Across the U.S., tens of millions of utility customers are facing potential electric rate hikes, some for the second or third time in recent years. And many people say they simply can’t afford what the companies want to charge. www.consumerreports.org/data-centers...

Inside the Energy Affordability Crisis: ‘We Will All Be Affected By This’ - Consumer Reports

Electric bills are skyrocketing, while utility companies rake in huge profits and data centers spread. For these people, the situation has become unsustainable.

consumerreports.org

Because data centers add large new electricity demand, calling them a climate solution only makes sense if they cause genuinely additional clean generation to be built. Great essay by @ketanjoshi.co who dives into this. #energySky #DataCenters

Ketan Joshi@ketanjoshi.co · 2w ago

I have become pretty obsessed with why people - including many climate and renewable advocacy groups - keep insisting that "data centres will drive the energy transition" Here is a ~5,000 word essay I wrote on my blog that digs into why this keeps happening -->>> ketanjoshi.co/2026/08/14/p...

Low energy bills can look like success. It can also mean a person shut off their heat to save $100 and the pipes froze. Or a baby is sitting in a hot apartment w/heat rash. New @us.theconversation.com article dives into how Low bills doesn't mean affordable. theconversation.com/just-because...

Just because the bill is low doesn’t mean energy is affordable

Energy is meant to improve people’s lives. Often cost prevents residents from making the most of that opportunity, so they cut back on energy use to be able to pay the bills.

theconversation.com

The 78°F thermostat set point recommendation during the summer from the Department of Energy won't work for everyone... theconversation.com/why-78-degre...

Why 78 degrees isn’t the right thermostat setting for everyone during a heat wave

There is no single thermostat setting that is right for every person or every home. And there are other easy, low-cost steps that can help keep everyone comfortable when hot weather sets in.

theconversation.com

When smoke fills the air, people are told to stay indoors. But staying inside is only protective when people can afford to keep the air conditioner running. Meanwhile my electric company just sent me a notice that outages maybe coming due to thunderstorms.

Canada issues air quality warnings over US wildfire smoke. One week smoke drifts from Canada into the U.S. The next, U.S. fires send smoke into Canada. Climate-related risks are increasingly shared, which means emergency response has to be as well. share.google/zPx5MJ83c9Sy...

Canada issues air quality warnings over US wildfire smoke after Trump tariff threat

Officials say smoke from US fires has crossed border days after US president accused Canada of improper fire management

share.google

Enjoyed getting to run my energy poverty simulator at NARUC in a packed room of commissioners and consumer advocates.

Let's do some Canadian pipeline-wildfire math. The Canadian Energy Center says growing oil exports by 1.5M barrels/day **could** boost GDP by ~31B annually. Meanwhile, wildfire smoke health costs alone - just the health costs, nothing else - averaged 23B/year, past tense. And they're growing fast.

Ontario hardest hit as wildfires cost Canada billions | NOW Toronto

A new report estimates wildfire smoke has cost Canada $231 billion since 2014. See how much each province has spent.

nowtoronto.com

⚠️ Heads up: A cold front arriving late this evening brings an Enhanced Risk of severe weather to many wildfire smoke affected regions on the east coast. Many reports saying damaging winds are the main concern. Stay weather aware throughout the day, while you try to enjoy the slice of cleaner air.

US Wildfire and prescribed burn smoke caused $200 billion in health damages in 2017, and is associated with 20,000 premature deaths. With the additional wildfires from Canada I'm wondering how much higher this has grown. share.google/CCiE0FzcjmI9...

Socially vulnerable communities face disproportionate exposure and susceptibility to U.S. wildfire and prescribed burn smoke - Communications Earth & Environment

In the United States, wildfire and prescribed burn smoke caused 200 billion dollars in health damages in 2017, with senior citizens bearing 75 percent of the cost, according to an analysis that uses emission inventory data and an integrated assessment model.

share.google

A great paper.

John Bistline@bistline.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Read the paper by Candelaria Bergero, @qiangzhang.bsky.social, @hmcjeon.bsky.social, @destenie.bsky.social, @stevenjdavis.bsky.social, and others: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Me and my daughter on our way to her daycare in this wildfire smoke. She refused to let me pick her up out of her car seat and take her inside until I gave her a mask too...safety isn't silly.

