Duncan Meisel
@duncanwrites.bsky.social
Writing, organizing, climate, politics, Texas, etc.
Pinned
I'm Duncan, I run Clean Creatives, which works to cut ties between fossil fuels and advertising and PR companies - we have over 1250 agencies that have taken our pledge not to work with polluters!
I also post about climate comms and clean energy in general.
I also post about climate comms and clean energy in general.
All Cars Are Bad
Videos show Waymo vehicles illegally passing Austin school buses 19 times this year
On Nov. 5, email records show Waymo sent Austin ISD’s legal team a letter indicating it had made “certain software updates” to improve performance around school buses.
www.kxan.com
December 5, 2025 at 7:59 PM
All Cars Are Bad
Life update: @cleancreatives.bsky.social has a new Executive Director! Laura Ranzato will be taking over my role on December 12, and I'll be doing some time off followed by new projects in 2026. www.adweek.com/brand-market...
Amid Sociopolitical Headwinds, Activist Group Clean Creatives Appoints New Executive Director
Laura Ranzato shared how the campaign has evolved—and what's next.
www.adweek.com
December 3, 2025 at 9:43 PM
Life update: @cleancreatives.bsky.social has a new Executive Director! Laura Ranzato will be taking over my role on December 12, and I'll be doing some time off followed by new projects in 2026. www.adweek.com/brand-market...
I am very closely related to someone whose entire job is to assess and track students for IEPs. It's a job that requires a decade of work experience and advanced degrees, and done by people who care deeply for vulnerable students. Throwing out their work based vibes is offensively stupid.
Literally any human who has been even casually involved in education in the last decade knows multiple people who have gotten dubious diagnoses to get extra time on exams. I expect more from journalists, certainly, but let’s not pretend like this is a controversial issue.
December 2, 2025 at 10:51 PM
I am very closely related to someone whose entire job is to assess and track students for IEPs. It's a job that requires a decade of work experience and advanced degrees, and done by people who care deeply for vulnerable students. Throwing out their work based vibes is offensively stupid.
I often have to make ads on LinkedIn for work and today I had to click 'no' on exactly 8 prompts to make my ad with AI. If it's that good, or good for me, something tells me they wouldn't need to sell it so hard.
November 28, 2025 at 2:46 PM
I often have to make ads on LinkedIn for work and today I had to click 'no' on exactly 8 prompts to make my ad with AI. If it's that good, or good for me, something tells me they wouldn't need to sell it so hard.
Everything about the Saudi government's global image strategy has been led by Edelman, from golf to 'sustainable tourism' to weird cities in the desert.
www.yahoo.com/news/saudi-g...
www.odwyerpr.com/story/public...
www.provokemedia.com/latest/artic...
www.yahoo.com/news/saudi-g...
www.odwyerpr.com/story/public...
www.provokemedia.com/latest/artic...
Seems like a good day to remind everyone that Jared Kushner advised Saudi Crown Prince MBS on how to “weather the storm” after his hit squad slaughtered American journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
November 18, 2025 at 11:38 PM
Everything about the Saudi government's global image strategy has been led by Edelman, from golf to 'sustainable tourism' to weird cities in the desert.
www.yahoo.com/news/saudi-g...
www.odwyerpr.com/story/public...
www.provokemedia.com/latest/artic...
www.yahoo.com/news/saudi-g...
www.odwyerpr.com/story/public...
www.provokemedia.com/latest/artic...
When you try to do the things Microsoft advertises you can do with their AI assistant, the AI assistant simply cannot do those things. We're burning down the planet for... this. www.theverge.com/report/82244...
Talking to Windows’ Copilot AI makes a computer feel incompetent
Hey Copilot, are you useful yet?
www.theverge.com
November 18, 2025 at 10:23 PM
When you try to do the things Microsoft advertises you can do with their AI assistant, the AI assistant simply cannot do those things. We're burning down the planet for... this. www.theverge.com/report/82244...
What's insane is that according to the American Petroleum Institute, Landman isn't pro-oil ENOUGH. They bought ads specifically against the program to promote their own message. www.mrt.com/business/oil...
November 17, 2025 at 6:58 PM
What's insane is that according to the American Petroleum Institute, Landman isn't pro-oil ENOUGH. They bought ads specifically against the program to promote their own message. www.mrt.com/business/oil...
10 years ago I was in Paris awaiting the start of the UN Climate Talks when I convinced my friend that we shouldn't go to a concert at the Bataclan.
November 13, 2025 at 5:06 PM
10 years ago I was in Paris awaiting the start of the UN Climate Talks when I convinced my friend that we shouldn't go to a concert at the Bataclan.
Reposted by Duncan Meisel
For years, advertising has been how Stereogum made money to pay its writers. While we made progress moving away from that model, Google AI search has decimated the business almost overnight. Today we relaunch with a greater focus on subscription. We’d love your support: stereogum.com/2478838/ster...
