Andy Solages
@andysolages.com
Here for heat pumps, building science, climate justice, decarbonization, electrification, resilience, durability, green homes, and comfortable, healthy buildings.
Reposted by Andy Solages
Here's what @urbanoceanlab.bsky.social (my think tank) got up to this year, from coastal ecosystems to climate justice. Up your alley? Get stoked — there’s more where this came from and we’ve got big things cookin’ for 2026. open.substack.com/pub/ayanaeli...
In a year of federal rollbacks on climate, local leadership rose. 💪🏽
Urban Ocean Lab's 2025 recap, with a peek ahead to 2026
open.substack.com
December 3, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Here's what @urbanoceanlab.bsky.social (my think tank) got up to this year, from coastal ecosystems to climate justice. Up your alley? Get stoked — there’s more where this came from and we’ve got big things cookin’ for 2026. open.substack.com/pub/ayanaeli...
Reposted by Andy Solages
Today on Volts: while some blue states hedge on their green commitments, Illinois is doubling down, passing its third major energy bill in a decade. Among other things, this one empowers the state's utility regulator to directly procure clean energy. I get into it w/ two of its architects.
How Illinois passed its third big clean-energy bill in a decade
Kady McFadden and John Delurey join me to talk about why "fast and cheap" is the new winning message for climate policy.
www.volts.wtf
December 3, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Today on Volts: while some blue states hedge on their green commitments, Illinois is doubling down, passing its third major energy bill in a decade. Among other things, this one empowers the state's utility regulator to directly procure clean energy. I get into it w/ two of its architects.
Getting to "zero" with passive house is the topic and Rah Digga's "Tight" is playing in my head. Low loads and no air leakage.
December 3, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Getting to "zero" with passive house is the topic and Rah Digga's "Tight" is playing in my head. Low loads and no air leakage.
This seems bad.
Trump has instructed the scientists at the Dept. of Energy that they are no longer allowed to use a particular set of words, including "climate."
This is almost as bad as that time that one HR officer at that one Ivy League college issued that one non-binding advisory on the term "pregnant people"!
This is almost as bad as that time that one HR officer at that one Ivy League college issued that one non-binding advisory on the term "pregnant people"!
Energy Dept. adds ‘climate change’ and ‘emissions’ to banned words list
It is the latest in a series of Trump administration efforts to dispute, silence or downplay climate change.
www.politico.com
September 29, 2025 at 8:47 PM
This seems bad.
Reposted by Andy Solages
Get a heat pump, get a job installing insulation or selling EVs, go to local council meetings in support of bike lanes or solar parks or dense housing near public transport. Run for political office, or at least vote. Recommend flight-free holiday destinations to others. (Delete as applicable).
my takeaway from climate week nyc is that "climate storytelling" is a little too much "we must reimagine our deepest souls in relationship to mother nature and the moral abyss of the polycrisis into which we must now stare" and not enough "ok but get a heat pump"
September 29, 2025 at 1:19 PM
Get a heat pump, get a job installing insulation or selling EVs, go to local council meetings in support of bike lanes or solar parks or dense housing near public transport. Run for political office, or at least vote. Recommend flight-free holiday destinations to others. (Delete as applicable).
😂😂😂 BRB. Gotta go stare into the moral abyss of the polycrisis.
my takeaway from climate week nyc is that "climate storytelling" is a little too much "we must reimagine our deepest souls in relationship to mother nature and the moral abyss of the polycrisis into which we must now stare" and not enough "ok but get a heat pump"
September 29, 2025 at 7:20 PM
😂😂😂 BRB. Gotta go stare into the moral abyss of the polycrisis.
The @greenhomeinstitute.bsky.social is celebrating its 25th anniversary! If you care about making homes healthier and more sustainable, consider making a donation or becoming a member.
August 8, 2025 at 6:50 PM
The @greenhomeinstitute.bsky.social is celebrating its 25th anniversary! If you care about making homes healthier and more sustainable, consider making a donation or becoming a member.
