Emily Pontecorvo Profile Banner
Emily Pontecorvo Profile
Emily Pontecorvo

@emilypont

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Staff writer @heatmap_news | energy & climate | obsessed with buildings | bad at writing emails

Joined September 2010
Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.
@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
2 years
⚡️On Friday night, Washington state quietly became the first state in the country to ban gas heating in new residential buildings. The new building codes will go into effect quickly, starting next July.⚡️
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
6 months
XR protesters interrupted opening night at the Met last week, shouting "There will be no opera on a dead planet!" My friend was there & said a German man sitting near him kept shouting back "There VILL be opera! There VILL be opera!"
@IsiahMagsino
Isiah Magsino
6 months
Climate change protests strike tonight at Met Opera! Tannhäuser is a great opera btw!
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
10 months
NYCHA has asked companies to compete to design an induction stove that doesn't require an electric upgrade. It will buy 10,000 stoves from the winner. The contest could lowers the barriers to induction stoves for everyone. My latest:
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
1 year
A Massachusetts gas company broke ground on the first utility-owned geothermal heating/cooling network in the U.S. yesterday. "I would say it's not just being watched nationally, it's being watched globally," @zeynebmagavi told me.
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
1 year
Homeowners are struggling to find electricians. Contractors are swamped with calls and struggling to find workers. Voc schools are tight on funds and short on teachers. And what might be inconvenient today could soon hamstring attempts to cut carbon.
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
6 months
Did you know that all but 4 states are currently refining, or making their first-ever, climate action plans, because of the IRA? Some states don't even track their emissions! Now they will!
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
1 year
My last story for @grist (🥲) is out today, and it's quite different than anything I've written before. I hope you'll give it a read.
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
1 year
Love to learn about distinctly British energy challenges
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
4 years
Is Colorado's ballot measure to reintroduce grey wolves the closest race in the country?
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
2 years
Is this real, a scam, or the best activist art of 2021?
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
3 months
Will heat pumps pay for themselves in bill savings? Will you even see bill savings? NREL recently published the most in-depth look at these questions yet, and the study has tons of fascinating conclusions. Here are a few. 🧵
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
2 years
I've been reporting on electrification for an upcoming story. People like to say #electrifyeverything is a solution that's "available to us right now!" But that framing belies the 1,000,000 social/administrative/financial obstacles we have to solve first. Some stories in a🧵...
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
1 year
🙆‍♀️Today is very bittersweet. It's my last day at @grist , where I've been for 3+ years and grown so much as a writer and reporter. I'm heartbroken to leave my colleagues and this amazing organization, whose mission I believe in deeply and that I've felt so honored to be a part of!
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
6 months
I'm thrilled to be recognized by the SEAL awards this year among so many accomplished colleagues. 5 yrs ago I started to try to change careers, but I wasn't sure it would be possible to become a working climate journalist. Grateful that I get to do this, for however long I can.
@SEALAwards
SEAL Awards
6 months
Congratulations to our 2023 Environmental Journalism Award Winners! We are proud to celebrate these twelve brave and resourceful people whose investigations and reporting elevate the public discourse on ecology and climate justice. Read more:
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
8 months
Many think EVs require fewer workers to make than gas cars. The claim is so logical that it's been taken for granted. But researchers have found that's not yet the case in the US, and if you look at potential jobs in battery production, it may never be.
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
1 year
Who wore it better?
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
1 year
Putting this into the universe bc I'd like to attend: There should really be some kind of workshop or class for journalists to learn about electricity markets
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
1 year
🤠...But I couldn't be more excited about what's next! Next week I'm starting at @heatmap_news as a founding staff writer. Thrilled to join the outstanding team they've assembled and continue writing about the complicated project of decarbonization. I hope you'll subscribe!
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
5 months
Sublime Systems has found a way to make zero-carbon cement without carbon capture. Now they are building their first commercial plant on the site of a former paper mill Holyoke, MA.
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
1 year
California just passed the first ever emissions rules for trains! This is a huge win for public health.
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
1 year
every time a reporter writes carbon removal when they really mean point source carbon capture, an angel loses its wings
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
3 months
There is a simple Sudafed cure for our congested grid — replace the old wires with new, better wires. It can't solve everything, but the opportunity is huge. My latest on my favorite new energy transition word: Reconductoring
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
3 years
This is huge. NY State agency says two new gas power plants “would be inconsistent with New York’s nation-leading climate law, and are not justified or needed for grid reliability” and denies permits. Has this even happened yet in any other state with a climate law?
