Reaching net zero by 2050 is often framed as a cost burden. The UK Climate Change Committee’s latest analysis suggests the opposite. The real risk is fossil fuel dependency.

🔌💡 #acadsky

"I think many people in academia could do more if they wanted to. They could reorient part of their research line to the climate crisis in a similar way to how, during [WWII], many people repurposed themselves for the war effort. Or...be an activist or advocate." www.nature.com/articles/d41...

This is amazing. When the government kills a crucial report, independent scientists decide to write it anyway and release it outside of government channels. That’s science serving society, even when our political leaders don’t.

If you are into climate action (esp. in higher education), check out the new climate action milestone framework just released by Second Nature that offers a useful framework for staff, faculty, and student efforts. A few highlights (🧵). secondnature.org/climate-lead... (pls share!)

If you are working on higher education climate action you may be interested in this Climate Action in Higher Education: Roadmap, just released by UCSC, UC-Berkeley and Harvard. Useful framing about Whole Institution Leadership and lots of examples. escholarship.org/uc/item/82f0... #acadsky

"[O]ur best estimate [of damages from climate change] is between 7.1% and 12.6% [of GDP for a 3°C increase] depending on how narrowly we define catastrophic damages." 🔌💡 Sounds bad. policyintegrity.org/publications...

"Last July, a flash flood in Texas killed more than 100 people. The National Weather Service’s forecast was very good, Spinrad said, but there was no one filling a position responsible for warning local officials and emergency managers at the time." www.nytimes.com/2026/03/05/c...

Balcony solar is taking off across the country. Here’s which states are considering bills to allow for the plug-in clean energy solution.

"Critics noted that the report violated nearly every conceivable norm of scientific practice—in its cherry-picking of evidence, its misrepresentation of the literature, and its abandonment of the standards of scientific assessment. " @andrewdessler.com www.theclimatebrink.com/p/obituary-t...

It's nice to remember cherry season in March. #Michigan

Hey #mapoli folks! Can anyone explain to me how "consolidated amendments" in the MA legislature? There were 3 on H5151 that were adopted but I'm hearing that individual amendmts listed in each consolidated amendment may not have made it into the package? malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H5...

There has never been a moment when ending the oil industry has been more urgent or important. Here is a thread of seven tools that can help. Brief, readable 2-pagers, and a 30-page overview from @michealpodgers.bsky.social at @clicabedu.bsky.social.

we reached the “no WMDs” phase in two days.

NSF Update (Awards through 2/27/26) Directorates to follow 1/10

“In short,” Hubbard says, “decarbonization is an investment strategy, one that when done right is the same cost, or even less expensive, over the long term than the business-as-usual approach.” Kudos to U Buffalo! www.buffalo.edu/ubnow/storie...

"The chamber was then weighing the measure roughly 48 hours after it was posted publicly online. Lawmakers had to submit their amendments by 5 p.m. on Wednesday... This just can’t be how we legislate,” Uyterhoeven said. “It doesn’t make sense.” commonwealthbeacon.org/energy/house...

Hey #energysky! Has anyone dug into the actual NYSERDA analysis here? I've seen a lot of industry funded analysis of climate policy over the years and the assumptions really matter! www.cityandstateny.com/policy/2026/... (memo link in story) 🔌💡

“They turn humans into this hyperefficient terrestrial locomotor because they make being on land more like swimming.” The most efficient traveller is you on a bike. #UrbanTruth Via Scientific American @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-hu...

On the very long to-do list for IRA 2.0 is supreme court ethics reform.

The Supreme Court has decided to hear a major climate case against fossil fuel companies Alito has not recused himself, despite owning nearly $200,000 in fossil fuel stocks—including in Phillips 66 and ConocoPhillips, which are being sued in cases that would be directly affected by a SCOTUS ruling

Hey MA residents! Did you know that the MA House is about to vote (Thursday!?) on a bill to cut funding to Mass Save's energy efficiency programs? (the bill does other things like supporting balcony solar) Call your state Rep! commonwealthbeacon.org/energy/house...

Trump EPA #2 official: Today's repeal of the safer Mercury & Air Toxics Standards will lower electricity costs for consumers. www.spglobal.com/market-intel... Trump EPA, in fine print: There will be a zero percent change to retail electricity prices from the rollback. So many shameless falsehoods.

Adding this straight into Monday's lecture on capacity factors!

ProPublica published children's letters and drawings documenting their sadness and suffering at Dilley. And Dilley staff are now retaliating by confiscating kids' letters and drawings. www.sacurrent.com/news/san-ant...