November 10, 2025 at 11:40 PM
For years, advertising has been how Stereogum made money to pay its writers. While we made progress moving away from that model, Google AI search has decimated the business almost overnight. Today we relaunch with a greater focus on subscription. We’d love your support: stereogum.com/2478838/ster...
Last year when I was in Cannes, I saw Scott Galloway say some of the most sexist things I've heard a man say in public in a long, long time and it's very weird that anyone would take his advice on gender politics.
Scott Galloway is a raging misogynist and it’s good to see this piece actually grapple with the toxic worldview he pushes
What Did Men Do to Deserve This?
Changes in the economy and in the culture seem to have hit them hard. Scott Galloway believes they need an “aspirational vision of masculinity.”
www.newyorker.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Last year when I was in Cannes, I saw Scott Galloway say some of the most sexist things I've heard a man say in public in a long, long time and it's very weird that anyone would take his advice on gender politics.
Reposted by Duncan Meisel
I was at the Sierra Club during the period described in this article and although I have my criticisms, it gets the issues in the Club fundamentally wrong. A 🧵
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/u...
The Sierra Club Embraced Social Justice. Then It Tore Itself Apart.
www.nytimes.com
November 7, 2025 at 3:53 PM
I was at the Sierra Club during the period described in this article and although I have my criticisms, it gets the issues in the Club fundamentally wrong. A 🧵
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/u...
In the US power bills are going up by 300+% because of AI, slow permitting for residential solar, and fossil fuel dead-enders cutting off renewables.
Meanwhile, in Australia where rooftop solar permitting takes 72 hours or less, utilities are giving power away for free electrek.co/2025/11/04/a...
Meanwhile, in Australia where rooftop solar permitting takes 72 hours or less, utilities are giving power away for free electrek.co/2025/11/04/a...
Australia has so much solar that it's offering everyone free electricity
Australia's extensive solar power penetration makes so much energy that the government wants to offer free electricity at peak hours.
electrek.co
November 6, 2025 at 6:16 PM
In the US power bills are going up by 300+% because of AI, slow permitting for residential solar, and fossil fuel dead-enders cutting off renewables.
Meanwhile, in Australia where rooftop solar permitting takes 72 hours or less, utilities are giving power away for free electrek.co/2025/11/04/a...
Meanwhile, in Australia where rooftop solar permitting takes 72 hours or less, utilities are giving power away for free electrek.co/2025/11/04/a...
Good riddance to Andrew Cuomo, the embodiment of everything the public hates about the Democratic party: entitlement, corruption, and hypocrisy. A truly terrible person both in office and in his heart of hearts.
November 5, 2025 at 1:52 PM
Good riddance to Andrew Cuomo, the embodiment of everything the public hates about the Democratic party: entitlement, corruption, and hypocrisy. A truly terrible person both in office and in his heart of hearts.
It's amazing that Democrats really thought this man and his wife were a vital part of winning the election for Harris. One of the most unlikable, destructive men to have public office in our lifetimes.
In Memoriam:
Cheney Haunted By People He Didn't Manage To Kill In Iraq War
Cheney Haunted By People He Didn't Manage To Kill In Iraq War
November 4, 2025 at 5:26 PM
It's amazing that Democrats really thought this man and his wife were a vital part of winning the election for Harris. One of the most unlikable, destructive men to have public office in our lifetimes.
This is the kind of thing you write only if you had nothing to do with fighting or winning any of these campaigns. If you did know anything about them, you'd know Cuomo aggressively resisted every single one of these until absolutely forced to concede by relentless public opinion.
Thread: Look I know it's easier cognitively to just have good guys and villains, but a lot of you folks are just not dealing in facts. Andrew Cuomo was a centrist, sure, and he fought a lot with Democrats. But he also pushed some of the most progressive state policies of his era. A partial list. 1/
November 4, 2025 at 12:17 AM
This is the kind of thing you write only if you had nothing to do with fighting or winning any of these campaigns. If you did know anything about them, you'd know Cuomo aggressively resisted every single one of these until absolutely forced to concede by relentless public opinion.
AI slop by one monopoly business used to funnel people into another monopoly business. The future is bright, and full of water shortages, and $100 face value tickets with $250 in processing fees bsky.app/profile/jaso...
This is where I've thought our slop hell is going for a while and it's now Meta's stated objective. We are seeing the beginnings of it now. Do you want to go see [the big game] to support [your favorite team]?
Ticketmaster is running this on Facebook now:
Ticketmaster is running this on Facebook now:
November 3, 2025 at 10:38 PM
AI slop by one monopoly business used to funnel people into another monopoly business. The future is bright, and full of water shortages, and $100 face value tickets with $250 in processing fees bsky.app/profile/jaso...
