Andrew McDonnell
@andrew-mcdonnell.bsky.social
Alaska dad, husband, skier, biker, scientist, engineer, renewable energy developer
Reposted by Andrew McDonnell
If you're a storymap kind of person, here's one that nicely explains what's happening & why with the glacial lake outburst flooding now underway on the Mendenhall River near Juneau. #akwx #ClimateChange #Flood #Glacier @spiraledu.bsky.social @alaska.bsky.social
storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/72ce...
storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/72ce...
Glacier Outburst Floods: Mendenhall Glacier
Every year since 2011, Juneau, Alaska, has been impacted by a unique type of flood that can only occur near places with glaciers.
storymaps.arcgis.com
August 13, 2025 at 1:42 AM
If you're a storymap kind of person, here's one that nicely explains what's happening & why with the glacial lake outburst flooding now underway on the Mendenhall River near Juneau. #akwx #ClimateChange #Flood #Glacier @spiraledu.bsky.social @alaska.bsky.social
storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/72ce...
storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/72ce...
Reposted by Andrew McDonnell
Just saw someone call the military occupation of DC a distraction, and that’s it, the it’s a distraction people have lost it. We should wait until the bulldozer is running over your house and all chime in with “isn’t there something else we should be talking about”
August 11, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Just saw someone call the military occupation of DC a distraction, and that’s it, the it’s a distraction people have lost it. We should wait until the bulldozer is running over your house and all chime in with “isn’t there something else we should be talking about”
Reposted by Andrew McDonnell
After a Pennsylvania coal plant was shut down, emergency room visits for pediatric asthma declined by 40 percent, according to new research.
We are moving in the wrong direction.
We are moving in the wrong direction.
“I think the best word is validation”: Residents react to research showing immediate health improvements after the closure of a coal processing plant.
Kids in Pennsylvania Are Breathing (Much) Easier After a Coal Plant Shuttered - Inside Climate News
Pediatric asthma ER visits dropped 40 percent after a coal processing plant near Pittsburgh closed down, researchers found.
insideclimatenews.org
August 6, 2025 at 5:56 AM
After a Pennsylvania coal plant was shut down, emergency room visits for pediatric asthma declined by 40 percent, according to new research.
We are moving in the wrong direction.
We are moving in the wrong direction.
Reposted by Andrew McDonnell
If the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is repealed and rolled back, Alaska could see an average residential energy cost increase of 13% or $530-$680 per year by 2035 in some modeled scenarios. #akleg
Household energy costs would increase if Congress rolls back key pollution regulations and repeals the tax credits in the IRA, by 6-9% in 2035 on a national average, and up to 29% in some states. Our latest state-by-state analysis: rhg.com/research/the...
March 21, 2025 at 6:41 PM
If the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is repealed and rolled back, Alaska could see an average residential energy cost increase of 13% or $530-$680 per year by 2035 in some modeled scenarios. #akleg
Reposted by Andrew McDonnell
A great op-ed from Alaska Historical Society calling on the BOR to rescind their motion.
UA board of regents is willfully complicit with a lawless administration www.newsminer.com/opinion/comm...
UA board of regents is willfully complicit with a lawless administration www.newsminer.com/opinion/comm...
March 5, 2025 at 4:59 PM
A great op-ed from Alaska Historical Society calling on the BOR to rescind their motion.
UA board of regents is willfully complicit with a lawless administration www.newsminer.com/opinion/comm...
UA board of regents is willfully complicit with a lawless administration www.newsminer.com/opinion/comm...
Reposted by Andrew McDonnell
Banning words is worse than even banning books. Words are the building blocks of ideas and books and protest. Our lives and human knowledge-all the architecture of words.
February 25, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Banning words is worse than even banning books. Words are the building blocks of ideas and books and protest. Our lives and human knowledge-all the architecture of words.
