Tony Dutzik
@frontiertony.bsky.social
Assoc. Director/Sr. Policy Analyst, Frontier Group, part of The Public Interest Network. Transportation, climate and energy policy, mostly.
Q: how much worse off would the NE energy system be during this cold snap w/o the insulation, weather-stripping, etc. installed through the region’s energy efficiency programs?
MassSAVE alone claims to have weatherized >350k homes.
MassSAVE alone claims to have weatherized >350k homes.
January 31, 2026 at 1:48 PM
Q: how much worse off would the NE energy system be during this cold snap w/o the insulation, weather-stripping, etc. installed through the region’s energy efficiency programs?
MassSAVE alone claims to have weatherized >350k homes.
MassSAVE alone claims to have weatherized >350k homes.
Reposted by Tony Dutzik
A strange but true finding about NYC congestion pricing:
Drivers’ time savings have overwhelmingly gone to those traveling *outside* the toll zone (i.e., driving from Brooklyn to Queens or within NJ) – not those headed into Manhattan.
Me, in Bloomberg 🧵
Drivers’ time savings have overwhelmingly gone to those traveling *outside* the toll zone (i.e., driving from Brooklyn to Queens or within NJ) – not those headed into Manhattan.
Me, in Bloomberg 🧵
Congestion Pricing’s Unexpected Winners: Suburban Drivers
NYC’s controversial toll program hasn’t just sped up trips inside Manhattan, a new paper finds. It’s easing traffic in outer boroughs and neighboring counties.
www.bloomberg.com
January 30, 2026 at 2:08 PM
A strange but true finding about NYC congestion pricing:
Drivers’ time savings have overwhelmingly gone to those traveling *outside* the toll zone (i.e., driving from Brooklyn to Queens or within NJ) – not those headed into Manhattan.
Me, in Bloomberg 🧵
Drivers’ time savings have overwhelmingly gone to those traveling *outside* the toll zone (i.e., driving from Brooklyn to Queens or within NJ) – not those headed into Manhattan.
Me, in Bloomberg 🧵
It’s a cold, clear day in New England and our plucky little half-snow covered solar panels are gearing up for another day of doing a little bit to help reduce our use of expensive, limited gas and oil.
January 30, 2026 at 1:29 PM
It’s a cold, clear day in New England and our plucky little half-snow covered solar panels are gearing up for another day of doing a little bit to help reduce our use of expensive, limited gas and oil.
Reposted by Tony Dutzik
i was actually shocked to see the numbers on new research from Global Energy Monitor on new gas projects in the US: nearly 100 gigawatts of power—enough to power tens of millions of homes—are currently in development explicitly to power data centers. At the end of 2023 that number was 4 gigawatts
Data Centers Are Driving a US Gas Boom
Gas projects in the US pipeline explicitly linked to data centers increased by almost 25 times over the past two years, according to new research from Global Energy Monitor.
www.wired.com
January 29, 2026 at 1:38 PM
i was actually shocked to see the numbers on new research from Global Energy Monitor on new gas projects in the US: nearly 100 gigawatts of power—enough to power tens of millions of homes—are currently in development explicitly to power data centers. At the end of 2023 that number was 4 gigawatts
True Winter 2015 vibes out here on the Red Line.
The Red Line’s Old Trains Can’t Cope With the Cold - @mbta.com is running less than half as many trains as usual on its busiest subway line: mass.streetsblog.org/2026/01/28/t...
The Red Line's Old Trains Can't Cope With the Cold - Streetsblog Massachusetts
Aging Red Line trains have been pulled from service, and the T is running less than half as many trains as usual on its busiest subway line.
mass.streetsblog.org
January 28, 2026 at 11:50 PM
True Winter 2015 vibes out here on the Red Line.
Reposted by Tony Dutzik
Some encouraging research about EVs and air pollution in California:
"For every 200 zero-emission vehicles added to each neighborhood, that area saw a 1.1% decrease in nitrogen dioxide levels."
"For every 200 zero-emission vehicles added to each neighborhood, that area saw a 1.1% decrease in nitrogen dioxide levels."
