Michelle Ma
@michellema.bsky.social
Reporter @bloomberg.com | I cover all things climate tech | Read my stories: https://www.bloomberg.com/authors/AWTYlfwjEUk/michelle-ma | mma304@bloomberg.net | She/her | Opinions mine | Based in LA
How much water do data centers really use, why do they use so much, and is it a problem? I talked to researchers and industry experts to understand the true water footprint of the AI boom: Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Why Do Data Centers Use So Much Fresh Water?
The artificial intelligence boom has inspired one of the largest infrastructure build-outs seen in decades: Tech firms are investing billions into constructing the data centers powering AI. This has m...
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Believe it or not, there is still climate tech funding activity outside of the AI data center space. Bill Gates' Breakthrough Energy Ventures just announced the first investment out of its SAF fund, to clean aviation fuel startup Lydian. Free gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Gates-Founded Firm Bets on Cheaper Way to Produce Clean Jet Fuel
The investment focuses on startup developing lower-carbon jet fuel made from hydrogen and carbon dioxide.
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Wildfire smoke in NY. Flooding in Texas. Climate risk is turning insurance into a political fight. @leslieatlarge.bsky.social and I spoke with Jane Kim and Ben Allen, top contenders to regulate CA’s $15B home insurance market. Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
California Rivals Have Starkly Different Plans to Remake Home Insurance
Ben Allen and Jane Kim are running to be the state’s next insurance commissioner. Both promise change, but not along the same lines.
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El Niño has arrived - and it's on track to be a big one. From transatlantic flight times to Panama Canal shipping delays, to the cost of a candy bar or even just a bottle of soap, its effects can pop up all over the economy. (gift link) www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
El Niño Slams Into a Global Economy Unprepared for More Chaos
Scientists warn a blockbuster weather event risks pushing costs higher for everything from building materials to groceries.
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⚡ The AI data center boom in the US is threatening to claim its biggest victim yet — the nation’s largest electric grid operator. ⚡ In an explosive speech, the FERC chair said it may have grown "too big to function." 🎁Gift link to our deep dive below 🎁 www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
AI Data Center Boom Risks Breakup of Biggest US Power Grid Operator
Soaring utility bills and sluggish bureaucracy are fueling calls to split up PJM Interconnection, which runs the grid in 13 states.
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Artificial intelligence data centers are on the verge of reaching their limits. That’s forcing a reckoning among hyperscalers, data center operators, chip makers and power equipment producers. As they scale up, they are having to reimagine how data centers are designed, built and powered. 🎁 link:
The Race to Rethink Data Centers for AI’s Power Surge
With energy demand already straining infrastructure, AI players are reimagining the data center from the ground up.
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Friday afternoon scoop 👇 About $50 billion in wind investments and 150,000 jobs are imperiled by the Trump administration’s effective halt to approvals for new onshore projects, according to a trade group report reviewed by Bloomberg News. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Wind-Permit Stall Is Threatening $50 Billion in US Developments
About $50 billion in wind investments and 150,000 jobs are imperiled by the Trump administration’s effective halt to approvals for new onshore projects, a trade group said.
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New: Microplastics are already in our food and water and contaminating ecosystems and wildlife around the world. Now scientists have discovered that tiny plastic particles in the atmosphere are heating the planet, magnifying climate change impacts. Free link. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Heat-Trapping Microplastics Found to Play Role in Climate Change
The ubiquitous tiny particles absorb sunlight when airborne, contributing to the warming of the planet, according to new research.
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Fervo's looking to raise $1.33 billion in its IPO, per a filing today: www.bloomberg.com/news/article... A good time to re-up my deep dive into the company from March! www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Geothermal Energy Developer Fervo Seeks $1.33 Billion in US IPO
Fervo Energy Co., a geothermal energy developer, is looking to raise as much as $1.33 billion in a US initial public offering, as more firms seek to capitalize on the growing power demand for data cen...
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The story of Fermi is in some ways the story of the AI moment: Co-founded by a former Texas governor and a brash entrepreneur, Fermi offered companies racing to build data centers the two things they crave most: open land and an astonishing amount of power.
Everyone seems to be talking about mahjong these days. From London to Mumbai, mahjong events are popping up everywhere. I grew up around the game but never learned how to play. And so I took a foray into the world of mahjong and discovered why everyone's hooked on this old tile game.
Mahjong Is the Third Place of the Moment for a Burned-Out Generation
“There’s a lot of joy that comes from seeing people make connections across the table, especially people that you wouldn’t expect to meet.”
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BREAKING: FEMA this week officially called back staffers who have been on administrative leave for *8 months* after signing a whistleblower letter last August. Some of the disaster workers started back today. Story @bloomberg.com, with gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
FEMA Reinstates Staffers Who Had Criticized Trump Cuts to Agency
The Federal Emergency Management Agency this week told more than a dozen staffers to return to work after placing them on administrative leave eight months ago for signing an open letter criticizing t...
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Fervo Energy might be the one clean tech startup having a good time in Donald Trump's America. The company's commercial geothermal pilot came online in 2023, just as ChatGPT became a household name and the AI race took off in earnest. And geothermal tax credits have remained intact.
