Michael Wara
@michaelwara.bsky.social
Works at Stanford on equitable climate and energy law/policy with a big helping of wildfire and insurance.
North Pacific from Dipsea Trail on Mount Tamalpais today.
November 24, 2025 at 3:40 AM
North Pacific from Dipsea Trail on Mount Tamalpais today.
Reposted by Michael Wara
I gave a talk yesterday about monitoring, reporting, and verification for marine carbon dioxide removal and you can watch it here at 2x speed if you wish. 🌊
Global-ONCE Seminar 6: Monitoring, Reporting and Verification for marine Carbon Dioxide Removal
YouTube video by Yernar Sailybayev
youtu.be
November 21, 2025 at 2:56 PM
I gave a talk yesterday about monitoring, reporting, and verification for marine carbon dioxide removal and you can watch it here at 2x speed if you wish. 🌊
Yesterday, the CEPP team made the trek down to San Luis Obispo for a tour of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant. I can’t recommend the tour enough for anyone interested in energy, abundance, or just California history.
Thank you to the whole DCPP team and to PG&E legal for setting it up.
Thank you to the whole DCPP team and to PG&E legal for setting it up.
November 21, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Yesterday, the CEPP team made the trek down to San Luis Obispo for a tour of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant. I can’t recommend the tour enough for anyone interested in energy, abundance, or just California history.
Thank you to the whole DCPP team and to PG&E legal for setting it up.
Thank you to the whole DCPP team and to PG&E legal for setting it up.
Who Attended Trump’s Dinner for the Saudi Crown Prince?
www.nytimes.com
November 19, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Listening to Odd Lots this morning and thinking about 19th century railroads, the Grange Cases, and increasing returns to scale of data centers for training.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/o...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/o...
The Politics of AI Are About to Explode
Podcast Episode · Odd Lots · 11/19/2025 · 45m
podcasts.apple.com
November 19, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Listening to Odd Lots this morning and thinking about 19th century railroads, the Grange Cases, and increasing returns to scale of data centers for training.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/o...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/o...
Our new whitepaper on lessons from southeastern wind pools for wildfire disaster insurance in California and other western states - an effort led by CEPP Legal Fellow Sam Hudgens, is available here:
drive.google.com/file/d/1ZHCS...
drive.google.com/file/d/1ZHCS...
Stanford CEPP_November 2025_Examing Disaster Insurance Markets
drive.google.com
November 18, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Our new whitepaper on lessons from southeastern wind pools for wildfire disaster insurance in California and other western states - an effort led by CEPP Legal Fellow Sam Hudgens, is available here:
drive.google.com/file/d/1ZHCS...
drive.google.com/file/d/1ZHCS...
Starting in just a few minutes. Come learn about residual markets and insurance!
Webinar and paper launch day for new work led by Sam Hudgens from our team on lessons that wildfire prone states can learn from catastrophe insurance experience in the southeast.
events.stanford.edu/event/examin...
events.stanford.edu/event/examin...
Examining disaster insurance markets: Lessons for the future of wildfire insurance
events.stanford.edu
November 18, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Starting in just a few minutes. Come learn about residual markets and insurance!
Reposted by Michael Wara
Webinar and paper launch day for new work led by Sam Hudgens from our team on lessons that wildfire prone states can learn from catastrophe insurance experience in the southeast.
events.stanford.edu/event/examin...
events.stanford.edu/event/examin...
Examining disaster insurance markets: Lessons for the future of wildfire insurance
events.stanford.edu
November 18, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Webinar and paper launch day for new work led by Sam Hudgens from our team on lessons that wildfire prone states can learn from catastrophe insurance experience in the southeast.
events.stanford.edu/event/examin...
events.stanford.edu/event/examin...
Live Updates: Trump Welcomes Saudi Leader, With Fighter Jets and Business Deals on Agenda
www.nytimes.com
November 18, 2025 at 5:01 PM
A hypothesis: the real reason that US energy policy is what it is today has nothing to do with a domestic agenda and everything to do with this relationship and the deals associated with it:
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/11...
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/11...
Live Updates: Trump Welcomes Saudi Leader, With Fighter Jets and Business Deals on Agenda
www.nytimes.com
November 18, 2025 at 4:50 PM
A hypothesis: the real reason that US energy policy is what it is today has nothing to do with a domestic agenda and everything to do with this relationship and the deals associated with it:
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/11...