One State Has Purchased Enough Electric Cars To Make The Air Measurably Cleaner: Study - The Autopian
A study released by USC that used satellite imaging shows that the adoption of electric cars has lead to a decrease in air pollution.
www.theautopian.com
January 28, 2026 at 2:06 PM
Some encouraging research about EVs and air pollution in California:
"For every 200 zero-emission vehicles added to each neighborhood, that area saw a 1.1% decrease in nitrogen dioxide levels."
"For every 200 zero-emission vehicles added to each neighborhood, that area saw a 1.1% decrease in nitrogen dioxide levels."
You may consider avoiding becoming death, destroyer of worlds, as appropriate.
There's quite a bit going on in that little section. In the old rules, groundwater "must be protected from radiological contamination." Now, "Consideration" must be given to "avoiding or minimizing" potential contamination.
Monitoring was required. Now it can be implemented "as appropriate."
Monitoring was required. Now it can be implemented "as appropriate."
January 28, 2026 at 1:41 PM
You may consider avoiding becoming death, destroyer of worlds, as appropriate.
Reposted by Tony Dutzik
I s'pose that's one way to cut nuclear costs:
"Trump administration secretly loosens nuclear safety rules" www.npr.org/2026/01/28/n...
"Trump administration secretly loosens nuclear safety rules" www.npr.org/2026/01/28/n...
January 28, 2026 at 12:07 PM
I s'pose that's one way to cut nuclear costs:
"Trump administration secretly loosens nuclear safety rules" www.npr.org/2026/01/28/n...
"Trump administration secretly loosens nuclear safety rules" www.npr.org/2026/01/28/n...
Firm, baseload power from abundant surplus hydro, blah blah. Incredible how the first week has validated every skeptical argument people have made about relying on this project for decarbonization for the last decade-plus. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/01/26/b...
New power line provided little juice to New England during Sunday’s storm, frigid temperatures - The Boston Globe
The New England Clean Energy Connect has essentially been missing in action since late Saturday, as Hydro-Québec kept electricity for its own needs.
www.bostonglobe.com
January 27, 2026 at 1:27 PM
Firm, baseload power from abundant surplus hydro, blah blah. Incredible how the first week has validated every skeptical argument people have made about relying on this project for decarbonization for the last decade-plus. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/01/26/b...
Reposted by Tony Dutzik
I want to remind everyone that the traffic forecast used to justify road widenings is bogus. We know that DOTs know this is true because they don't check their past forecasts and oppose any proposal that would have them do that.
t4america.org/2023/06/29/t...
t4america.org/2023/06/29/t...
The traffic forecast used to justify your road widening is bogus - Transportation For America
The predicted traffic levels on which transportation planners base their decisions are erroneous and rooted in obsolete methods. Here’s how transportation models fail to accurately predict future traf...
t4america.org
January 26, 2026 at 7:45 PM
I want to remind everyone that the traffic forecast used to justify road widenings is bogus. We know that DOTs know this is true because they don't check their past forecasts and oppose any proposal that would have them do that.
t4america.org/2023/06/29/t...
t4america.org/2023/06/29/t...
Reposted by Tony Dutzik
We are destroying ecosystems that will take centuries to recover for some cobalt and nickel.
Meanwhile… “Experts question whether demand will remain strong. For instance, Chinese battery makers, who produce most of the world’s batteries, have recently moved away from using cobalt and nickel.”
Meanwhile… “Experts question whether demand will remain strong. For instance, Chinese battery makers, who produce most of the world’s batteries, have recently moved away from using cobalt and nickel.”
New U.S. Rule Aims to Speed Up Mining of the Seafloor
www.nytimes.com
January 24, 2026 at 5:03 AM
We are destroying ecosystems that will take centuries to recover for some cobalt and nickel.
Meanwhile… “Experts question whether demand will remain strong. For instance, Chinese battery makers, who produce most of the world’s batteries, have recently moved away from using cobalt and nickel.”
Meanwhile… “Experts question whether demand will remain strong. For instance, Chinese battery makers, who produce most of the world’s batteries, have recently moved away from using cobalt and nickel.”
