Leah Stokes

Leah Stokes

@leahstokes.bsky.social

126

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Prof climate + energy policy UCSB, Fellow Harvard Radcliffe Institute, Advises Rewiring America, Alum @MIT @Columbia @UofT, Hosts "A Matter of Degrees," Cuts carbon pollution!
linktr.ee/leahstokes

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It's not just the Supreme Court that's corrupt. Today, in Louisiana, another radical Trump appointed judge decided that dirty LNG projects should go forward, even if they poison Americans. A corrupt legal system benefits fossil fuel corporations. www.nytimes.com/2024...

Judge Orders Biden Administration to Resume Permits for Gas Exportswww.nytimes.com President Biden had paused new natural gas export terminals to assess their effects on the climate, economy and national security. A federal judge disagreed.

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The Court ruling today is terrible but expected. I will just gently remind everyone that the election hasn’t happened yet. We shouldn’t assume the worst outcome as a foregone conclusion. That only encourages more apathy than many are already feeling.

California middle schoolers were sick of roasting during heat waves. So they organized to install a heat pump at their school... and won! The California school bond likely on the ballot this fall should be funding heat pumps, not gas furnaces. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Adults doubted us. We found a way to shrink emissions at our middle school anywaywww.theguardian.com Heating and cooling our school had a huge energy cost. So we successfully researched, planned and proposed a heat pump on campus

Lately, journalists have asked if scientists didn't warn us enough, or didn't know how bad climate change would be. Scientists did their jobs. It's fossil fuel companies who lied about climate impacts FOR DECADES. They're to blame for these heat waves. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024...

‘Smoking gun proof’: fossil fuel industry knew of climate danger as early as 1954, documents showwww.theguardian.com Documents show industry-backed Air Pollution Foundation uncovered the severe harm climate change would wreak

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Pay taxes. Raise taxes higher. Organize labor unions and give them money. Fund local community groups and religious congregations that build social capital so politicians will be pressured to respond to people's needs. Fund and organize local political party orgs. Fund left-of-center media orgs.

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@leahstokes.bsky.social spoke with CBS News about the stakes of the 2024 election & the importance of asking the candidates their plans to combat climate change. Listen now: www.cbsnews.com/video/where-...

Where Biden, Trump stand on climate change as U.N. sounds "red alert"www.cbsnews.com 2024 could be the hottest year ever, according to a new prediction from the U.N.'s weather agency. Leah Stokes, associate professor of environmental politics at the University of California, Santa Bar...

What's the best recent book on meditation and neuroscience?

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My husband is reading a really interesting book about activist burn out, and basically every chapter that looks at specific historical activists shows that being unable to acknowledge even minor victories leads to burn out and depression.

I think some people are afraid of good news because they think it inevitably leads to complacency. like any hint of good must mean there is no need for Better. but…endless bad news doesn’t lead to Better either. it leads to exhaustion.

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Research from @leahstokes.bsky.social & colleagues found that Members of Congress don’t actually know what their constituents want. Everyone calling their offices & telling them, “I live in your district, I vote in every election, & [issue] is important to me” helps. www.nytimes.com/2018/10/31/o...

Opinion | Congress Has No Clue What Americans Want (Published 2018)www.nytimes.com People in the U.S. House and Senate have wildly inaccurate perceptions of our opinions and preferences.

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New paper dropping this week from us: what if we electrified every dang transit bus in these United States

Rewiring America is hiring!⚡ We're looking for two dynamic leaders to join us as Senior Policy Managers in Western Regional Policy (apply.workable.com/j/27F528FC6D/) and Eastern Regional Policy (apply.workable.com/j/48947DBA68/). Apply now; can’t wait to work with you!

Senior Manager, Western Regional Policy - Rewiring Americaapply.workable.com Full-time; Exempt; Remote (ideally located in Colorado, California, Washington, or Oregon)About Rewiring AmericaRewiring America is the leading electrification nonprofit, focused on electrifying our h...

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Evidently “nuke them all” from a congressman is a metaphor but “river to the sea” from college students is a plan for genocide. www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...

Michigan GOP Congressman Suggests Using Nuclear Strikes Like ‘Hiroshima’ in Gazawww.rollingstone.com Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) suggested during a town hall meeting on Monday that nuclear strikes should be used to end the Israel-Hamas war.

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I’m a bad person

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We should be shocked (a) that this exists, (b) that the former president is amplifying it, and (c) that the former president's amplification isn't even a big news story. Last year an armed, dangerous man showed up at Obama's house after Trump posted the address www.axios.com/2023/07/05/t...