@BasilSeggos
Basil Seggos🇺🇸🇺🇦
3 years
BREAKING: Today @NYSDEC denied applications for two proposed natural gas power plants- Astoria and Danskammer. Both would be inconsistent with New York’s nation-leading climate law, and are not justified or needed for grid reliability. We must shift to a renewable future. #COP26
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
2 years
BIG NEWS! On Friday, Washington became the first state to mandate that new buildings install heat pumps for heating + hot water. The new code applies to most commercial and large multifamily bldgs. The code council will take up residential later this year.
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
1 year
I wrote about a few highlights in the slew of climate bills Colorado just passed, which show how states can try to bring in as much IRA $$ as possible, and also mold its programs to their own goals.
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
4 years
Why did Isabelle Boemeke, a successful fashion model, suddenly torpedo her social media accounts and start posting exclusively about nuclear energy?
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
5 months
In October, I drove to Portland Maine where activists interested in public power from all over met for a 3-day workshop. I wanted to understand why so many in the climate movement were turning to this idea, and why now. Here’s what I learned.
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
1 year
At first blush, green H2 sounds great—use solar or wind to split water molecules, and get a flexible, carbon-free fuel. Until you find out that most producers will actually get power from the grid. This is worse, climate-wise, than natural gas-based H2.
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
3 years
Fires have burned through at least 6 forests that were supposed to be storing carbon to offset fossil fuel polluters in California. @shannonosaka and I dug into the system ensuring those offsets remain valid, and whether wildfire could push it to collapse.
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
10 months
On the 1 year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act, I recommend that if homeowners do nothing else this year, they should consider getting a home energy audit. You can get a $150 tax credit for it! ...and many other tips in here!
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
2 years
I wrote about Washington's nation-leading electric building codes for commercial buildings earlier this year.
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
2 months
There is simply not enough support for homeowners to pay for electrification or navigate the process. I wrote about an innovative plan to "aggregate demand" to drive down costs, led by @rewiringamerica and others, w/ $2 billion in govt. funding
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
1 year
Excited to share this feature on the workforce shortage that could hold back climate action. You can also listen to the podcast version that @herrcaitlin and I produced for @CarbonCopy_Pod !
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
3 years
🧵Last year, when @stripe announced four promising carbon removal startups it was funding, I was intrigued by @CharmIndustrial . They had a strange idea to turn plants into oil, and stash the oil underground. 1/9
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
3 months
Happy 1-yr birthday 🎂to @heatmap_news ! Also, happy bday to me! 🎈 I love this job and am so excited for all we have in store. If you read our stuff but haven’t bought a sub, today is a great day to do so. (Code ANNIVERSARY gets you 25% off!)
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
1 year
Really proud that my story about the shortage of electricians was included in this @MotherJones package on what it will take to decarbonize the economy among some incredible writers and thinkers. Check out the whole series!
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
3 years
I wrote about New York's rejection of two proposed natural gas plants, and why it's a big freaking deal for the whole country.
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
1 year
Where do companies' estimates of their GHG emissions come from? Are they even accurate?? This is the story I didn't know I was desperate to read. @robinsonmeyer on Big Carbon Data
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
1 year
Another climate solution naming challenge: - Networked geothermal - Thermal energy network - Geomicrodistrict - Community geothermal - Thermal highway - ATL / Ambient temperature loop - Heatnet - 5G network 😰What would you call it?
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
1 year
With a ban on gas in new buildings, a cap-and-invest plan, and a new avenue for publicly owned renewable energy, New York's budget deal starts to fill in big gaps in its climate strategy. Will other states see it as a blueprint?
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
1 year
i did all the emailing and the talking and the reading and now i must do the writing. ugh
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
9 months
🎉🐣Heatmap has officially been in the world for 6 months, and I'm so proud of the journalism and analysis we've published so far. We've got a lot more planned, so I hope you'll consider subscribing. For the next 48 hrs, you can get an annual sub for $66!
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
6 months
2023 could forever be remembered as the start of the American clean manufacturing boom. I wrote about the 'keystone' policy driving all this investment: the ~45X tax credit~
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
6 months
Much deserved props for @robinsonmeyer ! Subscribe to @heatmap_news !
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
1 year
We often hear about how the gas industry is fighting building electrification around the country. But today I have a story about a gas utility that's embracing heat pumps, and why reading the writing on the wall doesn't make the transition any easier.
