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Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism

@mateosfo.bsky.social

2.3K followers 640 following 2.4K posts

I make things, including bike rides, state housing laws, bread, and trouble. Quality varies with rainfall, political winds, and tire pressure. Run comms at @cayimby for the love of cities.

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Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism @mateosfo.bsky.social · Mar 8

This was a lot of fun, both because we covered a lot of topics and because David and I have known each other so long and so the conversation flowed.

But the whole tl;dr of the thing is:

Housing policy is (still) climate policy. And the climate movement should do more to acknowledge this, IMO.

David Roberts @volts.wtf · Mar 7

Today on Volts: you may have noticed that some climate/energy types (like me) have become obsessed with housing & urban land use lately. Why? Why are they climate issues? What's the connection? The great @mateosfo.bsky.social and I attempt to answer those questions.

Why housing is a pass/fail question for climate

Housing is a climate issue we can't afford to ignore — Matthew Lewis explains why.

www.volts.wtf

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Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism @mateosfo.bsky.social · 4h

Nah, EVs are about ~ 6% of the entire fleet in north Bay, and regional NIMBYism means all the gas cars are driving longer distances every year. EVs aren't really making a dent in pollution at all.

I think coastal regions will do Ok but I definitely would not bet on Napa!

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Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism @mateosfo.bsky.social · 4h

aren't you glad they're shutting down schools and reducing transit service across the state so Caltrans can make sure none of those drivers pay a penny to dig a highway between two suburbs out of a swamp and lift it 30 feet in the air?

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Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism @mateosfo.bsky.social · 4h

shoulda coulda woulda. instead, 101 and 37 are being taken by the Bay and Napa's wine industry is doomed to climate change ... caused by all that driving 🤷🏻‍♂️

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Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism @mateosfo.bsky.social · 4h

but if you want to play fair, BART moves 175,000 every day, it underpins the largest regional economy in the world, and we're begging for ~ $1 billion to keep it running.

So, proportionally, 37 should qualify for ... what, $50 million? That seems fair to me.

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Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism @mateosfo.bsky.social · 4h

no they're the basically the same cars every day LOL

Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism @mateosfo.bsky.social · 4h

Have you never been to California? You should visit! There are other ways for wine to be shipped out of Napa/Sonoma (our best wines are Sonoma Coast anyway).

In any case, all the pollution from driving and the climate change it causes will kill Napa's wine industry. www.npr.org/2024/09/09/n...

Bold cabernet sauvignon wines made Napa Valley famous. Now, hotter temperatures are starting to damage the grapes, so some wineries are starting to experiment.

www.npr.org

Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism @mateosfo.bsky.social · 4h

This highway handles 40,000 cars a day -- so, that's $275,000 *per car*

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Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism @mateosfo.bsky.social · 4h

pretty week economies that would die if they lost 40,000 cars a day. Definitely not worth the $11 billion, $275,000 per car? Pathetic.

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Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism @mateosfo.bsky.social · 5h

No but it would get you pretty close! $11 billion leveraged at ~ 5x would yield 110,000 homes at $500k or 55,000 homes at $1 million.

Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism @mateosfo.bsky.social · 5h

There is a very high probability, approaching 100%, that the people who are elected to run your city are either totally OK with this, or are too cowardly to act to stop it.

Run for city council, ignore the carbrained sociopaths, save lives.

🎃 Fall-mode pink cat 🎃 @hugothepinkcat.bsky.social · 14h

Carbrain at its worst.

-Girl crosses at MARKED PEDESTRIAN CROSSING
-Driver runs into her
-Driver gets out of the car and proceeds to blame 17 year old girl for getting hit DESPITE BEING EXACTLY WHERE SHE NEEDED TO BE AND DESPITE THE FACT THAT PEDESTRIANS HAVE PRIORITY AT MARKED CROSSINGS

Robson Fletcher @robsonfletcher.com · 16h

Police in Airdrie, Alberta (just north of Calgary) say this driver hit a 17-year-old girl in a marked crosswalk, got out of the vehicle, and appeared to get upset at the teenager before driving away.

They released this video and are now trying to identify the driver.

Reposted by Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism

Nathan Goldwag @goldwagnathan.bsky.social · 5h

Only thing surprising is that the police are trying to identity the perpetrator. In most of the US it is de facto legal to murder people with your car, can't imagine them even pretending to care about an incident where the victim survives.

