@realsaadasad.bsky.social
Comms @cayimby.bsky.social. Previously, Advocacy at YIMBY Dems of SD & Product Marketing @ U.S. Digital Response. Tweets on housing, climate change, and San Diego/California politics
@realsaadasad.bsky.socialSan Diego's law lets renters see how landlords split utility bills.
7 tenant complaints allege delays or silence, two with eviction threats. They're unproven, but a right that depends on renters suing is weak. The city should enforce it.
@realsaadasad.bsky.socialBy Waymo's own figures, roughly 44% of its miles carry no passenger.
Charge robotaxis a fee for empty miles, highest in busy zones, and spend it on transit and safer streets.
Empty cars should pay for the space they use.
www.smartgrowthamerica.org/knowledge-hu...
@realsaadasad.bsky.socialBiomass carbon removal projects can overstate results if accounting misses emissions or double counts.
CATF's new tool lets registries score a protocol on 18 features. Credible carbon removal needs rigor before it scales.
@realsaadasad.bsky.socialSpark's chief scientist argues the world is on track for 2.5 to 3°C of warming.
He wants research on new tools, like methane removal and cooling methods, but no deployment yet.
Cut emissions first, but research is necessary.
@realsaadasad.bsky.socialSan Marcos will pick its first new mayor since 2018 as the city grows fast. Voters should ask both candidates how they'll meet state housing goals and add homes that seniors and young families can afford.
@realsaadasad.bsky.socialThawing permafrost, fires, wetlands and lakes are starting to release more greenhouse gases.
A new study estimates they could add 0.2 to 0.4°C by 2100, and most climate models leave them out.
Cutting human emissions limits this feedback.
@realsaadasad.bsky.socialModeling in three metros finds Boston has the biggest cooling gap: about 196,000 homes lack AC. In Roxbury, roughly 74% rent and 68% lack AC.
Renters can't upgrade alone, so a access to cooling could save lives.
California renters deserve it too.
fas.org/publication/...
@realsaadasad.bsky.socialFervo's Cape Station in Utah is now sending power to the grid, a first for utility-scale enhanced geothermal.
DOE awarded over $99 million to 21 more projects. A California lease sale Oct. 27 covers about 40,000 acres. Firm clean power is arriving.
@realsaadasad.bsky.socialMortgage rates have hit 7%, and a San Diego home averages nearly $1 million, about seven times the typical income, one lender says.
We can't set rates, but we cut fees and speed permits. More supply near jobs is the lasting fix for first-time buyers.
@realsaadasad.bsky.socialEmployers who hire people with old records say they're hard to recruit but easy to keep. Many applicants never apply, believing it's pointless.
Removing needless administrative barriers fills jobs and rewards rehabilitation.
@realsaadasad.bsky.socialSatellite data plus utility records can now estimate electricity use building by building.
The author reports 15-46% less planning error and 7% lower costs, by the team's own analysis.
Better data helps aid reach people who need it.
@realsaadasad.bsky.socialNOAA puts a very strong El Niño at over 90% odds. In 1997-98, rain hit 180% of normal and about 200 people fled Oceanside mobile-home parks.
No repeat is guaranteed, but cities should plan now for people in flood-prone homes.
@realsaadasad.bsky.social@realsaadasad.bsky.socialRichard Bailey's District 2 plan adds 300 police officers and tougher rules on homeless camping, but shows no clear funding source.
Enforcement without somewhere to go just moves people around.
@realsaadasad.bsky.socialCongress hasn't reformed legal immigration in over 35 years.
Small fixes could help without changing the numbers: update the 1991 Schedule A occupation list, end newspaper-ad rules for green card hiring, and cut PERM waits that topped 500 days in May.
@realsaadasad.bsky.socialTariffs, high interest rates and government fees are stalling San Diego housing, builders say.
Cities can't change rates or tariffs, but they can trim fees and speed permits.
@realsaadasad.bsky.socialIf those forces were the whole story, apartment production should have fallen about as much in other cities in the LA region. Instead, RAND found that Los Angeles fell even further, and they attributed the gap to the tax.
@cayimby.bsky.socialReposted by @realsaadasad.bsky.socialSouth San Diego County candidates back more housing.
State law has already cleared many barriers, says CA YIMBY's @realsaadasad.bsky.social.
The next barrier is tackling costs, often government-imposed ones.
@realsaadasad.bsky.socialCoronado joining San Diego Community Power adds choice, residents are auto-enrolled but can opt out free.
Typical savings are small, roughly $2 to $5.50 a month, so the bigger win is cleaner power (53% renewable vs. SDG&E's 41%).
@realsaadasad.bsky.socialAfrica's electricity demand may triple by 2050.
Only Egypt and South Africa are ready for nuclear by 2030, and most deals are just announcements.
Russia has pacts with 20+ countries; faster allied financing could give them choices.