Reposted by Andrew McDonnell
Ok. So 1000s of federal jobs. The FAA. Energy projects & major grants. Now the USPS. Basically all the interests of the whole state at risk. Let’s play “what will it finally take for AK’s congressional delegation to stop bowing to a fake king & represent us, their constituents, aka their employers?”
February 21, 2025 at 6:26 AM
Ok. So 1000s of federal jobs. The FAA. Energy projects & major grants. Now the USPS. Basically all the interests of the whole state at risk. Let’s play “what will it finally take for AK’s congressional delegation to stop bowing to a fake king & represent us, their constituents, aka their employers?”
Ahhh, i see
1. Richest person on Earth spends $277M to buy an election.
2. In return, gets delegated unconstitutional power to throw Gov't agencies "into wood chipper"
3. Swoops in with his own company in to fill the vacuum of critical gov't services he created.
www.theverge.com/news/614078/...
1. Richest person on Earth spends $277M to buy an election.
2. In return, gets delegated unconstitutional power to throw Gov't agencies "into wood chipper"
3. Swoops in with his own company in to fill the vacuum of critical gov't services he created.
www.theverge.com/news/614078/...
A team from SpaceX is being brought in to overhaul FAA’s air traffic control system
Staff shortages are about to get even worse.
www.theverge.com
February 18, 2025 at 12:35 AM
Ahhh, i see
1. Richest person on Earth spends $277M to buy an election.
2. In return, gets delegated unconstitutional power to throw Gov't agencies "into wood chipper"
3. Swoops in with his own company in to fill the vacuum of critical gov't services he created.
www.theverge.com/news/614078/...
1. Richest person on Earth spends $277M to buy an election.
2. In return, gets delegated unconstitutional power to throw Gov't agencies "into wood chipper"
3. Swoops in with his own company in to fill the vacuum of critical gov't services he created.
www.theverge.com/news/614078/...
District heat networks here in Alaska could provide long term energy security by tapping waste heat and renewables to offset our need for gas, oil, and coal.
“It’s a moonshot.”
Vienna has a $21 billion plan to end its dependence on imported fossil gas with heat pumps, boreholes and energy efficiency.
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Vienna has a $21 billion plan to end its dependence on imported fossil gas with heat pumps, boreholes and energy efficiency.
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Vienna Embraces Heat Pumps to Ditch Russian Gas
The Austrian capital has a $21 billion plan to end its dependence on imported natural gas with heat pumps, boreholes and energy efficiency.
www.bloomberg.com
February 16, 2025 at 6:25 PM
District heat networks here in Alaska could provide long term energy security by tapping waste heat and renewables to offset our need for gas, oil, and coal.
Reposted by Andrew McDonnell
No one alive will experience a better climate than today. But young people will experience a much more dangerous and chaotic world in the future, and the extent to which that happens will depend on our choices today. Trump doesn't care because he's old and a sociopath.
www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/s...
www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/s...
February 16, 2025 at 10:28 AM
No one alive will experience a better climate than today. But young people will experience a much more dangerous and chaotic world in the future, and the extent to which that happens will depend on our choices today. Trump doesn't care because he's old and a sociopath.
www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/s...
www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/s...
Reposted by Andrew McDonnell
I need people to play attention to this 👇 and to what I said on Thursday
www.marketplace.org/2025/02/13/t...
The destruction of politics is coming for the economy
www.marketplace.org/2025/02/13/t...
The destruction of politics is coming for the economy
February 16, 2025 at 3:14 PM
I need people to play attention to this 👇 and to what I said on Thursday
www.marketplace.org/2025/02/13/t...
The destruction of politics is coming for the economy
www.marketplace.org/2025/02/13/t...
