Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

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Prisonculture @prisonculture.bsky.social · 34m

www.audacy.com/kywnewsradio...

Philadelphia on track to record the lowest number of homicides in 20 years

Overall crime in Philadelphia has been steadily declining. In 2021, the city hit a record number of homicide victims: 562. Now, it is on track to hit the lowest in 20 years.

www.audacy.com

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Rabih Alameddine @rabihalameddine.bsky.social · 34m

The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
--Hannah Arendt

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Daniel Aldana Cohen @aldasky.bsky.social · 2h

Green economic populism:

—Workers are empowered to build a green new economy that meets our needs

—Everyone has a cool room to sleep well during heat waves. No one lacks housing or AC

—When disaster hits, we all get emergency support, and we rebuild stronger, green communities from the bottom up

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Joshua Basseches @joshuabasseches.bsky.social · 2h

Couldn't agree more about the importance of this PSC race in Georgia. Thanks to @volts.wtf for covering it!
www.volts.wtf/p/pay-attent...

Pay attention to the most important political race of 2025

With energy affordability set to dominate national politics, Peter Hubbard and Brionté McCorkle explain why a down-ballot Georgia race is ground zero for the fight.

www.volts.wtf

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Kevin J. CREATURE @kevinjkircher.com · 3h

"Bringing a forklift to the gym," yep.

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Hisham Zerriffi @hishamzerriffi.bsky.social · 4h

“Your job is not to turn in completed assignments; it's to learn how to think.”

Ted Chiang‘s succinct summary of the issue with using AI in education.

I’m not a sports guy but the athlete metaphor he uses in this interview is pretty spot on.

The Incompatibilities Between Generative AI and Art: Q&A with Ted Chiang

cdh.princeton.edu

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Reposted by Kevin J. CREATURE

Joshua Basseches @joshuabasseches.bsky.social · 5h

As the current national administration seeks to prop up coal -- a highly polluting and uneconomic technology of the past -- the global economy and investors are sending a very different signal about where the future of energy is headed:
www.eenews.net/articles/ren...

Renewables overtake coal as global electricity leader

It's the first time sources like wind and solar generated more power than coal over a six-month period.

www.eenews.net

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Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 5h

part of the conditions for reopening the govt should be clawing back these slush funds

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 5h

Even as FBI is being downsized, it must allocate more of its resources to the only part of the govt that is growing: immigration enforcement.
The scale of this growth is hard to comprehend. DHS has a slushfund of $10B - bigger than the old ICE budget - to pay other agencies and state & local cops.

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Kevin J. CREATURE @kevinjkircher.com · 7h

"Reviewer #2 strikes again"

(ht @zoltannagy.bsky.social)

Marjorie James Keenan @unenthusiast.com · 13h

In honour of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand.

rm -rf ~/

hammancheez @hammancheez.bsky.social · 13h

"The chancellor approved it"

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Khashoggi's Ghost @urocklive1.bsky.social · 18h

Just a reminder that Wikipedia is the only remaining reliable source of information that right wing billionaires can't control. (Although they'll never stop trying.)

Please donate to them whenever you can. Even a little bit helps.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

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Lynn Becker @cmgiulini.bsky.social · 18h

After spending 43 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, evidence hidden by the prosecution reversed his conviction. Rather than finally enjoying freedom, ICE abducted him for deportation

Depraved.

www.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...

He was wrongfully imprisoned for 43 years. Moments after being released, ICE took him

Subramanyam “Subu” Vedam now faces deportation.

www.miamiherald.com

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Jan Rosenow @janrosenow.bsky.social · 13h

NEW ANALYSIS: More than 80% of UK social housing still relies on gas boilers keeping bills exposed to international gas markets and climate targets out of reach.

I’ve explored how other European countries are tackling this at scale, and what the UK can learn.

www.sureserve.co.uk/news-and-pro...

Phasing out gas in European social housing - what the UK can learn

www.sureserve.co.uk

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Chris Baraniuk @chrisbaraniuk.com · 11h

A roar of engines overhead. Awake again. “The planes never used to be so loud round here,” a troubled sleeper may reflect in the year 2050. Aircraft noise may eventually afflict thousands more people who live near airports – because of climate change.

www.thereengineer.pro/p/noisier-ta...

