Pete Erickson
@pugetgold.bsky.social
Finally (Jan 2026) moved over from Twitter, where I was (am) x.com/SEI_Erickson. Still a climate policy researcher (sometimes), though I'd prefer to be sewing. Seattle, WA, USA.
Reposted by Pete Erickson
As Waxman-Markey embodied, specific federal legislation targeting anthropogenic climate-changing emissions would have been a much more direct way to go (and may yet be).
February 10, 2026 at 2:47 PM
As Waxman-Markey embodied, specific federal legislation targeting anthropogenic climate-changing emissions would have been a much more direct way to go (and may yet be).
Thank you Tim (on both counts). Super interesting paper. As you note, refinery sector already at this minimum viable scale point in California. May get there in next 5-7 years in the US Midwest, as my recent analysis there finds (and I'm not the only one to find this, industry knows it...)
February 9, 2026 at 10:31 PM
Thank you Tim (on both counts). Super interesting paper. As you note, refinery sector already at this minimum viable scale point in California. May get there in next 5-7 years in the US Midwest, as my recent analysis there finds (and I'm not the only one to find this, industry knows it...)
...Then, BLM followed the court order, doing the math like I had done, and from there, Biden admin considered it all and approved the project. Kinda seemed like NEPA and project approvals working as intended, to me the scientist! Many thought differently, of course....
February 9, 2026 at 10:26 PM
...Then, BLM followed the court order, doing the math like I had done, and from there, Biden admin considered it all and approved the project. Kinda seemed like NEPA and project approvals working as intended, to me the scientist! Many thought differently, of course....
Very good episode. The reference to the Willow project approval was interesting. I was cited in the 2021 district court ruling by Gleason, where the court rejected the project on NEPA grounds, essentially saying that BLM should have quantified the CO2 emissions like I did in a 2016 blogpost...
February 9, 2026 at 10:26 PM
Very good episode. The reference to the Willow project approval was interesting. I was cited in the 2021 district court ruling by Gleason, where the court rejected the project on NEPA grounds, essentially saying that BLM should have quantified the CO2 emissions like I did in a 2016 blogpost...
Might be projecting, but I'd guess that community and aesthetics will be important to their target demo. How build those in, in appealing ways?
February 5, 2026 at 12:31 AM
Might be projecting, but I'd guess that community and aesthetics will be important to their target demo. How build those in, in appealing ways?
That's v. interesting. Most of my work is on oil & gas, and the "surprise" tactic of abandoning old wells (via bankruptcy and leaving) seems to fit. Refineries too. (e.g., Midwest could see a few close over next decade as gasoline & diesel demand sag, see:)
www.mncenter.org/sites/defaul...
www.mncenter.org/sites/defaul...
www.mncenter.org
February 4, 2026 at 10:37 PM
That's v. interesting. Most of my work is on oil & gas, and the "surprise" tactic of abandoning old wells (via bankruptcy and leaving) seems to fit. Refineries too. (e.g., Midwest could see a few close over next decade as gasoline & diesel demand sag, see:)
www.mncenter.org/sites/defaul...
www.mncenter.org/sites/defaul...
What a cool project. I understand if your focus is mainly on peer-reviewed (i.e. journal) science, though there is also a rich vein to explore focused on the "grey literature" in, say, nonprofit climate organizations. Funders (say, Bloomberg) can shop their own ideas quite successfully.
February 3, 2026 at 10:27 PM
What a cool project. I understand if your focus is mainly on peer-reviewed (i.e. journal) science, though there is also a rich vein to explore focused on the "grey literature" in, say, nonprofit climate organizations. Funders (say, Bloomberg) can shop their own ideas quite successfully.
For sure, but since to left-leaning normies, liberals really *are* the only ones with agency to make things better, isn't that the rational response, even setting aside any impulse for "cleverness" (as you note)?
February 2, 2026 at 7:44 PM
For sure, but since to left-leaning normies, liberals really *are* the only ones with agency to make things better, isn't that the rational response, even setting aside any impulse for "cleverness" (as you note)?
Ask questions... here? Okay, I listened, and here's one. I found it difficult to tell where the bounds of the critique were... like, is *anyone* in media doing what David and Michael (or you) would want? (And how's that going?). It had a flavor that everyone's doing it wrong...but..then what?
February 2, 2026 at 7:37 PM
Ask questions... here? Okay, I listened, and here's one. I found it difficult to tell where the bounds of the critique were... like, is *anyone* in media doing what David and Michael (or you) would want? (And how's that going?). It had a flavor that everyone's doing it wrong...but..then what?