Sara Hastings-Simon 🇨🇦
@shastingssimon.bsky.social
Currently on partial medical leave and Associate professor, Dept of Earth, Energy, and Environment, University of Calgary; co-director http://NZERI.ca; energy/carbon/innovation policy + bikes.
Pinned
Hi from Alberta where I’m a professor at University of Calgary in the dept of earth energy and environment. I’m a physicist turned mgmt consultant turned think tanker now researching the energy transition. I love e-bikes and etrikes. And I’m currently on med leave fighting breast cancer.
People will literally drive electricity on a train instead of building transmission lines
(I haven't looked into the economics/physics of this at all, but its a great example of how policy matters for energy systems)
(I haven't looked into the economics/physics of this at all, but its a great example of how policy matters for energy systems)
Last week SunTrain announced a project with Xcel Energy to transport electricity stored on railcars into the Cherokee Generating Station in Denver.
🔌💡
Today I published a piece on why "Trainsmission" makes sense from a capital efficiency perspective.
🧵
www.planetarytech.earth/posts/suntra...
🔌💡
Today I published a piece on why "Trainsmission" makes sense from a capital efficiency perspective.
🧵
www.planetarytech.earth/posts/suntra...
Planetary Technologies is an investment fund with the mission to find scalable technologies that can help the world mature beyond fossil fuels at the pace necessary to avoid unsustainable warming. Pla...
Summary SunTrain is developing technology that enables point-to-point electricity distribution as a service using existing Class 1 rail infrastructure, a capability that the company calls Trai...
www.planetarytech.earth
November 10, 2025 at 7:10 PM
People will literally drive electricity on a train instead of building transmission lines
(I haven't looked into the economics/physics of this at all, but its a great example of how policy matters for energy systems)
(I haven't looked into the economics/physics of this at all, but its a great example of how policy matters for energy systems)
I'm going to be in a room full of doctors on Friday morning but this time its to give a talk about energy transition its quite the contrast with having to go for an infusion later that day but it feels like a step in the right direction 💪👏
November 10, 2025 at 6:25 PM
I'm going to be in a room full of doctors on Friday morning but this time its to give a talk about energy transition its quite the contrast with having to go for an infusion later that day but it feels like a step in the right direction 💪👏
Reposted by Sara Hastings-Simon 🇨🇦
November 9, 2025 at 11:09 PM
Reposted by Sara Hastings-Simon 🇨🇦
Rosalind Franklin died at 37 of ovarian cancer attributed to radiation exposure from the methods she & her assistant used to photograph a cross-section of the DNA double helix.
Meanwhile, Watson won a Nobel off that work & survived to the ripe old age of 97 by simply: stealing those notes!
Meanwhile, Watson won a Nobel off that work & survived to the ripe old age of 97 by simply: stealing those notes!
Hey folks, as news of Watson's demise spreads, please don't set aside his weighty legacy of misogyny and racism. He was truly among the worst of us. www.vox.com/2019/1/15/18...
DNA scientist James Watson has a remarkably long history of sexist, racist public comments
“People say it would be terrible if we made all girls pretty,” he said in 2003. “I think it would be great.”
www.vox.com
November 7, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Rosalind Franklin died at 37 of ovarian cancer attributed to radiation exposure from the methods she & her assistant used to photograph a cross-section of the DNA double helix.
Meanwhile, Watson won a Nobel off that work & survived to the ripe old age of 97 by simply: stealing those notes!
Meanwhile, Watson won a Nobel off that work & survived to the ripe old age of 97 by simply: stealing those notes!
Reposted by Sara Hastings-Simon 🇨🇦
Thinking only of Rosalind Franklin today, and what was stolen from her (and so many other female scientists alongside her).
Rosalind Franklin and the damage of gender harassment
Spurred by a recent report on sexual harassment in academia, our columnist revisits a historical case and reflects on what has changed—and what hasn’t
www.science.org
November 7, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Thinking only of Rosalind Franklin today, and what was stolen from her (and so many other female scientists alongside her).
When you haven’t given a general “state of the energy transition” talk in a year and you need to update all your slides because of how much things have changed
November 7, 2025 at 7:06 PM
When you haven’t given a general “state of the energy transition” talk in a year and you need to update all your slides because of how much things have changed
Reposted by Sara Hastings-Simon 🇨🇦
WE ARE HIRING FOR TWO POSITIONS!