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/11...
Webinar and paper launch day for new work led by Sam Hudgens from our team on lessons that wildfire prone states can learn from catastrophe insurance experience in the southeast.
events.stanford.edu/event/examin...
events.stanford.edu/event/examin...
Examining disaster insurance markets: Lessons for the future of wildfire insurance
events.stanford.edu
November 18, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Webinar and paper launch day for new work led by Sam Hudgens from our team on lessons that wildfire prone states can learn from catastrophe insurance experience in the southeast.
events.stanford.edu/event/examin...
events.stanford.edu/event/examin...
Reposted by Michael Wara
Outgoing FEMA leader David Richardson told @bloomberg.com he "agreed to be the acting administrator through hurricane season when others wouldn’t." As season ends, "I can now leave for other opportunities." From @zhirji.bsky.social, Myles Miller + me: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
FEMA Chief Resigns After Six Months, Criticism Over Floods
The Trump administration’s top official at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, David Richardson, resigned on Monday after about six months on the job.
www.bloomberg.com
November 17, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Outgoing FEMA leader David Richardson told @bloomberg.com he "agreed to be the acting administrator through hurricane season when others wouldn’t." As season ends, "I can now leave for other opportunities." From @zhirji.bsky.social, Myles Miller + me: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Reposted by Michael Wara
Fig 8 from our Year in Fire report. Here we show 2024-2025 spending in 4 key categories of wildfire related spend (1) CalFire resource management; (2) CalFire suppression; (3) DOI and USFS fire suppression; and (3) California large investor owned utility wildfire mitigation spending.
November 17, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Fig 8 from our Year in Fire report. Here we show 2024-2025 spending in 4 key categories of wildfire related spend (1) CalFire resource management; (2) CalFire suppression; (3) DOI and USFS fire suppression; and (3) California large investor owned utility wildfire mitigation spending.
Realism about the state of wildfire home hardening and defensible space is so refreshing.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
High fire hazard Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) residences in California lack voluntary and mandated wildfire risk mitigation compliance in Home Ignition Zones
Wildfire structure losses are increasing globally and particularly in California, USA. Losses can be mitigated in part by changes to the Home Ignition…
www.sciencedirect.com
November 17, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Realism about the state of wildfire home hardening and defensible space is so refreshing.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Michael Wara
I’m pleased to share that a book I’ve coedited, *Landkeeping: Restoring Indigenous Fire Stewardship and Ecological Partnerships* is now available for preorder everywhere books are sold—including at the OSU Press website, where the promo code S26 will extend a 20% discount and free shipping to you.
Landkeeping
With rising temperatures, longer summers, drought, and more wildfires occurring in the United States and Canada, there is growing interest in the impact and efficacy of Indigenous fire and cultural bu...
osupress.oregonstate.edu
November 10, 2025 at 11:50 PM
I’m pleased to share that a book I’ve coedited, *Landkeeping: Restoring Indigenous Fire Stewardship and Ecological Partnerships* is now available for preorder everywhere books are sold—including at the OSU Press website, where the promo code S26 will extend a 20% discount and free shipping to you.
This whole article makes me want to cry. And then it makes me want to scream.
fresnoland.org/2025/10/14/g...
fresnoland.org/2025/10/14/g...
Did Forest Service negligence make the Garnet Fire worse?
Years of inaction by the US Forest Service station near Fresno put one of the agency’s last stands of old growth forests in California on the brink of
fresnoland.org
November 8, 2025 at 4:36 AM
This whole article makes me want to cry. And then it makes me want to scream.
fresnoland.org/2025/10/14/g...
fresnoland.org/2025/10/14/g...
Reposted by Michael Wara
Installed sensors at Teakettle this weekend. I broke down 5 times. The District Ranger requested that I tell ‘the truth’ about the fire and the forest. Here you go…
October 29, 2025 at 12:27 AM
Installed sensors at Teakettle this weekend. I broke down 5 times. The District Ranger requested that I tell ‘the truth’ about the fire and the forest. Here you go…
After some additional conversation, I’d say that this is maybe some of the most clear signs of what investors and utility managers call a “capital strike” at a utility suffering from financial distress due to wildfire litigation costs.
This is a very interesting complaint.
Datacenter vs electric utility. Issues are tax “gross up”and failure to deliver timely interconnection. I wonder how much of the issues here are really driven by the Santiam Canyon and Beachie Creek fire liability?
edocs.puc.state.or.us/efdocs/HAA/u...
