Z Smith
@zesmith3.bsky.social
Architect. New Orleans, Louisiana. FAIA, PhD. Climate- and grid-aware buildings and building policy. Principal and Director of Sustainability and Building Performance at EskewDumezRipple.
Reposted by Z Smith
Looks longingly at Florida Avenue canal
"Putting solar arrays above water can help keep panels cool, in turn improving their efficiency and electricity output. Shade from the panels can also prevent water loss through evaporation in drought-prone regions and can limit algae growth in waterways." Looks good too!
California's first solar-covered canal is now fully online
The 1.6-MW pilot system is among a growing number of initiatives to put solar over waterways. The approach could generate gigawatts of power nationwide.
www.canarymedia.com
September 11, 2025 at 12:44 PM
Looks longingly at Florida Avenue canal
Reposted by Z Smith
The sound of the entire @indivisiblenola meeting booing Eugene Green, Oliver Thomas and their super-powered surveillance ordinance is literally music to my ears! 🎵🎶🎶
August 12, 2025 at 12:13 AM
The sound of the entire @indivisiblenola meeting booing Eugene Green, Oliver Thomas and their super-powered surveillance ordinance is literally music to my ears! 🎵🎶🎶
Reposted by Z Smith
Mary Hunt, the forgotten mother of penicillin.
All of the penicillin in use worldwide comes from a strain of mold that was growing on a cantaloupe bought at a grocery store in Peoria, Illinois in 1942.
What’s your favorite food fact that is true but sounds totally made up?
I’ll start: about half of the mushrooms produced across the United States of America each year (more than 300 million pounds of mushrooms in recent years) are produced in *one county* in Pennsylvania.
I’ll start: about half of the mushrooms produced across the United States of America each year (more than 300 million pounds of mushrooms in recent years) are produced in *one county* in Pennsylvania.
August 10, 2025 at 10:51 AM
Mary Hunt, the forgotten mother of penicillin.
This whole thread, combining facts, fairness, and a sense of humor. (“Not to be flippant but evolution did see to it that we're really good at getting food off of trees & bushes. We have a rather meaningful several-million-year head start over the robots here.”)
Ex-farm worker here.
We need to talk about this whole "But a living wage for farm workers would spike the cost of food!" thing.
Not true AT ALL.
Y'all don't understand how fast experienced farm workers are.
The average tomato picker pulls 650lbs per hour.
At $20/hr, that's $0.03/lb for labor.
We need to talk about this whole "But a living wage for farm workers would spike the cost of food!" thing.
Not true AT ALL.
Y'all don't understand how fast experienced farm workers are.
The average tomato picker pulls 650lbs per hour.
At $20/hr, that's $0.03/lb for labor.
July 13, 2025 at 9:48 PM
This whole thread, combining facts, fairness, and a sense of humor. (“Not to be flippant but evolution did see to it that we're really good at getting food off of trees & bushes. We have a rather meaningful several-million-year head start over the robots here.”)
Reposted by Z Smith
The situation in DTLA to which 700 Marines have been deployed is a couple dozen interfaith clergypersons leading a small crowd in prayer.
June 9, 2025 at 8:43 PM
The situation in DTLA to which 700 Marines have been deployed is a couple dozen interfaith clergypersons leading a small crowd in prayer.
Reposted by Z Smith
Lol just heard the NPR story about the DOGE guy who lost his job when he said he was surprised at how hard it was to find inefficiencies in the federal govt because he came from Silicon Valley where companies always have lots of people sitting around doing nothing
June 2, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Lol just heard the NPR story about the DOGE guy who lost his job when he said he was surprised at how hard it was to find inefficiencies in the federal govt because he came from Silicon Valley where companies always have lots of people sitting around doing nothing
Reposted by Z Smith
something that stands out about this is just how cheap it is for us to have world-leading scientific capacity
we spent ~6.75 trillion last year, and the combined budgets for NIH, NSF and NASA are barely more than 1% of that
what an incredible waste to lose it all for a drop in the bucket
we spent ~6.75 trillion last year, and the combined budgets for NIH, NSF and NASA are barely more than 1% of that
what an incredible waste to lose it all for a drop in the bucket
There are 2 previous historical cases of countries destroying their science and universities, crippling them for decades: Lysenkoism in the USSR and Nazi Germany. The Trump administration will be the 3rd.
