James Temple
banner
jtemple.bsky.social
James Temple
@jtemple.bsky.social
Climate and energy editor, Reno bureau chief, MIT Technology Review. Ski bum.

Please send tips (not PR pitches) through Signal: jtemple.50
Pinned
As any Bluesky discussion grows longer, the probability it will degenerate into humorless sanctimony approaches one.
Reposted by James Temple
I just watched the whole video, and not a single reporter stood up for her. Everyone just pivoted to asking questions on other topics.

This is shameful.
When asked if there was anything "incriminating" in Epstein's emails, Trump pointed a finger in a female reporter's face and snapped. 'Quiet. Quiet, Piggy.'

people.com/donald-trump...
Donald Trump Snaps at Female Reporter Who Asks About Epstein Files: 'Quiet Piggy'
Donald Trump Says 'Quiet Piggy' to Female Reporter Asking About Epstein Files
people.com
November 18, 2025 at 2:11 AM
Reposted by James Temple
I’m sorry to be self promoting but I a) have never been seduced by a fascist with a brain worm b) am capable of crafting a decent sentence and c) wrote a book that did not earn me a fawning profile in the newspaper but is still pretty good
bookshop.org/p/books/huma...
Human Nature: Nine Ways to Feel About Our Changing Planet
Nine Ways to Feel About Our Changing Planet
bookshop.org
November 17, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Just put on a collared shirt and combed my hair and then realized it was a phone interview.

Pfft, what a waste.
November 17, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Reposted by James Temple
📣Bloomberg Economics is hiring a climate specialist:
bloomberg.avature.net/careers/JobD...
Bloomberg Economics - Geoeconomics - Climate Economist/Econometrician
bloomberg.avature.net
November 16, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Reposted by James Temple
More good coverage on crypto fraud in the NYT this morning. Note the phrase "at least $28 billion". It is undoubtedly A LOT more than $28 billion because the technology is so perfectly designed to be untraceable AND this doesn't include all kinds of fraud. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/t...
The Crypto Industry’s $28 Billion in ‘Dirty Money’
www.nytimes.com
November 17, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Reposted by James Temple
The absolute misogynistic delusion of claiming women don't succeed in academia because they aren't that smart is bad enough, but Larry Summers was also asking Epstein for advice on harassing a woman under the guise of mentorship. www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
As Summers Sought Clandestine Relationship With Woman He Called a Mentee, Epstein Was His ‘Wing Man’ | News | The Harvard Crimson
When former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers was pursuing a romantic relationship with a woman he described as a mentee, he turned to a longtime associate for guidance: convicted sex offender Jef...
www.thecrimson.com
November 17, 2025 at 3:26 PM
My interview with Meta CTO-turned-climate tech investor Mike Schroepfer for the SOSV summit is now available online. We discussed the state of climate tech investment, the shifting US policy landscape, and the energy challenges and opportunities presented by AI.
SOSV Climate Tech Summit | Mike Schroepfer: What It Takes to Scale Tech for Climate Impact
YouTube video by SOSV
www.youtube.com
November 14, 2025 at 9:20 PM
It should always be, if you have a nail everything looks like a hammer, never the other way around—almost nothing else looks like a nail!

Close runner-ups include: Never pens, always writes. Semicolons are nearly pointless.
What's your most niche and unimportant crusade?

Mine is that I use the symbol "var" (as scientific standards bodies indicate) for reactive power instead of "VAR" (most common) or something weird like "Var" or worse, "VAr".

I'll admit it does feel a bit odd to put "Mvar" next to "MW" and "MVA". 🔌💡
November 14, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Reposted by James Temple
"I would want to see emissions going down for several years before I would stand up on a building top and shout that emissions have peaked"

Please take note of my wise words...

www.nature.com/articles/d41...
November 14, 2025 at 12:48 PM
Reposted by James Temple
1/ If you're interested in housing and the debates within the Democratic party about how much is needed and how to get it built, you need to read this profile of CA NIMBY slayer @scottwiener.bsky.social by @jetjocko.bsky.social.

