Sammy Roth
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sammyroth.bsky.social
Sammy Roth
@sammyroth.bsky.social
I write Climate-Colored Goggles, a newsletter about climate & culture. Former L.A. Times climate columnist and Desert Sun energy reporter. Also hosted Boiling Point and The Hatch podcasts.

Find me at Dodger Stadium, Disneyland or hiking in the mountains.
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I'm excited to launch Climate-Colored Goggles, a newsletter about climate and culture. I'll be writing about climate solutions in pop culture, media & sports. America's most influential storytellers need to get in the game.

Sign up here: www.climatecoloredgoggles.com
Lincoln, Nebraska has a very cool program where landlords get money to upgrade decrepit apartment buildings — including by installing climate-friendly heat pumps! — and they have to keep rents low. Everybody wins. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/c... via @carabuckley.bsky.social
In Nebraska, Makeovers for Buildings That Don’t Price Out the Locals
www.nytimes.com
November 28, 2025 at 6:38 AM
Reposted by Sammy Roth
New essay: The environmental story that shaped so many of us — small is beautiful — now collides with the scale the climate crisis actually demands.
I wrote about why we need to update our instincts for the world we’re living in now, not the world of 1973. jrehmeyer.substack.com/p/small-is-b...
Small Is Beautiful — But It’s Not Enough
Why our environmental intuitions must evolve for the climate crisis
jrehmeyer.substack.com
November 21, 2025 at 5:24 PM
As federal support withers, California invests in cheap heat pumps www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
As Federal Support Withers, California Invests in Cheap Heat Pumps
The state is allocating more than $100 million to create demand for energy-efficient technologies that renters and low-income residents can afford.
www.bloomberg.com
November 28, 2025 at 6:16 AM
"CA has made supporting Indigenous fire stewardship a priority... But burning freely across the landscape (with perhaps only a phone call to the local land manager or fire department to give them a heads up) is still a dream, a long way off." www.latimes.com/environment/... @nohaggerty.bsky.social
Can California learn to let Native American fire practitioners burn freely?
Indigenous fire practices are slowly regaining wider acceptance in California, but the dream of burning freely based on the needs of the land is still a long way off.
www.latimes.com
November 28, 2025 at 6:15 AM
Reposted by Sammy Roth
Plaschke: Thanks for the ride! 13 moments that defined the Dodgers' 2025 World Series title run
Commentary: Thanks for the ride! 13 moments that defined the Dodgers' 2025 World Series title run
Weeks later the chest still pounds, the throat still thickens, the mind still has not completely grasped. The Dodgers won their second consecutive World Series championship in pure dramatic art.
www.latimes.com
November 27, 2025 at 1:46 PM
The California Public Utilities Commission is poised to reduce profit margins for investor-owned utilities: calmatters.org/economy/2025...
California is about to cut utility profits to historic lows. Your bill will barely budge
State regulators are poised to cut power companies’ "return on equity" to the lowest level in 20 years. But electric bills will barely budge. Here’s why.
calmatters.org
November 27, 2025 at 6:32 AM
The Trump administration's latest environmental rollback involes rules for deadly soot pollution from cars, factories and power plants: apnews.com/article/epa-...
Trump EPA moves to abandon rule that sets tough standards for deadly soot pollution
The Trump administration is seeking to abandon a rule that sets tough standards for deadly soot pollution, arguing that the Biden administration did not have authority to set the tighter standard on p...
apnews.com
November 27, 2025 at 6:31 AM
Reposted by Sammy Roth
A federal judge in Kentucky ruled a bankruptcy court’s judgment, which could have put the city on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars, was improper.
Oakland might not owe coal company hundreds of millions after new court ruling
A federal judge in Kentucky ruled a bankruptcy court’s judgment, which could have put the city on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars, was improper.
oaklandside.org
November 25, 2025 at 2:27 AM
Reposted by Sammy Roth
Does the Metro board need to debate the Dodger Stadium gondola? No, says Metro
Does the Metro board need to debate the Dodger Stadium gondola? No, says Metro
A heavily debated plan to build a gondola to Dodger stadium may move forward without leaders on the Metro board speaking about the issue.
www.latimes.com
November 26, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Phillips 66 and Kinder Morgan want to build the first-ever gasoline pipeline to California. It's hard to know if it would make gas cheaper: www.latimes.com/environment/... via @hayleysmith.bsky.social
California could get its first gasoline pipeline. Would that lower gas prices?
The proposed Western Gateway Pipeline from Phillips 66 and Kinder Morgan would deliver gasoline, diesel and jet fuel to Arizona and California from as fast east as Missouri by 2029.
www.latimes.com
November 27, 2025 at 6:27 AM
The Pacific Institute documented 420 incidents of water-related violent conflict globally last year — a record. Climate change is stoking more violence: www.latimes.com/environment/... via @ianjames.bsky.social
Violent conflict over water hit a record last year
Violence over water is on the rise worldwide. Researchers counted a record 420 incidents of conflict in 2024, many in Ukraine and the Middle East.
www.latimes.com
November 27, 2025 at 6:18 AM
Tesla just finished its largest charging station, along Interstate 5 between L.A. and San Francisco. It's got 164 chargers, and they're all powered by solar panels and batteries: insideevs.com/news/780042/...