Geothermal Escapes Trump’s Renewable Crackdown, Boosts Fervo’s IPO Bid
Fervo Energy is also benefiting from AI’s ravenous electricity needs as it aims to go public later this year.
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Record heat will bake Los Angeles and the Southwest melting precious snow and setting the stage for a fire summer. CA measures its snow on April 1 to set supplies for the coming year. We will see what is left. #climate #water #california www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Record March Heat to Scorch Los Angeles, US Southwest
An unusually early heat wave is set to grip Los Angeles and much of the Southwest, putting California’s already fragile snowpack, and therefore its water supplies, at risk.
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From California to Texas, electric utilities are struggling to manage mounting fire risk in a warming climate. They are spending more than ever before on lawsuits and settlements, as well as on preventative measures, such as undergrounding lines. 1/5
PacifiCorp, a utility owned by Berkshire Hathaway, has been facing mounting liabilities since the 2020 Labor Day fires in Oregon. It's fighting back in an all-out battle in courts and state capitols.
One of the thorniest issues for Warren Buffett's successor Greg Abel is the increasing risk of wildfires across the Western US amid climate change.
Scoop: The Climate Prediction Center is being folded into other agencies overseen by the National Weather Service The change follows moves by the Trump administration to dismantle climate science programs By @weathersullivan.bsky.social & @laurenthal.bsky.social www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
US Climate Forecaster to Be Absorbed in Weather Agency Reshuffle
The US climate forecasting service will be absorbed into other federal departments as part of a re-organization announced to staff Thursday.
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Anyone used to be able to freely order print copies of FEMA preparedness material. When FEMA secretly closed the division behind that material, the backlog of copies were destroyed. "Talk about a waste of taxpayer dollars," said former FEMA chief Deanne Criswell www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
How Trump's FEMA Secretly Dismantled Program to Prepare Americans For Disasters
The administration last year closed a division that helped individuals get ready for emergencies.
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Why wasn't AI more helpful in predicting this week's giant snowstorm for New York and much of the Northeast? As one scientist put it, "there’s no perfect model yet -- that's the problem." Gift link 🔗 www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
AI Lost Out to Traditional Models in Forecasting NYC's Blizzard
Two days before New York's biggest snowstorm in a decade began, forecasters were still unsure how much snow would fall. One traditional US model had consistently predicted a major hit, while newer art...
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Another day, another rollback. The EPA on Friday rolled back rules limiting mercury & other toxic air pollution from power plants, the latest in a series of moves by Trump designed to boost the nation’s shrinking coal sector. Story @bloomberg.com, gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Trump Eases Mercury Rules for Power Plants in Bid to Boost Coal
The Environmental Protection Agency rolled back limits on mercury and other toxic air pollutants for coal- and oil-fired plants.
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Today, the US EPA scrapped a key scientific determination — that greenhouse gases are harmful — that supports a swath of federal climate policies curbing emissions. It marks President Donald Trump’s most consequential retreat yet from the fight against climate change. More at @bloomberg.com:
Trump’s EPA to Scrap Landmark Emissions Policy in Major Rollback
The US Environmental Protection Agency plans this week to repeal a policy that provides the legal foundation for a raft of rules regulating greenhouse gas emissions, marking President Donald Trump’s m...
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When facing fire risk, US power companies use data, technology and human judgment to weigh whether to turn off transmission lines.
Rising Fire Risk Prompts Utilities to Deliberately Cut Power
Data, technology and human judgment help US power companies consider when to turn off transmission lines.
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"Don't be afraid to break some eggs," former Biden-era Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said to the next Democratic administration at the BloombergNEF Summit in SF: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
What Democrats Can Learn From the Trump Energy Playbook
Democrats shouldn’t be afraid to take more aggressive actions on clean energy, former Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said.
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In addition to the UNFCCC and IPCC exits, Treasury just announced it's withdrawing from the global Green Climate Fund, calling it a "radical" organization
Trump Expands US Climate Retreat With Exits From UN Bodies
President Donald Trump extended the US retreat from global cooperation on climate action by signaling a withdrawal from flagship international organizations, including the main United Nations and scie...
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A year after the LA wildfires, the price tag for the costliest blazes in US history is still climbing. Who pays is uncertain. Our story on how risk and damage have spread beyond burned neighborhoods and the fight to limit losses and shift liability: www.bloomberg.com/features/202...
One Year After LA Fires, Recovery Is a Battleground
The price tag for the costliest blazes in US history is still climbing and disputes over who will pay are escalating.
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Not sure what presents to give your love ones this holiday season? @oliviarudgard.bsky.social and I have you covered with a green gift guide that includes climate-friendly choices. Enjoy, and happy holidays! www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
How to Give a Greener Gift
This holiday gift guide can help you pick original and unique presents — and hopefully avoid clutter and waste.
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Cajun Navy groups may raise a few million dollars in a good year, collectively. As President Trump weighs major changes to FEMA - like shutting it down - some leaders say they wouldn't be able to replace it. Or simply aren't interested. As one put it: "We don't want to end up sucking like them."
Lauren Rosenthal@laurenthal.bsky.social · 8mo agoThe Cajun Navy started after Katrina as volunteer boaters conducted rescues on the fly. Despite legal trouble, scandals and infighting, it's still going. And some leaders say they've been advising Trump officials on FEMA + the US disaster system. Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
