Welcome back friends, its that time once again, for the Monday Good News Roundup, brought to you by your hard working, NIMBY hating GNR newsroom (consisting of myself, Killer300 and Bhu from the rpg.net message boards)
Not much to say except its officially spring out now, hopefully the weather will start to actually reflect that soon. So lets get started on the news.
America’s first utility-scale offshore wind farm is finally finished, marking an important milestone in what’s shaping up to be a busy year for the emerging U.S. industry.
On Thursday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D) announced the completion of South Fork Wind, a 132-megawatt project by Danish energy giant Ørsted and Boston-based utility Eversource. All 12 of the wind farm’s towering turbines are now in place and producing enough clean electricity to power roughly 70,000 homes in Long Island, New York.
Very proud that my state is making history like this.
Here’s one way to accelerate the clean energy transition: quadruple the energy storage projects you’re already building.
Salt Lake City–based rPlus Energies made this move with its Green River Energy Center in eastern Utah. Utility Rocky Mountain Power had awarded a contract from a 2020 proposal for 400 megawatts of solar paired with 200 megawatts/400 megawatt-hours of energy storage — a substantial battery, to be sure.
But since then, electricity demand has switched into major growth mode to supply data centers, AI and electrification of vehicles and buildings. To deal with that, the utility asked for more from the Green River project. RPlus complied, and earlier this month, it announced it had amended its contract to include 1,600 megawatt-hours of storage capacity, four times the previously agreed-upon amount. It’s an unprecedented leap for a large-scale grid storage project, and it says a lot about the crucial storage market’s propulsive new era.
“This really gives [Rocky Mountain Power parent company] PacifiCorp the ability to have a large dispatchable system. […] It becomes effectively a 400-megawatt peaker plant,” rPlus President Luigi Resta told Canary Media.
Green energy is so good its a wonder we ever used anything else.
yths run rampant about whether electric vehicles are actually better for the climate than fossil-fueled cars. Electric vehicles run on batteries, which are made from mined minerals and then charged with electricity; those steps involve some amount of carbon emissions.
But electric cars still emit far less carbon than comparable gas cars would over their useful lives, a new study (paywalled) from BloombergNEF found.
Of course there’s your answer right there. Always some assholes trying to spread misinformation.
Wisconsin swing voters largely blame Republicans — and specifically Donald Trump — for Congress' failure to pass bipartisan legislation to help improve border security, according to our latest Engagious/Sago focus group.
Why it matters: Interviews with voters who backed Trump in 2016 and flipped to President Biden in 2020 suggest that Biden's State of the Union speech last week left them feeling that Trump's GOP is more responsible for Washington's lack of action.
The GOPs playbook of “hold up Government and then blame the Democrats for nothing getting done” isn’t working anymore.
WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court on Monday let stand a New Mexico judge’s ruling barring a Donald Trump supporter − a former rodeo rider who started Cowboys for Trump − from local public office because of an anti-insurrectionist provision of the Constitution.
The decision came two weeks after the court said Colorado could not use that same provision to remove Trump from the presidential ballot because he's a federal candidate.
I know a lot of people were disappointed with the fact the Supreme court didn’t let them kick Trump off the ballot in Colorado, but at the same time I get why they did it. If they set that precedent, then every red state would be trying to kick Biden off their ballots under the flimsiest of pretext. (Granted they may do that anyway, lets wait and see, but point is we don’t need to be giving those morons any ideas). And this shows that they are still willing to punish insurrectionists on the state level. We’ll have to wait a bit before Trump gets his.
hristopher Schmidt didn't set out to become a "bike therapist" when he started lending e-bikes to his neighbors out of his Cambridge backyard for a week a time. But soon, he found himself spending nearly as much time helping riders navigate the emotional challenges of getting on two wheels as he did loaning out chargers and helmets.
"Their questions aren't just, ‘How does the bike work?’" he added. "They're about, ‘What do you think about e-bikes? What do you think about e-bike fires?' … I think [that's] a lot of the reason that people come to the e-bike library, in place of a bike store."