www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Scott Wiener Defeated California’s NIMBYs. Can He Fix America’s Housing Crisis?
By running for Nancy Pelosi's seat, he's putting the "Abundance" theory to the test.
www.motherjones.com
November 14, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Reposted by James Temple
NEW: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Eugene Scalia (Gibson Dunn) have gone to SCOTUS asking the justices to stop California's corporate disclosure climate bills (SB261 and SB253) from going into effect. The first of the two bills takes effect on Jan 1. The application is Docket No. 25A561.
November 14, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Reposted by James Temple
NEW from me: a new report found that national resistance to data centers skyrocketed between March and June of this year—especially in red states like Georgia and Indiana:
The Data Center Resistance Has Arrived
A new report finds that local opposition to data centers skyrocketed in the second quarter of this year.
www.wired.com
November 14, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Reposted by James Temple
How many profs in major PhD granting science departments have *not* advised even 1 Chinese student or Chinese postdoc in the last five years 😧?
“The prohibited activities would include joint research, co-authorship on papers, and advising a foreign graduate student or postdoctoral fellow. The language is retroactive, meaning any interactions during the previous 5 years could make a scientist ineligible for future federal funding.”
U.S. Congress considers sweeping ban on Chinese collaborations
Researchers speak out against proposal that would bar funding for U.S. scientists working with Chinese partners or training Chinese students
www.science.org
November 14, 2025 at 2:13 AM
Reposted by James Temple
“The prohibited activities would include joint research, co-authorship on papers, and advising a foreign graduate student or postdoctoral fellow. The language is retroactive, meaning any interactions during the previous 5 years could make a scientist ineligible for future federal funding.”
U.S. Congress considers sweeping ban on Chinese collaborations
Researchers speak out against proposal that would bar funding for U.S. scientists working with Chinese partners or training Chinese students
www.science.org
November 14, 2025 at 1:03 AM
Reposted by James Temple
But that would mean
NEW: The first two years of Massachusetts' millionaire tax has raised $3 billion more than expected.

And rather than driving the rich away, IPS researchers found that the number of millionaires has *increased.*

Tax the rich. Greg Ryan in @bloomberg.com:
Millionaire Tax That Inspired Mamdani Fuels $5.7 Billion Haul in Massachusetts
A millionaire levy in Massachusetts that New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani holds up as a model for taxing the rich has generated $3 billion more in revenue than expected without forcing...
www.bloomberg.com
November 14, 2025 at 2:20 AM
Reposted by James Temple
When we submit the existence of essential services to the whims of private companies whose top goal is profit, we inevitably end up with failures like this that leave many people unprotected. This is also what’s happening with home insurance (which I study).
After Republicans refused to extend ACA subsidies, 4 Michigan insurers are dropping out of the ACA marketplace altogether. That’s 200,000 Michiganders who just lost their plans.
Four health insurers are dropping or significantly curtailing individual market offerings in 2026 as insurance pools are predicted to grow sicker. bit.ly/444v08M
November 13, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Reposted by James Temple
November 12, 2025 at 11:33 PM
Reposted by James Temple
Hey, all:

At The Nevada Independent, we are in the middle of our end-of-the-year fundraising drive. We are in good shape, but nonprofit journalism is not easy. If you believe in what we do and can spare $5-$10-$25 a month, please donate:

nevadaindependent.fundjournalism.org?campaignid=7...
Join | Nevada Independent
Help support professional journalism in Nevada!
nevadaindependent.fundjournalism.org
November 12, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Reposted by James Temple
Great piece by Zadie Smith. When the right talks about classics or "Western" culture, these works are only important to the extent that it demonstrates their superiority, they have no interest in art in and of itself beyond that www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
November 12, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Reposted by James Temple
With Leading Light withdrawing its contract to sell energy to NJ, the Garden State's only remaining offshore wind deal is with Attentive Energy, which is unlikely to get its permits to build anytime soon.
heatmap.news/energy/leadi...
Scoop: Giant Wind Farm Off New Jersey Coast Is Getting Killed
Leading Light can’t move forward, a legal counsel wrote to state regulators.
heatmap.news
November 12, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Reposted by James Temple
New York Times investigation finds home insurance companies have exploited loopholes in California wildfire regulations to avoid high-risk areas while still charging higher rates: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/01/u...
California Promised Insurance Relief, But Delivered Loopholes
www.nytimes.com
November 11, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Reposted by James Temple
“[…] competing visions and narratives of modernity, over what it takes to modernize, to survive, and to flourish. Will the future be forward-looking, green and bravely planetary—or will it be backward-looking, carbon-intensive and stridently sovereigntist?” foreignpolicy.com/2025/09/01/e...
The Coming Ecological Cold War
Decarbonization isn’t just about technology and markets—it’s a geopolitical revolution.
foreignpolicy.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Reposted by James Temple
My ACA current plan is going from $385/mo to $821/mo.
November 11, 2025 at 12:21 AM
Reposted by James Temple
Buried inside the deal to reopen government is a provision that would give Senators private right of action to sue for millions in damages over their phone records being analyzed by Jack Smith's team.
news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...
Shutdown Deal Would Let Senators Sue Over Jack Smith Searches
Senators whose phone records were sought by Special Counsel Jack Smith would gain authority to sue for millions in damages under a provision buried in the Senate-advanced deal to reopen the government...
news.bloomberglaw.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:20 PM
How do we know it's a "major" deal if the terms aren't disclosed?

Also, this context looks seems pretty important to me in considering what drove the deal 👉: trellis.net/article/pach...
Exclusive: Carbon Direct acquires Pachama in major climate deal
Demand for credits from rainforest preservation and other projects is rising, driven partly by tech giants.
www.axios.com
November 10, 2025 at 7:25 PM