Get in loser, we’re having black-eyed peas and cornbread

Omg the font design for this Times Square thing. It looks like ”2024”. Like seriously.

We were late to the 37th street Xmas lights but made it tonight! Kids learned about democracy by voting for the 37th street mayor (go Junior!) and I appreciated the Pac-Man display

River Place Nature Trail with the tween/teen this morning. Beautiful winter day in ATX. No idea where the water in Serenity Pool was coming from given our drought. Probably don’t want to know.

Like I’ve said: this Venezuela stuff isn’t about putting more crude on the market. It’s about Cuba (cracking down on illicit shipments) & China (preventing from taking over CVX’s operations there). That’s why effect on crude markets & price at pump is nil. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/27/u...

Finished the NYT super mega crossword, please clap

Y’all, I’ve been following this Recent Discourse and I’ll note that it’s not 2008, it’s not 2012, not 2016 nor 2020. It sure isn’t 2004. The energy industry, and attitudes/expectations, have changed DRASTICALLY. 1/2

Our paper outlining an integrated research program for carbon management systems is out. We define a roadmap that combines technology deployment with policy, economics, and community impacts to work towards a net-zero future in the face of policy uncertainty. iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1...

There’s enough scientific ocean drilling core to stretch from NYC to Buffalo and most of it has not been measured. There an only ~800 permeability tests, for example. You need physical samples for those.

I keep having people ask me about this and, again, the oil aspect is a joke. Invest for decades to revitalize heavy oil fields at $50-60 WTI? Whom are you kidding. Whom.

Here I am at my AGU talk making the point “industrial scale CO2 injection projects have underperformed by average 40% relative to announced injection rates with an average of 0.21 Mt per well per year.” Thanks to @sergiocastellanos.bsky.social for the photo!

I just finished grading 62 essays and have 94 exams in my future, but let’s get excited about AGU! Who’s going? I’ll be there Tues & Wed. Come hear my talk on carbon storage! agu.confex.com/agu/agu25/me...

I was making this point to some students earlier today- Venezuelan oil is already on the market whether you like it or not. Global supply is up and demand is mid. This isn’t rocket science.

I grew up not far from Canterbury Shaker Village in New Hampshire. The Shakers lived simple lives but were always interested in technology that would make life easier and more productive. They electrified the village with battery storage in 1910! 1/2 www.shakers.org/wp-content/u...

Our neighborhood in Austin has also been under the gas line replacement scourge for like forever. If 38th street is still closed during school pickup in the spring I’m a flip out. It’s been a year. But seriously- I get we’re reducing leaks but cui bono? How best to reduce CO2 emissions?

Did you know that the Boston Public Library is the only building in the world with the names of all 4 ninja turtles engraved on it?

It’s late but I just donated to @kutnews.bsky.social for giving Tuesday. Whenever I travel elsewhere (cough cough Houston) I realize how special our local radio ecosystem is and how much it provides to/reflects the community. Keep up the good work y’all!

Happy to contribute to this @marketplace.org piece on the ongoing oil glut. US production reached another record in September, but prices are stagnant due to efficiency increases, tariffs, and weakening demand due to EVs and other decarbonization. www.marketplace.org/story/2025/1...

Happy thanksgiving eve. I always think of this Bill Buford piece from 2006 speculating on why we call the wild turkey - Meleagris gallopavo - a turkey. The species name literally means “chicken peacock.” The Aztecs has a perfectly good name- guajalote. www.newyorker.com/magazine/200...

Already thinking about AGU (ok fine bc I haven’t done most of the work yet) and I noticed my talk is (checks notes) 7 minutes long? Yikes. Might just have a Q&A.

I just deactivated my account on the other place. The news today was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back- let’s keep this place from being a space where rage-baiting is a natural progression to make a buck.

Boss at my industry job said I would fail in academia

Some people got big mad about this for some reason! Electrification with renewables and battery storage is already proving how we’ll achieve large scale decarbonization based on current trajectories. The hydrogen use case is diminishing in these areas.

I’m having my sustainable energy class present this week on hydrogen use cases and, I’m going to be honest- it’s bleak. For hydrogen at least. Solar + wind + electrification are winning. Which is probably good. 1/2

“Where, “ 🤬🤬

Equations are parts of the sentence and should be punctuated as such

I won the 2-factor authentication lottery today

Aurora borealis in Hyde Park LOL JK it’s the lights from the UT intramural fields!

Walden Pond, Sunday morning 11/9

Austin Energy with huge growth in solar generation. Flew home from Boston today and honestly the amount of solar installed between Dallas and here is astounding. And it can be (& is being) installed close to demand, avoiding wind’s transmission problem. www.kxan.com/news/local/a...

Impressive wait times for an odd-year election with only a bunch of constitutional amendments and a single proposition on the ballot. I think prop Q is driving turnout, but moreover I think people are just venting. I found it cathartic to vote this morning; my wife called it “hate voting.”

My 7th grader carved his pumpkin and included “6-7” as an Easter egg. Can you find it?

i don’t know how to cross-post this from FB but this is absolutely heartbreaking. The age of scientific ocean discovery we were brought up in is gone & will never come back. I can’t.

Monarch butterflies coming through Austin

I was a little confused about Real Simple teaching us about the wind but then I saw it’s actually a conversation with @drkatemarvel.bsky.social! Worth a read. Well done.

Snapshotted from The Other Place… China is eating our lunch on nuclear energy. H/t @dwallacewells.bsky.social

Austin Energy (our local publicly owned utility) with a big battery storage deal: austinenergy.com/about/news/n...

I don’t know about the West Coast areas but there’s very little resource potential on the Atlantic margin. Baltimore Canyon Trough, Carolina Trough, Georgia Embayment, all explored by the majors + COST wells back in the 70s and there‘s nothing. 1/2

The energy emergency is over, good job everyone! www.nytimes.com/2025/10/22/b...

An account that I have blocked informed me that solar is subsidized, so why should it be cheap? Fossil fuel production is also heavily subsidized. Actually more so! This was literally in the news the other day. The bots aren’t bringing their A game. Do better, trolls. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/16/c...

Good! Solar is the fastest growing electricity source in the state that produces the most electricity. And it’s cheap!

The statements by the current CEO of Liberty contrast strongly with those of the former CEO. Tariffs are “a path to mediocrity, not excellence…They raise prices, cut profits, increase unemployment, diminish productivity and slow economic growth.” www.msn.com/en-us/money/...

Monday funday!

I hate to dunk but have these guys looked at exploration techniques from 20 years ago? AI might add value in quantifying subsurface uncertainty- and my colleagues are looking at this! - but this assessment is a joke.

As summer stretches into October in Texas, a reminder that this is predicted and will affect grid stability by constricting times when power plants can conduct maintenance. Growth in renewables and storage will help. Here’s my 2024 oped with @joshdr83.bsky.social. www.expressnews.com/opinion/comm...

We are in the midst of the geothermal unit of my sustainable energy class and this podcast is on point - Quaise is tackling a gnarly problem (and I was skeptical of their approach as recently as last year!) Volts continues its tradition of excellence. Y‘all should listen.

New paper! We looked at every single permeability measurement from scientific ocean drilling boreholes so you don't have to. 71% are from the Pacific and the other oceans are jealous. Only 159 of the 4143 boreholes drilled have permeability data. (1/2) doi.org/10.1016/j.ma...

I’m sorry folks, but what the heck are we doing. Is there an energy emergency or not. What’s the plan here. Is there even a plan. If so what actually is it.

@arvindpawan1.bsky.social from the top rope

Crepuscular rays at Mueller Lake Park