Brian DiNunno
@bdinunno.bsky.social
A little perspective on the "public aspect of this". It was practice for all DOE Orders and Guides to be processed through systems that were publicly accessible (this was also how contractors officially got to see them).
EXCLSUVIE: The Trump administration has secretly rewritten nuclear safety rules and shared them with the companies they're meant to regulate, without making the new rules publicly available.
We've obtained a copy of the new rules and here's what we found.
www.npr.org/2026/01/28/n...
We've obtained a copy of the new rules and here's what we found.
www.npr.org/2026/01/28/n...
The Trump administration has secretly rewritten nuclear safety rules
The rewrite was done to speed up the construction of a new generation of nuclear reactors. Critics warn it could compromise safety and public trust.
www.npr.org
January 28, 2026 at 11:39 AM
A little perspective on the "public aspect of this". It was practice for all DOE Orders and Guides to be processed through systems that were publicly accessible (this was also how contractors officially got to see them).
Reposted by Brian DiNunno
The US government lost more than 10,000 STEM PhDs last year, according to an analysis by Science of newly released OPM data, with 11 departures for every hire. And many OPM calls "voluntary" separations were probably pushed. www.science.org/content/arti...
U.S. government has lost more than 10,000 STEM Ph.D.s since Trump took office
A Science analysis reveals how many were fired, retired, or quit across 14 agencies
www.science.org
January 27, 2026 at 1:28 AM
The US government lost more than 10,000 STEM PhDs last year, according to an analysis by Science of newly released OPM data, with 11 departures for every hire. And many OPM calls "voluntary" separations were probably pushed. www.science.org/content/arti...
Brand new suburban developments are still laying new gas lines based on spreading the network's cost over an endless horizon of use.
If we don't put a solid date on the end it's hard to make the case to stop on the *easiest* part of the transition (new build).
If we don't put a solid date on the end it's hard to make the case to stop on the *easiest* part of the transition (new build).
#6 Maryland
January 22, 2026 at 4:27 PM
Brand new suburban developments are still laying new gas lines based on spreading the network's cost over an endless horizon of use.
If we don't put a solid date on the end it's hard to make the case to stop on the *easiest* part of the transition (new build).
If we don't put a solid date on the end it's hard to make the case to stop on the *easiest* part of the transition (new build).
A couple things from this badly needed effort:
These are the California-standard 4-hr batteries and not that ridiculous and costly attempt by PJM to mandate 10-hr batteries
Mandates are driving this and they are working better than PJM's "market forces"
Batteries will make room for more solar
These are the California-standard 4-hr batteries and not that ridiculous and costly attempt by PJM to mandate 10-hr batteries
Mandates are driving this and they are working better than PJM's "market forces"
Batteries will make room for more solar
January 16, 2026 at 5:18 PM
A couple things from this badly needed effort:
These are the California-standard 4-hr batteries and not that ridiculous and costly attempt by PJM to mandate 10-hr batteries
Mandates are driving this and they are working better than PJM's "market forces"
Batteries will make room for more solar
These are the California-standard 4-hr batteries and not that ridiculous and costly attempt by PJM to mandate 10-hr batteries
Mandates are driving this and they are working better than PJM's "market forces"
Batteries will make room for more solar
Current admin's posture on carbon capture:
If you love CO2, set it free. If it comes back, then you can make carbon black.
If you love CO2, set it free. If it comes back, then you can make carbon black.
Take note future administrations, not only can you refuse to spend obligated money, you can also just repurpose money for anything you want (even the exact opposite of Congressional intent) www.eenews.net/articles/tru...
Trump admin redirects carbon capture funds to prop up old coal plants
The Energy Department says it’s legally sound to shift more than half a billion dollars to help revive old and closed coal plants. Department officials
www.eenews.net
January 16, 2026 at 4:14 PM
Current admin's posture on carbon capture:
If you love CO2, set it free. If it comes back, then you can make carbon black.
If you love CO2, set it free. If it comes back, then you can make carbon black.
Reposted by Brian DiNunno
We posted some amazing @noaa.gov #GOES17/#GOESWest and JMA Himawari-8 imagery of the #HungaTonga eruption on the CIMSS Satellite Blog: cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/satellite-bl...
January 15, 2026 at 9:02 PM
We posted some amazing @noaa.gov #GOES17/#GOESWest and JMA Himawari-8 imagery of the #HungaTonga eruption on the CIMSS Satellite Blog: cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/satellite-bl...
