Dave Cooke
@ucsdave.bsky.social
Using my white male privilege to rabble rouse companies and govt agencies into doing more. Midwest-grown, California-schooled, Senator-less citizen of the Douglass Commonwealth.
This is a personal acct, but I'll still be mad about transportation issues.
This is a personal acct, but I'll still be mad about transportation issues.
Reposted by Dave Cooke
Today: Join me, @lewan.bsky.social, and @ucs.org colleagues to discuss how the scientific community can push back against the growing authoritarian threat and stand up for our democracy.
secure.ucs.org/a/2025-11-20...
secure.ucs.org/a/2025-11-20...
How Scientists Can Stand Up for Democracy
The Union of Concerned Scientists invites you to a virtual science advocacy training on how the scientific community can push back against the growing authoritarian threat and stand up for our democra...
secure.ucs.org
November 20, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Today: Join me, @lewan.bsky.social, and @ucs.org colleagues to discuss how the scientific community can push back against the growing authoritarian threat and stand up for our democracy.
secure.ucs.org/a/2025-11-20...
secure.ucs.org/a/2025-11-20...
Reposted by Dave Cooke
The two bills the House passed last night serve only to criminalize poverty and erode trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve.
The Senate must vote these bills down and reject this blatant attack on DC’s local autonomy.
Congress has no right to drag us backward.
The Senate must vote these bills down and reject this blatant attack on DC’s local autonomy.
Congress has no right to drag us backward.
November 20, 2025 at 1:07 PM
The two bills the House passed last night serve only to criminalize poverty and erode trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve.
The Senate must vote these bills down and reject this blatant attack on DC’s local autonomy.
Congress has no right to drag us backward.
The Senate must vote these bills down and reject this blatant attack on DC’s local autonomy.
Congress has no right to drag us backward.
The realization that technology is insufficient was THE motivating factor for me 15 years ago to apply my technical skills to policy, and I've never looked back. Change is not about technology -- it is about power.
⚠️ When “technology will save us” becomes a climate risk!
A new paper from great colleagues takes a careful look at techno-optimism — the belief that technology will largely solve climate change — and what it means for real-world climate action.
(1/4)👇
osf.io/preprints/ps...
A new paper from great colleagues takes a careful look at techno-optimism — the belief that technology will largely solve climate change — and what it means for real-world climate action.
(1/4)👇
osf.io/preprints/ps...
November 19, 2025 at 10:45 PM
The realization that technology is insufficient was THE motivating factor for me 15 years ago to apply my technical skills to policy, and I've never looked back. Change is not about technology -- it is about power.
Gee, the automotive industry simply designing to the test rather than broadly protecting public welfare? That's never happened before.
"automakers are getting better at passing the standards, and they're doing a great job of testing to those standards ... [but] you go outside of those standards, and the performance is less effective"
While tech improved, this type of private testing is no substitute for NHTSA doing its job
While tech improved, this type of private testing is no substitute for NHTSA doing its job
November 19, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Gee, the automotive industry simply designing to the test rather than broadly protecting public welfare? That's never happened before.
Reposted by Dave Cooke
![4-panel vertical comic. (1) 100 Years Ago [two people standing next to bicycle with small car nearby] PERSON 1: It’s too dangerous riding a bike with these cars around. I should get a car, too. (2) 50 Years Ago [two people between smaller car and bigger car] PERSON 2 with short hair: Small cars are less safe in collisions with larger vehicles, so I should get a bigger one. (3) Today [two people between big car and even bigger car] PERSON 1: Everyone has huge SUVs now. If I don’t get the biggest one, I’m putting my family at risk. (4) Soon [two people next to large armored car with spiked clubs attached] PERSON 2: If I don’t install more whirling spike clubs, I’ll be destroyed by all the other drivers who...](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk/bafkreiby6can6k76yzfmv2czxs4pu2l7zie7bqbrpswi7h3ifmiadkuqvu@jpeg)
Reposted by Dave Cooke
⛽📉Over the last half a century, drivers have saved $5 Trillion at the pump thanks to the Corporate Fuel Average Economy program. But this program is in danger. If you don’t want the Trump Administration to weaken these rules or give another handout to oil companies and automakers.