It's not just budgets but research, institutions, expertise, and training the next generation.
It's not just budgets but research, institutions, expertise, and training the next generation.
May 31, 2025 at 4:19 PM
something that stands out about this is just how cheap it is for us to have world-leading scientific capacity
we spent ~6.75 trillion last year, and the combined budgets for NIH, NSF and NASA are barely more than 1% of that
what an incredible waste to lose it all for a drop in the bucket
we spent ~6.75 trillion last year, and the combined budgets for NIH, NSF and NASA are barely more than 1% of that
what an incredible waste to lose it all for a drop in the bucket
Reposted by Z Smith
If only the state could invest in some sort of technology that would help power the city on a sunny, windy day like today...
#OUTAGEALERT
The regional transmission organization that Entergy New Orleans is part of called MISO is shedding load in New Orleans. This is leading to the power outages, and unfortunately this was done with only a 3 minute notice to the utility and no notice to regulators.
The regional transmission organization that Entergy New Orleans is part of called MISO is shedding load in New Orleans. This is leading to the power outages, and unfortunately this was done with only a 3 minute notice to the utility and no notice to regulators.
May 25, 2025 at 10:30 PM
If only the state could invest in some sort of technology that would help power the city on a sunny, windy day like today...
Reposted by Z Smith
Am I crazy or did we just have a convo about how we can't fund cancer research?
May 23, 2025 at 2:23 AM
Am I crazy or did we just have a convo about how we can't fund cancer research?
Reposted by Z Smith
Building a mass movement (instead of a subculture) will require a lot of cringe, so get comfortable with it
April 5, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Building a mass movement (instead of a subculture) will require a lot of cringe, so get comfortable with it
Totally peaceful, but never demure. #TeslaTakedown protests at the New Orleans Tesla service center get covered by #AP and #TheGuardian. #NOLAsky
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Elon Musk faces week of harsh setbacks amid Tesla selloff and Doge backlash
After a SpaceX rocket exploded, investors offloaded Tesla shares and Doge hit legal roadblocks, the world’s richest man saw his fortune sink by $100bn
www.theguardian.com
March 15, 2025 at 9:36 PM
Totally peaceful, but never demure. #TeslaTakedown protests at the New Orleans Tesla service center get covered by #AP and #TheGuardian. #NOLAsky
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Lots support at the first #TeslaTakedown in New Orleans #NOLAsky.
March 14, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Lots support at the first #TeslaTakedown in New Orleans #NOLAsky.
Reposted by Z Smith
Let's just all agree to call renewables "domestic energy security" for the next four years.
Florida vaulted past California last year in terms of new utility-scale solar capacity plugged into its grid, despite state leadership opposed to climate action:
Florida is now a solar superpower. Here’s how it happened.
The Sunshine State built more large-scale solar than California last year and was again No. 2 for residential, despite state leadership opposed to climate…
www.canarymedia.com
March 11, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Let's just all agree to call renewables "domestic energy security" for the next four years.
Hundreds turn out to #standupforscience New Orleans #NOLAsky.
March 7, 2025 at 10:39 PM
Hundreds turn out to #standupforscience New Orleans #NOLAsky.
This whole thread, from the department of bad-but-maybe not-as-bad-as-it-we-thought-it-might-be news. Things are grim but the clean energy transition is unstoppable. Every tenth of a degree matters. We can keep pushing.
I have a new paper in Dialogues on Climate Change exploring climate outcomes under current policies. I find that we are likely headed toward 2.7C by 2100 (with uncertainties from 1.9C to 3.7C), and that high end emissions scenarios have become much less likely.
journals.sagepub.com...
journals.sagepub.com...
