Erik Schlenker-Goodrich
banner
riogranderift.bsky.social
Erik Schlenker-Goodrich
@riogranderift.bsky.social
At work in the ruins. Executive Director: @westernlaw.org

Thoughts my own.
Pinned
My thoughts on @westernlaw.bsky.social's strategic approach to the Trump 2.0 era.

✅ Hold the line at the federal level
✅ Move in space at the state level
✅ Build power for change

How? With an ecology of kinship.
TO THE WESTERN HORIZONS!
The Western Environmental Law Center’s Strategic Approach to the Confluence of Political, Ecological, and Economic Crises Faced by the…
medium.com
He might’ve been visualizing his next brilliant move to make America great again.
“appeared drowsy” lol. never change NYT caption writers
when the tryptophan hits
November 26, 2025 at 2:48 AM
Reposted by Erik Schlenker-Goodrich
'while he hopes his children never have to follow him to the north, he knows that with the oasis shrinking, they might not be able to stay much longer in Kaou.

“If there is no work, there will be no choice,” he says. “They will have to go” '

#Chad 🇹🇩
#ClimateCrisis
How rolling sand dunes are creeping up on last remaining oases on edge of Sahara
In western Chad, villagers are desperately trying to hold back the sand as the climate crisis wreaks havoc on one of the hottest countries in the world
www.theguardian.com
November 26, 2025 at 2:18 AM
Thanksgiving in Trump’s America.
November 26, 2025 at 12:26 AM
In New Mexico, we’re too busy fracking.
Re: California vs. Texas, instead of debating who is better at solar we should be asking why places with even more sun, looking at you Arizona and New Mexico, have such low solar adoption.☀️🔌💡
A graph you won’t see in a story about Texas’ rapid solar and storage deployment.. 🔌💡 #EnergyTransition
November 25, 2025 at 11:21 PM
Reposted by Erik Schlenker-Goodrich
Area man (who makes his living claiming expertise in the subject) stumped by fact that politics is actually about power and money, not about delivering what proves popular in polling.
I'm sorry. I shouldn't. But it's too rich to pass up.

The centrist faction's biggest fossil-fuel promoter "genuinely" does "not understand" why Trump is gearing up to invade the sovereign nation that has the biggest oil reserves on the planet.

😂
November 25, 2025 at 8:19 PM
“Permitting reform” premised on “tech neutral” policy only favors fossil fuels for the duration of Trump 2.0.

It will, at best, provide only marginal benefit for renewables while hobbling future POTUS’ power to rein in fossil fuels.

I do not see a path that benefits the public interest.
Trump Is the Biggest Wild Card in Permitting Reform
Congress is motivated to pass a bipartisan deal, but Democrats are demanding limits on executive power.
heatmap.news
November 25, 2025 at 9:33 PM
Reposted by Erik Schlenker-Goodrich
Tfw what you, and many others, have been screaming about finally gets traction: "a big and growing number of countries recognise that a managed, collectively navigated route to fossil fuel phaseout is preferable to the chaotic absence of planning we currently have"

cc: @gruberte.bsky.social
‘Fossil fuel giants finally in the crosshairs’: Cop30 avoids total failure with last-ditch deal
It took some oblique wording, but Saudi Arabia made a last-minute decision to sign deal that marks departure for Cop
www.theguardian.com
November 25, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Is this “permitting reform”?

Yes.
"The agency also announced plans to relax a rule requiring companies to report all products containing PFAS and has proposed weakening drinking water standards for the chemicals."
The EPA is starting to allow the use of pesticides containing PFAS on food. The move is part of an effort to roll back the regulation of PFAS — also known as "forever chemicals" because they don't break down easily in the environment.
November 25, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Reposted by Erik Schlenker-Goodrich
This is who is waiting in the Bad Place to greet you.
When you hear the word "innovation" and "permitting reform" know this: You're about to get fucked, the rich are gonna get richer, & the powerful more powerful.

Really glad this panel has a diverse array of white dudes representing the political, investor/tech, & media elites.
November 25, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Reposted by Erik Schlenker-Goodrich
Shapiro pulled PA out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

Arnold makes his money trading in methane gas.

Stitt claims his state has "the most affordable, reliable energy anywhere thanks to...natural gas."

If "permitting reform" is a climate solution, why are fossil fuel guys plugging it?
When you hear the word "innovation" and "permitting reform" know this: You're about to get fucked, the rich are gonna get richer, & the powerful more powerful.

Really glad this panel has a diverse array of white dudes representing the political, investor/tech, & media elites.
November 25, 2025 at 5:12 PM
When you hear the word "innovation" and "permitting reform" know this: You're about to get fucked, the rich are gonna get richer, & the powerful more powerful.