November 14, 2025 at 5:13 PM
⛽📉Over the last half a century, drivers have saved $5 Trillion at the pump thanks to the Corporate Fuel Average Economy program. But this program is in danger. If you don’t want the Trump Administration to weaken these rules or give another handout to oil companies and automakers.
Our transportation system puts mobility access on the backs of households through exorbitant private costs that flow to automotive industries to the tune of $1 trillion per year. This type of financial disaster is a virtual inevitability in what the US has designed. www.ucs.org/resources/fr...
November 13, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Our transportation system puts mobility access on the backs of households through exorbitant private costs that flow to automotive industries to the tune of $1 trillion per year. This type of financial disaster is a virtual inevitability in what the US has designed. www.ucs.org/resources/fr...
This underscores the fundamental challenge of the BIL: for all it may have done to support #EV infrastructure and electrification, it fundamentally did not do jack to shift the transportation system itself, and if anything just further embedded the status quo #oil based boondoggle we have today.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed 4 years ago. In new research @urbaninstitute.bsky.social we study its effects.
US transport spending increased by 30%, but:
—Funding for non-highway projects flatlined
—Construction cost increases resulted in no actual increase in infrastructure
US transport spending increased by 30%, but:
—Funding for non-highway projects flatlined
—Construction cost increases resulted in no actual increase in infrastructure
Federal Infrastructure Spending on Transportation, Four Years after the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is up for reauthorization in 2026. New analysis shows that the act increased spending on transportation infrastructure, but…
www.urban.org
November 12, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Reposted by Dave Cooke
It is wild, if not surprising I guess, that whether people could fly somewhere at Thanksgiving seemed to have more political effect than whether people could *eat* at Thanksgiving.
November 10, 2025 at 4:52 PM
It is wild, if not surprising I guess, that whether people could fly somewhere at Thanksgiving seemed to have more political effect than whether people could *eat* at Thanksgiving.
Reposted by Dave Cooke
"Beyond being the 24th consecutive grant of emergency relief to the Trump administration, the cryptic ruling in Orr is a reminder of just how bankrupt the Court’s proffered justifications are in these cases—both legally and in other ways, too."
Me on today's ugly #SCOTUS ruling in Trump v. Orr:
Me on today's ugly #SCOTUS ruling in Trump v. Orr:
189. The Breezy Inequity of Trump v. Orr
The Supreme Court's latest grant of emergency relief to the Trump administration illustrates in technicolor the direct (and ugly) consequences of the two different ways it keeps messing up "equity."
www.stevevladeck.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:28 AM
"Beyond being the 24th consecutive grant of emergency relief to the Trump administration, the cryptic ruling in Orr is a reminder of just how bankrupt the Court’s proffered justifications are in these cases—both legally and in other ways, too."
Me on today's ugly #SCOTUS ruling in Trump v. Orr:
Me on today's ugly #SCOTUS ruling in Trump v. Orr:
Apparently Sam Graves (House T&I) wants to put in place some new fees to "fix" the Highway Trust Fund. If you're gonna do that, maybe start with the folks responsible for breaking all that infrastructure in the first place? blog.ucs.org/dave-cooke/t...
Trucks Cause the Lion’s Share of Road Damage—and Their Industry Wants You to Keep Paying for It
There is no reason for US taxpayers to foot the bill for a trillion-dollar per year industry.
blog.ucs.org
November 5, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Apparently Sam Graves (House T&I) wants to put in place some new fees to "fix" the Highway Trust Fund. If you're gonna do that, maybe start with the folks responsible for breaking all that infrastructure in the first place? blog.ucs.org/dave-cooke/t...
Reposted by Dave Cooke
The trucking industry keeps our economy moving—but that doesn’t give it a free pass for its negative impacts. From pollution in frontline communities to heat-trapping emissions and damaged roads and bridges, this fossil-fueled sector must pay its fair share.
Trucks Cause the Lion’s Share of Road Damage—and Their Industry Wants You to Keep Paying for It
There is no reason for US taxpayers to foot the bill for a trillion-dollar per year industry.
blog.ucs.org
November 3, 2025 at 4:55 PM
The trucking industry keeps our economy moving—but that doesn’t give it a free pass for its negative impacts. From pollution in frontline communities to heat-trapping emissions and damaged roads and bridges, this fossil-fueled sector must pay its fair share.
