It sounds like we might need more real TA, one could say. IYKYK insideclimatenews.org/news/1205202...

💯 This is a low-key issue that we flagged in our May 2025 report (below) estimating a nearly identical # of homes in question. There is no low-cost option here, and the question of integrating septic into sewer looms throughout the state. We'll have estimates on potential through the WWNA by 2027.

Proposed changes to California's "cap and invest" climate program could result in way less revenue to invest — including in programs that deliver clean drinking to low-income communities: calmatters.org/environment/... via @ra-becks.bsky.social

“DTSC had a decision to make, and they decided to read their authority in a way that has them standing with industry instead of standing with communities" - my piece @capitalandmain.bsky.social on state's long-gestating toxic community cumulative impact laws: capitalandmain.com/california-h...

What happened to the obligation to serve?

Bottled water, already thousands of times more expensive than tap #water, is starting to spike in price. Why? Because plastic is becoming more expensive because of Trump's Iran war. Plastic comes from fossil fuels. The price of ALL foods in plastic is rising. www.newsweek.com/bottled-wate...

Trump's Department of Energy has issued repeated "emergency" orders requiring old coal power plants to keep running, even when plant owners want to shut them down. One plant reports $150 million in resulting costs over the last 12 months. Utilities pass these costs through to ratepayers.

Yesterday, community partners from across California traveled to Sacramento to advocate for safe and affordable drinking water. Together with partner organizations, we met with 44 legislative offices to advocate for SAFER backfill and #AB2739 & #SB1125.

5 million households in the Northeast burn heating oil to heat space or water. Due to Trump's Iran war, heating oil prices are up 60% over last year. Risks are high of more severe price spikes this fall/winter. These households should switch to electric heat pumps this summer. States should help.

New job posting to join our team for an early career scientist(s) interested in the intersection of wildfire, electricity, insurance and resilience policy. If this sounds like you, please apply! If not, please share with your contacts. careersearch.stanford.edu/jobs/electri...

Thanks to @ianjames.bsky.social for distilling some of the high(low)lights of @luskininnovation.bsky.social-hosted webinar last week🔽

The dire ‘math problem’ of the Colorado River I asked Anne Castle how far western states’ leaders are from really addressing the crisis. Her answer: Nowhere near. www.latimes.com/environment/...

Great question. It did not make make perfect sense for SAFER funding to come from this source. That being said, and more importantly, it always made sense to fund this program (and more) if the governor is going to say the state supports the Human Right to Water.

People > data centers.

Hydrology Paper of the Day @gregspierce.bsky.social @edithdeguzman.bsky.social on why urban water management infrastructure and policies need to be adapted for climate change and wildfires: challenges of urbanization; the need for effective land management; and responsible system engineering.

In the wake of the 2025 LA wildfires, a diverse array of nonprofits, community-based organizations, and grassroots networks mobilized to help survivors. For Research Counts, Santina Contreras examines the factors that made these groups effective: bit.ly/4dBbK82

I haven't waded into the water-data center question too much, but the topic I spoke to in Ariana Skibell's @politico.com piece is most interesting to me: How small water systems negotiate and deal fiscally with data centers as new and ongoing customers. www.politico.com/news/2026/05...

It should be a human right not to live amid raw sewage. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/11/u...

SCOOP: Los Angeles just fired its chief heat officer ahead of the hot summer months. Also LA's climate office is down to one staffer. Total silence from Mayor Karen Bass, who's up for reelection and already had a mediocre climate record. My story: www.climatecoloredgoggles.com/p/karen-bass...

My paper on utility regulation with Karl Dunkle Werner is now published in @jpube.bsky.social. We examine whether energy utility companies have been allowed to earn excess profits and what the implications are for both utility investment incentives and consumer costs. (1/6) 🧵 🔌💡

When it comes to electric affordability, this sort of stuff matters much more than whether or not state lawmakers eliminate public benefit funds, such as those that support energy efficiency (they shouldn't). In this case, because it's interstate transmission, decisionmaking power lies with FERC:

My latest @nytimes.com oped shows that the White House is dramatically understating the cost of the war in Iran. By my calculations—and I show my work—this war will cost the typical American family thousands, and it could cost them tens of thousands. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/05/08/o...

So many friends, neigbhors, & allies worked for years to close the Jefferson Drill Site & aninmate a vision that attracted funding to buy the land for the blessing of our community. Great storytelling by PBS SoCal @standla.bsky.social @redeemercp.bsky.social @pbs.org www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWBc...