The destruction of politics is coming for the economy
Reposted by Andrew McDonnell
Firsthand Accounts: Fairbanks has cut 200 jobs, closed 7 schools, eliminated programs, and increased class sizes—yet more cuts loom. The district has done its part. Now it's up to lawmakers to act. Pass HB 69. www.ktoo.org/gavel/video/... #akleg
February 14, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Firsthand Accounts: Fairbanks has cut 200 jobs, closed 7 schools, eliminated programs, and increased class sizes—yet more cuts loom. The district has done its part. Now it's up to lawmakers to act. Pass HB 69. www.ktoo.org/gavel/video/... #akleg
Reposted by Andrew McDonnell
The price of eggs in the US is spiking, mostly due to #H5N1 bird flu. Solving the problem requires urgent, important communications from the CDC & FDA* and rapid development of research by the NIH**
* Currently paused by Executive Order
** Grant reviews now all canceled
www.kcur.org/news/2025-01...
* Currently paused by Executive Order
** Grant reviews now all canceled
www.kcur.org/news/2025-01...
Egg prices are soaring again. Here’s why and what to expect
Bird flu has killed millions of hens in recent weeks, shrinking the supply of eggs and hiking up prices at grocery stores.
www.kcur.org
January 23, 2025 at 5:18 PM
The price of eggs in the US is spiking, mostly due to #H5N1 bird flu. Solving the problem requires urgent, important communications from the CDC & FDA* and rapid development of research by the NIH**
* Currently paused by Executive Order
** Grant reviews now all canceled
www.kcur.org/news/2025-01...
* Currently paused by Executive Order
** Grant reviews now all canceled
www.kcur.org/news/2025-01...
Today in Fairbanks, #Alaska:
1. learned our kids will likely go to a different school next year b/c the district plans to close 5/15 of the elementary schools
2. Power company informed all customers they may have to resort to rolling blackouts this winter due to inadequate power supply.
Great!
1. learned our kids will likely go to a different school next year b/c the district plans to close 5/15 of the elementary schools
2. Power company informed all customers they may have to resort to rolling blackouts this winter due to inadequate power supply.
Great!
January 14, 2025 at 5:47 AM
Today in Fairbanks, #Alaska:
1. learned our kids will likely go to a different school next year b/c the district plans to close 5/15 of the elementary schools
2. Power company informed all customers they may have to resort to rolling blackouts this winter due to inadequate power supply.
Great!
1. learned our kids will likely go to a different school next year b/c the district plans to close 5/15 of the elementary schools
2. Power company informed all customers they may have to resort to rolling blackouts this winter due to inadequate power supply.
Great!
Reposted by Andrew McDonnell
A modern home in Pacific Palisades survived the fire while all the homes around it burned. It was luck, but also it was made to withstand a wildfire, and it did.
I spoke with the architect who designed it, plus other architects, about designing for disaster: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
I spoke with the architect who designed it, plus other architects, about designing for disaster: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
January 13, 2025 at 3:47 PM
A modern home in Pacific Palisades survived the fire while all the homes around it burned. It was luck, but also it was made to withstand a wildfire, and it did.
I spoke with the architect who designed it, plus other architects, about designing for disaster: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
I spoke with the architect who designed it, plus other architects, about designing for disaster: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Reposted by Andrew McDonnell
An afternoon visit with Mount Shuksan, North Cascades National Park, with Mount Baker in the background. #landscapephotography #photography #blackandwhitephotography #aerialphotography #mountains
January 11, 2025 at 4:35 PM
An afternoon visit with Mount Shuksan, North Cascades National Park, with Mount Baker in the background. #landscapephotography #photography #blackandwhitephotography #aerialphotography #mountains
Picking up my New Year's reading again, and thinking about how important resilient infrastructure is to our safety and well being as a society. Its importance and vulnerability in an era of climate change and instability requires new investment in system resillience and capabilities.
January 12, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Picking up my New Year's reading again, and thinking about how important resilient infrastructure is to our safety and well being as a society. Its importance and vulnerability in an era of climate change and instability requires new investment in system resillience and capabilities.