Noisier take-offs, engine wear – planes are flying straight into climate change

Emissions-spewing aircraft are far from immune to global warming

www.thereengineer.pro

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Dave Vetter @davidrvetter.bsky.social · 11h

Every day is a good day to point out that 92% of Reform's donations were found to come from figures and groups linked to the fossil fuel industry. @desmog.com

Nigel Farage’s Reform Party Has Accepted £2.3 Million from Fossil Fuel Interests, Climate Deniers, and Polluters Since 2019 Election

Reform UK has received more than £2.3 million from oil and gas interests, highly polluting industries, and climate science deniers since December 2019, amounting to 92 percent of the party’s donations...

www.desmog.com

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Reposted by Kevin J. CREATURE

Leah Stokes @leahstokes.bsky.social · 19h

Good news: @gavinnewsom.bsky.social signed the bill! Congrats to @davidpomerantz.bsky.social @earthjustice.org and TURN!

Leah Stokes @leahstokes.bsky.social · 5d

Governor Newsom has a bill on his desk to hold utilities accountable, and get them to stop passing along their dark money campaigns to everyday Californians.

Is he going to side with utilities, or side with the public and help lower electricity rates?
energyandpolicy.org/california-l...

California passes bill curbing utilities use of ratepayer money for political spending

State lawmakers last week made California the seventh state to pass a bill limiting investor-owned utilities from using customer money to pay for political and lobbying costs.

energyandpolicy.org

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David Pomerantz @davidpomerantz.bsky.social · 19h

SIGNED! 🥳🥳🥳💪💪💪

A massive victory for holding monopoly utilities accountable to their customers, and for lowering Californian utility bills.

Thank you to @governor.ca.gov, @asmmarcberman.bsky.social, @senmcnerney.bsky.social, @earthjustice.org, The Utility Reform Network for all your leadership!

David Pomerantz @davidpomerantz.bsky.social · 7d

A bill is sitting on @GavinNewsom’s desk that would lower Californians’ utility bills – all he has to do is sign it. But rumors are swirling that he plans to do the opposite - a move that could prove disastrous for California and for Newsom. A 🧵:

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Jon o’ Montana @mtskier.bsky.social · 23h

Coolest takeaway from this is that some day a massive fleet of EVs with more efficient batteries could smooth out renewable power delivery. You could get paid for that!

Kevin J. CREATURE @kevinjkircher.com · 25d

1) New paper! Replacing US fossil-fueled vehicles & appliances with electric versions could improve health & climate outcomes, but could cost up to $790 billion in distribution grid reinforcement. Strategic demand-side management could cut 2/3 of those costs.🔌💡

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

"Science for society" blurb from the paper:

In a future with clean electricity and full electrification of buildings and private vehicles, the United States would emit about half the greenhouse gas pollution than it does today. However, buildings and vehicles would also use much more electricity, especially in the coldest weather. Here, we show that reinforcing distribution grids to accommodate these new peaks in electricity demand could cost Americans $2,800–$6,400 per household. We also show that “smart electrification”—accompanying electrification with measures that mitigate electricity demand peaks, such as reducing thermal demand, improving equipment efficiencies, and coordinating device operation—could reduce grid reinforcement costs by over two-thirds. We believe that achieving an affordable, all-electric future will require cooperation between engineers to develop enabling technologies, social scientists to guide technology development toward people’s wants and needs, and policymakers to pass laws or incentives that shape technology adoption.

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Kevin J. CREATURE @kevinjkircher.com · 22h

For me (total heat pump nerd), one exciting possibility of cities starting their own sustainable energy utilities is that "city worker comes over and installs a battery" is a tiny hop away from "city worker installs your heat pump," which could make heat pumps so much more affordable.

David Roberts @volts.wtf · Jul 23

Today on Volts: last year, the residents of Ann Arbor, MI, voted to create a "sustainable energy utility" that operates alongside the investor-owned utility & supplements it with clean energy. This is, AFAIK, the first arrangement of this kind in the world. I talk with its architect & champion.

