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Cyrus Hall @cyrushall.bsky.social · 2h

1) The targets in SB 1420 are targets, not reality. The leg analysis is, however, clear: "Nearly all hydrogen produced for use in California today is the relatively dirty gray variety."

2) Environmental orgs near unanimously opposed SB 1420. The DoE's 4kg/CO2e per 1kg H2 is not accepted as "clean."

Best Fit for Hydrogen’s Future Use. California will likely rely on hydrogen to
decarbonize certain targeted sectors. However, despite decades of active investment and
support across different use cases and technologies, the majority of hydrogen demand in
the state today remains in the form of petroleum refining and ammonia production, and
upwards of 95% of that hydrogen is sourced from fossil fuels. Hydrogen can be used to
decarbonize the power sector, transportation, industry, and buildings, but whether it
should be used in certain cases across each of those sectors (due to considerations of
economics, efficiency, etc.) remains an unsettled debate, and one the ARCHES hub is
meant to help elucidate.

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Cyrus Hall @cyrushall.bsky.social · 3h

It's just me using 15 different clipper cards because BART no longer tells me how much money I have left. /s

This is a really amazing result. 112% of pre-pandemic riders! A result the agencies should really emphasize as showing trust in the systems as we go into election season.

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Cyrus Hall @cyrushall.bsky.social · 4h

What's your source for that? According to industry sources - the sources most likely to overstate that number - green hydrogen was less than 1% of all produced hydrogen in the US in 2023.

Mapped: Global Hydrogen Production by Region - Fuelcellsworks

Explore the global landscape of hydrogen production, with a breakdown of blue and green hydrogen production by region in 2023.

fuelcellsworks.com

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Reposted by Cyrus Hall

Felipe De La Hoz @felipedlh.bsky.social · 10h

You cannot be fucking serious

SCOOP: Apple Quietly Made ICE Agents a Protected Class

Internal emails show tech giant used anti-hate-speech rules meant for minorities to block an app documenting immigration enforcement.

migrantinsider.com

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Cyrus Hall @cyrushall.bsky.social · 7h

At least they made it a u_int of some seemingly demented, non-standard size?

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Cyrus Hall @cyrushall.bsky.social · 7h

What percentage of hydrogen used in California is green? Feels like this is an important question. 1-2%? How much additional money does green hydrogen cost?

Who puts the most money into hydrogen lobbying in Sacramento? Last I checked, it was SoCal gas.

Hydrogen *is* the fossil fuel industry line.

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Cyrus Hall @cyrushall.bsky.social · 7h

My only takeaway here is that one ignores framing to the peril of their preferred policy.

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Cyrus Hall @cyrushall.bsky.social · 10h

$10 for three great jazz, neo soul, and jazz fusion concerts. Should be amazing. Sadly I have calendar conflicts.

BART @bart.gov · 1d

Sun Hop Fat @sunhopfat is performing at BART Sound Tracks Music Festival this weekend! Get tickets now at: www.railgoods.com/bart/sound-t...

Cyrus Hall @cyrushall.bsky.social · 10h

Agreed. He would need to find momentum now and then persistently out organize for the next year. He's made interesting choices that make his path through the city's political ecosystem unclear. A lot of challenges.

But if the political establish ignores him, they could be in for a shock.

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Cyrus Hall @cyrushall.bsky.social · 10h

Newsom: everyone must buy an EV

Also Newsom: I will fight tooth and nail to keep gas prices artificially low

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Cyrus Hall @cyrushall.bsky.social · 10h

No one can afford to ignore Saikat Chakrabarti's run for Congress, and yet it seems like a lot of people and organizations would like to. His kickoff party tonight has nearly 1,000 people RSVPed. 13 months before the election.

(this is not an endorsement, just taking note)

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Cyrus Hall @cyrushall.bsky.social · 22h

On a lighter note, the European Tram Championships are now the World Tram Championships, and there is a video review of this year's comp.

