@paulijllo
Professor of Engineering & Public Policy @CarnegieMellon. Energy system transtions and climate. #energysky #climatesky. IPCC AR6 WGIII. Now a @AAAS S&T Policy Fellow in the House of Reps. 🇨🇴by birth, 🇺🇸 by naturalization. 🐘lover. Views are my own.
Should I feel guilty about wanting permanent daylight saving time? I reviewed the evidence supporting the scientific consensus against it. It’s narrower than it appears in the public debate. #DaylightSavingTime #SciencePolicy open.substack.com/pub/paulinaj...
New on Amped Up: The U.S. charges zero royalties for hardrock mining on public lands. If we’re going to fix that, let’s design a system that also incentivizes domestic processing and strengthens the supply chain. #CriticalMinerals #Mining #SupplyChain #EnergyPolicy open.substack.com/pub/paulinaj...
The endangerment finding was always a workaround. Its rescission underscores the need to amend the Clean Air Act to include greenhouse gases as regulated pollutants. My latest Amped Up post explores what that could look like. #climate #endangermentfinding open.substack.com/pub/paulinaj...
Congress has introduced several critical minerals bills, but nearly all focus on mining and international supply. What's missing? Recycling infrastructure, producer responsibility, and design standards. Read more in my recent essay. #energy #climate #ciruclareconomy open.substack.com/pub/paulinaj...
The ‘Affordable HOMES Act’ eliminates standards that would save low-income families $177-$475/year in energy costs. Who benefits from making housing less efficient? Not the people who need help most. #EnergyEfficiency #HousingPolicy #EnergyPoverty#ClimateEquity
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The House will hold a vote on the SPEED Act this week. Read my review of the bill and why it is not a good-faith approach to permitting reform.
#EnergyPolicy #PermittingReform #NEPA
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There’s a myth that fossil fuels run 24/7/365. Reality: They’re vulnerable to extreme weather, while battery and renewable systems become cheaper and more reliable. Policies that prop up fossil fuels based on this myth hurt consumers.
#EnergySky #EnergyPolicy open.substack.com/pub/paulinaj...
We forgot the smog and burning rivers because our laws worked. But they weren’t written for climate change. Time to modernize for the crisis ahead.
#environmentalpolicy #climatepolicy
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Rep. Westerman released changes to the SPEED Act. The new version would still establish a framework designed to expedite projects regardless of environmental consequences. There are better ways to reform the permitting process.
#energypermitting #energypolicy open.substack.com/pub/paulinaj...
We need more effective planning processes to ensure grid reliability. @fernandez.house.gov introduced the Integrated Resource Planning Modernization Act, which I helped draft during my AAAS Fellowship.
#electricity #reliability #IRP #gridplanning
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The 1.5°C target is dead. That makes carbon removal MORE urgent, not less. Climate advocates have rallied for clean energy but stayed silent as Trump canceled CDR projects. Democrats must embrace all climate solutions the climate crisis demands. #Climate #COP30 open.substack.com/pub/paulinaj...
I thought we’d moved past corn ethanol. Science has evolved more than I realized. New post on the messy climate debate around biofuels, and why our focus still needs to be EVs. #ClimatePolicy #Biofuels #Agriculture #ClimateChange #Sustainability #EnergyPolicy open.substack.com/pub/paulinaj...
University “overhead” isn't the problem with research funding. Read my latest Amped Up post to learn why.
#EnergyResearch #ResearchFunding #HigherEducation #EnergyPolicy #SciencePolicy
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Your electricity bill is up, and data centers are a big reason why. However, the question of who should pay for the AI boom’s massive power appetite exposes deep cracks in America’s fragmented electricity governance. #EnergySky #ElectricityPolicy #DataCenters open.substack.com/pub/paulinaj...
Your electricity bill is up, and data centers are a big reason why. However, the question of who should pay for the AI boom’s massive power appetite exposes deep cracks in America’s fragmented electricity governance. #EnergySky #ElectricityPolicy #DataCenters open.substack.com/pub/paulinaj...
Data centers could consume 12% of U.S. electricity by 2028. Paradox: they could also stabilize the grid they’re straining. Will they? Probably not in time. #EnergySky
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The federal retreat on hydrogen is frustrating, but it must not be the end of the story. States acting decisively now could position themselves as leaders in the hydrogen economy climate science tells us we desperately need.
#hydrogen #climate #energypolicy
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We just submitted comments to EPA on their proposed rescission of the greenhouse gas endangerment finding. The science is clear: GHGs are air pollutants that harm public health through multiple pathways. Policy should follow evidence, not ideology. #Climate #CleanAirAct #EPA
I have concluded that Democrats should not shut down the government. Why get in the way of letting the system collapse under the GOP's hands? Voting has consequences. Let the country feel them. I am sad that so many will suffer, but I don’t see another way to escape this chaos.
Use of the word "evil" in official congressional e-newsletters, over time, by party
Some good news from Colombia: using “coral IVF”
economist.com/the-americas...
from The Economist
Data centers could increase US electricity costs by 8% and emissions by 30% by 2030. These trends create fundamental challenges for grid planning. Solutions exist, but policymakers must act now. Read more at Amped Up!
#Energy #DataCenters #Climate
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The Environmental Protection Agency is attacking science and threatening to reverse a foundational climate protection. Join scientists and experts in speaking out in defense of science, public health, and climate science. act.ucsusa.org/4okjCyf
New Post. Republicans can’t have their cake and eat it too.
open.substack.com/pub/paulinaj...
Americans could learn some things from the French.
Republicans are against considering race in college admission reviews, but get excited about considering race in immigration enforcement.
House witnesses this week will claim energy efficiency standards hurt consumers. But research shows the opposite: these policies help families achieve lower bills, healthier homes, and energy security while boosting US clean energy leadership.
Read more in Amped Up! open.substack.com/pub/paulinaj...
Two actually good permitting bills heading to House committee: ePermit Act (digital tools + coordination) and NEPA Data Act (empirical analysis of review timelines).
Bipartisan, evidence-based, working within existing frameworks.
New post:
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Republicans are trying to innovate America back to the 19th century. Republicans would gut environmental reviews and expand coal mining while black lung disease resurges. It’s a stunning failure of imagination from the party that claims to champion innovation.
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The DOE published a climate report that abandons science for ideology. My CMU colleagues and I called it out in our public comments: it’s not serious research, it’s a document designed to serve those who profit from climate inaction. Read our comments on Amped Up. open.substack.com/pub/paulinaj...