Really glad this panel has a diverse array of white dudes representing the political, investor/tech, & media elites.
November 25, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Reposted by Erik Schlenker-Goodrich
Little appreciated is that the "doomed" conflict dooms both "sides" - preventing the emergence of a (never easily achieved and always shifting) synthesis between conservation and the energy transition.
Pundit supporters of "permitting reform" sweep aside (& do not understand) ecology & community.

In their ignorance, they seek to confine the decision-making space to energy infrastructure.

This invariably leads to doomed conflict btw/energy infrastructure + ecological & community systems.
November 25, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Pundit supporters of "permitting reform" sweep aside (& do not understand) ecology & community.

In their ignorance, they seek to confine the decision-making space to energy infrastructure.

This invariably leads to doomed conflict btw/energy infrastructure + ecological & community systems.
November 25, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Reposted by Erik Schlenker-Goodrich
Having already dedicated a series to bison, he obviously needs to tackle another keystone mammal driven nearly to extinction by the rapacity of capitalism and now being restored to its historic range. 🦫 🦫 🦫
I figure Ken Burns has one, maybe two big documentary series in him before he fully retires. What do you think they should be? My votes include Football, Hip-Hop, World War 1, Reconstruction (though Skip Gates did this one well), Iraq/Afghanistan, 19th Century Expansionism.
November 25, 2025 at 12:41 AM
Reposted by Erik Schlenker-Goodrich
If Isaac Chotiner ever said this to me, I would move to the woods.
November 25, 2025 at 1:12 AM
Reposted by Erik Schlenker-Goodrich
if you came of age in the 20th century then this really sits you down about how much the Worlds changed in 21st century. no going back…. @katemac.bsky.social

Germany was 4 times China's GDP in 1990
China is now 4 times Germany's GDP in 2025
www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/bri...
November 24, 2025 at 7:22 PM
Reposted by Erik Schlenker-Goodrich
Interactive COP30 Exhibit Allows Attendees To Be Shot Up Into Air On Big Spurt Of Oil
November 24, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Reposted by Erik Schlenker-Goodrich
Here's the paragraph from the latest Carville blathering that should be circulating. Why it's strategic in for Democrats to reinforce the fascist opposition's frame remains a mystery to me.
November 24, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Reposted by Erik Schlenker-Goodrich
Opportunity for journos: @grist.org is giving out grants of up to $5K each for climate and environmental justice reporting on the rural US. The deadline is rapidly approaching, so get your application in! grist.org/updates/gris...
Grist opens applications for new rural reporting grants on climate and environmental justice
Applicants can request up to $5,000 per project.
grist.org
November 24, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Deeply appreciate this thread. All the climate "vibes" of the moment (I.e., Do not speak of climate; Do not antagonize fossil fuels; Focus on tech & "all of the above" affordability) are so ... impoverished ... when it comes to people's relationships with each other & the world around us.
A theory about vibes:

Human beings are deeply social creatures. Our need for a legible social order is rooted almost as deeply in our brainstem as our need for basic physical security. We need -- not want, need -- to understand who's in charge, who are allies, who are enemies, *how things work*.
November 24, 2025 at 7:45 PM
TFW when the primary messaging frame for your $5T company is centered on "We're not like Enron."
In the memo, “Nvidia also responds to claims that the ‘current situation is analogous to historical accounting frauds (Enron, WorldCom, Lucent) that featured vendor financing and SPVs [special purpose vehicles.)’”

@barrons.com $NVDA
@firstadopter.bsky.social
www.barrons.com/articles/nvi...
November 24, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Reposted by Erik Schlenker-Goodrich
Not clear to me whether these rules are designed by the fossil fuel industry, tech industry, Russia/Saudi Arabia, "Abundance" centrists, DC consultants, or virtually all Republicans & far too many Democrats.

But they are this moment's conventional wisdom.

And they are a doomed, reckless farce.
1. Do not speak of climate change.

2. Do not antagonize fossil fuels. Embrace fossil fuels via "all of the above" & "technology neutral."

3. Fixate on energy & economics to exclusion of ecology & equity.

4. Speak often of reducing costs. Sometimes emissions.

5. Hobble bedrock environmental laws.
November 23, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Over the course of the last ~10 years, @westernlaw.org has used the National Environmental Policy Act to defeat federal oil & gas lease sale after lease sale. Roughly ~10 million acres of public lands & resources.

They are targeting NEPA for a reason: It is a shield against destruction.
@caadcoalition.bsky.social has an overview of all the many ads big oil is buying for permitting reform.

Further, they say: "If you hear people...who aren’t your usual climate deniers arguing that we need to scrap [NEPA], ask them why they’re doing the fossil fuel industry’s advertising for them."
November 24, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Reposted by Erik Schlenker-Goodrich
This, by @giacgrassi.bsky.social, remains one of the simplest and best climate visuals
November 23, 2025 at 9:30 PM