David Sacerdote
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davidsacerdote.bsky.social
David Sacerdote
@davidsacerdote.bsky.social
7.8K followers 1K following 3.6K posts
Software engineer.

Mostly talk climate and related politics.
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davidsacerdote.bsky.social
Helicopter that doesn't show up on flightradar24 circling over south Palo Alto. No idea what's going on.
Photograph of a helicopter flying at night. Lights are visible and a hint of the top rotor and the skids, but not much more.
November 11, 2025 at 6:26 AM
davidsacerdote.bsky.social
The diesel has one important footnote to it though: a lot of the change is due to burning soybean oil, chemically altered and blended with fossil diesel. This causes overseas land use change, with associated emissions.

Chart from www.ers.usda.gov/topics/crops...
Chart: U.S. domestic soybean oil production and disappearance. Million pounds Food, feed, and other industrial use is fairly steady around 15,000 million pounds per year from 2000 through 2024. Biofuel rises from zero in 2000 to around 10,000 million pounds per year in 2023/2024 Source: https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/crops/soybeans-and-oil-crops/oil-crops-sector-at-a-glance
November 11, 2025 at 5:33 AM
davidsacerdote.bsky.social
There's a really enormous gap between this poll's results about Brazilian climate politics & Lula's international reputation.

www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Bar chart with poll results for question "Overall, how would you rate the performance of Lula's government in environmental protection and actions against climate change in Brazil?" Very Good: ~25% Good: ~19% Average: ~18% Bad: ~18% Very bad: ~48%
November 9, 2025 at 9:23 PM
davidsacerdote.bsky.social
@dustinmulvaney.bsky.social this was this evening's Fata Morgana of the Elkhorn Slough area, seen from Capitola.
Photograph looking across the sea. Foreground has a line of cormorants flying to the right. In the distance, a Fata Mogana illusion showing the old power plant stacks and Elkhorn Slough area superimposed twice, once above the other, is visbible. A peachy glow of twilight fills the sky.
November 9, 2025 at 4:55 AM
davidsacerdote.bsky.social
This might keep him from getting his job back — he used to work for the DoJ

constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay...
Article I, Section 9, Clause 8: No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.
November 7, 2025 at 9:50 PM
davidsacerdote.bsky.social
I appreciate the way language about fossil fuels as a root cause made its way from the storm liveblog into the article.

www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/c...
Researchers from the group World Weather Attribution found that the storm had 7 percent stronger wind speeds than a similar one in a world that has not been warmed by the burning of fossil fuels. They also found the rate of rainfall inside the eyewall of the storm was 16 percent more intense.
November 6, 2025 at 3:08 PM
davidsacerdote.bsky.social
We saw a burrowing owl in this spot at sundown almost a year ago. It now has an extensive network of holes
Photograph of a burrowing owl standing outside a burrow
November 2, 2025 at 3:02 PM
davidsacerdote.bsky.social
Its that time of year
Photograph of a tarantula walking on a dirt road. A much smaller US dime provides scale. One back leg is missing from the spider
October 25, 2025 at 11:21 PM
davidsacerdote.bsky.social
My friend group opted for a less busy part of El Camino. Brought a standard Yes on 50 sign

#NoKings
Photo of a man peering over a Yes on 50 sign
October 18, 2025 at 7:41 PM
davidsacerdote.bsky.social
When you're at your local No Kings rally, remind the folks around you to vote. Several states have significant elections in progress, including Prop. 50 in California where a Yes vote is important

Rally near you: www.nokings.org

Elections: boltsmag.org/whats-on-the...
Screenshot of text message reading: David S, A Message from California Secretary of State on behalf of County of Santa Clara Registrar of Voters. Your ballot for the November 4, 2025, Statewide Special Election was received and counted. Thank you for voting!
October 18, 2025 at 2:06 PM
davidsacerdote.bsky.social
Spent my day canvassing for Prop 50. Knocked on a lot of doors. Met a few people who had no idea what was on the ballot, and hopefully got a bunch of low-propensity voters to return their ballots. Lots asks for yard signs.

Anybody near Palo Alto have extra Yes on 50 signs?
Selfie of a man delivering a yes on fifty yard sign by bicycle
October 12, 2025 at 1:01 AM
davidsacerdote.bsky.social
I've got swag to distribute as my part on CA prop. 50
Photograph of a yard sign and stack of pamphlets urging people to vote yes on 50
October 4, 2025 at 4:49 PM
davidsacerdote.bsky.social
This one is also stuck:

bsky.app/profile/did:...
Screenshot of the top of the BlueSky Gardening feed showing the most recent non-pinned post as 13 hours ago
October 2, 2025 at 5:22 AM
davidsacerdote.bsky.social
Nah. Just a with-pay suspension until people arent paying attention. That's how it works for cops
Ms. McLaughlin declined to elaborate when asked if the officer had been suspended or fired, saying, “that’s being determined pending investigation.”
September 26, 2025 at 9:17 PM
davidsacerdote.bsky.social
When you commute by bike, you get to see every change. This sign in Mountain View is new since I rode past yesterday. I think Republican extremism might be radicalizing Americans far faster than Democratic politicians realize.