1) A part-time Consumer Protection Lead (job description here: buff.ly/gdMxHQR)
2) A part-time Communications Lead (job description here: buff.ly/dhifVoP)
Email your cover letter and resume to Heather MacKenzie at executive.director@solaralberta.ca.
1) A part-time Consumer Protection Lead (job description here: buff.ly/gdMxHQR)
2) A part-time Communications Lead (job description here: buff.ly/dhifVoP)
Email your cover letter and resume to Heather MacKenzie at executive.director@solaralberta.ca.
November 6, 2025 at 9:00 PM
WE ARE HIRING FOR TWO POSITIONS!
1) A part-time Consumer Protection Lead (job description here: buff.ly/gdMxHQR)
2) A part-time Communications Lead (job description here: buff.ly/dhifVoP)
Email your cover letter and resume to Heather MacKenzie at executive.director@solaralberta.ca.
1) A part-time Consumer Protection Lead (job description here: buff.ly/gdMxHQR)
2) A part-time Communications Lead (job description here: buff.ly/dhifVoP)
Email your cover letter and resume to Heather MacKenzie at executive.director@solaralberta.ca.
Reposted by Sara Hastings-Simon 🇨🇦
According to an email obtained by The Narwhal, MAGA Energy’s revenues had dropped and the company was in “survival mode” when Alberta allowed it to acquire 170 oil wells. Now, the company isn’t paying its bills to landowners and owes taxes to at least one municipality. thenarwhal.ca/maga-energy-...
Alberta allowed cash-strapped MAGA Energy to acquire 170 wells | The Narwhal
The Alberta Energy Regulator approved MAGA Energy, already in financial distress, to acquire 170 oil and gas wells. Unpaid bills will likely fall on taxpayers
thenarwhal.ca
November 6, 2025 at 9:26 PM
According to an email obtained by The Narwhal, MAGA Energy’s revenues had dropped and the company was in “survival mode” when Alberta allowed it to acquire 170 oil wells. Now, the company isn’t paying its bills to landowners and owes taxes to at least one municipality. thenarwhal.ca/maga-energy-...
FIFA making Trump a peace prize has got to be one of the dumbest example of pandering corruption in a while (and thats a high bar)
November 6, 2025 at 4:45 PM
FIFA making Trump a peace prize has got to be one of the dumbest example of pandering corruption in a while (and thats a high bar)
I know I shouldn't have but I clicked on it
- women in the workplace are bad because they care about people and make things woke
- date rape shouldn't be considered rape if the men are just awkward (this is an insult to all awkward men out there who manage just fine to not rape women)
then I stopped
- women in the workplace are bad because they care about people and make things woke
- date rape shouldn't be considered rape if the men are just awkward (this is an insult to all awkward men out there who manage just fine to not rape women)
then I stopped
November 6, 2025 at 4:41 PM
I know I shouldn't have but I clicked on it
- women in the workplace are bad because they care about people and make things woke
- date rape shouldn't be considered rape if the men are just awkward (this is an insult to all awkward men out there who manage just fine to not rape women)
then I stopped
- women in the workplace are bad because they care about people and make things woke
- date rape shouldn't be considered rape if the men are just awkward (this is an insult to all awkward men out there who manage just fine to not rape women)
then I stopped
Reposted by Sara Hastings-Simon 🇨🇦
Some comments from me on the geohazards that could impact an oil pipeline from AB to BC coast, following @davidebybc.bsky.social and First Nations' continued opposition. More thoughts in the below thread from ~6 months ago 🧪⚒️ @ctvnewscalgary.bsky.social www.ctvnews.ca/calgary/arti...
Alberta gov’t reaction to B.C. premier, Indigenous leaders calling for oil tanker ban to remain
A coalition of Indigenous leaders and the B.C. premier are demanding the federal moratorium on oil tanker traffic off the province’s north coast be upheld.
www.ctvnews.ca
November 6, 2025 at 3:11 AM
Some comments from me on the geohazards that could impact an oil pipeline from AB to BC coast, following @davidebybc.bsky.social and First Nations' continued opposition. More thoughts in the below thread from ~6 months ago 🧪⚒️ @ctvnewscalgary.bsky.social www.ctvnews.ca/calgary/arti...
