Data Centers and the Rules We Have Not Written Yet: Should we ban data centers? Science cannot answer that, but it can sharpen the trade-offs. New Amped Up post on prices, emissions, air quality, and four questions policymakers should be asking. #energysky open.substack.com/pub/paulinaj...

Data Centers and the Rules We Have Not Written Yet

Paulina Jaramillo, Ph.D.

open.substack.com

Beneficiary-pays cost allocation has been a rare point of analytical convergence in transmission policy. EPRA (2024) gestured toward it. FERC’s Order 1920 operationalized it. The FAIR Act would unwind it. #EnergyPolicy #Transmission #FERC open.substack.com/pub/paulinaj...

When “Fair” Isn’t: The FAIR Act and the Erosion of Beneficiary-Pays Cost Allocation

Paulina Jaramillo, Ph.D.

open.substack.com

Federal rules keep the lights on today. No federal authority ensures enough capacity to keep them on tomorrow. My new Amped Up post explains why resource adequacy has become a central gap in US electricity policy, and why the current patchwork can’t hold. #Energy open.substack.com/pub/paulinaj...

Why Resource Adequacy Is the Gap in Federal Reliability Policy

Paulina Jaramillo, Ph.D.

open.substack.com

The Federal Power Act was written for a grid that no longer exists. In my latest Amped Up newsletter, I describe a framework for amending it to establish federal resource adequacy standards for the first time #ElectricityGrid #ResourceAdequacy #FederalPowerAct open.substack.com/pub/paulinaj...

Closing the Gap in the Federal Power Act

Paulina Jaramillo, Ph.D.

open.substack.com

Should I feel guilty about wanting permanent daylight saving time? I reviewed the evidence supporting the scientific consensus against it. It’s narrower than it appears in the public debate. #DaylightSavingTime #SciencePolicy open.substack.com/pub/paulinaj...

Should I Feel Guilty About Wanting More Evening Light?

Paulina Jaramillo, Ph.D.

open.substack.com

New on Amped Up: The U.S. charges zero royalties for hardrock mining on public lands. If we’re going to fix that, let’s design a system that also incentivizes domestic processing and strengthens the supply chain. #CriticalMinerals #Mining #SupplyChain #EnergyPolicy open.substack.com/pub/paulinaj...

If We're Going to Mine, Let's Make It Count

Paulina Jaramillo, Ph.D.

open.substack.com

The endangerment finding was always a workaround. Its rescission underscores the need to amend the Clean Air Act to include greenhouse gases as regulated pollutants. My latest Amped Up post explores what that could look like. #climate #endangermentfinding open.substack.com/pub/paulinaj...

It’s Time to Amend the Clean Air Act

Paulina Jaramillo, Ph.D.

open.substack.com

Congress has introduced several critical minerals bills, but nearly all focus on mining and international supply. What's missing? Recycling infrastructure, producer responsibility, and design standards. Read more in my recent essay. #energy #climate #ciruclareconomy open.substack.com/pub/paulinaj...

Mining Isn't Enough: The Other Half of Critical Materials Strategy

Paulina Jaramillo, Ph.D.

open.substack.com

The ‘Affordable HOMES Act’ eliminates standards that would save low-income families $177-$475/year in energy costs. Who benefits from making housing less efficient? Not the people who need help most. #EnergyEfficiency #HousingPolicy #EnergyPoverty#ClimateEquity open.substack.com/pub/paulinaj...

Energy Efficiency for Whom?

Paulina Jaramillo, Ph.D.

open.substack.com

The House will hold a vote on the SPEED Act this week. Read my review of the bill and why it is not a good-faith approach to permitting reform. #EnergyPolicy #PermittingReform #NEPA open.substack.com/pub/paulinaj...

The SPEED Act Gets Faster: What Changed in the Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute

Paulina Jaramillo, Ph.D.

open.substack.com

There’s a myth that fossil fuels run 24/7/365. Reality: They’re vulnerable to extreme weather, while battery and renewable systems become cheaper and more reliable. Policies that prop up fossil fuels based on this myth hurt consumers. #EnergySky #EnergyPolicy open.substack.com/pub/paulinaj...

The Myth of 24/7/365 Fossil Fuel Reliability

Paulina Jaramillo, Ph.D.

open.substack.com

We forgot the smog and burning rivers because our laws worked. But they weren’t written for climate change. Time to modernize for the crisis ahead. #environmentalpolicy #climatepolicy open.substack.com/pub/paulinaj...

Environmental Amnesia Mustn’t Stop Progress: Modernizing Our Laws for Climate Action

Paulina Jaramillo, Ph.D.

open.substack.com

Rep. Westerman released changes to the SPEED Act. The new version would still establish a framework designed to expedite projects regardless of environmental consequences. There are better ways to reform the permitting process. #energypermitting #energypolicy open.substack.com/pub/paulinaj...

The SPEED Act Gets Faster: What Changed in the Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute

Paulina Jaramillo, Ph.D.

open.substack.com

We need more effective planning processes to ensure grid reliability. @fernandez.house.gov introduced the Integrated Resource Planning Modernization Act, which I helped draft during my AAAS Fellowship. #electricity #reliability #IRP #gridplanning open.substack.com/pub/paulinaj...

