Alex Barron
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alexrbarron.bsky.social
Alex Barron
@alexrbarron.bsky.social
9.9K followers 480 following 750 posts
Climate policy wonk. Rogue biogeochemist. Assoc. Prof. Fmr. Congressional staff (AAAS_STPF). Obama EPA & Biden OMB alum.
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alexrbarron.bsky.social
Anyone know if U.S. car thefts are lower (proportionally) for EVs? 🔌💡

From Benjamin Errett at the Toronto Star (11/21/25)
The big number 2,080 That’s the number of Honda CR-Vs stolen in Canada last year. Yes, hidden in the list of Canada’s most-stolen vehicles released by Équité Association is a surefire way to ensure thieves leave your car alone. There are the obvious steps you can take, like parking in a garage, using anti-theft technology, and, um, locking the doors. But the best thing you can do to thwart criminals, save on gas, and breathe easier: Go electric. Since there’s very little charging infrastructure in the overseas markets where Canada’s stolen vehicles end up, EVs are generally left alone. In the last year with data available, only a single Chevy Volt went missing, making it Canada’s least-stolen vehicle.
November 24, 2025 at 5:49 PM
alexrbarron.bsky.social
"In a life cycle assessment, all else equal, the CO2 emissions associated with BEVs are 30% higher than those of ICE vehicles during the first two years. However, after the second year, BEVs result in a reduction in cumulative CO2 emissions." 🔌💡

journals.plos.org/climate/arti...
October 30, 2025 at 5:55 PM
alexrbarron.bsky.social
I ended up with a "climate-positive stone paper" notebook but every time I use it I cringe knowing that it is somehow "Cradle to Cradle" Silver certified but says it should be "recycled as Waste to Energy" 🤯 #notwhatthatwordmeans #recycling
Stone paper is made of 100% recycled material. Sort as combustible waste and the product will be recycled as Waste To Energy.
October 29, 2025 at 7:16 PM
alexrbarron.bsky.social
In the past 5 yrs, the number of carbon neutral US colleges and universities has roughly doubled. We find that offsets remain the dominant strategy for carbon neutrality of direct emissions, with offsets accounting for over 2/3 of aggregate (Scope 1) emissions reductions for carbon neutral schools.
Share of total reductions in Scope 1 emissions for Carbon Neutral U.S. HEIs. Two stacked bars, one labeled previous paper 201/2020 and one labeled this paper. The data from 2025 includes one school with both large overall emissions and a very large reduction from baseline year due to a coal to fossil gas shift (see Figure S2). The previous paper (Barron et al. 2021) includes 11 HEIs; This paper examines 23 total CN HEIs. Both bars have a large blue section roughly 2/3 of the height representing offsests. the share of emissions attributed to direct reductions rises from 13% to 25%, the share of bioenergy falls from 23% to 6%. 4% of the total is represented in red as increases in emissions.
October 29, 2025 at 3:24 PM
alexrbarron.bsky.social
Higher education has some work to do on climate action. We found that the median reduction in direct (Scope 1) emissions is only ~9% - with over a third of U.S. colleges and universities actually reporting Scope 1 emissions higher than in their baseline year.

scholarworks.smith.edu/env_facpubs/35
Histogram of percent change in Scope 1 emissions from baseline year for all U.S. HEIs. Histogram includes data from SIMAP, STARS, and SN datasets excluding HEIs with 2020 or 2021 as their most recent year due to possible COVID pandemic impacts (n=491). For a histogram including 2020 and 2021 see figure S1. Figure does not include HEIs reporting >100% change in emissions. Median reduction is 9.5% with a symetric distribution that spans -100% to +100%.
October 28, 2025 at 2:01 PM
alexrbarron.bsky.social
Based on active projects, we expect the number of US colleges and universities with a greater than 50% decarbonization of Scope 1 emissions will at least double by 2030, with several schools likely to achieve >70% reductions. 4/6
Table 3: 9 U.S. HEIs Anticipated to Decarbonize Scope 1 Emissions by at least 50% by roughly 2030. Timing of future decarbonization benchmarks is always uncertain due to factors related to construction and commissioning; this list reflects the authors’ assessment based on reported plans and ongoing work. This table is likely an undercount as it is based on ad hoc tracking of announcements. Institutions with wood-based bioenergy strategies are not included in this table due to emissions accounting uncertainty (see discussion). Schools already at >50% are found in Table 2 in our working paper. *The UC system has committed to decarbonization and only plans to allow carbon removal projects for 10% of emissions reductions.
October 27, 2025 at 4:31 PM
alexrbarron.bsky.social
Carbon neutrality doesn’t always lead to decarbonization. But who is decarbonizing? We looked at >600 US colleges and universities and found 7 that have decarbonized direct (Scope 1) emissions by at least 50% (usually with ground source heat pump networks). This is possible folks! 1/6
Reduction in direct emissions at decarbonizing HEIs. Keene state college with an over 90% reduction from waste vegetable oil. Missouri University of Science and Technology with an 88% reduction from ground source heat pumps. The rest (Ball State, Carleton, Oberlin, Miami and West Chester) all also used ground source heat pumps.
October 27, 2025 at 4:31 PM
alexrbarron.bsky.social
Massachusetts looking notably absent on this map of U.S. Green Banks