I don’t know if anyone will believe it but he came up with this idea all on his own (my help was just in how to look at existing laws to find examples of how different parts are written)
November 6, 2025 at 1:38 AM
I don’t know if anyone will believe it but he came up with this idea all on his own (my help was just in how to look at existing laws to find examples of how different parts are written)
Reposted by Sara Hastings-Simon 🇨🇦
Claudia Sheinbaum says she's pressing charges against the man who groped her this week outside Mexico's presidential palace.
“It is something that all women in our country experience,” she said. “If I do not report the crime ... what condition will all Mexican women be left in?”
wapo.st/4852563
“It is something that all women in our country experience,” she said. “If I do not report the crime ... what condition will all Mexican women be left in?”
wapo.st/4852563
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum pressing charges in groping incident
Mexico’s first female president said she is pressing charges against her assailant, sending a message in a country where harassment of women is common.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 5, 2025 at 11:23 PM
Claudia Sheinbaum says she's pressing charges against the man who groped her this week outside Mexico's presidential palace.
“It is something that all women in our country experience,” she said. “If I do not report the crime ... what condition will all Mexican women be left in?”
wapo.st/4852563
“It is something that all women in our country experience,” she said. “If I do not report the crime ... what condition will all Mexican women be left in?”
wapo.st/4852563
I sometimes get offended that my kids go to my husband and not me when they have questions on their math homework (I’m not a theoretical physicist but I’m pretty good at middle school math) but they have a homework assignment where they have to write a legislation and I’m feeling very valuable!
November 5, 2025 at 11:49 PM
I sometimes get offended that my kids go to my husband and not me when they have questions on their math homework (I’m not a theoretical physicist but I’m pretty good at middle school math) but they have a homework assignment where they have to write a legislation and I’m feeling very valuable!
Reposted by Sara Hastings-Simon 🇨🇦
In Alberta, landowners can’t deny oil and gas wells on their properties, but they’re entitled to compensation. Some companies fail to pay those bills — and rural Albertans are tired of waiting. They're also tired of that repayment, eventually, coming from taxpayers. thenarwhal.ca/alberta-land...
Rural Albertans face growing problems with oil and gas wells | The Narwhal
The Alberta government is pushing a new plan to deal with years of regulatory failure. Alberta landowners aren’t convinced
thenarwhal.ca
November 5, 2025 at 1:59 PM
In Alberta, landowners can’t deny oil and gas wells on their properties, but they’re entitled to compensation. Some companies fail to pay those bills — and rural Albertans are tired of waiting. They're also tired of that repayment, eventually, coming from taxpayers. thenarwhal.ca/alberta-land...
Requiring cyclists to come to a full stop at stop signs just slows drivers down. I know because I, the canonical rule follower, come to a full stop, and then I have to slowly accelerate when it's my turn. Same with making cyclists dismount to cross the crosswalk - much slower than riding across.
"it’s important to remember that cars are the main structural hazard on our roads" - not people on bikes slowly rolling through stop signs. #roadsafety
theconversation.com/cyclists-may...
theconversation.com/cyclists-may...
Cyclists may be right to run stop signs and red lights. Here’s why
Should cyclists be allowed to treat stop signs as yield signs? This rule from Idaho is divisive, but the scientific data is surprising.
theconversation.com
November 5, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Requiring cyclists to come to a full stop at stop signs just slows drivers down. I know because I, the canonical rule follower, come to a full stop, and then I have to slowly accelerate when it's my turn. Same with making cyclists dismount to cross the crosswalk - much slower than riding across.
Rather than a broad take on the budget I will put forward an offer - I will make a wager with anyone who believes that, as the budget states, in the absence of the oil and gas gap that roughly the same emissions reductions will be achieved through other measures (for 2030, especially oil sands)
November 4, 2025 at 11:54 PM
Rather than a broad take on the budget I will put forward an offer - I will make a wager with anyone who believes that, as the budget states, in the absence of the oil and gas gap that roughly the same emissions reductions will be achieved through other measures (for 2030, especially oil sands)
Reposted by Sara Hastings-Simon 🇨🇦
In many places, these covenants banning multi-unit housing served to perpetuate exclusion and class segregation after racially discriminatory clauses became unenforcable. They continue to keep apartment dwellers out of some of Halifax's most walkable, centrally located neighbourhoods.