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has imposed more deregulatory costs on Americans than any head in U.S. history. Probably more than any 2 or 3 EPA administrators. $180 billion with one signature. EPA Concedes Vehicle GHG Rollback May Impose $180 Billion In Net Costs. insideepa.com/daily-news/e... ($)

The American Academy of Actuaries warns that dismantling NCAR would degrade the catastrophe models insurers depend on to price climate risk—driving up premiums and threatening coverage availability nationwide. "Uncertainty carries a positive cost." www.riskmarketnews.com/trumps-clima...

UK renewable energy nerds - a colleague is teaching with McKay's "Sustainability Without the Hot Air" from 2009. It includes this figure of renewable energy potential in the UK vs. current consumption. Does anyone know of a more recent analysis? 🔌💡

This is part of a pattern that is impeachable: Trump cuts previously appropriated Congressional funds, but only to states led by Democrats (California, Colorado, Illinois and Minnesota).

Maria is one of hundreds of children, who — like Liam Ramos — have been held at a Texas detention facility where parents say children languish as they’re served contaminated food, receive little education and struggle to obtain basic medical care. Here's our attempt at telling their stories. 2/

I hope reporters dig into who coordinated these astroturf comments. Remember the time utilities paid actors to come support a fossil gas plant in LA and the time industry faked letters (including claiming to be a NAACP chapter) in opposition to Congressional climate legislation? (🔗 below) 🔌💡

Clean energy industries are (some of) the growth industries of this century.

Interesting. As well as pointing the finger at Drax this highlights the difficulties in carbon accounting generally and tracing the sustainability of supply chains. www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Bring Your Own New Clean Energy? (#BYONCE)?

"Then suddenly, these big Democratic precincts with lots of votes that took a longer time to count reported in and those big Democratic precincts gave Democrats more votes! I am very smart and think this is a sign of a conspiracy."

"The petition cites it as a “peer-reviewed Climate Science Research Report,” but picking a few retired scientists to sign on to a document before posting it on wordpress is not the same as going through a journal peer review."

NSF GRFP applicants (and mentors): Was your application Returned Without Review and deemed ineligible despite fitting in the allowed topics? 1) Write NSF 2) Write your Congressperson 3) CC us at [email protected] so we can compile + follow up Details and template at grant-witness.us/grfp-letter

New gas power plant -- behind the meter, only to service datacenter -- on the site of coal-fired power plant in Homer City PA, will generate 4.4 GW of power, as much as peak winter demand of Scotland. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

Oh! “A federal judge on Friday ruled the Energy Department violated the law when Secretary Chris Wright handpicked five researchers who reject the scientific consensus on climate change to work in secret on a sweeping government report on global warming.”

The college at which I'm employed, which has signed a contract with the AI firm that stole books from 131 colleagues & me, paid a student to write an op-ed for the student paper promoting AI, guided the writing of it, and did not disclose this to the paper. www.thedartmouth.com/article/2026...

Folks who teach feedback loops. Do you have a reading/web site you love to introduce these concepts to 100-level students? Would love if it used the less confusing terms of balancing and reinforcing instead of positive and negative.

EXCLSUVIE: The Trump administration has secretly rewritten nuclear safety rules and shared them with the companies they're meant to regulate, without making the new rules publicly available. We've obtained a copy of the new rules and here's what we found. www.npr.org/2026/01/28/n...

Priorities.

How many STEM Ph.D.s were lost from the U.S. federal government last year? My colleagues @mghersher.bsky.social and @policyhound.bsky.social dug into a recent data release to find the answer. A @science.org exclusive. www.science.org/content/arti...

In 1995, Congressional Republicans eliminated the Office of Technology Assessment - Congress' source of non-partisan scientific & technical advice. Now Republicans have fired or pushed _10,000_ PhD scientists out of the executive branch (over 100Kyrs of experience). www.science.org/content/arti...

"During my 17 years at the EPA I helped write the GHG Endangerment Finding and I helped defend it....I left EPA on January 24, 2026. The rollback may be finalized any day now. I know this document. I know what they’re getting wrong. And I’m going to show you." Seriously, subscribe.

"his team used the WHO’s threshold of 5.2 ppb, because it is based on the best scientific evidence for improving public health...The United States has a threshold that’s more than 10 times higher, at 53 ppb, which the Environmental Protection Agency has not changed since 1971." wapo.st/46emCoj

If you have even a passing interest in climate science and/or EPA, you should follow @marcusmarcusrc.bsky.social. 🔌💡

Since July, I've tracked at least 2,300 cases in which federal judges have ruled ICE has illegally detained people without bond or due process. This is one that stands out: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...