If you don't succeed, it's not failure but feedback.... Keep trying. Keep going.

Amazing how much people underestimate how my energy our heating and air conditioning systems take. Maybe this is why policy hasn't caught up to recognizing this an an essential service...This paper was published in 2010, but I still find this to be true. www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....

Hey #EnergySky! This summer we are organizing a 2-day energy data lab for early career researchers from August 11-12 at Georgia Tech. It will be a mix of tutorials, open lab time, and networking. Applications are due April 3 – for more info, see our blog post: bit.ly/catalyst-dat...

Last month’s winter storms in Pittsburgh made one thing clear: when roads freeze and 37 / 80 plows fail, home heat becomes the real emergency plan. This is where energy insecurity turns into public risk. PS. If your region is about to get snow keep a shovel in your trunk triblive.com/opinion/dest...

My student Kester Wade and I made a YouTube video walking through our paper on AC rebates and climate adaptation. Using data from 138k homes in Tallahassee, we find rebates reduce bills and help low-income households afford cooling during extreme heat. YouTube video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVVx...

Only 13% of utility energy efficiency program budgets go towards low-income households..... www.aceee.org/research-rep...

Social landlords spent 13% more on repairs last year - but rents went up by only 2.7%. This is leaving a growing gap in the finances of housing associations and councils - and leaving them unable to invest in new homes. www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/insi...

I was recently promoted to Associate Professor. I’m so grateful and I also wanted to tell the truth behind what people call “effortless” success. I wrote about infertility, fostering, work as coping, and choosing differently in this next chapter Full story: destenienock5.wixsite.com/destenienock...

Sometimes I feel like people talk about energy poverty as if its a side effect instead of a design flaw....

We keep calling the energy transition a success because grids are cleaner and cheaper. But averages hide who’s getting shut off, who’s rationing heat, and who’s trading safety for affordability. Justice isn’t a bonus metric...it’s THE metric. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

We are going to need a lot of people to rebuild federal science in the future

We need to reconstruct civil society, rebuild civil institutions, and reinvest in the social sciences. It's possible. bsky.app/profile/cost...

2025 global climate highlights are out: 🌡️ 2025 was 3rd warmest year on record, 1.47ºC above the preindustrial level 📈 2023-2025 is the first three year period above 1.5ºC (according to ERA5) 🌍 The last 11 years have been the warmest 11 years on record See: climate.copernicus.eu/global-clima... ⚒️🧪🌊

Very excited that I can now announce that after 3 years of querying 4 fantasy novels, I have signed a contract with agent @ajvanbelle.bsky.social who will represent my fiction. Check out the author page: share.google/2kzigReeO44n...

Access to thermostat technology is a driver of disparities in something as basic as being able to make your home a comfortable place to work or live. Check out our new paper. engineering.cmu.edu/news-events/...

If someone is meant to walk beside you on your quest to wherever you're going, they will step forward. If not, you will keep walking anyway. Either way—you’re moving...

With the increases in energy bill costs, there are more concerns about whether energy assistance programs will be able to keep up with demand. New video discussing how energy assistance actually changes the way people use energy. New video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qo6n...

New paper shows that measuring energy burden using gross income misses millions of households. When housing costs are accounted for (net income), ~4.7M more renter households show up as energy-burdened. Energy affordability = housing + income + energy. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

We talked about my work at Carnegie Mellon University and at Peoples Energy Analytics, using predictive analytics to find households experiencing energy affordability challenges before crisis hits. www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nH9...

Rounding out the year with a new mantra "You don't owe the future version of yourself exhaustion." Self care isn't selfish. #selfCare

The world would be better if we opened up about our failure stats. Someone told me they wanted to reach my number of published papers, but they needed to find the perfect high impact idea first. So I showed them my word doc of ~35 ideas that failed to become worthwhile papers...#FailFaster

Excited to talk at Nerd Nite coming up Dec 4th. Talk "Slaying the Utility Dragon: Why Your Power Bill Hates You (and What You Can Do About It)" pittsburgh.nerdnite.com

Feeling like I should start telling climate deniers that "You don't have to believe in climate change because climate change believes in you...."

Policy makers keep saying data centers are going to create more jobs...has anyone ever met someone who worked in a data center???? . . . I haven't.