Good thing the Chemical Safety Board has a full series of their excellent videos on Refinery Safety to help organizations learn from other's mistakes.
Err .. had?
Ah. What will happen to all that work if the agency gets defunded and closed?
www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...
Err .. had?
Ah. What will happen to all that work if the agency gets defunded and closed?
www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...
January 15, 2026 at 4:05 AM
Good thing the Chemical Safety Board has a full series of their excellent videos on Refinery Safety to help organizations learn from other's mistakes.
Err .. had?
Ah. What will happen to all that work if the agency gets defunded and closed?
www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...
Err .. had?
Ah. What will happen to all that work if the agency gets defunded and closed?
www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...
The ocean is the dog steadily climbing the hill, the atmosphere is the dog's tail swinging to and fro, but climbing nonetheless.
Because the ocean absorbs >90% of the heat trapped in the climate system due to human enhancement of the greenhouse effect, the best and most steady measure of global warming is the change in ocean heat content.
It continues to break records every year:
It continues to break records every year:
January 14, 2026 at 5:56 PM
The ocean is the dog steadily climbing the hill, the atmosphere is the dog's tail swinging to and fro, but climbing nonetheless.
Reposted by Brian DiNunno
🚨 Publication alert! Very happy to see our paper "Unlocking the benefits of transparent and reusable science for climate risk management" out in PNAS today. With @crispapoll.bsky.social @jdossgollin.bsky.social @bobkopp.net and many others.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
January 14, 2026 at 5:10 PM
🚨 Publication alert! Very happy to see our paper "Unlocking the benefits of transparent and reusable science for climate risk management" out in PNAS today. With @crispapoll.bsky.social @jdossgollin.bsky.social @bobkopp.net and many others.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
I remember a neighbor talking about how expensive a new tunnel under a highway ramp for pedestrians was.
My reply was that, yes, highways are very expensive.
In the moment I was being flippant, but it actually seemed to land.
Being able to get places without cars *is* the equitable baseline.
My reply was that, yes, highways are very expensive.
In the moment I was being flippant, but it actually seemed to land.
Being able to get places without cars *is* the equitable baseline.
For those who work on equity issues in transportation, this was a disruptive year, but researchers and advocates aren't going anywhere. Tomorrow theyll prove it.
My new @usa.streetsblog.org piece reflecting on #TRBAM week and the present political moment.
usa.streetsblog.org/2026/01/14/o...
My new @usa.streetsblog.org piece reflecting on #TRBAM week and the present political moment.
usa.streetsblog.org/2026/01/14/o...
Opinion: Transportation Researchers Still Care About Equity. This Week They’re Proving It — Streetsblog USA
This Thursday, progressives in transportation will fight back against the Trump administration.
usa.streetsblog.org
January 14, 2026 at 12:56 PM
I remember a neighbor talking about how expensive a new tunnel under a highway ramp for pedestrians was.
My reply was that, yes, highways are very expensive.
In the moment I was being flippant, but it actually seemed to land.
Being able to get places without cars *is* the equitable baseline.
My reply was that, yes, highways are very expensive.
In the moment I was being flippant, but it actually seemed to land.
Being able to get places without cars *is* the equitable baseline.
Reposted by Brian DiNunno
Scoop: The EPA will no longer estimate the lives saved by reducing air pollution when writing clean-air regulations, according to documents reviewed by @nytimes.com.
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/c...
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/c...
E.P.A. to Stop Considering Lives Saved When Setting Rules on Air Pollution
www.nytimes.com
January 12, 2026 at 5:07 PM
Scoop: The EPA will no longer estimate the lives saved by reducing air pollution when writing clean-air regulations, according to documents reviewed by @nytimes.com.
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/c...
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/c...
Nullschool has been amazing for years.
Great if you want to just be in the flow and see connections ... but literally.
Great if you want to just be in the flow and see connections ... but literally.
This newsletter post has more details. Please give the app a try and let me know what you think. Always happy to get feedback!
🌍🌎🌏
🌍🌎🌏
New Year's message + Nullschool app is here
news.nullschool.net
January 7, 2026 at 3:26 PM
Nullschool has been amazing for years.
Great if you want to just be in the flow and see connections ... but literally.
Great if you want to just be in the flow and see connections ... but literally.