Reposted by Andy Solages
“I’ve been disabled for 14 years,” Jessica Slice writes, “but have never lived somewhere safe where I can use all (or even most) of the rooms.” She reports on the indignities of seeking housing when exclusion is built into the architecture:
Homes Still Aren’t Designed for a Body Like Mine
Why is it so hard for disabled people to find safe, accessible places to live?
bit.ly
July 28, 2025 at 2:30 PM
“I’ve been disabled for 14 years,” Jessica Slice writes, “but have never lived somewhere safe where I can use all (or even most) of the rooms.” She reports on the indignities of seeking housing when exclusion is built into the architecture:
Reposted by Andy Solages
I had a lovely conversation with Brenda who is such a humble host. We need more hosts like this because we're drowning in a sea of podcasts dominated by mediocre men.
YouTube
Part 1: www.youtube.com/watch?si=oIf...
Part 2: www.youtube.com/watch?si=xOJ...
Podcasts
pod.link/1708366625
YouTube
Part 1: www.youtube.com/watch?si=oIf...
Part 2: www.youtube.com/watch?si=xOJ...
Podcasts
pod.link/1708366625
“It’s All Marketing” - Dr. Timnit Gebru on the Smoke and Mirrors of AI Hype - Part I
YouTube video by AnitaB_org
www.youtube.com
July 28, 2025 at 5:04 PM
I had a lovely conversation with Brenda who is such a humble host. We need more hosts like this because we're drowning in a sea of podcasts dominated by mediocre men.
YouTube
Part 1: www.youtube.com/watch?si=oIf...
Part 2: www.youtube.com/watch?si=xOJ...
Podcasts
pod.link/1708366625
YouTube
Part 1: www.youtube.com/watch?si=oIf...
Part 2: www.youtube.com/watch?si=xOJ...
Podcasts
pod.link/1708366625
Reposted by Andy Solages
Data centers are booming. And the corporations that build them want a lot more land and a lot more power to make them run, with no signs of slowing down. So, how much energy will data centers need in the future, and who will pay the costs? UCS analyst Maria Chavez explores this in her latest blog.
Who Really Pays for Data Centers Powered By Fossil Fuels?
Data centers—the places used to host servers and computers that are needed to process various IT tasks like AI queries —are booming. And the corporations that build them want a lot more land and a lot more power to make them run. These plans continue to grow in scale and there are no signs of a slow
blog.ucs.org
July 28, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Data centers are booming. And the corporations that build them want a lot more land and a lot more power to make them run, with no signs of slowing down. So, how much energy will data centers need in the future, and who will pay the costs? UCS analyst Maria Chavez explores this in her latest blog.
More than a sock. www.andysolages.com/blog/2025/6/...
More Than A Sock — Andy J. Solages
Join the sock revolution.
www.andysolages.com
July 1, 2025 at 6:45 PM
More than a sock. www.andysolages.com/blog/2025/6/...
Reposted by Andy Solages
“Renewables are cheap and they’ve gotten cheaper, but that doesn’t mean they are always the cheapest thing, unsubsidized," - says @robbieorvis.bsky.social to @emilypont.bsky.social.
Why subsidies are still useful to bring down energy costs.
heatmap.news/energy/wind-...
Why subsidies are still useful to bring down energy costs.
heatmap.news/energy/wind-...
If Wind and Solar Are So Cheap, Why Do They Need Tax Credits?
Removing the subsidies would be bad enough, but the chaos it would cause in the market is way worse.
heatmap.news
July 1, 2025 at 5:05 PM
“Renewables are cheap and they’ve gotten cheaper, but that doesn’t mean they are always the cheapest thing, unsubsidized," - says @robbieorvis.bsky.social to @emilypont.bsky.social.
Why subsidies are still useful to bring down energy costs.
heatmap.news/energy/wind-...
Why subsidies are still useful to bring down energy costs.
heatmap.news/energy/wind-...
Reposted by Andy Solages
Removing info on climate impacts is dangerous: as if we’re collectively steering a car down a curving road only looking through the rearview because the windshield that enables us to look ahead to prepare for what’s coming is being painted over, as I say here 😬
More by @borenbears.bsky.social:
More by @borenbears.bsky.social:
Major reports about how climate change affects the US are removed from websites
Legally mandated U.S. national climate assessments seem to have disappeared from the federal websites built to display them.
apnews.com
July 1, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Removing info on climate impacts is dangerous: as if we’re collectively steering a car down a curving road only looking through the rearview because the windshield that enables us to look ahead to prepare for what’s coming is being painted over, as I say here 😬
More by @borenbears.bsky.social:
More by @borenbears.bsky.social:
Reposted by Andy Solages
Interesting discussion on geothermal heat pumps (residential focus) on the @volts.wtf podcast.
www.volts.wtf/p/trying-to-...
www.volts.wtf/p/trying-to-...