Food stamps have been discussed by many news outlets, but I feel like the less talked about thing is the cuts to the program that allows for refrigeration and cooking of food...LIHEAP (low income housing energy assistance program). This op ed focuses on that. #EnergySky triblive.com/opinion/dest...

Happy Halloween!

Heat pumps help people stay cool in the summer. In this latest research and video, I discuss how efficient cooling technologies (e.g., heat pumps) can reduce energy insecurity. W/ @lucyqiu-umd.bsky.social #EnergySky #energy #energypolicy youtube.com/watch?v=JfVps3p_EdE&feature=youtu.be

Never apologize for tears. How else will you prove to the world that you're not a robot? 🤖

SNAP keeps millions of kids fed.

Such an important research area.

Extreme heat is a climate crisis happening each year and our affordable housing shortage is making this worse

Deregulation and slashing government health & safety inspections is going great. Enjoy the extra bite in your Coke.

US highway spending is a mess. Yale prof @zliscow.bsky.social & colleagues found that South Carolina’s DOT spends $375,500 repaving a mile of highway – more than twice as much as North Carolina. In @bloomberg.com, I spoke with Liscow about the wild inefficiencies of state DOTs.

"Heat pumps help narrow the energy gap between high- and low-income households (that is, the energy equity gap) by making cooling more affordable and indoor environments more comfortable." Nice new paper in Nature Energy by @destenie.bsky.social and friends. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

New paper: The Comfort Rebound from Heat Pumps and Impact on Household Cooling Behaviour and Energy Security. We found that when households adopt heat pumps, they start cooling earlier this getting to feel more comfortable—without using more energy overall. share.google/Wv1YK2M2qHAx...

My student asked me why I had to assign group projects. I made this completely not-serious guide to surviving them. Tips: 1 Assign roles by vibes. 2 Set fake deadlines. 3. Present with confidence even if the slides look raccoon-made Full cursed guide here: destinynox.com/blog/ossies-...

If we are ever going to address the energy inequities in this country we need to look at housing stocks inequities and energy infrastructure in the home.

Last month's total #Arctic sea ice volume averaged the 3rd lowest on record for the month of August. This was about 72% below 1979 levels and 54% below the 1979-2024 August average. More at zacklabe.com/arctic-sea-i.... Data from PIOMAS. 🥼❄️🌊

PNNL researchers showed rooftop solar + storage could offset two-thirds of the savings households try to get by cutting heat, cooling, or even food/health spending Clean energy can fight climate change and help families live safely & comfortably. nature.com/articles/s43247-025-02517-5 #EnergySky

When I hear people talk about jobs impacts of AI it is all about loss, rightfully so given the disruption. But I am wondering if we should be talking about the electricians and trades people needed to enable AI. Since I can't google anything without AI these days I don't think its going anywhere.

AI is the next battleground where equity will be tested. We need to build our energy infrastructure in a way to not further burden communities with reliability issues.

It's nice to see something positive popping up on the feed. More housing is a win.

Very gratifying to get some actual hopeful news this week

New research on temperature response functions (TRFs): We tested how well these models hold up to regression assumptions. 1. Stronger TRFs = better insight into energy programs 2. Results are consistent across ~450k households (FL + Mid-Atlantic). #EnergySky www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Do you know what's way more expensive than keeping the power on? Paying for thousands of people to rip up their walls and floors after their pipes burst in a cold snap. Just ask Texas.

New paper highlighting impact of energy assistance (LIHEAP): Homes use enough extra energy to heat safely. On-time aid helps prevent energy-limiting behavior Paper: Heterogeneous impact of low-income home energy assistance program on energy consumption behavior share.google/AaxaTcC8Q4Ex...

Last winter, 600,000+ households in the Mid-Atlantic relied on LIHEAP to keep the lights on & pipes from freezing. Now, the federal budget proposes eliminating the program entirely. LIHEAP saves lives. Op-Ed here: share.google/wPCWNcPEzkY6...

We looked at how air conditioning rebates affect households in hot climates. Using data from 138,000+ homes in Tallahassee, FL: Low-income homes saved about $25 per cooling season after rebates. Higher-income homes saved a bit more (about $31). www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Transportation + electricity = most U.S. emissions. EVs can cut both—if we don’t slam the brakes on investments.