Reposted by Dave Cooke
🚗⚡ New in @science.org: My piece on why the U.S. needs to rethink its approach to China's electric vehicle industry (and what's at stake if it doesn’t).
The competitive gap is bigger than you think. Thread 🧵
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
The competitive gap is bigger than you think. Thread 🧵
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
How collaboration with China can revitalize US automotive innovation
Strategic collaboration, not protectionist barriers, should be pursued
doi.org
October 30, 2025 at 6:18 PM
🚗⚡ New in @science.org: My piece on why the U.S. needs to rethink its approach to China's electric vehicle industry (and what's at stake if it doesn’t).
The competitive gap is bigger than you think. Thread 🧵
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
The competitive gap is bigger than you think. Thread 🧵
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Dave Cooke
"Because of other countries testing programs" President Trump ordered the Pentagon "to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis". Normally, testing nuclear weapons refers to explosive testing of a nuclear weapon, something the US has not done at full scale since 1992.
October 30, 2025 at 2:34 AM
"Because of other countries testing programs" President Trump ordered the Pentagon "to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis". Normally, testing nuclear weapons refers to explosive testing of a nuclear weapon, something the US has not done at full scale since 1992.
Reposted by Dave Cooke
My @ucs.org colleague Dr. Laura Grego explains why the Pentagon's _claim_ that a A House of Dynamite is wrong about the effectiveness the anti-missile system that supposedly defends the US against long-range nuclear attack is a load of hooey. The system, as the movie says, is a coin-flip at best.
A House of Dynamite Gets It Right—But Here’s the Full Picture
The Pentagon is wrong to attack the movie for being inaccurate. We cannot rely on missile defense systems to protect us from nuclear destruction.
blog.ucs.org
October 29, 2025 at 3:49 PM
My @ucs.org colleague Dr. Laura Grego explains why the Pentagon's _claim_ that a A House of Dynamite is wrong about the effectiveness the anti-missile system that supposedly defends the US against long-range nuclear attack is a load of hooey. The system, as the movie says, is a coin-flip at best.
"It's okay for us to tell our customers to kill themselves" may be a novel defense strategy, but it certainly isn't a thorny legal question.
A mother in Florida filed a lawsuit against an A.I. start-up, alleging its product led to her son’s death. The company’s defense raises a thorny legal question. nyti.ms/4ow8PQF
October 24, 2025 at 5:54 PM
"It's okay for us to tell our customers to kill themselves" may be a novel defense strategy, but it certainly isn't a thorny legal question.
Reposted by Dave Cooke
Lee Zeldin's legal authority to 'make the U.S. the AI capitol of the world': none.
Lee Zeldin's commitment to his actual legal authority and responsibility to protect human health and the environment: also none.
Lee Zeldin's commitment to his actual legal authority and responsibility to protect human health and the environment: also none.
Trump EPA head, Lee Zeldin: Ima gonna make the U.S. the AI capitol of the world by deregulating the hell out of polluters & the economy.
Experts: AI data centers are a 5 alarm fire, threatening electric grid reliability, blackouts & higher consumer costs. subscriber.politicopro.com/article/eene...
Experts: AI data centers are a 5 alarm fire, threatening electric grid reliability, blackouts & higher consumer costs. subscriber.politicopro.com/article/eene...
E&E News: Data center growth a ‘five-alarm fire’ for electric reliability
Small-scale outages point to trouble ahead for utilities struggling to meet power demand, the North American grid monitor warns.
subscriber.politicopro.com
October 22, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Lee Zeldin's legal authority to 'make the U.S. the AI capitol of the world': none.
Lee Zeldin's commitment to his actual legal authority and responsibility to protect human health and the environment: also none.
Lee Zeldin's commitment to his actual legal authority and responsibility to protect human health and the environment: also none.
Reposted by Dave Cooke
I've heard so many people ask over the last few months: Whatever happened to that $1.1 billion Congress wouldn't let DC spend this spring?
Many assume that money is still sitting around somewhere, but it's not! DC actually spent pretty much all of it. I found out how:
wamu.org/story/25/10/...