Schmidt is one of a growing number of American who have launched a free, grassroots "e-bike library," which he created to help "more people understand whether an e-bike is right for them, and help them find the one that will work right for them if so." The model provides a neighborly alternative to sometimes-costly traditional bike share rentals that only offer limited models, too-short test-rides at bike shops that can be alienating for some shoppers, and even to traditional libraries that allow patrons to check out bikes alongside books — but may not have an expert on hand to talk about how and where to ride in a neighborhood they know intimately.
Sounds like a neat concept to say the least. Hope it catches on.
A carbon-free grid needs batteries that can store solar and wind power for use when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing. But batteries don’t necessarily make power grids cleaner — not unless the power they charge up with is much lower-carbon than the power they displace.
Though this sounds obvious, it’s a tricky thing to measure in practice. But Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners, a clean-energy and battery developer, has made some progress.
Last month, it unveiled the results of a real-world test of an emissions measurement tool for grid batteries. That’s a vital step for energy storage projects looking to sell to customers bound by strict carbon-accounting standards — including data centers, green hydrogen producers and a growing roster of “24/7” clean power seekers.
More proof for the nay sayers.
Mastercard put into effect a new policy regulating adult content sellers that makes it extremely hard for sex workers to earn a living online. It must be stopped.
The policy itself imposes strict and invasive requirements on adult content websites using Mastercard’s financial services – including pre-approval of all content before publication, forbidding certain search terms, and monitoring the age and identity verification process for all performers.
The stated intent of this is to prevent child sexual abuse material and other non-consensual content. But the policy only applies to websites that host adult content – when all available evidence indicates that these problems proliferate across all kinds of sites.
In reality, all Mastercard’s policy actually does is make it harder for platforms to host adult content – destabilizing the websites that sex workers use to make a living.
If you don’t know, there is a war going on against porn on the internet. A group of right wing conservatives who hate sex and have decided to make their hang ups everyone else’s problem, have been pressuring websites to get rid of adult content and adult creators. Its happened on Tumblr, its happened on Onlyfans, it recently happened on Gumroad. And Mastercard is bowing to these extremists and trying to ban people from buying porn through their cards.
Where the good news comes in is that the ACLU has decided to step in and put a stop to this absurdity. So if you could sign their petition I would be very appreciative.
Happy Tuesday all. Got a few things for you today:
Trump Is In Trouble - As I’ve been arguing here for weeks I think Donald Trump is a far weaker candidate than conventional wisdom reflects right now. His agenda is much more extreme and dangerous than Trump 2020, who lost. His performance on the stump is far more erratic and disturbing. He keeps losing in court, is now an adjudicated rapist and fraudster, and may be facing personal bankruptcy due to his misdeeds. But of all of this challenges, I think the splintering of his party, and the refusal/reluctance of the non-MAGA wing of the GOP to get behind Trump may be the biggest threat of all.
With Pence, Romney, the Cheneys and a growing chorus of prominent Republicans coming out against Trump, the permission structure to walk away from the GOP nominee is getting far stronger. We’ve already seen it in the data - a large chunk of Republican voters are ready to bolt from Trump.
Once again Hopium has good news to spare, but the big news is Trump is not doing so well.
he Environmental Protection Agency on Monday announced a comprehensive ban on asbestos, a carcinogen that kills tens of thousands of Americans every year but is still used in some chlorine bleach, brake pads and other products.
The final rule marks a major expansion of EPA regulation under a landmark 2016 law that overhauled regulations governing tens of thousands of toxic chemicals in everyday products, from household cleaners to clothing and furniture.
The new rule would ban chrysotile asbestos, the only ongoing use of asbestos in the United States. The substance is found in products such as brake linings and gaskets and is used to manufacture chlorine bleach and sodium hydroxide, also known as caustic soda, including some that is used for water purification.
Really one of those articles that makes you go “Wait it wasn’t banned already?” Ah well, better late than never.
A federal appeals court late Tuesday issued an order that again prevents Texas from arresting migrants suspected of entering the U.S. illegally, hours after the Supreme Court allowed the strict new immigration law to take effect.