Trying to bring geothermal heat pumps to scale
Kathy Hannun on Dandelion’s Swedish drilling rigs, custom heat pumps, and a new 1,500-home partnership.
www.volts.wtf
May 12, 2025 at 12:43 PM
Interesting discussion on geothermal heat pumps (residential focus) on the @volts.wtf podcast.
www.volts.wtf/p/trying-to-...
www.volts.wtf/p/trying-to-...
Reposted by Andy Solages
The unprecedented legal scandal of the Trump admin trying to clawback the GHG reduction fund awards is hitting orgs hard, as funds they planned around are frozen.
heatmap.news/sparks/rewir...
heatmap.news/sparks/rewir...
Rewiring America Slashes Staff Due to Trump Funding Freeze
The nonprofit laid off 36 employees, or 28% of its headcount.
heatmap.news
May 9, 2025 at 12:25 PM
The unprecedented legal scandal of the Trump admin trying to clawback the GHG reduction fund awards is hitting orgs hard, as funds they planned around are frozen.
heatmap.news/sparks/rewir...
heatmap.news/sparks/rewir...
Reposted by Andy Solages
The Trump administration has made clear it wishes to gut NOAA’s research enterprise, which is at the center of climate research globally. After 67 years of battling to keep the program funded and provide the data to other scientists around the world, the program faces its most dire threat ever.
Dismantling NOAA Threatens the World’s Ability to Monitor Carbon Dioxide Levels
The agency maintains the global backbone of measurements of CO2 and other gases, but these are at risk of being curtailed if the foreshadowed cuts to NOAA are realized.
www.wired.com
May 12, 2025 at 1:53 PM
The Trump administration has made clear it wishes to gut NOAA’s research enterprise, which is at the center of climate research globally. After 67 years of battling to keep the program funded and provide the data to other scientists around the world, the program faces its most dire threat ever.
Reposted by Andy Solages
The U.S. is facing an unprecedented dismantling of science, research, and higher education.
As scientists are fired + research is frozen, so too are all the resources and outcomes that would have benefited society.
In their own words, the stories of scientists whose work has been abruptly ended:
As scientists are fired + research is frozen, so too are all the resources and outcomes that would have benefited society.
In their own words, the stories of scientists whose work has been abruptly ended:
Silenced Science Stories
Explore the people and groundbreaking science research affected by federal firings, budget cuts, and grant terminations. Featuring scientists via art.
silencedsciencestories.com
May 12, 2025 at 2:08 PM
The U.S. is facing an unprecedented dismantling of science, research, and higher education.
As scientists are fired + research is frozen, so too are all the resources and outcomes that would have benefited society.
In their own words, the stories of scientists whose work has been abruptly ended:
As scientists are fired + research is frozen, so too are all the resources and outcomes that would have benefited society.
In their own words, the stories of scientists whose work has been abruptly ended:
Reposted by Andy Solages
State leaders in Illinois are deliberating how to bring more energy storage online. But the clock is ticking to pass a pivotal bill as the legislative session nears its end:
llinois’ grid needs batteries. Can the legislature deliver?
State leaders are deliberating how to bring more energy storage online. But the clock is ticking to pass a pivotal bill as the legislative session nears…
ow.ly
May 12, 2025 at 2:16 PM
State leaders in Illinois are deliberating how to bring more energy storage online. But the clock is ticking to pass a pivotal bill as the legislative session nears its end:
Reposted by Andy Solages
Pediatricians say that childhood vaccines are safe. A heroin-addled nepo baby with a brain worm says they may not be. For busy voters, it can be hard to know who to believe.
May 5, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Pediatricians say that childhood vaccines are safe. A heroin-addled nepo baby with a brain worm says they may not be. For busy voters, it can be hard to know who to believe.
Reposted by Andy Solages
Three apparently contradictory things can all be true:
1/ This is a great study - such a clear and obvious conclusion..
2/ Yet caring isn’t enough. People need efficacy: and no one can re-ice a lake singlehandedly..
3/ And while this is a new study, both concepts were in my TED talk 7 yrs ago.
1/ This is a great study - such a clear and obvious conclusion..
2/ Yet caring isn’t enough. People need efficacy: and no one can re-ice a lake singlehandedly..
3/ And while this is a new study, both concepts were in my TED talk 7 yrs ago.