Can we please stop talking about “transportation abundance”?
“Transportation” (cars, highways) is already abundant. There is no organic “abundance movement” to ride the coattails of (aside from the YIMBYs, a subset of whom are pro-auto sprawl). And “abundance” is a loser of a political frame.
“Transportation” (cars, highways) is already abundant. There is no organic “abundance movement” to ride the coattails of (aside from the YIMBYs, a subset of whom are pro-auto sprawl). And “abundance” is a loser of a political frame.
January 23, 2026 at 11:23 AM
Can we please stop talking about “transportation abundance”?
“Transportation” (cars, highways) is already abundant. There is no organic “abundance movement” to ride the coattails of (aside from the YIMBYs, a subset of whom are pro-auto sprawl). And “abundance” is a loser of a political frame.
“Transportation” (cars, highways) is already abundant. There is no organic “abundance movement” to ride the coattails of (aside from the YIMBYs, a subset of whom are pro-auto sprawl). And “abundance” is a loser of a political frame.
It’s trippy public art season in Boston again.
January 21, 2026 at 1:36 PM
It’s trippy public art season in Boston again.
This goal felt wildly ambitious at the time. Good things are possible.
More than 2.5 million fully electric and plug-in hybrid cars have been sold in California since 2010, surpassing Jerry Brown's goal of 1.5 million by 2025: www.latimes.com/business/sto...
California exceeds clean car goal despite declining federal support
California has surpassed a goal set in 2012 to put 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles on the road by 2025, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced at the World Economic Forum.
www.latimes.com
January 21, 2026 at 11:13 AM
This goal felt wildly ambitious at the time. Good things are possible.
Reposted by Tony Dutzik
More than 2.5 million fully electric and plug-in hybrid cars have been sold in California since 2010, surpassing Jerry Brown's goal of 1.5 million by 2025: www.latimes.com/business/sto...
California exceeds clean car goal despite declining federal support
California has surpassed a goal set in 2012 to put 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles on the road by 2025, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced at the World Economic Forum.
www.latimes.com
January 21, 2026 at 3:53 AM
More than 2.5 million fully electric and plug-in hybrid cars have been sold in California since 2010, surpassing Jerry Brown's goal of 1.5 million by 2025: www.latimes.com/business/sto...
Reposted by Tony Dutzik
A target becomes a force that pushes action towards a shared outcome. We do this because every molecule of greenhouse gas we keep in the ground is another notch of pain and consequence avoided.
Killing climate targets is what you do when every tenth of a degree *does not* matter
Killing climate targets is what you do when every tenth of a degree *does not* matter
January 17, 2026 at 4:30 PM
A target becomes a force that pushes action towards a shared outcome. We do this because every molecule of greenhouse gas we keep in the ground is another notch of pain and consequence avoided.
Killing climate targets is what you do when every tenth of a degree *does not* matter
Killing climate targets is what you do when every tenth of a degree *does not* matter
One downside of reducing enviro/climate conversations to either dollars and cents or tons of CO2 is that the potential for clean energy to fundamentally transform our relationships and experience of the world is pushed out of the picture.
As far as I can tell, @billmckibben.bsky.social is the only writer with any real reach who is discussing the liberatory potential of distributed solar power. I'd like that subject to get a lot more air time.
Solar as Solidarity
It's not just for saving planets any more
billmckibben.substack.com
January 16, 2026 at 3:31 PM
One downside of reducing enviro/climate conversations to either dollars and cents or tons of CO2 is that the potential for clean energy to fundamentally transform our relationships and experience of the world is pushed out of the picture.
Reposted by Tony Dutzik
As far as I can tell, @billmckibben.bsky.social is the only writer with any real reach who is discussing the liberatory potential of distributed solar power. I'd like that subject to get a lot more air time.
Solar as Solidarity
It's not just for saving planets any more
billmckibben.substack.com
January 15, 2026 at 9:41 PM
As far as I can tell, @billmckibben.bsky.social is the only writer with any real reach who is discussing the liberatory potential of distributed solar power. I'd like that subject to get a lot more air time.
