Randy Watkins

Yes it’s true. I’m not sure who used the word “streamers” first, either the biology staff or the Bechtel construction team, but the birds start smoking and then burst into flames when they fly through the mirror fields.

For anyone interested in “Shrinking Trump” by John Garter and Harry Segal, here’s their Bluesky page.

@shrinkingtrump.bsky.social

It was very disappointing to see psychologists John Gartner and Harry Segal stop the very popular podcast “Shrinking Trump”. I thought it was very informative and, at times, very funny. What was really kind of unsettling was their reason, which was they were becoming targets due to their visibility.

Now that we know the Executive can just permit some energy projects & refuse to permit others, if a Dem ever gets back in the White House, we should stop negotiating w oil and gas Republicans for "permitting reform" and just stop permitting fossil fuels while permitting the fuck out of clean energy.

Feds appear to cancel Vegas-sized solar project planned in rural Nevada - The Nevada Independent A massive solar project proposed to be built in rural Esmeralda County with a footprint roughly the size of Las Vegas appears to have been scrapped by the Bureau of Land Management.

“The BLM wouldn’t cancel it unless the proponents wanted it cancelled,” said Shaaron Netherton, director of Friends of Nevada Wilderness. “I just can’t think of any other reason why it would be cancelled.” We don’t know why yet and I wouldn’t make assumptions
thenevadaindependent.com/article/feds...

NextEra Energy Resources is one of six companies pursuing projects in Esmeralda County, Nevada. We are in the early stage of development and remain committed to pursuing our project’s comprehensive environmental analysis by working closely with the Bureau of Land Management.

NextEra Energy has written me back saying they remain committed to their solar projects that used to be a part of Esmeralda 7

Calling them “early stage” and confirming they’ll need their own “comprehensive environmental analysis”

So, yeah, Esmeralda 7 is Joever

There has been extensive documentation of migratory/resident bird deaths caused by the ISEGS facility construction by the California Energy Commission. There’s been a monitoring program in place for birds and bats since construction was completed in 2014:
efiling.energy.ca.gov/GetDocument....

The Ivanpah Electric Generation System

The Institute for Energy Research (IER) webpage, for some reason, adds that photo of pv panels to the article when the article is forwarded or shared. There’s no photo attached to the source.

It should be this photo:

Not surprising that this solar project, that burns enough gas to participate in cap and trade, was built by taxpayers and a venture capital firm advised by RFK Jr.

It was outdated technology almost from the beginning of construction. I’m not sure why the project was completed other than commitment, but the biology staff dealing with the wildlife problems, especially migratory birds incinerated in the mirror fields, horrified everyone including the contractors.

Esmeralda 7 Solar Project Has Been Canceled, BLM Says It would have delivered a gargantuan 6.2 gigawatts of power.

SCOOP: The Bureau of Land Management says the largest solar project in Nevada — the Esmeralda 7 mega-farm — has been canceled

The news was quietly dropped via a sudden website update with no public word from any of the companies involved or a statement from the agency

@heatmap.news

What would you like to know?

California Shuts Down Its Solar Thermal Plant 13 Years Early The Ivanpah Solar Power Facility is set to shut down in 2026 after failing to meet its energy targets. Ivanpah…

I spent 4 years working on this, but it was a bad project, not least due to the location next to a big golf course w/ prominent water features that attracted large numbers of migratory birds that were incinerated flying through the solar fields. www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/big-green/ca...

Yeah, I agree Dustin. I think you’re right from what I know of working with these developers on the mitigation measures.

This is terrible criteria for abandoning solar projects in the Mojave desert, which are not decisions based on biological resource impacts, normally accounted for and mitigated 👋, but financial feasibility without the investment tax credits. It’s bad for long-term plans for solar power development.

Yes, I remember that article and I agree, that is happening now and it will continue to happen. Abandonment.

It was controversial, but the reasons for the cancellation appear to be for no other reason than animosity towards solar, unless we hear something different.

Goddamnit, that was one of the major reasons for the construction of Greenlink West by NV Energy, which I am currently working on. I was really concerned that that would happen.

Would that be the Esmeralda Seven? I expect Trump will create chaos with solar construction in Southern California and Nevada, and create turmoil with the industry.

I hadn’t heard of Heins, but it sounds promising. My work is w/ the construction of solar fields and transmission lines in the Mojave desert that lease federal lands for the projects and have significant environmental controls in the contracts. Prof Mulvaney might have. @dustinmulvaney.bsky.social

Yes, I’ve thought about it, although up until a few weeks ago I was working on Saturdays on a green energy transmission line project in Nevada. The project has been significantly slowed by permit issues with the DOD, or should I say DOW? I wasn’t a paid subscriber, but I’m going to upgrade to paid.

You’re one of the few people here who writes about the psychological unfitness of Trump and his effect on public mental health. I follow the psychologists Dr. Bandy Lee who published “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump”. Drs. John Gartner and Harry Segal retiring “Shrinking Trump” is disappointing.

COMMENTARY | Shutdown Could Provide Glimpse into the Future of Public Lands The Department of Interior is gearing up to slash its workforce, and as past shutdowns indicate, this means danger ahead for our parks and public lands.

Federal agencies are drawing up plans to fire employees who would typically be furloughed during a shutdown. For the National Park Service, the proposed layoffs would be devastating.

🔗 https://ow.ly/AeLE50X9fnL

#shutdown #NationalParks

🎵 They did the Monster Slash 😭 @ellecordova.bsky.social

Trump to Axe All 7 Hydrogen Hubs, Bucking Bipartisan Law A new list of Department of Energy grants slated for termination will hit clean energy and oil majors alike, including Exxon and Chevron.

Some additional info on the new list of axed DOE projects circulating.
- All 7 H2 Hubs
- All 13 IRA grants to convert at-risk auto plants to EV mfg
- 11 of 15 grants to speed domestic clean energy mfg in former coal communities
- 10 of 38 grants for battery materials
heatmap.news/politics/doe...

What I see in his eyes is not animosity. It’s fear. And that’s not good.

Bondi’s behavior is exactly what we should expect from any Trump administration cabinet member to be; incredibly arrogant, juvenile, and hostile to any adult supervision.

wouldn't it be nice to walk away from the consequences of one's bad decisions?

"heads I win, tails we flip again"

The ESA protects wildlife and its habitat by preventing illegal “Take“, a legal word meaning “harass, harm, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture or collect or attempt to engage in any such conduct“ except by federal permit. Removing HARM protection will increase their greatest threat: habitat loss.

Book Talk: Michael E. Mann and Peter J. Hotez — Science Under Siege YouTube video by Politics and Prose

youtube.com/live/-foS1FI...