I was featured on a CBS News story produced by their climate team earlier this year, and they were knowledgeable, curious, and committed to making the story palatable for a general audience. This is a terrible decision that shows that Vichy CBS has no interest in truth. heated.world/p/cbs-news-k...
The fall of the CBS News climate team
David Ellison, the new pro-Trump chief executive of Paramount Skydance, has dismantled the best climate change reporting team in cable news.
heated.world
October 31, 2025 at 5:03 PM
I was featured on a CBS News story produced by their climate team earlier this year, and they were knowledgeable, curious, and committed to making the story palatable for a general audience. This is a terrible decision that shows that Vichy CBS has no interest in truth. heated.world/p/cbs-news-k...
Reposted by Duncan Meisel
It is widely agreed that robust LNG exports from the US will have the effect of globalizing the price of NG, which will in turn have the effect of *raising the price of domestic NG*.
So why aren't all the "focus on affordability" people fighting LNG exports?
So why aren't all the "focus on affordability" people fighting LNG exports?
October 30, 2025 at 6:48 PM
It is widely agreed that robust LNG exports from the US will have the effect of globalizing the price of NG, which will in turn have the effect of *raising the price of domestic NG*.
So why aren't all the "focus on affordability" people fighting LNG exports?
So why aren't all the "focus on affordability" people fighting LNG exports?
I did this yesterday and it felt great
FYI if you have a Spotify membership, Indivisible is asking people to cancel until they stop running ICE recruitment ads. Instructions on how to do it here: www.youtube.com/shorts/TKp7c...
Tutorial: How to cancel your Spotify subscription
YouTube video by Indivisible
www.youtube.com
October 28, 2025 at 11:14 PM
I did this yesterday and it felt great
Reposted by Duncan Meisel
huge: new york’s largest battery project has been canceled.
would’ve stored enough energy to power more than half a million homes.
why’d it die? a protest movement in NYC against battery storage, backed by curtis sliwa & national GOP politicians.
my latest for @heatmap.news #greensky
would’ve stored enough energy to power more than half a million homes.
why’d it die? a protest movement in NYC against battery storage, backed by curtis sliwa & national GOP politicians.
my latest for @heatmap.news #greensky
New York’s Largest Battery Project Has Been Canceled
Fullmark Energy quietly shuttered Swiftsure, a planned 650-megawatt energy storage system on Staten Island.
heatmap.news
October 28, 2025 at 12:58 PM
huge: new york’s largest battery project has been canceled.
would’ve stored enough energy to power more than half a million homes.
why’d it die? a protest movement in NYC against battery storage, backed by curtis sliwa & national GOP politicians.
my latest for @heatmap.news #greensky
would’ve stored enough energy to power more than half a million homes.
why’d it die? a protest movement in NYC against battery storage, backed by curtis sliwa & national GOP politicians.
my latest for @heatmap.news #greensky
Reposted by Duncan Meisel
HYPOTHESIS: repeat exposure to the LessWrong discussion boards is functionally indistinguishable from mercury poisoning.
October 15, 2025 at 3:42 PM
HYPOTHESIS: repeat exposure to the LessWrong discussion boards is functionally indistinguishable from mercury poisoning.
Automakers got together and decided to do a coordinated Dieselgate, this time lying about the pollution impact of plug-in hybrids to evade fines.
NEW: Plug-in hybrids pollute almost as much as petrol cars, new data shows.
Yet EU carmakers are pressuring lawmakers to treat these cars as clean under the guise of ‘technology neutrality’.
🧵⤵️
Yet EU carmakers are pressuring lawmakers to treat these cars as clean under the guise of ‘technology neutrality’.
🧵⤵️
October 16, 2025 at 9:26 AM
Automakers got together and decided to do a coordinated Dieselgate, this time lying about the pollution impact of plug-in hybrids to evade fines.
It's always fascinating to see marketing advice that doubles as a total refutation of how progressive organizations communicate.
Instead of uniqueness, normal language, and tension most progressive messaging encourages uniformity, academic tone, and predictability www.shopify.com/blog/new-rul...
Instead of uniqueness, normal language, and tension most progressive messaging encourages uniformity, academic tone, and predictability www.shopify.com/blog/new-rul...
The New Rules of Brand Voice: How To Stand Out in a Sea of Digital Sameness (2025) - Shopify
A recent Shopify panel asked, How do brands craft unique and authentic brand voices today? Social media and copy experts Rachel Karten and Arin Delaney shared their insights.
www.shopify.com
October 14, 2025 at 8:08 AM
It's always fascinating to see marketing advice that doubles as a total refutation of how progressive organizations communicate.
Instead of uniqueness, normal language, and tension most progressive messaging encourages uniformity, academic tone, and predictability www.shopify.com/blog/new-rul...
Instead of uniqueness, normal language, and tension most progressive messaging encourages uniformity, academic tone, and predictability www.shopify.com/blog/new-rul...