
Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher is expected to be formally notified of the action on Wednesday.
Pragmatism is one of the most successful idioms in philosophy – Cheryl Misak & Robert B Talisse | Aeon Essays
Pragmatism was not eclipsed after Dewey: it has been a constant and dominant force in philosophy for nearly 100 years
GRID: How does Texas keep the lights on? It's complicated
The Texas grid has posed a concerning riddle: How does a state with the nation's thinnest margin of backup electricity and the largest installed wind capacity manage to keep power humming in a heat wave?
David Roberts
Jim Robb is CEO of the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC), which oversees grid security. He once said at a conference, of TX and its low reserves, "there's no way in hell they can keep the lights on." Then he added, "And yet they do."
37h
A Hearty Bowl of Texas Soup: How ERCOT Keeps the Lights On
After a long, hot summer, grid operators want to know "what's in the soup" in Texas. Michael Hogan's answer: an economically sound approach to resource adequacy.
David Roberts
ERCOT, the TX wholesale power market, has no capacity market & does not enforce mandatory minimum reserves. Consequently, people keep claiming it's going to run into a reliability crisis. This summer they were *sure*. But it keeps not happening.
37h
A clever new solar solution to one of the trickiest climate problems
Making high-temperature industrial heat from sunlight.
1
David Roberts
My new post: last month I wrote about the vexing dilemma of how to generate high-temperature heat for industrial processes — without CO2 emissions. Now a new startup with a clever twist on an old technology thinks it can do the job with sunlight & mirrors.
39h
New Arizona Development Bans Residents From Bringing Cars
A $140 million Arizona development is banning all privately owned cars in favor of scooters, bikes, and ride-sharing, testing demand for a new type of walkable neighborhood.
David Roberts
This is extremely cool. Finally, at least some Americans are being allowed to vote with their feet.
41h
Two of America’s biggest coal plants closed this month
Yet the industry burns on.
The Three Personalities of America
People in different regions of the U.S. have measurably different psychological profiles.
Mass shootings since Sandy Hook, in one map
Here’s the data behind these tragic events.