Billy Fleming

Professor @tylerschool. Co-founder @cplusci. Founding (ex-) Director @mchargcenter. Books w/@landpolicy, @islandpress.

[Billy Fleming @JooBilly]

My brilliant book designer, Cristian Ordonez, just did a photoshoot for my beautiful child. I'm going to share one a day on here and remind you all to Preorder it soon!

CUP: https://t.co/6QnACHQ3Fo
Indie Bookshops: https://t.co/63SKdT5utS
Ama*on: https://t.co/M5TdExPGng

[Billy Fleming @JooBilly]

The politics are also fucked, because it will immediately implicate Dems in the data center buildout (fair or not) and reinforce the ongoing disaffection with their base that feels like the party is unresponsive to their quality of life concerns.

[Billy Fleming @JooBilly]

This is what tech neutral energy policy is, at least as formulated in BAAJA: an all of the above energy strategy.

There’s a version of tech neutral that excludes fossil fuels within its framework and only deals with the more contentious forms of “clean” energy. This isn’t that.

[Tyson Slocum @TysonSlocum]

the explicit justification for this legislative deal by Sen Dems Whitehouse & Heinrich is that this is a climate bill that will reduce emissions. The fact that now its proponents are admitting that the emissions benefits are hazy punch a pretty large credibility hole here

[Billy Fleming @JooBilly]

I think it’s incredibly hard to sell this outside of industry/business lobbies, because the material impacts of grid interconnection and reindustrialization lag significantly and are either too diffuse (grid) or too concentrated (reindustrialization).

[David Wallace-Wells @dwallacewells]

Somehow, in certain quarters, it has come to be seen as a personal failing to devote one’s life to improving the world around you. It isn’t “downwardly mobile” to choose, after college, to be a teacher, a city councilor or an artist. It’s just a different kind of ambition.

[Billy Fleming @JooBilly]

Going to See Everything tonight. But saw Whalefall last night and…it was really good. Austin Abrams is my favorite mumbler and it was both grotesque and beautiful.

[Billy Fleming @JooBilly]

I’m doing this really fun event with my book designer, Cristian Ordonez, tomorrow with the design and illustration crew at Tyler.

[Billy Fleming @JooBilly]

@JaneAFlegal @noahqk Sure, but also every side does this on every climate/energy bill. The modeling is basically all fake and we should stop doing/using it for stuff like this.

[Billy Fleming @JooBilly]

I've literally never heard a single person argue that state ownership of a fossil fuel company is either anti-capitalist or a necessary condition for decarbonization (other than perhaps a tangential argument about the ease of managed decline through such a structure)

[Billy Fleming @JooBilly]

I can't tell if this is an earnest argument or satirical one. Like, state capitalism and global markets are a thing when the product in question is a commodity.

[Ben Krauss @BenKrauss5]

The "because of capitalism" argument about climate change falls apart when you look at the companies with the highest emissions.

[Billy Fleming @JooBilly]

When people ascribe responsibility for climate change to capitalism, they're obviously referencing a political economy predicated on growth and the endless search for a new spatial fix, in which fossil fuels are an integral component.

[Daniel Aldana Cohen @aldatweets]

“Putting forward bold policies that show that the government can deliver things quickly and to meet needs is a necessary part of any popular and successful political agenda that wants to win a greener, fairer future.”

[Billy Fleming @JooBilly]

Trying to get on the BSL at rush hour today only to find the stop closed, surrounded by cops. Assumed something tragic.

Turns out they were just filming transit cop documentary b roll in the Ellsworth-federal station and decided a good time to do that was 445 PM on a Thursday.

[Rithika Ramamurthy @rithika_ram]

Every headline right now is about the affordability crisis, but the climate crisis isn’t a part of that conversation—even though it is making life more expensive and dangerous.

We need policies that cut costs, protect people, and help them thrive— quickly.

Read me in @jacobin

[Allison @ear2thepavement]

Super important point from an otherwise critical thread.

[Matthew Haugen @MJHaugen]

great thread

[Billy Fleming @JooBilly]

@mollytaft i legit cackled throughout (as did the 4 other ppl in my screening)

[Billy Fleming @JooBilly]

@jaeporeon It’s the BAAJA Boys for me

[Billy Fleming @JooBilly]

And finally: BAAJA can’t resolve any of these tensions or the fracturing of the climate movement (much of which began with the IRA). But it also has to exist in this context and I guess I’m just saying it’s ok to give ppl some grace and not assume their evil/stupid rn.

[Billy Fleming @JooBilly]

There’s something much larger at play here that I’m not sure BAAJA can make better or worse, but will continue to shape every new climate/energy policy that’s proposed:

[jae holzman @jaeporeon]

seems like this isn’t exactly an ideal environment to pass “build big things faster” legislation immediately after the midterms

[Billy Fleming @JooBilly]

Anyway, I still haven’t read enough on BAAJA. But I do think that if you can’t defend you program on the policy merits or the politics, then I think it’s best to step aside and see if someone else can.