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
3 years
lol @ our entire newsroom signing up for free trials of live tv streaming in order to watch this trainwreck
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
2 years
Every add'l cost, every friction will cause ppl to throw up their hands, install more gas, put off insulation. Incentives have to be better & easier to navigate, utilities more proactive, need more skilled workers equipped with better info. The tech might be ready, but we are not
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
10 months
Sure why not
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
3 years
This is an astounding piece of journalism.
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
10 months
Me, trying to explain hydrogen: The fight is about electrolysis. But the central question is about clean electricity. But the debate boils down to book and claim. But the disagreement centers around about timing. But at the heart of it is... 😓
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
10 months
Really interesting interview in @grist today with @johnpodesta , who is leading IRA implementation.
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
3 years
it makes me very exceedingly anxious how often carbon capture and carbon removal are conflated, even by the policymakers that are trying to distinguish them. makes it very hard to pin down what people are actually talking about or arguing for/against. 😑
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
3 years
Today @grist published the most fascinating and well-written human story about climate I've read in a while. From @shannonosaka , on France's experiment w/ asking 150 ordinary ppl to design climate policy, and other precedents for "citizen assemblies."
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
6 months
I've been amassing excerpts of @UN @antonioguterres ' scathing, heart wrenching, poetic, climate missives for years. Now you can read some of his greatest hits all in one place.
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
10 months
"The institutions best poised to distribute direct aid are also the most likely to enable disaster capitalists to exploit this tragedy...once the spotlight moves from our island, what’s to come of those monies & who’s going to benefit?" - @KanielaIng
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
7 months
One clarifying part of my talks w/ Climeworks: Orca is designed to grab 4,000t of CO2 from the air per year. But it will only ever deliver ~3,000t of "net" removal due to losses throughout, incl. supply chain emissions. They urge others to be more transparent about net removal.
@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
7 months
In 2021, @Climeworks launched the largest carbon removal plant to date. Two years later, they agreed to talk to me about how it's going. 1/3
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
11 months
It's pretty wild to me that this ad campaign exists. (This one from Semafor.) What % of news consumers do you think know what the phrases "annual matching" and "hourly matching" mean?
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
1 year
Join me, former @Grist journalist-turned-electrician @SavorTooth , Adewale OgunBadejo of @GRID , & Janell Hills of @IRECUSA for a panel Wednesday about what it's like to become an electrician and how to grow the workforce to realize the promise of the IRA.
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
1 month
It's difficult, maybe impossible, to measure or manage corporate emissions with precision. What if we focused on the point of extraction instead? This piece is about a scathing critique of life cycle analysis and the case for a "carbon takeback obligation"
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
1 year
There is *so much* riding on this project. Many climate advocates see this as the future for gas utilities, and a way to increase access to geothermal heating -- the most expensive to install, but cheapest to run, hvac solution.
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
7 months
I wrote about the hottest ticket in Brooklyn last week — the 'energy industry underground' meetup #DERvos23 by @DER_Task_Force
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
3 years
do you have an earth day brand announcement? does it include: - near-term scope 1,2,3 emissions targets? - transparent info about which emissions you are cutting and how? - and which ones you aren't/can't and what you plan to do about that? No? don't bother emailing me
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
1 year
Why should H2 factories have to build their own clean power source, when we don't ask the same of EV or heat pump owners? A bunch of reasons, actually Another piece on the IRA's ~clean h2 tax credit~
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
3 years
I think a lot about the amt of land required to get our grid on renewables. More and more, this stuff is going to encroach on where ppl live. “The social, cultural, and institutional challenges are coming to the forefront,” @rand_joseph told me.
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
3 years
appreciate this helpful visual from @carbon_180 distinguishing carbon removal from carbon capture.
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
7 months
My extremely unscientific anecdotal evidence is that a lot of people think their utilities are publicly owned when they aren't. Talked to my mom about this a few days ago and she had no idea that PSE&G was a private company.
@DataProgress
Data for Progress
7 months
NEW POLL: A strong majority of likely voters nationwide (68%) support having a publicly owned utility as their local utility provider.
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
9 months
Missed connections: If you were the bro holding the "decarbonize your mind" sign at the climate march yesterday, pls know that I searched everywhere for you after I missed my initial opportunity to take your pic (cc @BrosForDecarb )
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
2 years
oh no my friend is carbon offsetting her wedding. what should i tell her?