Many assume that money is still sitting around somewhere, but it's not! DC actually spent pretty much all of it. I found out how:
wamu.org/story/25/10/...
Here's how D.C. solved the billion-dollar budget problem Congress created
District leaders used creative accounting to spend hundreds of millions in revenue, despite federal lawmakers holding up the money.
wamu.org
October 22, 2025 at 2:41 PM
I've heard so many people ask over the last few months: Whatever happened to that $1.1 billion Congress wouldn't let DC spend this spring?
Many assume that money is still sitting around somewhere, but it's not! DC actually spent pretty much all of it. I found out how:
wamu.org/story/25/10/...
Many assume that money is still sitting around somewhere, but it's not! DC actually spent pretty much all of it. I found out how:
wamu.org/story/25/10/...
Reposted by Dave Cooke
More than ever before, people like Franklin and Saban are insisting that the expectations being put on coaches at powerhouse schools are too high, and that no mere mortal with an $85 million contract can be expected to deliver all the time. defector.com/you-can-have...
You Can Have Money Or Sympathy, But Not Both | Defector
Nick Saban, ex-Alabama coach but still somehow patron saint of college football, had some things to say during yesterday’s edition of College GameDay about the “ugliness” faced by his former coaching…
defector.com
October 20, 2025 at 11:04 PM
More than ever before, people like Franklin and Saban are insisting that the expectations being put on coaches at powerhouse schools are too high, and that no mere mortal with an $85 million contract can be expected to deliver all the time. defector.com/you-can-have...
Reposted by Dave Cooke
BIG DAY in Washington, DC for #NoKingsDay
It’s a privilege to be in coalition with @indivisible.org and standing up for science and democracy together!
@standupforscience.bsky.social
#StandUpForScience
Let’s see your signs!
It’s a privilege to be in coalition with @indivisible.org and standing up for science and democracy together!
@standupforscience.bsky.social
#StandUpForScience
Let’s see your signs!
October 18, 2025 at 6:44 PM
BIG DAY in Washington, DC for #NoKingsDay
It’s a privilege to be in coalition with @indivisible.org and standing up for science and democracy together!
@standupforscience.bsky.social
#StandUpForScience
Let’s see your signs!
It’s a privilege to be in coalition with @indivisible.org and standing up for science and democracy together!
@standupforscience.bsky.social
#StandUpForScience
Let’s see your signs!
Reposted by Dave Cooke
Reposted by Dave Cooke
I agree that scientists (and academics generally) need to be able to tell better stories about why their work matters, but doing so is 1) often not given credit internally, and 2) a different set of skills in many cases. Telling stories about why knowledge matters is a specialized field in itself.
Show impact of research investment better, says ex-NSF director
Sethuraman Panchanathan says research funder and scientists must improve ‘storytelling’ as agency faces $5 billion cuts
www.timeshighereducation.com
October 17, 2025 at 1:37 PM
I agree that scientists (and academics generally) need to be able to tell better stories about why their work matters, but doing so is 1) often not given credit internally, and 2) a different set of skills in many cases. Telling stories about why knowledge matters is a specialized field in itself.
Reposted by Dave Cooke
That’s not how science works dip shit.
RFK Jr on Tylenol and autism: "It is not proof. We're doing the studies to make the proof."
October 9, 2025 at 6:14 PM
That’s not how science works dip shit.
Reposted by Dave Cooke
Just openly cheering the destruction of any representation of gay people in public space. They think their power is totally unrestricted, and the entire country will support them rolling back society to the 1950s, or maybe the 1850s
October 8, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Just openly cheering the destruction of any representation of gay people in public space. They think their power is totally unrestricted, and the entire country will support them rolling back society to the 1950s, or maybe the 1850s
This is the kind of shit that loses people's faith in government. We lack true representation as it is -- the least the DC Council can be is transparent in acting upon what little authority they do have.
So almost the entire D.C. Council is now meeting being closed doors to negotiate how to proceed on the expanded youth curfew emergency bill. It seems pretty clear they are negotiating legislation behind closed doors, in violation of the spirit of the city’s Open Meetings Act.
October 7, 2025 at 6:31 PM
This is the kind of shit that loses people's faith in government. We lack true representation as it is -- the least the DC Council can be is transparent in acting upon what little authority they do have.