Datacenter vs electric utility. Issues are tax “gross up”and failure to deliver timely interconnection. I wonder how much of the issues here are really driven by the Santiam Canyon and Beachie Creek fire liability?
edocs.puc.state.or.us/efdocs/HAA/u...
edocs.puc.state.or.us
November 7, 2025 at 11:08 PM
After some additional conversation, I’d say that this is maybe some of the most clear signs of what investors and utility managers call a “capital strike” at a utility suffering from financial distress due to wildfire litigation costs.
This is a very interesting complaint.
Datacenter vs electric utility. Issues are tax “gross up”and failure to deliver timely interconnection. I wonder how much of the issues here are really driven by the Santiam Canyon and Beachie Creek fire liability?
edocs.puc.state.or.us/efdocs/HAA/u...
Datacenter vs electric utility. Issues are tax “gross up”and failure to deliver timely interconnection. I wonder how much of the issues here are really driven by the Santiam Canyon and Beachie Creek fire liability?
edocs.puc.state.or.us/efdocs/HAA/u...
edocs.puc.state.or.us
November 7, 2025 at 6:51 PM
This is a very interesting complaint.
Datacenter vs electric utility. Issues are tax “gross up”and failure to deliver timely interconnection. I wonder how much of the issues here are really driven by the Santiam Canyon and Beachie Creek fire liability?
edocs.puc.state.or.us/efdocs/HAA/u...
Datacenter vs electric utility. Issues are tax “gross up”and failure to deliver timely interconnection. I wonder how much of the issues here are really driven by the Santiam Canyon and Beachie Creek fire liability?
edocs.puc.state.or.us/efdocs/HAA/u...
Reposted by Michael Wara
Fig 5 from our Year in Fire report. Here we show increases in home insurance costs by risk quintile in California. The hard truth is that if we burn down more houses, insurance is going to cost more. A lot more. Those costs are disproportionately borne by residents in high fire risk areas.
November 7, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Fig 5 from our Year in Fire report. Here we show increases in home insurance costs by risk quintile in California. The hard truth is that if we burn down more houses, insurance is going to cost more. A lot more. Those costs are disproportionately borne by residents in high fire risk areas.
Reposted by Michael Wara
Fig 2 from our Year in Fire report. Here we show smoke days by county in California on average over the past decade and for 2024. There is no future without wildfire smoke. The future CAN be one where we accept the reality of smoke EMISSIONS but actively manage the harms from smoke EXPOSURE.
November 5, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Fig 2 from our Year in Fire report. Here we show smoke days by county in California on average over the past decade and for 2024. There is no future without wildfire smoke. The future CAN be one where we accept the reality of smoke EMISSIONS but actively manage the harms from smoke EXPOSURE.
Reposted by Michael Wara
Fig 3 from our Year in Fire report. Here we show structure loss over the past decade. We are lost more than 2000 homes per year in 5 of the last 10 years. That's too many houses burning down. We MUST do better if we want to have affordable electricity, affordable insurance, and affordable housing.
November 7, 2025 at 5:52 AM
Fig 3 from our Year in Fire report. Here we show structure loss over the past decade. We are lost more than 2000 homes per year in 5 of the last 10 years. That's too many houses burning down. We MUST do better if we want to have affordable electricity, affordable insurance, and affordable housing.
This is a fantastic article on the reliability compromises that are being created by wildfire safety interventions in rural California. A must read. www.hcn.org/issues/57-11...
For rural Californians, unreliable power has become the norm - High Country News
Years ago, the state’s largest utility rolled out a power outage program designed to reduce wildfires. Customers now experience thousands of outages a year.
www.hcn.org
November 7, 2025 at 5:44 AM
This is a fantastic article on the reliability compromises that are being created by wildfire safety interventions in rural California. A must read. www.hcn.org/issues/57-11...
I was talking to a utility researcher the other day who asked me what was on fire out the plane window on the way from Portland where she lives to LA for the SCPPA meeting we were at.
Answer: that is all GOOD FIRE!
Answer: that is all GOOD FIRE!
November 5, 2025 at 10:15 PM
I was talking to a utility researcher the other day who asked me what was on fire out the plane window on the way from Portland where she lives to LA for the SCPPA meeting we were at.
Answer: that is all GOOD FIRE!
Answer: that is all GOOD FIRE!