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
3 years
🧵on my latest feature for @grist : Millions of oil and gas wells have been abandoned. Some contaminate soil and groundwater. Some leak methane. Some are just hazardous pipes sticking out of the ground. Where will the $$ come from to clean them up? 1/10
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
2 years
Excited to share that @zteirstein and I are spearheading a limited-run weekly newsletter @grist about DROUGHT! Sign up here if you want to learn what a drought actually is, and what it means for clean energy, health, tourism, water futures, & so much more.
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
3 years
This story refers to a married couple, one tech worker and one teacher, who moved to Michigan from San Francisco to avoid wildfire smoke, as "climate refugees."
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
2 years
"I was just in a blockbuster movie about climate change but honestly i don't know anything about what to do about it, but my girlfriend wanted me to tell you something... hold on let me get my notes..."
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
2 months
campaign to align the PR industry and the journalism industry on whether or not job titles should be capitalized
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
1 year
Live shot of the @EENewsUpdates staff attacking every conceivable angle of the EPA power plant rules within 24 hours
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
9 months
This exposé on Blocpower from @leee_harris , which I missed when it came out last week, deserves more attention. An extremely deeply reported and well-sourced account of how the company has inflated its claims at every turn.
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
1 year
"Heat pumps transfer heat to heat and cool homes" - an editor's nightmare
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
4 years
just leaving this here.
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
2 years
A small ~personal update~ After 4 yrs away I’m .. somewhat reluctantly.. moving back to NYC next month. Excited to bother @zteirstein in person and meet some Twitter friends in real life. Hit me up!
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
3 years
🧵A few key points about why NY blocking gas plants is such a big deal: 1. It may seem obvious that a new fossil fuel plant accomplishes the opposite of climate goals, but it's unusual for a govt agency to say that directly. Much more common to talk vaguely about "emissions."
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
3 years
I wrote about New York's rejection of two proposed natural gas plants, and why it's a big freaking deal for the whole country.
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
10 months
I wrote about the other thing that could change the energy world for decades to come, and that you should really be following as closely as the replication of a room temperature super conductor... The clean hydrogen tax credit rules!
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
1 year
I apologize for dragging this up again but there was just one more thing that needed saying about the whole gas stove thing...
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
3 years
One 💣💥mention in the IEA Net-zero report that I haven't seen others pull out yet: "Also not needed are many of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) liquefaction facilities currently under construction or at the planning stage." (p104)
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
2 years
1. As I've written about before, there's a lot of contractors who don't trust heat pumps and advise people against getting them. I hear this story ALL THE TIME.
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
2 years
The most depressing thing about Don’t Look Up is that my family didn’t even get that it was “about climate change”
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
10 months
I'll be on @1a this morning talking with @JWhitePubRadio , @zteirstein , and @leahstokes about the 1 year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act. Tune in at 10!
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
4 years
I spoke to the Israeli wildlife ecologist @MBenDavid2020 about her run for U.S. Senate in the most Republican state in the country.
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
10 days
Utilities are partnering with Habitat for Humanity to build 'net-zero' homes... with gas appliances. The programs are "intentionally launched in a state that is “on the frontlines” of attempts to quell reliance on gas" writes @dharnanoor
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
1 year
Changes are afoot at ENERGY STAR headquarters... EPA wants to disqualify gas furnaces and central A/Cs from the label altogether...
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
3 years
always interesting to see what headlines come out of a 200+ page report on how to tackle climate change
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
7 months
In 2021, @Climeworks launched the largest carbon removal plant to date. Two years later, they agreed to talk to me about how it's going. 1/3
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
2 years
I spoke to @hollyjeanbuck about her new @VersoBooks release— Ending Fossil Fuels: Why Net Zero is Not Enough We discuss the utility and limits of #NetZero , and why the language we use to talk about tackling climate change is so important.
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
3 years
Shocked that it seems no one's editor made them try to clarify what an "inefficient fossil fuel subsidy" was... #COP26
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
3 years
A city councilman in Tampa tried to pass a non-binding resolution for 100% clean energy. With @BrendanRivers @adaptflorida and @emilyhholden @FloodlightNews , we looked at how industry fought it locally and at the statehouse, leading to new preemption laws.
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
1 year
When Berkeley banned gas in new buildings in 2019, it created a blueprint for how cities could move away from fossil fuels in the absence of federal policy. ~100 cities followed. What does it mean that a federal court just overturned Berkeley's law?
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@emilypont
Emily Pontecorvo
1 year
I love that everyone on my timeline is obsessing about this heat pump washer dryer and I think you should see it too
@MattWallace1701
Matt Wallace
1 year
Just got my new washer/dryer combo by @generalelectric this thing is not only ventless but it also runs off a 120 outlet.
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