But data center water consumption concerns are fake news, dontchaknow.
Fantastic reporting by @aprilehrlich.bsky.social on a desperate water grab in The Dalles that local politicians say is not for Google data centers, but that is definitely just for Google data centers: www.opb.org/article/2026...
As Google’s water demands grow, The Dalles aims to pull more from Mount Hood forest
The Dalles, a rural city in north-central Oregon, wants to expand its reservoir in the Mount Hood National Forest so it can store more water. While city officials say the water is needed for a growing...
www.opb.org
January 15, 2026 at 7:19 PM
But data center water consumption concerns are fake news, dontchaknow.
Reposted by Tony Dutzik
I hope we have all learned the lesson now that a mothballed or low capacity factor fossil power plant is not a retired or demolished coal plant. Please don't make this mistake again.
January 15, 2026 at 3:47 AM
I hope we have all learned the lesson now that a mothballed or low capacity factor fossil power plant is not a retired or demolished coal plant. Please don't make this mistake again.
Reposted by Tony Dutzik
I want to talk about a dystopian world we are entering - where every moment, event, and crisis just become commodities.
Life stops being something we live, but something we sell and trade. It will breed both corruption & emptiness.
1/ A 🧵on why our politics can't ignore this.
Life stops being something we live, but something we sell and trade. It will breed both corruption & emptiness.
1/ A 🧵on why our politics can't ignore this.
January 14, 2026 at 10:59 PM
I want to talk about a dystopian world we are entering - where every moment, event, and crisis just become commodities.
Life stops being something we live, but something we sell and trade. It will breed both corruption & emptiness.
1/ A 🧵on why our politics can't ignore this.
Life stops being something we live, but something we sell and trade. It will breed both corruption & emptiness.
1/ A 🧵on why our politics can't ignore this.
The first solar-anything I ever owned was a hand-held calculator. Since then, distributed solar panels have come to power all sorts of things in our daily lives. This new piece by Nilou Yaar calls attention to solar "stuff" that can fade into the background of daily life.
Solar isn’t just on rooftops anymore. It’s quietly powering benches, streetlights, bus shelters, and traffic signs. Our new article by Nilou Yaar looks at where small solar is showing up – often without us noticing. frontiergroup.org/articles/sma...
Small solar power is suddenly everywhere
Small solar power is quietly becoming part of everyday life, powering ordinary things like benches, lights and signs. Electricity can now be produced right where it’s needed, making daily infrastructu...
frontiergroup.org
January 14, 2026 at 10:06 PM
The first solar-anything I ever owned was a hand-held calculator. Since then, distributed solar panels have come to power all sorts of things in our daily lives. This new piece by Nilou Yaar calls attention to solar "stuff" that can fade into the background of daily life.
And, updating our classic "how badly did we misread the future" chart, Americans drove 1.2 trillion *fewer* miles than the U.S. Department of Energy had forecast 20 years earlier (though recent forecasts have been far more reaonable).
January 14, 2026 at 8:08 PM
And, updating our classic "how badly did we misread the future" chart, Americans drove 1.2 trillion *fewer* miles than the U.S. Department of Energy had forecast 20 years earlier (though recent forecasts have been far more reaonable).
Final 2024 data on U.S. vehicle travel out from FHWA. Total miles driven surpassed pre-pandemic levels for the first time. Vehicle travel per capita was up 0.5% over 2023, but remains 4.3% below the peak year of 2004.
January 14, 2026 at 7:56 PM
Final 2024 data on U.S. vehicle travel out from FHWA. Total miles driven surpassed pre-pandemic levels for the first time. Vehicle travel per capita was up 0.5% over 2023, but remains 4.3% below the peak year of 2004.
Reposted by Tony Dutzik
Globally, no single day in 2025 was cooler than its 1991-2020 average.
climate.copernicus.eu/global-clima...
climate.copernicus.eu/global-clima...
January 14, 2026 at 12:44 PM
Globally, no single day in 2025 was cooler than its 1991-2020 average.
climate.copernicus.eu/global-clima...
climate.copernicus.eu/global-clima...