Scientists just found a way to break through climate apathy
In a field of muddy results, it's among the clearest findings that one cognitive scientist has seen in his career.
grist.org
May 5, 2025 at 11:56 AM
Three apparently contradictory things can all be true:
1/ This is a great study - such a clear and obvious conclusion..
2/ Yet caring isn’t enough. People need efficacy: and no one can re-ice a lake singlehandedly..
3/ And while this is a new study, both concepts were in my TED talk 7 yrs ago.
1/ This is a great study - such a clear and obvious conclusion..
2/ Yet caring isn’t enough. People need efficacy: and no one can re-ice a lake singlehandedly..
3/ And while this is a new study, both concepts were in my TED talk 7 yrs ago.
Reposted by Andy Solages
Los Angeles waived its all-electric building requirement in an effort to fast-track recovery after the January fires.
A new report argues that’s the wrong approach.
Reporting by @alisontakemura.bsky.social
A new report argues that’s the wrong approach.
Reporting by @alisontakemura.bsky.social
After LA fires, could it be cheaper and faster to rebuild without gas?
The city waived its all-electric building requirement in an effort to fast-track recovery after the January fires. A new report argues that’s the wrong…
ow.ly
May 5, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Los Angeles waived its all-electric building requirement in an effort to fast-track recovery after the January fires.
A new report argues that’s the wrong approach.
Reporting by @alisontakemura.bsky.social
A new report argues that’s the wrong approach.
Reporting by @alisontakemura.bsky.social
Reposted by Andy Solages
Amazingly, reaction times using screens while driving are worse than being drunk or high—no wonder 90 percent of drivers hate using touchscreens in cars.
Finally the auto industry is coming to its senses. Real buttons are sooooooo back baby!
Finally the auto industry is coming to its senses. Real buttons are sooooooo back baby!
Rejoice! Carmakers Are Embracing Physical Buttons Again
Amazingly, reaction times using screens while driving are worse than being drunk or high—no wonder 90 percent of drivers hate using touchscreens in cars. Finally the auto industry is coming to its sen...
www.wired.com
May 5, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Amazingly, reaction times using screens while driving are worse than being drunk or high—no wonder 90 percent of drivers hate using touchscreens in cars.
Finally the auto industry is coming to its senses. Real buttons are sooooooo back baby!
Finally the auto industry is coming to its senses. Real buttons are sooooooo back baby!
Reposted by Andy Solages
Could you imagine if the head of the United States healthcare system didn’t believe that HIV caused AIDS?
…And that instead they believed that AIDS is caused by recreational drugs (“poppers”) used by gay people?
Oh wait…🥴
…And that instead they believed that AIDS is caused by recreational drugs (“poppers”) used by gay people?
Oh wait…🥴
May 2, 2025 at 9:34 PM
Could you imagine if the head of the United States healthcare system didn’t believe that HIV caused AIDS?
…And that instead they believed that AIDS is caused by recreational drugs (“poppers”) used by gay people?
Oh wait…🥴
…And that instead they believed that AIDS is caused by recreational drugs (“poppers”) used by gay people?
Oh wait…🥴
Reposted by Andy Solages
After 20,000+ structures were destroyed in this year’s LA wildfires, our communities face critical decisions on how to rebuild. All-electric homes are faster, cheaper, healthier, and more climate-resilient than homes that run on gas. 🔌🏠 Learn more in this new blog: tinyurl.com/3c8rj2mp #heatpumps
Building Back Better: All-Electric Homes of the Future
[…]
tinyurl.com
April 30, 2025 at 5:40 PM
After 20,000+ structures were destroyed in this year’s LA wildfires, our communities face critical decisions on how to rebuild. All-electric homes are faster, cheaper, healthier, and more climate-resilient than homes that run on gas. 🔌🏠 Learn more in this new blog: tinyurl.com/3c8rj2mp #heatpumps
Reposted by Andy Solages
Housing is one space where you humanize climate... a home is where people go to seek comfort from extreme weather and for many the home doesn't offer the comfort they need due to poor quality heating and cooling or rising utility cost. But many can't afford better housing options.
May 1, 2025 at 10:39 AM
Housing is one space where you humanize climate... a home is where people go to seek comfort from extreme weather and for many the home doesn't offer the comfort they need due to poor quality heating and cooling or rising utility cost. But many can't afford better housing options.