(from coalitionforgreencapital.com/about-us/our...)
Map of states with green banks, showing banks in west coast (except OR), the southwest, FL, GA, NC, SC, the Upper midwest and new england (except MA)
October 21, 2025 at 2:02 AM
alexrbarron.bsky.social
I want to know what my elected officials are doing to respond to this moment. Imagine my frustration that two calls to @neal.house.gov's office haven't succeeded in getting me on his newsletter mailing list. Today someone called me to tell me that "they don't have a mailing list". His website:
Web page submission form that has a check box that says "I would like to subscribe to your newsletter"
October 20, 2025 at 4:30 PM
alexrbarron.bsky.social
IMHO every sector should be running decarbonization academies. If you will be at AASHE next week, there will be a lot expertise on campus deep decarbonization gathered in one place for this learning lab.
What is Campus Deep Decarbonization: Lessons Learned from the first campus decarbonization academy. Join Alex Barron & Emma Larsen from Smith College & 5 other experts (Tufts, Siemens, West Chester University, Bentley, GWU) to discuss key lessons learned from from AASHE’s first Campus Decarbonization Academy. October 24th, 10 - 11:45 am
October 17, 2025 at 12:27 PM
alexrbarron.bsky.social
Re-upping this paper by @sethwynes.bsky.social and @simondonner.bsky.social which finds a median climate vote in Canada associated w 34 tons, vs 2.4 tons for car free for a yr. Individual action charts look pretty different with collective action.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Bar chart showing large climate impacts from voting for pro-climate candidates (34t) vs individual actions like car free for a year (2.4t) and recycling (0.2 t).
October 14, 2025 at 6:16 PM
alexrbarron.bsky.social
There are estimates in the literature, see this paper by @sethwynes.bsky.social which finds a median climate vote in Canada associated w 34 tons, vs the 2.4 tons for car free for a year.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Figure 2. Distributing emissions responsibility in the 2019 Canadian federal election Emissions allocated only to “winning voters,” see Table S1. Values for lifestyle choices taken from Wynes and Nicholas.5
October 14, 2025 at 6:11 PM
alexrbarron.bsky.social
You're working to decarbonize your campus, right? If you want a 6 month opportunity to get smart on decarbonization, the 2026 Campus Decarbonization Academy is worth checking out.

