A great summary of the dangers lurking in the so-called “permitting reform” deal.

Amen ❤️‍🔥.

The Senate permitting deal is Nerd Reich legislation.

The irony with BAAJA is that, relative to environmental protection, it just *BREAKS* things and *BUILDS* nothing. Abundance in its most generous light emphasized the importance of state capacity. But BAAJA isn't about state capacity (though Palken ID'd a few crumbs) except to degree it hobbles it!

Seriously, WTF? Not only "delete laws" but "take out the only folks enforcing those laws."

I mean, this is a key component of my work!!! And it's effective! This is a case we won that was prosecuted on the basis of NEPA. Just wild levels of ignorance about to design robust legal frameworks and ensure they are complied with.

The notion that fossil fuels just ignores everything is also absurd. That's precisely why you need effective citizen enforcement of environmental laws and thus precisely why BAAJA's provisions gutting citizen enforcement are ill-conceived.

Kinda a remarkable tell, too. There's no consideration of *eliminating* existing concessions or *ratcheting up* constraints on fossil fuels. It's a one-way deregulatory pathway that highlights folks will not come back to fix things BAAJA would break.

Right. And #2 is not just weak, but alarming. It's not the number of concessions, it's the magnitude of those concessions, especially when layered with existing concessions, whether via Trump-era deregulatory actions or statutory per, e.g., 2005 EPAct.

i’m just so fucking sorry that my muslim friends have to be hit with this despicable racism every single day. it’s not ok and you should not have to tolerate it. this country belongs to all of us.

I loved DC. Especially when Congress was in recess.

And didn't mean to disparage folks in DC--I lived and worked there for several years! More Stapp's circle of DC insiders who architected this bill.

It's of course not inconsistent b/c this bill, if you cut through the deceptive messaging, isn't really about clean energy but the buildout of AI data centers. Might throw a few bones--even significant ones (like transmission) to renewables--but that's not this bill's animating design or intent.

Does anyone really care what folks "in DC" like Alec Stapp think or who they trust? Stapp should be honest that *HE DOESN'T WANT* a deal that aligns infrastructure w/ecological & community imperatives in the public interest. *HE WANTS* a deal like BAAJA that serves tech, energy, & finance.

Counterpoint Ted Nordhouse: Yes you fucking can.

And even if you can't get, say, a combined cycle NG turbines because of backlogs, AI hyperscalers are more than good with just getting a bunch of old jet engines & plugging them in while flouting public health and air quality protections.

The vast majority of folks are well aware of the fact that data centers do not really care about power generation costs but, rather, “speed to power.” And well aware, too, that The Breakthrough Institute peddles in disinformation, deflection, & deception, as with this post.

My bet is they're actually considering this or some analogue thereof. Why not?

Congrats to incoming White House press secretary Tilly Norwood