Fred Stafford
@fredstaffordcs
STEM professional on the Left, @thenation @jacobin @catalyst_theory @TheBTI contributor. @damagemag editor. Interested in decarb, electric power, labor.
NEW from me, on Kathy Hochul's atomic abundance. Last month she made an exciting announcement of new nuclear development in New York State. Unlike other governors, she is directly appealing to state capacity - the public power authority, NYPA - to drive it. It's a big deal. 🧵1/
Wrangling over the construction of nuclear power in New York State has revealed the priorities of some of the state’s biggest environmental lobbies. For them, creating bureaucratic procedures they can oversee is more important than building clean energy. jacobin.com/2025/07/hochul…
Bravo to Climate Jobs UK! Great statement from some UK industrial union leaders on the importance of prioritizing workforces, renewables AND nuclear, industrial policy, and proving to the public that energy transition means jobs and opportunities across the nation.
"If this transition doesn’t result in good, unionised jobs, and if energy communities are left on the scrapheap, then more and more people will be attracted by the siren voice of climate denial." @GMB_union @ProspectUnion mirror.co.uk/news/politics/…
Los Angeles is in the throes of a total collapse of governance and social mores, and I can't think of anything that can stop or slow it. Fully 20% of Altadena residents think the county *let their homes burn on purpose?* We are deeply unprepared for the chaos of climate change.
Trump is doing the opposite of what the “Abundance” book recommends by canceling transmission lines and weaponizing the federal permitting process to block solar and wind development. That’s just a fact. Now can we have a real argument about what everyone really believes, please?
The Trump White House is explicitly signaling its alignment with the abundance movement. When it comes to energy, seems like there’s very little difference between MAGA prescriptions and Thompson/Yglesias prescriptions. Profoundly horrible.
TVA is permitted by the NRC to implement the first Small Modular Reactors in the US. Yet the private sector is looking to break TVA apart. @RealDonaldTrump - reject TVA privatization!
The images from Gaza are unbearable. No, not random clips, whose provenance and accuracy are questionable — but what’s in the professional press. Meanwhile, a thoughtful, conservative Israeli journalist whom I admire told me recently, Yes, the starvation is real. People, often…
Imagine the joy on a child’s face when they unwrap this one
Ladybird book in the Spotlight ‘Public Services: Water Supply’ 1969 [Deep sigh] Artist: John Berry
Read this account by a British surgeon of treating a woman in Gaza shot by a quadcopter while breastfeeding her child in a tent and then try to imagine the general mentality of the person piloting the drone who hunted her down and then pulled the trigger.
I’m witnessing the deliberate starvation of Gaza’s children – why is the world letting it happen? | Nick Maynard | The Guardian theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
"Major unions representing Tennessee Valley Authority employees have sent a stark message to the Trump administration: Keep your hands off TVA." bit.ly/45fXwVX
NEW: A rooftop solar company with a vexed history could soon be out of business in New York. Regulators accused the company of “misleading or deceptive” marketing that led homeowners to sign up thinking they would get their roofs replaced for free. nysfocus.com/2025/07/23/sun…
Now do this @nytimes @washingtonpost
Our powerful @Daily_Express front page for tomorrow. The brutal suffering in Gaza must end. The shocking image shows Muhammad Zakariya Ayyoub al-Matouq, one, who weighs the same as three-month old baby due to the humanitarian crisis following the continued blocking of basic aid…
Following Kathy Hochul’s lead, the Democrat running for New Jersey governor is leaning into nuclear power, especially now that the demise of the offshore wind program has left a huge gap and a whetted appetite for big spending on big infrastructure.
Third, we need a reliable source of electricity generation that can meet our state’s need for decades to come – and that’s nuclear power. I’ll work with neighboring states to harness economies of scale and expand safe nuclear power capacity in New Jersey at a low cost, which will…
Looking forward to hearing more here I’m glad there’s an appreciation for 1) the unique long-term benefits of nuclear power, 2) economies of scale (!), & 3) the need to coordinate with other states if we’re going to have any chance of getting nuclear right wrt costs & time
Third, we need a reliable source of electricity generation that can meet our state’s need for decades to come – and that’s nuclear power. I’ll work with neighboring states to harness economies of scale and expand safe nuclear power capacity in New Jersey at a low cost, which will…
If you were appalled by your utility bill this month, you’re not alone. New Jerseyans are bearing the brunt of failures by our grid operator, PJM. And today, we found out they’re raising rates again. Here’s how I’ll address PJM’s mismanagement and lower your utilities 🧵1/13
love to see what seems like a clear-eyed view of how we get nukes to scale. on the back of the failures of offshore wind, blue states like NJ have a lot of capital lying around and a lot of need for clean gen. could make for some interesting and important nuke plays!
Third, we need a reliable source of electricity generation that can meet our state’s need for decades to come – and that’s nuclear power. I’ll work with neighboring states to harness economies of scale and expand safe nuclear power capacity in New Jersey at a low cost, which will…
Throwback to a year ago when putting your foot down against a new TVA gas plant was the good liberal move not the MAGA conservative move. Jk it's still the liberal move, to the detriment of TVA public power.
This is an outrage! By building a new gas plant, TVA would ignore the EPA and would disregard climate science, economics, and the voices of Tennesseans. Renewable energy is increasingly cheaper, more reliable, and better for our planet and its people. apnews.com/article/new-tv…
Labor unions want TVA to build everything it needs to manage the public power system, including gas as needed but with extreme preference for new nuclear, which they want the TVA debt ceiling raised for. Green groups want TVA to remain publicly owned but to build no more gas or…
Yeah man that's why your boy wants to destroy the TVA and kill 10k IBEW jobs
We need more electricians and less sociology majors.