www.aashe.org/calendar/cam...
AASHE’s Campus Decarbonization Academy returns in 2026, and applications are now open! This six-month, cohort-based program offers actionable solutions to guide your institution through the complex process of decarbonization, with support from campus and industry experts every step of the way.
September 24, 2025 at 3:18 PM
alexrbarron.bsky.social
Another day, another important dataset that the current administration is suggesting they might break. In this case "an invaluable and growing body of multidisciplinary data that researchers can use to address important questions about the challenges and opportunities of aging."
Website reading "The Health and Retirement Study" about a study of 20,000 people with a disclaimer in yellow that reads "March 31, 2025, NIH requested that the following language be added to this website: "This repository is under review for potential modification in compliance with Administration directives."
September 16, 2025 at 6:43 PM
alexrbarron.bsky.social
It's pretty hilarious to me that, in this area of micro targeting, my Chevy dealership keeps sending me ads for oil and transmission fluid changes, despite the fact that I bought an #EV from them. 🚙
September 4, 2025 at 1:14 PM
alexrbarron.bsky.social
Second Nature recommends a ROBUST carbon price ($50-100/ton or $210-$248/ton) for good decision making. Is your institution/city/etc. planning new buildings or energy-related renovations that should use this?
Second Nature recommends using the cost of abatement figures for internal carbon pricing that will be used as a levy or tax on emissions as a way to account for hidden costs that the market or policy alone cannot predict. These figures range from $50-$100/MTCO2e. Institutions applying the cost of abatement model for implementing a carbon tax are encouraged to apply an escalator of 3% + the rate of inflation annually. Best practice use of the Social Cost of Carbon is using weighted figures of $210-$248 forwarded by the EPA that truly reflects the costs of emissions and the value of reductions. This rate is best used when applying an internal proxy price or shadow price for use in decision making. Institutions using the SCC in a proxy price are encouraged to apply an annual escalator to the price of 3% + the rate of inflation.
July 9, 2025 at 3:59 PM
alexrbarron.bsky.social
Second Nature (@leadonclimate.bsky.social), the non-profit that manages higher ed. climate commitments is now recommending _as_best_practice_ the development of an internal carbon price so that climate costs/regulatory risks are automatically built into key decisions.
Second Nature recommends that colleges and universities develop a climate action strategy that includes some type of internal carbon pricing, either as a mechanism to inform climate-positive decision-making or as a mechanism for generating revenue estimates for decarbonization and, if applicable, offset purchases.
July 9, 2025 at 3:59 PM
alexrbarron.bsky.social
I got to visit with Gromit the Aerosol Time of Flight Mass Spectrometer, which I used for undergrad research 25 yrs ago @carleton.edu. I'm where I am today because of Fed $$ from EPA, NSF, NREL, Smithsonian. We need to make sure we don't lose a whole gen. of young scientists to R's budget cuts.
Enthusiastic Nerd in front of an equipment rack with a bunch of science gear and a monitor on top. A small figurine of Grommit the dog sits on top.
July 8, 2025 at 1:24 PM
alexrbarron.bsky.social
Why yes, I did go on a tour of the ground source heat pumps at my 25th college reunion (thanks @carleton.edu !). #geothermal #geoexchange
July 8, 2025 at 12:42 AM
alexrbarron.bsky.social
"No Nazis, Ice Cream Welcome" is a pretty good summer motto.
Photo of a poster with 3 ice cream cones and a sticker that says no nazis. Also a rainbow heart.
July 8, 2025 at 12:39 AM
alexrbarron.bsky.social
A city council member and a civil servant are the right picks for the plenary at #ESA2025. Such a delight to see grad school contemporaries Councilmember Kathleen Treseder and @ecology-awesome.bsky.social on the main stage for this years @ecologicalsociety.bsky.social conf.
Photos of two ecologists. Kathleen Treseder from UC Irvine is this year's MacArthur Lecturer at the Scientific Plenary on Monday morning. In addition to her internationally recognized research and many honors from ESA, AAAS and the American Academy of Microbiology, she is also an elected member of the Irvine City Council. Sasha Reed, from the USGS's Southwest Biological Science Center, is this year's New Phytologist Foundation Keynote speaker. Sasha's work centers on understanding and forecasting anthropogenic climate change on terrestrial ecosystems while working on mitigation and adaptation strategies.
May 29, 2025 at 1:26 PM
alexrbarron.bsky.social
Any #ceramics folks know what would make a nominally "microwave safe" mug do this after a normal-length heating cycle (1:30) in the microwave?
Coffee cup with disturbing dark brown ooze coming from cracks in the handle.
March 18, 2025 at 2:20 PM
alexrbarron.bsky.social
3rd, they are asking schools to get serious about land-use. This was “outside” the traditional climate commitment in higher education, but some leading schools have already moved in this direction. 6/8
Monitoring and mitigation work on campus lands offers many opportunities for schools to deepen their climate action work while also serving the institutional mission for teaching and research. Advancing the technologies around monitoring, measurement, reporting, and verification, as well as establishing best practices through research for increasing ecosystem potential for climate mitigation are places where higher education has a role to play in advancing local, regional, and global climate action. For these reasons, incorporating land use carbon accounting into a college or university climate action plan is considered best practice for schools within the Climate Leadership Network. Efforts to monitor and improve landholdings that involve students and faculty as well as sustainability staff represent exemplary leadership in higher education climate action.
March 13, 2025 at 12:32 PM
alexrbarron.bsky.social
If your school is considering a “green upgrade” to a new building or a big retrofit, you should be asking them to include an internal carbon price to see which option that favors. 5/8
Example of a life cycle cost analysis with a proxy carbon price. Baseline energy and carbon costs (20-year net present value, $70/ton CO 2 + 2.5%/yr) for a campus dormitory compared to increasing investments to reduce heating costs. Other than windows, all options offer a net private savings to the institution (energy plus capital), although adding above-grade wall insulation is only an improvement over attic and basement insulation when carbon costs are accounted for. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.443.
March 13, 2025 at 12:32 PM
alexrbarron.bsky.social
2nd, Second Nature is recommending a ROBUST carbon price ($210-$248/ton) - only the University of California System and Princeton are currently using prices that high (as far as I know). 4/8
Second Nature recommends using the cost of abatement figures for internal carbon pricing that will be used as a levy or tax on emissions as a way to account for hidden costs that the market or policy alone cannot predict. These figures range from $50-$100/MTCO2e. Institutions applying the cost of abatement model for implementing a carbon tax are encouraged to apply an escalator of 3% + the rate of inflation annually. Best practice use of the Social Cost of Carbon is using weighted figures of $210-$248 forwarded by the EPA that truly reflects the costs of emissions and the value of reductions. This rate is best used when applying an internal proxy price or shadow price for use in decision making. Institutions using the SCC in a proxy price are encouraged to apply an annual escalator to the price of 3% + the rate of inflation.
March 13, 2025 at 12:32 PM