Ann Arbor's experiment with a new kind of utility

Missy Stults explains Ann Arbor's novel plan to build a second, clean-energy utility alongside its incumbent.

www.volts.wtf

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David Wallace-Wells @dwallacewells.bsky.social · 1d

“Planet-heating methane is escaping from cracks in the Antarctic seabed as the region warms, with new seeps being discovered at an ‘astonishing rate,’ scientists have found.” www.cnn.com/2025/10/10/c...

Scientists discovered something alarming seeping out from beneath the ocean around Antarctica | CNN

Planet-heating methane is escaping from cracks in the Antarctic seabed, with new seeps being discovered at an “astonishing rate,” raising fears that future global warming predictions may have been und...

www.cnn.com

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Reposted by Kevin J. CREATURE

David Pomerantz @davidpomerantz.bsky.social · 1d

Call today! Leave a voicemail asking Gov. Newsom to lower our electric and gas bills, and to stand up for ratepayers and not utility lobbyists.

916-445-2841, leave a voicemail, feel great, takes just a minute.

David Pomerantz @davidpomerantz.bsky.social · 2d

This is the last bill sitting on Gov. Newsom's desk that can lower utility bills from this session. Utilities are lobbying furiously against it.

If you’re from California and want to register your opinion about AB 1167, call the Gov. at (916) 445-2841.

More Perfect Union @moreperfectunion.bsky.social · 2d

There's a bill on Gavin Newsom's desk right now that would stop monopoly utility companies from adding the costs of their lobbying and PR campaigns into customers' bills.

It's unclear if Newsome will sign the bill, despite 93% of voters agreeing with its premise.

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isaac @sevier.io · 1d

Tonight we're talking about a positive vision for the future, the lives we are fighting hard for beyond the reach of the fascists trying to drive us underground and crush our communities— something that isn't hypothetical here in Portland.

Four people seated on a stage at a church with a large wooden organ behind them

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Justin Mikulka @justinmikulka.bsky.social · 1d

I bet it wasn't even 5 years ago that the standard belief was that without more transmission there would be no energy transition. Then I started hearing about VPPs. Now there are plenty of amazing real world examples of their success and it is still so early.

VPPs look to be a huge thing.

GN @w1ts3nd555.bsky.social · 1d

“Virtual power plants” are one of the cheapest, most equitable ways to make the grid more efficient, making costly infrastructure buildout less necessary.

Kevin J. CREATURE @kevinjkircher.com · 25d

11) At the high end of the grid reinforcement cost estimate range, VPPs could reduce grid buildout costs by *$340 billion*. That's our estimate of the "money on the table" for deploying VPPs: The achievable societal value of avoiding poles-and-wires upgrades at the distribution level.

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Dr Paul Dorfman @drpauldorfman.bsky.social · 1d

Profs Amory Lovins, Mark Jacobson, Steve Thomas and me.
#nuclear #renewables #climate #SMR #Trump #Starmer
www.newcivilengineer.com/opinion/a-go...

A ‘Golden Age’ of nuclear? | New Civil Engineer

The reason is simple. Nuclear costs are huge and rising and significant delays are the norm. The result is that nuclear power faces the same fundamental

www.newcivilengineer.com

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Dave Levitan @davelevitan.bsky.social · 1d

Federal employees at ANY agency, I’m curious to hear from you about RIFs and whatever else is happening these days, Signal is davelevitan.26 and you can remain anonymous.

Dave Levitan @davelevitan.bsky.social · 1d

NEW: Is it good if your boss asks you to let them know if you get fired?

My latest from inside NOAA, EPA, elsewhere. Please sign up and subscribe to the new very reasonable paid tiers.

Federal Employees Have Been Asked to Tell Their Bosses if They Get Fired

Multiple people at multiple agencies said their bosses have told them to email up the chain if they hear about RIFs, because, per one source, "they probably won't be told if people are fired."

www.gravityisgone.com

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David Roberts @volts.wtf · 1d

Is it cancel culture when they threaten to kill you?

www.nj.com/news/2025/10...

Sold-out Ta-Nehisi Coates speaker appearance in N.J. canceled over security reasons

Organizers canceled a sold-out Ta-Nehisi Coates event in Montclair citing undisclosed security concerns.

www.nj.com

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