Tesla Just Opened Its Biggest Supercharger Station Ever—And It's Powered By Solar And Batteries
Tesla's huge 164-stall charger in California is powered by solar panels and huge amounts of off-grid storage.
insideevs.com
November 27, 2025 at 6:13 AM
Reposted by Sammy Roth
As filming in L.A. decreases, the U.K. sees gains, new report says
As filming in L.A. decreases, the U.K. sees gains, new report says
Scripted projects filmed in Los Angeles in 2024 decreased by 14.2% compared with the previous year, according to a new report from FilmLA.
www.latimes.com
November 26, 2025 at 1:01 AM
"Trail networks seem to bring joy even to people who never get out onto them. An insatiable appetite for stories of adventure & desire to imagine the possibility wild spaces hold may be as core to human nature as the shelter we left behind"
www.azcentral.com/story/news/l... @joanmeiners.bsky.social
On the Arizona Trail, saguaros, coati and a midnight skunk reveal resilient biodiversity
As the trail wound its way into Arizona's Sky Islands, the region's biodiversity was on full display, as were the threats from rising temperatures.
www.azcentral.com
November 26, 2025 at 4:07 AM
Reposted by Sammy Roth
'Wicked: For Good' flies to the top of the box office with $150-million domestic debut
'Wicked: For Good' flies to the top of the box office with $150-million domestic debut
After a sleepy October, the box office was dominated this weekend by a highly-anticipated sequel, "Wicked: For Good," with $150 million in domestic ticket sales.
www.latimes.com
November 23, 2025 at 5:52 PM
The Trump administration is back to work building its border wall. Important dispatch from @brandonloomis.bsky.social about activists in Arizona suing to stop a section of wall in an area crucial to wildlife, where few people try to cross the border illegally: www.azcentral.com/story/news/l...
Border wall opponents rally as Trump closes a 27-mile gap across a remote Arizona valley
A migration corridor that allows jaguars and ocelots to cross into the U.S. is the latest border wall construction zone.
www.azcentral.com
November 26, 2025 at 3:47 AM
Best way to limit water consumption from data centers? Build them in places with lots of solar and wind energy, new study concludes: grist.org/energy/how-t... via @naveenasadasivam.bsky.social
How to make data centers less thirsty
There’s a way to reduce both the climate and water harms of data centers: Build them in places with lots of wind and solar energy.
grist.org
November 25, 2025 at 11:40 PM
Indigenous residents of New Mexico are suing the state government over an alleged failure to protect them from harmful pollution. The New Mexico Supreme Court has agreed to hear their case: www.hcn.org/articles/wes...
Western climate litigants keep fighting - High Country News
After disappointing losses in Alaska and Montana, an Indigenous-led climate case is making strides in New Mexico.
www.hcn.org
November 25, 2025 at 11:34 PM
Tatiana Schlossberg, a young environmental journalist and granddaughter of John F. Kennedy, is dying of cancer. She wrote about her treatment, her children, the importance of government-funded medical research and her cousin RFK Jr. It's tough, but try to read. www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
A Battle with My Blood
When I was diagnosed with leukemia, my first thought was that this couldn’t be happening to me, to my family.
www.newyorker.com
November 25, 2025 at 11:31 PM
Even as Trump tries to crush clean power, T1 Energy is betting big on solar manufacturing with a massive factory outside Dallas: www.canarymedia.com/articles/sol...
T1 Energy is betting big on all-American solar, even under Trump
The Texas firm says it’s a “great” time to be in solar as it churns out panels in a factory full of music-blasting robots and pushes deeper into the…
www.canarymedia.com
November 25, 2025 at 11:22 PM
Desalination is becoming pretty normal in California now. The Bay Area city of Antioch just opened a desal plant that treats brackish water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta: www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti... via @kurtisalexander.bsky.social
Bay Area city adds new, drought-proof source of water
Worried about water supplies long-term, a Bay Area city has just added an expensive but reliable new source — and other cities may follow.
www.sfchronicle.com
November 25, 2025 at 11:20 PM
I'm not sure if courts getting involved in firefighting policy is the best idea. But I could be wrong. www.latimes.com/environment/... via @nohaggerty.bsky.social
Cal Fire approach to SoCal's wildfire crisis could make things worse, court says
A statewide Cal Fire program risks making fires worse by removing native chaparral and allowing the spread of more flammable grasses, a court ruled.
www.latimes.com
November 25, 2025 at 11:18 PM
A lot of California is out of drought, for now. What really matters is how much snow we get over the next few months, though: www.latimes.com/california/s...
Drought killer: California storms fill reservoirs, build up Sierra snowpack
It’s been the wettest November on record for several Southern California cities. But experts say that despite the auspicious start, it’s still too soon to say how the rest of California's traditional ...
www.latimes.com
November 25, 2025 at 11:14 PM