Yeah once again this terrible racist law has been put on hold, the fight isn’t over yet.
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cleveland’s City Planning Commission took two big steps Friday to update zoning and building code requirements to encourage dense, walkable, transit-oriented neighborhoods.
In the first of two unanimous votes, after nearly three hours of discussion, the commission recommended that City Council approve the implementation of a new form-based zoning code in three pilot neighborhoods — Hough, Opportunity Corridor and Detroit Shoreway / Cudell.
Slowly but surely cities are being changed to make them more livable.
After years of construction disrupting the entirety of Seattle’s waterfront, an end to jackhammering and a final grand opening is finally in sight, with the city’s powerbrokers ready to take full credit. On March 7, the Downtown Seattle Association [DSA] hosted its annual “State of Downtown” event and a major theme was the hotly anticipated grand opening of downtown’s new and improved waterfront park next spring. Backers expected the new park and aquarium to be a jolt to the local economy and a showpiece for the city.
The speaker program included Joy Shigaki, CEO of Friends of Waterfront Seattle, and Leslie Koch, a donors’ representative with Elliott Bay Connections project, a public-private partnership to extend park improvements farther to the north. Both talked up the transformative potential of the linear park, with the new Seattle Aquarium and the Overlook Walk connecting it to Pike Place Market expected to open next year. The new pedestrian connection will join the new Marion Street overpass as a way to access the public spaces along the waterfront without dealing with the busy freight corridor that is Alaskan Way.
More good news of cities being revitalized.
I laughed, of course. And as a nervous flier, I am one of the “If it’s Boeing, I ain’t going” customers when it comes to the MAX models specifically.
But I also can’t resist a Progress Network-style reminder, courtesy of the same Wired piece, that flying on an airplane is very safe, and has become even safer in the last decade.
More good news collected by our counterpart good news aggregates.
he average daily temperature in February is 26 degrees Fahrenheit, with overnight lows at 12 degrees. There are 12 days of precipitation (primarily snow). There’s a massive, 764-foot-high hill (locals call it a Mont) smack dab in the middle of the city. Who would go cycling in such conditions? Montrealers, and the city’s bikeshare program has the stats to prove it.
Montreal’s bikeshare program, called BIXI, has grown exponentially since launching in 2009. With over 10,000 bikes, it has the largest fleet in Canada and one of the largest in North America. BIXI has a user base of more than 500,000 riders, who took almost 12 million trips in 2023, more than double the 5.8 million in (pre-COVID) 2019. This demand led BIXI to add winter service for the first time this season.
Opponents of investing in human-powered infrastructure often point to some impediment that makes their city less amenable to cycling than, say, sunny San Diego. 70,274 bike rides in February in one of the coldest and hilliest cities in North America suggests they may be underestimating that demand.
If it can work here, it can work anywhere.
oday, Coachella is probably best known for the six-day, two-weekend music festival in which 125,000 concertgoers descend on the valley and listen to the likes of Bad Bunny, Rosalía, and Blink-182. But there has always been another Coachella. In this one, farmworkers grow and harvest citrus, dates, and table grapes, providing the labor that has driven the area’s agricultural industry to a $700 million valuation. Coachella, in fact, was where Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, and a cadre of organizers founded the United Farm Workers, and it was central to the UFW’s prolonged struggle for collective-bargaining rights and farmworker justice that eventually succeeded in compelling most California table-grape growers to sign contracts with the union in 1970.
History is important to our future, especially when Unions are involved.
I have a dream. I have a nightmare.
The dream is that working people find careers with good pay, good benefits, and a platform for addressing grievances with their employers. In other words, I dream that everyone gets what I got over twenty-plus years as a unionized worker in the oil industry.
The nightmare is that people who had jobs with good pay and power in the workplace watch those gains erode as the oil industry follows the lead of steel, auto, and coal mining to close plants and lay off workers. It is a nightmare rooted in witnessing the cruelties suffered by our siblings in these industries — all of whom had good-paying jobs with benefits and the apparatus to process grievances when their jobs went away.