More disappearing data. Over 1,600 energy department webpages on utility bill savings removed as US temperatures soar | US economy | The Guardian share.google/XrlAxSacWatG...

Over 1,600 energy department webpages on utility bill savings removed as US temperatures soar

Guardian analysis found the removals coincided with the Trump administration’s push to weaken efficiency rules

share.google

With existing technology, it is possible to reduce aircon's GHG emissions by 97% by 2050. We just gotta do it.

How to keep people cool without making the planet even hotter

RMI's Ankit Kalanki on why fixing the way we test air conditioners is the secret lever to slashing global cooling emissions.

volts.wtf

Time Elemental@timeelemental.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The frequency is only gonna get worse it seems. France restricts public drinking as European citizens bake under a ‘heat-dome driven furnace’ for the second time in two months share.google/iqzuQSnReqiD...

France restricts public drinking as Europe swelters under a ‘heat-dome driven furnace’ for the second time in two months

Temperatures have spiked above 104 degrees Fahrenheit across multiple countries, bringing dangerous conditions to a continent where air conditioning is rare.

share.google

A question I think should be in data center discussions: If the future energy system will increase energy generation for the energy demand for data servers & AI, why do some energy planners become so uncomfortable when the increased demand is for low-income households needing cooling?

The national average electricity price rose 10%, but several Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern states posted increases well above that level. Need to have more protections for those on fixed incomes and given all the job loss people are still coping with. www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-where...

Mapped: Where Electricity Prices Jumped the Most in America

Electricity prices are surging across parts of America, with Washington D.C. seeing a 23% spike. See which states were hit hardest.

visualcapitalist.com

Leadership quote heard out in the wild, "Lions don't concern themselves with the opinions of sheep."

Anyone out there in need of a pep talk to keep going? This one on my creative writing blog is from Grannis the underworld's favorite grandma. She is here to remind you that the universe needs you in it. ❤️ destinynox.com/blog/the-uni...

The Universe Needed You — Destiny Nox

You deserve to be here and have your place in the universe.

destinynox.com

I look at this and think about how many jobs people were projecting from solar installations...the models over predicted.

Commercial Solar Guy@commercialsolarguy.com · 4mo ago

Lots of folks said the price of solar can’t go down anymore. They were wrong.

In the energy transition we can't sacrifice affordability for sustainability. We have to do both. #EnergySky

In many rural communities lack of access to electricity means lack of access to water due to the pumps to get water from the wells. If water is a human right so should electricity.

Really need more ppl to include demographic intersectionality (overlapping demographics that produce disadvantages > the sum of their parts) in their work. This "plays a statistically sig role in diverse outcomes ranging from education to court cases to work" www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Identifying disadvantaged communities in the United States: An energy-oriented mapping tool that aggregates environmental and socioeconomic burdens

This paper defines a policy-relevant nationwide composite index to identify communities disproportionately impacted by environmental, energy, and clim…

sciencedirect.com

The view from the blackout of my street. At least the city view in the distance is cool.

70,000 without power due to high winds. Gives a whole new meaning to windy day.

If you don't succeed, it's not failure but feedback.... Keep trying. Keep going.

Amazing how much people underestimate how my energy our heating and air conditioning systems take. Maybe this is why policy hasn't caught up to recognizing this an an essential service...This paper was published in 2010, but I still find this to be true. www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....

Hey #EnergySky! This summer we are organizing a 2-day energy data lab for early career researchers from August 11-12 at Georgia Tech. It will be a mix of tutorials, open lab time, and networking. Applications are due April 3 – for more info, see our blog post: bit.ly/catalyst-dat...

Last month’s winter storms in Pittsburgh made one thing clear: when roads freeze and 37 / 80 plows fail, home heat becomes the real emergency plan. This is where energy insecurity turns into public risk. PS. If your region is about to get snow keep a shovel in your trunk triblive.com/opinion/dest...

Destenie Nock: When the roads freeze, home heat becomes the emergency plan

Three days after the latest storm dumped almost a foot of snow on us, my side of the city still hadn’t been plowed. But I had to get to work. So I bundled up, strapped my daughter into her car s...

triblive.com