The First Ever WORLD Tram Driver Championships

YouTube video by The Tim Traveller

youtu.be

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Cyrus Hall @cyrushall.bsky.social · 23h

Maybe? But I want to see the state moving to lead with rail, not leaving it as a "maybe" in an unfunded future.

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Cyrus Hall @cyrushall.bsky.social · 23h

Oh, and in more SB 37 news, Newsom approves the half-billion to widen a road that will flood more and more often.

Warren Wells, AICP @warrenjwells.bsky.social · 1d

Regrettably, Governor Newsom just signed this bill, paving the way to widen a rapidly sinking highway.

MTC Bay Area @mtcbata.bsky.social · Sep 5

Today’s passage of AB 697 marks a major advance for long-running efforts to start work on a suite of projects to enhance North Bay marshlands and wildlife habitats, reduce flooding, improve traffic flow along Highway 37, and introduce transit service between Vallejo and Novato.

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Cyrus Hall @cyrushall.bsky.social · 23h

What are we even doing here, Caltrans? An $11B project that will result in status quo or worse VMT. It accepts climate change as real, and then totally ignores one of the prime causes.

This state needs a complete reboot when it comes to transportation planning.

Warren Wells, AICP @warrenjwells.bsky.social · 1d

Caltrans has released a cross section for the ultimate (raised viaduct) version of SR-37.

Now maybe I'm just being paranoid, but if you were building a road that you planned to keep at 4 lanes wide, I don't think it would look like this.

Cross section of 114' wide bridge structure with each direction having a 12' outside shoulder and a 10' inside shoulder.

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Cyrus Hall @cyrushall.bsky.social · 1d

💯

Reposted by Cyrus Hall

Californians for Electric Rail @calelectricrail.org · 1d

calelectricrail.org/against-patc...

Against Patchwork Funding: How Multi-Year Investment Frameworks Can Deliver Rail Service Infrastructure Cheaper and Faster
Californians for Electric Rail, June 2025

Image shows a dollar bill on a train track being cut into tiny pieces

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Cyrus Hall @cyrushall.bsky.social · 1d

It's not sexy at all. There is no strong revolutionary bent. But fixing how we fund socially beneficial programs and capital projects is a must if we're ever going to make sufficient social progress.

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Cyrus Hall @cyrushall.bsky.social · 1d

This makes planning and executing far more difficult. Instead of just getting work done, an inordinate amount of time is spent proving to others that you should do the work. It's a rude golberg machine of bureaucratic hurdles before you can even get started.

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Cyrus Hall @cyrushall.bsky.social · 1d

I am pretty convinced that the way we fund many things in the US is largely broken. Non-profits, affordable housing, transit projects, and numerous other social goods rely on deeply fragmented funding, where each funding source comes with its own strings. Funding is always on the edge.

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Cyrus Hall @cyrushall.bsky.social · 1d

Happy to read analysis that goes in other directions!

Cyrus Hall @cyrushall.bsky.social · 1d

Yep, capital markets for new housing. The meltdown started well before the Trump and Biden's tariff hikes.

And agreed, the market dump was, fundamentally, due to lack of demand at the price point. My point is that it appeared that financing, not land ownership, was larger outcome determinate.

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Cyrus Hall @cyrushall.bsky.social · 1d

None of which is to say the government shouldn't invest. We'll be waiting decades for market price stabilization without much stronger government intervention. But China seems like a bad example.

Cyrus Hall @cyrushall.bsky.social · 1d

Mostly because the government offered unsustainable capital financing while local governments offered deeply discounted land to cover their operational costs.

Capital markets locked up in China last year because of the debt overhang, and the government is still unwinding the all the debt.

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Cyrus Hall @cyrushall.bsky.social · 1d

What a stupid veto. The science is pretty settled here: gender identity is not simply about the reproductive organs someone is saddled with; what more is there to study?

At least he's letting the others go into effect. But it's clear he will run for president on a platform of ignoring trans rights.

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