Workers, their families, and their communities were destroyed when the manufacturing plants and coal mines shut down, with effects that linger to this day. Without worker input, I fear that communities dependent on the fossil fuel industry face a similar fate.
This nightmare is becoming a reality as refineries in Wyoming, Texas, Louisiana, California, and New Mexico have closed or have announced pending closures. Some facilities are doing the environmentally conscious thing and moving to renewable fuels. Laudable as that transition is, a much smaller workforce is needed for these processes. For many oil workers, the choice is to keep working, emissions be damned, or to save the planet and starve.
Remember the workers on the ground level are not the enemies, the guys on top keeping this busted system going are, don’t let them divide us.
The University of Florida made history last month when its student senate became the first at a public university to pass a climate resolution in support of Green New Deal policies. The “Green New Deal for UF” is a statement of support for bold, progressive climate action put forward by students at a time when the far-right holds a near monopoly on power in the state.
“This is big news for the climate movement at universities — not just in Florida, but everywhere,” said Cameron Driggers, a UF freshman. “It’s a first of its kind resolution that pushes back against the narrative that some states are lost causes for climate action.”
The kids in Florida are alright, despite the best efforts of DeSantis.
Former President Donald Trump is facing mounting financial difficulties in his campaign — to the point where he is reportedly being forced to triage which states he can afford to hold rallies in.
According to a new CNN report, Trump was planning to hold a rally in Arizona last weekend, on the same day he rallied in Ohio to support his endorsed Senate candidate Bernie Moreno, but backed out at the last minute.
"On Wednesday, Biden was in Arizona to announce $8.5 billion going toward a new Intel chip processing plant outside of Phoenix, returning to a state he visited twice in the second half of last year," reported Edward Isaac-Dovere and Kristen Holmes.
Lets be real being president was probably the worst thing to happen to Trump. Like it ruined Trump. It fucked him up royally. He’s hated by everyone, he’s lost all his money, he’s a laughing stock, and this idiot wants to run for another term because his pride wont let him do anything else. Should have just stuck with the Apprentice there Donny.
Guerilla Urbanism is a grassroots movement that allows ordinary citizens to reclaim and reshape urban spaces, explains Fernando Pages Ruiz, a homebuilder, developer, and author based in Houston, Texas.
It harnesses Tactical Urbanism but differs in that it more directly challenges the power structure to ask forgiveness rather than permission.
Ruiz moderated a CNU On the Park Bench webinar last week that included small developer Jason Hyman and planner Margaret Brown, who recently led Houston's planning department to report on Guerilla Urbanism.
Brown gave some examples from around the US. In Houston, neighborhood residents were tired of seeing a vacant lot that became an eyesore. “The community came together and planted things, which provide fresh vegetables to residents,” Brown says. “It's easily removable if the property owner requires it.”
Brown presented a creative application of Guerilla Urbanism in Wichita, Kansas, where a bike lane was painted on a busy street with no protection. Somebody glued toilet plungers to the street in the night, which provided a sense of protection to cyclists and put drivers on notice to be careful. The city eventually came and installed more standard protection for the lanes.
Very cool, hope to see more of that in other places
Welcome to BIG, a newsletter on the politics of monopoly power. If you’d like to sign up to receive issues over email, you can do so here.
Today, the Department of Justice and 16 states led by officials from both political parties filed an antitrust case against Apple, the fourth trillion dollar firm targeted by the Biden administration with an antitrust suit for unfair monopolistic behavior.
This suit is a big deal in and of itself, but it also matters beyond just Big Tech. But it’s also a bit unusual, because while Google, Amazon, and Meta have their villain-esque side, Apple is beloved, with some of the strongest branding in the world, and it spends billions on its iconic ‘Think Different’ imagery. Its smartphones are user-friendly and often seamless, and its CEO Tim Cook talks up the firm’s commitments to privacy and consumer protection.
There was a time when we fought against big trusts and monopolies, we can make that happen again.
And on that note I think we’ve done enough this week. Tune in next Monday for more good news.