ANALYSIS: Wind and solar have saved UK from gas imports worth £1.7bn since Iran war began 😎 Record-high wind+solar output 🔥 Record-low gas generation ❄️ First ever winter with wind+solar out-performing fossil fuels 🏆 Wind+solar beating gas for 15 straight months 1/5

Incredible. And incredibly fast. Whoever says the renewables revolution is over is wrong. It's just beginning. Death to fossil fuels! insideclimatenews.org/news/0505202...

BREAKING: in April 2026, *every single one* of the 1,570 refugees admitted in the United States were white South Africans. In FY 2026, the U.S. has admitted a total of 6,066 white South Africans, three Afghans (back in November 2025), and nobody else.

Love the content, but maybe let’s lose the cult tract vibe

xAI has abruptly stopped work on a water reuse facility aimed at reducing a Memphis-area data center's strain on the local drinking water source. The move comes as SpaceX preps to launch the biggest IPO in history. My latest with @mirandawrites.bsky.social www.eenews.net/articles/xai...

Never change

"Though they’ve only done preliminary analysis, de Guzman said that so far, they’re finding mature trees, no matter the species, tended to survive the flames better. And that most of the surviving trees they’ve surveyed actually grew in the last year." #zonezero #lafires

The Iran war has nearly doubled jet fuel prices in the United States. That means the bill for firefighting aircraft operations this summer will likely rise by tens of millions of dollars.

"Seven states, two nations, 40-plus million people, a whole bunch of farmers, and major cities are going to have to completely rethink how they use [water].” www.wired.com/story/the-su...

There's still time to register for this timely and important discussion, happening May 8 ⬇️

Were you looking for ~12k words on Water-Fire-Finance intersections? We figured: Our full report from UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation, UCANR & Sustainable LA Grand Challenge is out, based on our January 23rd workshop with 54 participants at UCLA. innovation.luskin.ucla.edu/2026/04/29/w...

States across the West are dealing with outdated funding systems in the face of skyrocketing wildfire costs. Some are responding in creative ways: www.hcn.org/articles/wil...

Incredible short-term thinking from all the state-level Democrats trying to cut energy efficiency funding to reduce electric bills. Would save a little money for a couple of years, cost everyone more in the long run: www.canarymedia.com/articles/ene...

Hey look its my colleague @edithdeguzman.bsky.social sharing on her amazing post-LA Fire, tree inventory work with respect to Zone Zero debates. As covered by @laist.com's Erin Stone. laist.com/news/climate...

There's a lot of work to do in streamlining the home electrification process if we want to make it more feasible. @laurendunlap.bsky.social, Sooji Yang and I @luskininnovation.bsky.social analyzed a pilot which gets us closer. innovation.luskin.ucla.edu/publication/...

Got a memorable storm-power line-fire tutorial in my backyard last night courtesy of SoCalEdison

Social media is no longer social. Most of it is passive viewing of videos and pictures from people we've never met. But we're still studying social media like it's 2010. We've entered the post-social media era — and research needs to catch up. osf.io/preprints/so... preprint w/ Richard Rogers

As no one has been talking about, the drought – deferred maintenance double whammy comes for North Central Montana montanafreepress.org/2026/04/23/w...

My hot take on the Southeast fires no one asked for. We’ve known this was coming since the 2025 hurricane failed to deliver landfalling systems in the region. La Niña and climate change compounded the ground water issues through fall, winter and now spring. Every indicator is as bad as it gets.

🚨Classic Friday Dystopian Nexus Drop🚨

What a world we live in! As I read this Onion article I really cdnt say this isn’t real. I could easily imagine this finding and how to get there. Sure, technical quibbles wd abound, but damn I wish I’d thought to do or organize it. The Onion isn’t entirely wrong. theonion.com/report-every...

Arizona groundwater ruling could be 'death knell' for 100-year water supply rule, expert says. Important case to watch as it goes through the appeals process. Good Q&A here from @kjzz.org www.kjzz.org/the-show/202...

Wildfires are often thought to be a problem for Western North America, but climate change and other factors are making fires nastier in the East, especially this year.

@dustinmulvaney.bsky.social nails it: “battery developers … should take a lesson from battles fought in the 2000s over the siting of wind and solar farms … Those fights faded once governments began delineating specific zones where such projects were allowed.” www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...