January 21, 2025 at 10:18 PM
This whole thread, from the department of bad-but-maybe not-as-bad-as-it-we-thought-it-might-be news. Things are grim but the clean energy transition is unstoppable. Every tenth of a degree matters. We can keep pushing.
This thread.
Seen a few folks astonished by my lack of support for ChatGPT and similar. Because AI, right?
Yeah, no. What we have right now is glorified autocorrect. Glorified autocorrect that takes the energy of an entire city to do what it does, plus half of Lake Erie to cool down while it's doing it.
Yeah, no. What we have right now is glorified autocorrect. Glorified autocorrect that takes the energy of an entire city to do what it does, plus half of Lake Erie to cool down while it's doing it.
December 28, 2024 at 11:47 AM
This thread.
Reposted by Z Smith
Good morning with good news: SMECI in Texas will convert its 410 MW coal plant to 400 MW solar & 200 MW batteries!
Solar & batteries will operate by 2027! The coal plant would have run to 2037!
The IRA funds a $1.4 billion grant for this conversion.
bauaelectric.com/news/one-of-...
#energysky
Solar & batteries will operate by 2027! The coal plant would have run to 2037!
The IRA funds a $1.4 billion grant for this conversion.
bauaelectric.com/news/one-of-...
#energysky
One of Texas' dirtiest coal plants will swap to solar with help from US grant | Bauaelectric EV News
A coal plant in South Texas will shut down and convert to a solar + battery electricity generation facility, with the help of a $1.4 billion grant from the US Department of Agriculture meant to help c...
bauaelectric.com
December 23, 2024 at 1:10 PM
Good morning with good news: SMECI in Texas will convert its 410 MW coal plant to 400 MW solar & 200 MW batteries!
Solar & batteries will operate by 2027! The coal plant would have run to 2037!
The IRA funds a $1.4 billion grant for this conversion.
bauaelectric.com/news/one-of-...
#energysky
Solar & batteries will operate by 2027! The coal plant would have run to 2037!
The IRA funds a $1.4 billion grant for this conversion.
bauaelectric.com/news/one-of-...
#energysky
Reposted by Z Smith
Coal's share of Texas's electricity plunged from 37% in 2000 to 13% in 2023. How? Mainly by huge growth of wind, solar and batteries.
What about gas? Interestingly gas was 51% of Texas's electricity in 2000 and still 51% in 2023.
Gas has not been replacing coal in Texas. W&S&B have.
#energysky
What about gas? Interestingly gas was 51% of Texas's electricity in 2000 and still 51% in 2023.
Gas has not been replacing coal in Texas. W&S&B have.
#energysky
December 23, 2024 at 1:25 PM
Coal's share of Texas's electricity plunged from 37% in 2000 to 13% in 2023. How? Mainly by huge growth of wind, solar and batteries.
What about gas? Interestingly gas was 51% of Texas's electricity in 2000 and still 51% in 2023.
Gas has not been replacing coal in Texas. W&S&B have.
#energysky
What about gas? Interestingly gas was 51% of Texas's electricity in 2000 and still 51% in 2023.
Gas has not been replacing coal in Texas. W&S&B have.
#energysky
Reposted by Z Smith
English is three languages in a trench coat beating up other languages for spare adjectives.
December 19, 2024 at 2:34 PM
English is three languages in a trench coat beating up other languages for spare adjectives.
Reposted by Z Smith
‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens theonion.com/no-way-to-pr...
December 16, 2024 at 10:20 PM
‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens theonion.com/no-way-to-pr...
Reposted by Z Smith
If you don't want AI to pop up first on all your Google searches you can type "-AI" at the end of the search and the AI disappears.
December 10, 2024 at 9:31 PM
If you don't want AI to pop up first on all your Google searches you can type "-AI" at the end of the search and the AI disappears.