Reposted by Brian DiNunno
Oh, just get vaccinated (part 5,000)
"Many shots seem to have “off-target” benefits, such as lowering the risk of dementia, studies have found." (gift article)
"Many shots seem to have “off-target” benefits, such as lowering the risk of dementia, studies have found." (gift article)
Vaccines Are Helping Older People More Than We Knew
www.nytimes.com
January 4, 2026 at 5:30 PM
Oh, just get vaccinated (part 5,000)
"Many shots seem to have “off-target” benefits, such as lowering the risk of dementia, studies have found." (gift article)
"Many shots seem to have “off-target” benefits, such as lowering the risk of dementia, studies have found." (gift article)
For no reason:
Of the Danger of trusting banished Men.
"as for the empty promises and delusive hopes they set before you, so extreme is their desire to return home that they naturally believe many things which are untrue and designedly misrepresent"
www.online-literature.com/machiavelli/...
Of the Danger of trusting banished Men.
"as for the empty promises and delusive hopes they set before you, so extreme is their desire to return home that they naturally believe many things which are untrue and designedly misrepresent"
www.online-literature.com/machiavelli/...
Titus Livius by Niccolo Machiavelli: Chapter 31
www.online-literature.com
January 3, 2026 at 4:42 PM
For no reason:
Of the Danger of trusting banished Men.
"as for the empty promises and delusive hopes they set before you, so extreme is their desire to return home that they naturally believe many things which are untrue and designedly misrepresent"
www.online-literature.com/machiavelli/...
Of the Danger of trusting banished Men.
"as for the empty promises and delusive hopes they set before you, so extreme is their desire to return home that they naturally believe many things which are untrue and designedly misrepresent"
www.online-literature.com/machiavelli/...
Reposted by Brian DiNunno
Happy new year!
Exciting news: There's new transit coming in 2026—including metro, light rail, commuter rail, aerial tram, & BRT lines across North America. Overall, the US, Canada, & Mexico will add 150 miles of fixed-guideway transit.
It's all on The Transport Politic in my annual roundup ⏬
Exciting news: There's new transit coming in 2026—including metro, light rail, commuter rail, aerial tram, & BRT lines across North America. Overall, the US, Canada, & Mexico will add 150 miles of fixed-guideway transit.
It's all on The Transport Politic in my annual roundup ⏬
Transit Expansion in North America: A Look Ahead to 2026, and a 2025 Roundup
In 2026, new fixed-guideway transit lines are opening across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. In this overview, I compile information about each of these projects, including: Metro and monora…
www.thetransportpolitic.com
January 1, 2026 at 11:33 AM
Happy new year!
Exciting news: There's new transit coming in 2026—including metro, light rail, commuter rail, aerial tram, & BRT lines across North America. Overall, the US, Canada, & Mexico will add 150 miles of fixed-guideway transit.
It's all on The Transport Politic in my annual roundup ⏬
Exciting news: There's new transit coming in 2026—including metro, light rail, commuter rail, aerial tram, & BRT lines across North America. Overall, the US, Canada, & Mexico will add 150 miles of fixed-guideway transit.
It's all on The Transport Politic in my annual roundup ⏬
Reposted by Brian DiNunno
Most of the people in this scene would be unable to enter the US under current policy. Madeleine Lebeau pretty much just crossed the border, stayed, and shot the greatest scene in history.
December 26, 2025 at 12:57 AM
Most of the people in this scene would be unable to enter the US under current policy. Madeleine Lebeau pretty much just crossed the border, stayed, and shot the greatest scene in history.
Reposted by Brian DiNunno
I hear everyone is talking about utility bills being too damn high. But @clicabedu.bsky.social is like, *really* talking about it.
And we have ideas to help fix it.
New report, friends, hot off the presses!
And we have ideas to help fix it.
New report, friends, hot off the presses!
December 18, 2025 at 3:22 AM
I hear everyone is talking about utility bills being too damn high. But @clicabedu.bsky.social is like, *really* talking about it.
And we have ideas to help fix it.
New report, friends, hot off the presses!
And we have ideas to help fix it.
New report, friends, hot off the presses!
Reposted by Brian DiNunno
I'm basically never not thinking about Wolf Hall so when I saw the Holbein portrait of Thomas Cromwell it was like worlds colliding defector.com/the-eyes-hav...