🎃 Fall-mode pink cat 🎃 @hugothepinkcat.bsky.social · 14h

Robson Fletcher @robsonfletcher.com · 16h

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Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism @mateosfo.bsky.social · 7h

There is an actually amazing story about a former California legislator that is exactly this.

Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism @mateosfo.bsky.social · 7h

You're the hero we need Gretchen!

Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism @mateosfo.bsky.social · 7h

We can talk about climate! I just never meet someone in the wild who cares about it all that much.

Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism @mateosfo.bsky.social · 7h

$11 billion to raise and widen a highway, through a wetland, during a climate crisis.

Imagine spending $11 billion on workforce housing in Marin/Sonoma/Napa/San Francisco so the people driving across 37 every day to get to work ... could just live where they work.

California is a climate pariah.

Alfred Twu @alfredtwu.com · 9h

The entire proposed Highway 37 Solano-Marin super bridge is estimated to cost $11 billion, all to replace an existing road between a couple of suburbs. And it's proposed at 114 feet wide.

For comparison, the Golden Gate Bridge is 90 feet wide.

Warren Wells, AICP @warrenjwells.bsky.social · 11h

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.

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Reposted by Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism

Jake Gotta @jakegotta.bsky.social · 17h

This is why safe bike routes are the cheapest & most effective climate solution possible right now

Gretchen Donart @gbdonart.bsky.social · 19h

My e-bike has turned my hilly suburban East Richmond area into a 15-minute neighborhood. Post office, hardware store, 3+ groceries, Kaiser, gym, waterfront all in easy reach for this creaky 74 yo.

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Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism @mateosfo.bsky.social · 8h

yeah, talk about anything besides emissions reductions

"Would you like to be able to walk to work? Do you wish your kids could bike or bus everywhere, instead of being their chauffeur? If you could cook dinner twice as fast with no indoor pollution, would you? How about cheaper power bills?"

etc

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Reposted by Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism

rax ‘levon honkers’ king @raxkingisdead.bsky.social · 12h

listen. when dolly parton’s sister says it’s time for us all to be prayer warriors for dolly. you fucking pray for dolly

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Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism @mateosfo.bsky.social · 11h

You know what can reduce pollution equal to removing a million cars from the road?

Removing a million cars from the road.

We need to kill the false substitution meme from all climate discourse. Misleading at best, a lie at worst.

Because otherwise, all those cars are still out there, polluting.

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Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism @mateosfo.bsky.social · 11h

ah wow, so, equal to two months' worth of annual gas-guzzling pickup truck sales from American truckmakers

Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism @mateosfo.bsky.social · 11h

Guys this violates the first rule of climate discourse, which is:

If you're gonna compare an impact to the pollution of a half million cars, and not propose reducing the number of cars by that amount, you are a handmaiden for Ford's F150 fall sales special.

"Equal to a half million cars"

CNN @cnn.com · 1d

The people who are most vulnerable to the hard-to-breathe air that comes with climate change may inadvertently be adding to the problem, new research finds. https://cnn.it/4pWQMoh

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Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism @mateosfo.bsky.social · 13h

I work for a YIMBY organization and I started posting about the Fed's bad read on housing and interest rates before the FOMC even started raising rates.

I suspect your critique is in bad faith though, unless you prove me wrong.

Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism @mateosfo.bsky.social · 15h

the kids, they are alright www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGAO...

E-Bikes Are Outselling Electric Cars. Here's Why

YouTube video by NextJen

www.youtube.com

Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism @mateosfo.bsky.social · 15h

I have very good news. Your dreams can come true. www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGAO...

E-Bikes Are Outselling Electric Cars. Here's Why

YouTube video by NextJen

www.youtube.com

Reposted by Matthew Lewis is ready for progressive federalism

Carter Rubin @carterrubin.com · 18h

Timely new study with SB 79 sitting on Gov Newsom's desk: investments in transit and dense infill create more union jobs at higher wages than highway expansion and sprawl. goodjobsfirst.org/smart-growth...

Smart Growth and Construction Jobs: How Urban Density Benefits Union Density - Good Jobs First

goodjobsfirst.org

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