Reposted by Andrew McDonnell
KARL - a a mixed use passivhaus coop in bremen by praeger richter featuring deck-access units that double as balconies and community space. units from studios to 3 bedrooms. community garden. bike garage. community room. workshop. roof deck and community kitchen.
www.archdaily.com/1025320/karl...
www.archdaily.com/1025320/karl...
KARL Cooperative Housing / Praeger Richter Architekten
Completed in 2023 in Bremen, Germany. Images by Antonia Leicht. Cooperative Housing Project - In 2019, the KARL cooperative was awarded the site on Friedrich-Karl-Strasse through a conceptual developm...
www.archdaily.com
January 8, 2025 at 3:35 PM
KARL - a a mixed use passivhaus coop in bremen by praeger richter featuring deck-access units that double as balconies and community space. units from studios to 3 bedrooms. community garden. bike garage. community room. workshop. roof deck and community kitchen.
www.archdaily.com/1025320/karl...
www.archdaily.com/1025320/karl...
Alaska Reliability Council's working group completed the development of TPL-001. This standard establishes Transmission system planning performance requirements to develop a System that will operate reliably over a broad spectrum of conditions and following a wide range of probable contingencies
January 6, 2025 at 11:29 PM
Alaska Reliability Council's working group completed the development of TPL-001. This standard establishes Transmission system planning performance requirements to develop a System that will operate reliably over a broad spectrum of conditions and following a wide range of probable contingencies
This morning Alaska's Railbelt Reliability Council's working group completed the development of BAL-005, a reliability standard that deals with automatic generation control and frequency regulation. The standard will advance to the RRC Board for a vote in February. www.akrrc.org/news-and-upd...
Developments
Alaska Railbelt Reliability Council (RRC) Developments
www.akrrc.org
January 6, 2025 at 11:18 PM
This morning Alaska's Railbelt Reliability Council's working group completed the development of BAL-005, a reliability standard that deals with automatic generation control and frequency regulation. The standard will advance to the RRC Board for a vote in February. www.akrrc.org/news-and-upd...
Alaska's electric reliability organization, the Railbelt Reliability Council (RRC) has hired its first CEO, Ed Jenkin. www.akrrc.org/news-and-upd...
Developments
Alaska Railbelt Reliability Council (RRC) Developments
www.akrrc.org
January 6, 2025 at 10:53 PM
Alaska's electric reliability organization, the Railbelt Reliability Council (RRC) has hired its first CEO, Ed Jenkin. www.akrrc.org/news-and-upd...
Reposted by Andrew McDonnell
“On the current trajectory of gas buildout, #netzero by 2050 is dead…There is just no possible way to achieve net zero when you're adding tens to even hundreds of gigawatts of more gas power to the system.” open.substack.com/pub/heated/p...
AI is guzzling gas
Big Tech is paying for gas plants and pipelines to directly power data centers, threatening global climate goals.
open.substack.com
December 26, 2024 at 8:10 AM
“On the current trajectory of gas buildout, #netzero by 2050 is dead…There is just no possible way to achieve net zero when you're adding tens to even hundreds of gigawatts of more gas power to the system.” open.substack.com/pub/heated/p...
Clear, beautiful blue sky in Fairbanks today.
Often it is only the clouds over the distant Alaska Range 90 miles south of here that prevent us from getting any of the fleetingly available direct, low-angle, winter sunlight.
Often it is only the clouds over the distant Alaska Range 90 miles south of here that prevent us from getting any of the fleetingly available direct, low-angle, winter sunlight.
December 15, 2024 at 2:31 AM
Clear, beautiful blue sky in Fairbanks today.
Often it is only the clouds over the distant Alaska Range 90 miles south of here that prevent us from getting any of the fleetingly available direct, low-angle, winter sunlight.
Often it is only the clouds over the distant Alaska Range 90 miles south of here that prevent us from getting any of the fleetingly available direct, low-angle, winter sunlight.