Brendan McEwen
@brendanmcewen.bsky.social
1.3K followers 1.8K following 1.3K posts
Working on decarbonizing buildings & transportation. Huge fan o’ nature, cities, art. Tend to use this platform to read & learn, but will try to tweet on occasion.
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
brendanmcewen.bsky.social
Jimmy Blevins in All the Pretty Horses is the most compelling character in 20th Century American literature.
Reposted by Brendan McEwen
rachelfeder.bsky.social
Tell me your most unhinged literary opinion, as a little treat
Reposted by Brendan McEwen
ricevermicelli.bsky.social
The emdash is unjustly reviled because it is heavily associated with female writers. It is considered ungrammatical, but it is an accurate representation of domestic conversation, where it's more important to convey information on multiple subjects than to sort them neatly.
Reposted by Brendan McEwen
johnsmillie42.bsky.social
On the one hand, eliminating jobs while getting the same output (or same jobs with more output) is the only way things get better.

On the other, massive sudden dislocation tends to be quite bad

On the third, I don't think LLMs are going to do it, given studies showing productivity drops.
brendanmcewen.bsky.social
I should really know this… but why is there still that big slug of natural gas midday? Isn’t CCGT more flexible than that?
Reposted by Brendan McEwen
greenprofgreen.bsky.social
Very important paper by @gregorsemieniuk.bsky.social that shows, as I have argued, that tax policy is climate policy. We cannot phaseout #fossilfuels without attacking their wealth.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Brendan McEwen
transportenvironment.org
NEW: Biofuels globally emit more than the fossil fuels they replace, our latest study shows.

The first-of-a-kind study looks at global biofuels production today and the potential impacts of government biofuel targets.
🧵⤵️
Reposted by Brendan McEwen
aukehoekstra.bsky.social
We just made this graph showing most people in the world could get by on just some solar panels and batteries.

The X axis is basically latitude, but we filled in how many people live between the equator and a certain latitude.
The Y axis shows the amount of solar and batteries needed
brendanmcewen.bsky.social
Likely true, but to comply with electrical codes in USA & Canada (which could otherwise oblige you to upgrade service, sometimes at considerable $) you’ll need a power control system (see UL 3141) that actively controls between loads
brendanmcewen.bsky.social
Also, having the battery in a device already being installed significantly reduce the cost of storage… so much of the cost of residential battery storage is the labour, sales and permitting…
brendanmcewen.bsky.social
In addition to the value created by shifting off peak at the wholesale & utility distribution scale, battery integrated appliances could also coordinate to avoid peaks on building systems.

Like all the HPs in MURB could coordinate across a mesh network to not exceed capacity of building…
canarymedia.com
Legacy air-conditioning giant Carrier has a simple solution to ACs stressing the grid: Pair them with a battery that charges up when power demand is low.

Here’s how it’s testing the concept.
Carrier wants to pair batteries with air conditioners to help the grid
Utilities are struggling to meet demand as AI data centers surge. Equipping air conditioners with batteries could be an easy and hugely scalable way to…
www.canarymedia.com
Reposted by Brendan McEwen
chrisbataille.bsky.social
If this keeps up, if the air stays toxic due to constant flaring, you’ll see local support for LNG expansion in the Prince Rupert and Kitimat area vanish very rapidly.
chrisbataille.bsky.social
This isn’t great, sounds like break-in flaring at LNG Canada is becoming routine. And your regular reminder if a flare is yellow the methane isn’t being fully combusted - if so it would be blue. That means VOCs, CO, PM2.5&10, etc. thenarwhal.ca/kitimat-lng-...
Noise, smoke from LNG Canada plagues residents of Kitimat, B.C. | The Narwhal
Residents near LNG Canada in Kitimat, B.C., say the constant noise and toxic smoke is ‘hell’ — and threatens serious health impacts
thenarwhal.ca
Reposted by Brendan McEwen
sethdklein.bsky.social
BC friends, important piece by @iglikaivanova.bsky.social

She writes: BC’s own source revenue—taxes, fees & royalties—has plummeted from 19.2% to 15.4% of GDP over 25 years. This drop represents $16.8 billion in foregone revenues annually."

Tax cuts drive the deficit; progressive tax ⬆️ needed 👇
sethdklein.bsky.social
BC folks! Outstanding piece here by @iglikaivanova.bsky.social, co-ED of @bcpolicy.bsky.social.

BC has a revenue problem, not a spending problem

The solution to BC’s fiscal challenges isn’t spending cuts. Instead, BC needs progressive revenue measures.

Read on 👇
vancouversun.com/opinion/op-e...
Opinion: B.C. has a revenue problem, not a spending problem
Experience from early 2000s shows that underfunding public services and failing to address poverty leads to higher economic and social costs
vancouversun.com
Reposted by Brendan McEwen
wutangforchildren.bsky.social
Will just leave this clip here of Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings talking about what’s wrong with America from a 1991 interview and it’s still all very true today
brendanmcewen.bsky.social
I feel like all these people with way tidier homes than mine are committing micro-aggressions…
brendanmcewen.bsky.social
All the Pretty Horses

The God of Small Things
brendanmcewen.bsky.social
Other strategies to “square it”:

plant a pollinator garden to help the insects where there was previously monoculture grass.

Give $ spent on organic to nature conservation / farm workers advocacy, esp migrants (they need it these days)

Etc etc. 🙂
brendanmcewen.bsky.social
I used to buy organic… now I generally dont. I think it is largely a marketing hustle intended to separate those with means from their $. And a net bad, given yield impacts.

I do wish there was an independent food labeling scheme growers could apply to that had good contextual criteria.
Reposted by Brendan McEwen
sethdklein.bsky.social
Youth unemployment isn’t just a statistic. As these testimonials indicate, it’s a crisis shaping the lives & futures of young people.

A Youth Climate Corps could put thousands to work while supporting climate & community. Take action below 👇
climateunit.bsky.social
The voices of young people are clear: Youth unemployment isn’t just a statistic, it’s a crisis shaping their lives & futures.

A Youth Climate Corps could put thousands to work while supporting climate & community.

Tell Carney: Listen to youth & act for a YCC: www.goodgreenjobsforall.ca/tell-carney