I have no idea who put it up.
8.5x11 sign taped to galvanized stoplight pole with blue tape DEATH to Fascism FREEDOM to the People White paper. Black text.
September 17, 2025 at 2:10 AM
davidsacerdote.bsky.social
The kind that brings the whole family and goes for easier trips. Seems hard anyways.
Photo of two backpackers, a woman and child, walking on a pebble beach between cliff and sea
September 16, 2025 at 2:57 AM
davidsacerdote.bsky.social
If you see this quote with the energy u bring to Bluesky
Photograph of an Acmon Blue butterfly with wings spread open
September 16, 2025 at 1:18 AM
davidsacerdote.bsky.social
They know how to relax
Photograph showing several wild turkeys relaxing in profile as they stand on a wooden fence
September 13, 2025 at 7:33 PM
davidsacerdote.bsky.social
Definitely one of the prettiest snakes around. Only encountered them a couple times though.
Photograph of a San Francisco Garter Snake on a patch of bare dirt
September 11, 2025 at 5:03 PM
davidsacerdote.bsky.social
Not just LA. They started racial arrests of random people on the streets of Chicago today

wapo.st/4gdFNm1
The number of reported arrests is relatively few, but immigrant rights advocates said the operation appears to mark a shift in ICE tactics. Before this operation, local activists said, agents had been targeted in their tactics, presenting warrants at specific homes or detaining people at immigration court. Stopping people on the street in what appeared to be a fairly random fashion is new, they said.
September 9, 2025 at 4:02 AM
davidsacerdote.bsky.social
The WSJ has another source saying that the Koreans on the site had valid visas as well. This means that we're going to see an end to foreign investment in the US for as long as there is a realistic potential for Republicans to be elected.

www.wsj.com/world/asia/s...
The South Korean nationals working in Georgia largely held visas suitable for training purposes, such as the B-1 visa, as many were working as instructors, a Seoul official said.
September 8, 2025 at 1:59 PM
davidsacerdote.bsky.social
A bit of an update, via @sylviachi.bsky.social: it looks like ICE also arrested people who had a valid visa and had documentation of it with them. Goal here was clearly to shut down the plant and terrorize people whose skin was too dark.

www.cnn.com/2025/09/07/u...
“They stormed the place, detaining everyone, no matter who they were,” Camila had told him. Santiago, who had worked at the plant in the past and knew the hiring procedures well, told CNN, that everyone trying to get a job has to show legal documentation before they can start work. “My wife told me that when they were processing her, they asked each person what documentation they had.” But Santiago says that when Camila showed them her documents, the officer in charge marked her paperwork saying she had “nothing” and sent her to the ICE detention bus. Their accounts concur with that of Mauricio, another migrant who asked not to give his full name and whose wife has been detained since the raid. “They were calm because her and her brother had their documents in order,” Mauricio told CNN. But he said when the ICE agents arrived, they quickly ran over to people, and “they didn’t accept any documents.” “Even though they were able to verify them, they were told that nothing was valid, that they would all be arrested,” Mauricio said.
September 8, 2025 at 1:22 PM
davidsacerdote.bsky.social
Yeah. They used the presence of a tiny number of undocumented Hispanic workers to arrest hundreds of Koreans and shut the whole thing down. Its part of a very clear effort to make formal employment a whites-only thing.

From www.wsj.com/us-news/u-s-...
According to the search warrant, unsealed on Friday, the initial targets were four Hispanic workers.
September 7, 2025 at 5:33 PM
davidsacerdote.bsky.social
That 1970s attitude
Cartoon of man in suit on podium labeled big Oil He says You want coal? We own the mines. You want oil and gas? We own the wells. You want nuclear energy? We own the uranium. You want solar power? We own the er...ah... Solar power isn't functional.
September 4, 2025 at 1:19 AM
davidsacerdote.bsky.social
No explanation they say — despite the fossil fuels industry paying a bribe to shut down the wind industry like this.

Quid:
wapo.st/3HRrUgE

Quo:
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/c...
WP Exclusive What Trump promised oil CEOs as he asked them to steer $1 billion to his campaign Donald Trump has pledged to scrap President Biden’s policies on electric vehicles and wind energy, as well as other initiatives opposed by the fossil fuel industry. Updated May 9, 2024 More than 1 year ago New York Times headline screenshot. With Little Explanation, Trump Throws Wind Industry Into Chaos The Trump administration is halting wind projects that had been approved, financed and underway — while providing little to no justification.
August 26, 2025 at 1:58 PM