As Halifax deals with a housing crisis, some of the wealthiest Haligonians have a different concern. Residents of some south-end peninsula neighbourhoods are concerned about “losing single-family density”
(Aside: I would definitely not call these the “final” hurdles to development)
(Aside: I would definitely not call these the “final” hurdles to development)
Halifax has removed the final hurdle to development in some areas — and neighbours are fighting back | CBC News
A wealthy Halifax neighbourhood with tree-lined streets and grand homes on the Northwest Arm has become one of the latest battlegrounds in the city’s push to build more housing.
www.cbc.ca
November 4, 2025 at 5:38 PM
In many places, these covenants banning multi-unit housing served to perpetuate exclusion and class segregation after racially discriminatory clauses became unenforcable. They continue to keep apartment dwellers out of some of Halifax's most walkable, centrally located neighbourhoods.
Reposted by Sara Hastings-Simon 🇨🇦
Canada needs to catch up! @energyvsclimate.bsky.social hosts @davidkeith.bsky.social, @shastingssimon.bsky.social, & Ed Whittingham lay out how we're lagging behind in matters of energy, environment, and the economy...
📺 FULL: rtrj.info/103125RTRT
🎧 FULL: rtrj.info/103125pod #cdnpoli 🇨🇦 #RealTalkRJ
📺 FULL: rtrj.info/103125RTRT
🎧 FULL: rtrj.info/103125pod #cdnpoli 🇨🇦 #RealTalkRJ
November 4, 2025 at 12:01 AM
Canada needs to catch up! @energyvsclimate.bsky.social hosts @davidkeith.bsky.social, @shastingssimon.bsky.social, & Ed Whittingham lay out how we're lagging behind in matters of energy, environment, and the economy...
📺 FULL: rtrj.info/103125RTRT
🎧 FULL: rtrj.info/103125pod #cdnpoli 🇨🇦 #RealTalkRJ
📺 FULL: rtrj.info/103125RTRT
🎧 FULL: rtrj.info/103125pod #cdnpoli 🇨🇦 #RealTalkRJ
Reposted by Sara Hastings-Simon 🇨🇦
Research explainer for some of my #energydemocracy work @royalroads.ca, with researchers and practitioners from across #Canada. Features our new map of energy co-operatives and how grassroots #innovation, #diversity and #justice is essential for #climate action. #energysky youtu.be/9qy7EKgYTok
Research in Action - Julie MacArthur: The Power Shift: Energy transitions and community empowerment
YouTube video by Royal Roads University
youtu.be
November 3, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Research explainer for some of my #energydemocracy work @royalroads.ca, with researchers and practitioners from across #Canada. Features our new map of energy co-operatives and how grassroots #innovation, #diversity and #justice is essential for #climate action. #energysky youtu.be/9qy7EKgYTok
I have no idea how either of them might be problematic (or not!) but I love this and Denmark must have the coolest gifts to give other nations.
Anyway, we need some joy, so here's the Egyptian foreign minister being given a Lego Pyramid by the Danish foreign minister.
November 3, 2025 at 6:53 PM
I have no idea how either of them might be problematic (or not!) but I love this and Denmark must have the coolest gifts to give other nations.
Reposted by Sara Hastings-Simon 🇨🇦
Yet another pedestrian death on Calgary's streets. This article doesn't include the context that last month, three pedestrians were killed in 24 hours and #yyc surpassed last year’s 10-year high for fatal traffic collisions. We need to talk about this more. #yyccc
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Elderly pedestrian dies after being struck in downtown crosswalk | CBC News
Calgary police are investigating after an elderly woman was killed in a downtown crosswalk on the weekend.
www.cbc.ca
November 3, 2025 at 4:38 PM
Yet another pedestrian death on Calgary's streets. This article doesn't include the context that last month, three pedestrians were killed in 24 hours and #yyc surpassed last year’s 10-year high for fatal traffic collisions. We need to talk about this more. #yyccc
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Reposted by Sara Hastings-Simon 🇨🇦
Not sure how to do this but dear councillors and new mayor the University is here to help you. We have an existing agreement to help you research anything you need evidence for. I mean not just me. Anyone. It’s called the Urban Alliance agreement
Good morning from Calgary city hall!
City council is meeting for the first time (picking up the meeting recessed at the swearing in)
The organizational meeting will determine who will make up the various boards and committees.
City council is meeting for the first time (picking up the meeting recessed at the swearing in)
The organizational meeting will determine who will make up the various boards and committees.
November 3, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Not sure how to do this but dear councillors and new mayor the University is here to help you. We have an existing agreement to help you research anything you need evidence for. I mean not just me. Anyone. It’s called the Urban Alliance agreement