This is the image. I dunno, it strikes me that Presidents who deploy the visual stylings of snuff films for their campaign events are perhaps dangerous to democracy. But have you heard that Joe Biden is old?

My segment on CBS News last night. Listen to what Trump is saying. He says he wants to be a “dictator on day one to drill, drill, drill.” We cannot afford to have an arsonist in the White House — let alone a dictator. The climate stakes of the Presidential election could not be higher.

Where Biden, Trump stand on climate change as U.N. soundswww.youtube.com 2024 could be the hottest year ever, according to a new prediction from the U.N.'s weather agency. Leah Stokes, associate professor of environmental politics...

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Bike lanes in cities don't hurt businesses—not by taking away parking spaces, not by limiting customers. I read the more than 30 studies and reports on this that have come out since the mid 1980s, and that's what the data shows.

I read all the studies on the economic impact of bike lanes. Here's what I learned.www.businessinsider.com Research proves that bike lanes are good for business. So why do so many stores and restaurants still oppose them?

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That's so weird I must have missed the nyt breaking news alert

“There were plenty of moments during Mr Trump’s campaign events in Greensboro, North Carolina and later in Richmond when he appeared to struggle to deliver his speech or seemed to be confused.” www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

Trump crowd goes silent as he confuses Biden and Obama againwww.independent.co.uk ‘Putin has so little respect for Obama that he’s starting to throw around the nuclear word,’ Trump says

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I asked @leahstokes.bsky.social, Josh Freed & others what IRA provisions would be at greatest risk in a second Trump presidency. The EV tax credits, power sector subsidies & environmental-justice grants would likely top of the list.

Trump wants to unravel Biden’s landmark climate law. Here is what’s most at risk.www.technologyreview.com The Inflation Reduction Act’s support for EVs and clean power could land on the chopping block if the Republican front-runner returns to the White House.

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"It just shows you that these companies are not fundamentally allied with the climate movement...They are just monopolies who sit on the bridge like a troll and try to protect their own profits.” @leahstokes.bsky.social in: www.politico.com/news/2024/02...

Why a clean energy giant based in Florida is battling a green project in New Englandwww.politico.com No one in the U.S. builds more solar and wind farms than NextEra Energy. It’s waging ferocious battles to keep the crown.

An institution with an $11.6 billion endowment cannot maintain a scientific collection because they "don't have the resources." Absurd argument from Duke University as they shut down an herbarium.

Duke Shuts Down Huge Plant Collection, Causing Scientific Uproarwww.nytimes.com University officials say they cannot afford to maintain one of the largest herbariums in the United States. Researchers are urging Duke to reconsider.

What a brilliant article on loneliness and the rise of smartphones from Derek Thompson www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

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Vladimir Putin's dictatorship is what full presidential immunity looks like

This image is fake, but you know what’s not? Of Americans that are invested in a 401(k) plan, 99% are forced to invest in oil and gas companies. I’m joining a virtual march against Wall Street to give everyone climate-friendly options. You can march too at RetireBigOil.org

President Biden paused approval on new gas export terminals. It's another excellent decision. Yet pundits and politicians are saying it's "bad" particularly for "national security." This is BS. Let's debunk these critiques with some good, old-fashioned FACTS. THREAD! 🧵🔥🧵

Big news -- Sam Randazzo is facing felony charges in both state and federal courts for his alleged role in the $60 million bribery scheme to bailout dirty coal plants in Ohio. This was a LONG time coming. For more, read my book, Short Circuiting Policy.

Ohio House Bill 6 case: Who is Sam Randazzo?www.dispatch.com The former top utility regulator for Ohio, Sam Randazzo, is accused of taking a $4.3 million bribe from FirstEnergy Corp.

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❌ I’m in a slough of despond ✅ I’m in a freshwater marsh of sadness

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I could go on & on, but Follow Friday: @caseycrownhart.bsky.social @ghgpolicy.org @costasamaras.bsky.social @jessejenkins.bsky.social @emilypont.bsky.social @leahstokes.bsky.social @eroston.bsky.social @akshatrathi.bsky.social @tamarhaspel.bsky.social @shannonosaka.bsky.social @davidho.bsky.social

Climate change is already impacting Santa Barbara County. Unlike her opponent, Supervisor Joan Hartmann has and will continue to prioritize the health and safety of our community over the interests of fossil fuel companies. If you live in Santa Barbara County, remember to vote by March 5th! 🗳️ 🌍