The Eyes Have It | Defector
The eyes got me. Sir Thomas More by Hans Holbein the Younger isn’t the brightest, or the largest painting in its room—it might be the smallest—but it’s easily the most striking. It called to me from t...
defector.com
November 19, 2025 at 7:03 PM
I'm basically never not thinking about Wolf Hall so when I saw the Holbein portrait of Thomas Cromwell it was like worlds colliding defector.com/the-eyes-hav...
Reposted by Brian DiNunno
Tired: all this anti-vax activity and policy
Wired: vaccines cause adults
Inspired: also recognizing that neurodiversity is good, and building a more inclusive and accepting society with accommodations and opportunities for all
Wired: vaccines cause adults
Inspired: also recognizing that neurodiversity is good, and building a more inclusive and accepting society with accommodations and opportunities for all
December 6, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Tired: all this anti-vax activity and policy
Wired: vaccines cause adults
Inspired: also recognizing that neurodiversity is good, and building a more inclusive and accepting society with accommodations and opportunities for all
Wired: vaccines cause adults
Inspired: also recognizing that neurodiversity is good, and building a more inclusive and accepting society with accommodations and opportunities for all
Funding support for these analyses has been insufficient for more than 30 years. When I was a summer intern at NOAA in the 90's getting projects done for major update efforts like California, SW US, or Puerto Rico were budget limited and updates were decades behind.
It's beyond time to fix this.
It's beyond time to fix this.
Zillow’s climate score rollback is a wake-up call: build open, future‑conditions federal flood maps -- gold‑standard, trustworthy data for building codes, mortgages, and our future. Column today: open.substack.com/pub/susanpcr...
Zillow’s climate risk reversal looks like a setback. It’s really a wake‑up call.
When private models sow confusion, it’s a flashing warning sign that Washington needs to fix federal flood maps,
open.substack.com
December 3, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Funding support for these analyses has been insufficient for more than 30 years. When I was a summer intern at NOAA in the 90's getting projects done for major update efforts like California, SW US, or Puerto Rico were budget limited and updates were decades behind.
It's beyond time to fix this.
It's beyond time to fix this.
Reposted by Brian DiNunno
One company is about to electrify the heating for 190 of Maryland's largest buildings. I had no idea how large Maryland's existing district heating and cooling system is and how much it is about to change
demarcoadvocacy.substack.com/p/electrifyi...
demarcoadvocacy.substack.com/p/electrifyi...
Electrifying Baltimore's District Heating
Samay Kindra with Vicinity Energy explains how the company plans to electrify the heat for Baltimore's downtown
demarcoadvocacy.substack.com
December 1, 2025 at 7:57 PM
One company is about to electrify the heating for 190 of Maryland's largest buildings. I had no idea how large Maryland's existing district heating and cooling system is and how much it is about to change
demarcoadvocacy.substack.com/p/electrifyi...
demarcoadvocacy.substack.com/p/electrifyi...
Reposted by Brian DiNunno
NEW POST! 🪨🌈 A new, colorful map from the USGS synthesizes decades of state and federal geologic surveys to create the most detailed visualization of the geology of the contiguous United States to date. www.beautifulpublicdata.com/usgs-coopera...
December 1, 2025 at 4:32 PM
NEW POST! 🪨🌈 A new, colorful map from the USGS synthesizes decades of state and federal geologic surveys to create the most detailed visualization of the geology of the contiguous United States to date. www.beautifulpublicdata.com/usgs-coopera...
Reposted by Brian DiNunno
October 2025 was the warmest October on record for the #Arctic. Arctic sea-ice extent is currently the lowest on record for late November. My newest 'climate viz of the month' summarizes some of this latest data: zacklabe.com/climate-viz-...
#ClimateChange #SciComm #OpenScience #OpenData #DataViz
#ClimateChange #SciComm #OpenScience #OpenData #DataViz
Climate Viz of the Month
October 2025 Hi everyone! Instead of designing a new special feature visualization, this next ‘climate viz of the month’ blog will focus on briefly summarizing the recent extremes in th…
zacklabe.com
November 29, 2025 at 8:42 PM
October 2025 was the warmest October on record for the #Arctic. Arctic sea-ice extent is currently the lowest on record for late November. My newest 'climate viz of the month' summarizes some of this latest data: zacklabe.com/climate-viz-...
#ClimateChange #SciComm #OpenScience #OpenData #DataViz
#ClimateChange #SciComm #OpenScience #OpenData #DataViz
Reposted by Brian DiNunno
November 24, 2025 at 11:46 PM