Congress Takes Aim at Outdated Grid Planning: The IRP Modernization Act

Paulina Jaramillo, Ph.D.

open.substack.com

The 1.5°C target is dead. That makes carbon removal MORE urgent, not less. Climate advocates have rallied for clean energy but stayed silent as Trump canceled CDR projects. Democrats must embrace all climate solutions the climate crisis demands. #Climate #COP30 open.substack.com/pub/paulinaj...

The 1.5°C Dream Is Over. The Case for Carbon Removal Grows Stronger.

Paulina Jaramillo, Ph.D.

open.substack.com

I thought we’d moved past corn ethanol. Science has evolved more than I realized. New post on the messy climate debate around biofuels, and why our focus still needs to be EVs. #ClimatePolicy #Biofuels #Agriculture #ClimateChange #Sustainability #EnergyPolicy open.substack.com/pub/paulinaj...

The Ethanol Question I Wasn’t Expecting

Paulina Jaramillo, Ph.D.

open.substack.com

University “overhead” isn't the problem with research funding. Read my latest Amped Up post to learn why. #EnergyResearch #ResearchFunding #HigherEducation #EnergyPolicy #SciencePolicy open.substack.com/pub/paulinaj...

No, University Overhead Rates Aren’t Killing Energy Research (But Funding Cuts Are)

Paulina Jaramillo, Ph.D.

open.substack.com

Your electricity bill is up, and data centers are a big reason why. However, the question of who should pay for the AI boom’s massive power appetite exposes deep cracks in America’s fragmented electricity governance. #EnergySky #ElectricityPolicy #DataCenters open.substack.com/pub/paulinaj...

Data Centers Are Driving Up Your Bill. The Real Problem Runs Deeper.

Paulina Jaramillo, Ph.D.

open.substack.com

Your electricity bill is up, and data centers are a big reason why. However, the question of who should pay for the AI boom’s massive power appetite exposes deep cracks in America’s fragmented electricity governance. #EnergySky #ElectricityPolicy #DataCenters open.substack.com/pub/paulinaj...

Data Centers Are Driving Up Your Bill. The Real Problem Runs Deeper.

Paulina Jaramillo, Ph.D.

open.substack.com

Data centers could consume 12% of U.S. electricity by 2028. Paradox: they could also stabilize the grid they’re straining. Will they? Probably not in time. #EnergySky open.substack.com/pub/paulinaj...

Can Data Centers Help the Grid They’re Straining?

Paulina Jaramillo, Ph.D.

open.substack.com

The federal retreat on hydrogen is frustrating, but it must not be the end of the story. States acting decisively now could position themselves as leaders in the hydrogen economy climate science tells us we desperately need. #hydrogen #climate #energypolicy open.substack.com/pub/paulinaj...

The Hydrogen Crisis: How Political Winds Are Stalling Our Energy Future

Paulina Jaramillo, Ph.D.

open.substack.com

We just submitted comments to EPA on their proposed rescission of the greenhouse gas endangerment finding. The science is clear: GHGs are air pollutants that harm public health through multiple pathways. Policy should follow evidence, not ideology. #Climate #CleanAirAct #EPA

Jeremy Michalek@jmichalek.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Today we submitted our public comment on critical flaws in EPA's rationale for rescinding its authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. This proposed move is a big deal with profound implications for our future. Today's the last day to comment. www.cmu.edu/cit/veg/publ...

I have concluded that Democrats should not shut down the government. Why get in the way of letting the system collapse under the GOP's hands? Voting has consequences. Let the country feel them. I am sad that so many will suffer, but I don’t see another way to escape this chaos.

Use of the word "evil" in official congressional e-newsletters, over time, by party

Some good news from Colombia: using “coral IVF” economist.com/the-americas... from The Economist

Colombia is using “coral IVF”

The country’s response to a devastating hurricane has turned it into a reef-restoration champion

economist.com

Data centers could increase US electricity costs by 8% and emissions by 30% by 2030. These trends create fundamental challenges for grid planning. Solutions exist, but policymakers must act now. Read more at Amped Up! #Energy #DataCenters #Climate open.substack.com/pub/paulinaj...

The Digital Infrastructure Boom is Driving Up Everyone’s Electric Bill

Paulina Jaramillo, Ph.D.

open.substack.com

The Environmental Protection Agency is attacking science and threatening to reverse a foundational climate protection. Join scientists and experts in speaking out in defense of science, public health, and climate science. act.ucsusa.org/4okjCyf

Scientists & Experts: Stop the EPA's Attack on Climate Science & Public Health

The Environmental Protection Agency is attacking science and threatening to reverse a foundational climate protection. Join scientists and experts in speaking out in defense of science, public health,...

act.ucsusa.org

New Post. Republicans can’t have their cake and eat it too. open.substack.com/pub/paulinaj...

The Great Republican Energy Contradiction

Paulina Jaramillo, Ph.D.

open.substack.com

Americans could learn some things from the French.

Republicans are against considering race in college admission reviews, but get excited about considering race in immigration enforcement.