iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 03/10/2026

Thank you to Dr. @cellllla.bsky.social for leading the Community-Centered AI Infrastructure Summit today! Thank you to @strubell.bsky.social, Amy Grone, & the other co-organizers, as well as the speakers, the elected representatives, and to the community members for joining. Video should be up soon.

Five panelists in chairs with me standing

2132

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 02/10/2026

Speaking now at our Community-Centered AI Infrastructure Summit: @repsummerlee.bsky.social

Congresswoman Summer Lee speaking at a podium

0101

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 02/10/2026

In-person doors opening shortly. Join us online starting at 9AM communityaisummit.org

073

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 02/10/2026

actually Todd was the name of the doctor

Back in the 1990s, a great decade for music, some folks formed a band. What should the call it? I know, one of them said, Big Head Todd and the Monsters. Then they released some albums, this one is three dudes standing in front of an old building and it’s called sister sweetly. Not sure which one is Todd.

040

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 01/10/2026

Marginalized communities disproportionately bear the cumulative burden of air pollution right now, which causes lasting health impacts to lots of folks every year under the status quo. Let’s get air and climate pollution to zero.

Transmission Expansion Benefits
Environmental Justice Communities October 2024 https://dream.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/EPRA-benefits_2024.pdf

220

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 27/09/2026

There’s a Sbarro in the NJ turnpike travel plaza near this tank, which holds ranch (few know this).

Drive safely petroleum product tank on the nj turnpike

040

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 25/09/2026

with an e-boke, you can ride a boke in a suit

7622

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 11/09/2026

9/11 was also my 2nd week of part-time grad classes at NYU. At the WTC site, one of my jobs was tracking construction progress/taking photos. I usually took them from the side/on the track but also (as in the above) from a high abandoned floor in the Century 21 building. Not sure if I took this one.

WTC bathtub, Century 21 building directly west of the site

1482

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 11/09/2026

It was my first job out of school, I worked on 34th St. above Penn Station, & after 9/11 I got assigned to be an engineering contractor on the team to rebuild the subway under the World Trade Center. We got it rebuilt & reopened before the 1-year anniversary. My photos of the construction progress:

Port Authority World Trade Center site badge with my picture on it

WTC site with debris
March 18, 2002

WTC with the start of a subway box
May 28, 2002

Completed subway box
July 23, 2002

525519

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 09/09/2026

Discover Tab? No, Discover Tab! (I’ve never had one of these)

ORIGINAL TAB SODA POP BY COCA COLA COLLECTABLE CAN
UNOPENED FULL 12oz (ONE TAB)

$60.00/ea

5203

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 08/09/2026

We went to the Bruce Springsteen center in Monmouth, NJ earlier this summer & I was honestly blown away how well done it is. The second floor is all cool Bruce stuff but the first floor is a wonderfully curated tour through American music. It’s basically a little Smithsonian down the Jersey Shore.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN CENTER FOR AMERICAN MUSIC

Museum Building with a tree out front

FLAVOR FLAV
Public Enemy's energetic hype man Flavor Flav's signature clock necklaces made him one of hip-hop's most recognizable figures.
Courtesy of Flavor Flav

One of his clock necklaces

Display of "ALL OF YOU FASCISTS BOUND TO LOSE” protest music and original instruments

29214

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 08/09/2026

me reading your circling back email tomorrow

Nathan Fielder saying Okay. All right. Okay. Good chat.

2392

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 05/09/2026

Bouzouki player out working the crowd like Slash up on that piano during November Rain.

Bouzouki player in a black in front of a band

3301

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 17/08/2026

generally not something you hear too often on bsky (from Jerry’s Records, Pittsburgh, PA)

Jerry’s Records store, bins and bins of records

3321

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 16/08/2026

Pittsburgh’s skyline from Mt. Washington, which used to be called Coal Hill, the site of some of earliest large scale coal mining in what would become the United States.

Pittsburgh’s skyline night with one river in the foreground.

FIRST MINING OF PITTSBURGH COAL
This State's bituminous coal industry was born about 1760 on Coal Hill, now Mt Washington. Here the Pittsburgh coal bed was mined to supply Fort Pitt This was eventually to be judged the most valuable individual mineral deposit in the U.S.

1494

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 12/08/2026

capture carbon then store it then utilize it

1345

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 12/08/2026

you: stayed inside and saw bad posts me: went outside and saw this bad boi

A yellow bird with a black stripe sitting on some flowers

9766

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 06/08/2026

This is a great thread & local climate officials should read it. Led by a former doctoral student, @destenie.bsky.social & I published this paper finding solar, batteries, weatherization, efficiency standards, & green infrastructure helping mitigation & adaptation: iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1...

Fig 7 from: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2753-3751/adfc77/meta showing a chart with solar pv, batteries, weatherization, air conditioning efficiency standards and green infrastructure reducing energy burden under climate change & reducing GHGs

Figure 7. Co-benefits of interventions. (A) compares the cumulative seasonal reductions of the energy burden to the cumulative abatement for each intervention. The width of each stacked bar represents the cumulative CO2-equivalent abatement per household, while the height reflects cumulative seasonal energy burden reduction (in percentage points). Each color illustrates the benefits of stacking interventions, with each addition enhancing the total reductions. The dashed lines represent goals for reductions that decision-makers can make. (B) illustrates the variability in the census tract’s representative household reductions and abatements for the positive values. Each dot is a representative household in a census tract, while larger symbols are the median values of each scenario across the seasons. We further explain negative outliers within the text, and the visual is shown in appendix D.

22810

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 01/08/2026

I'm teaching my course on AI, energy, and climate again this fall, and restructuring the class as the field keeps evolving. If you have new work or resources you think we should cover, send them my way. The class starts ⁱⁿ ᵗʰʳᵉᵉ ʷᵉᵉᵏˢ at ⁸﹕³⁰ ᵃᵐ

poster saying

Fall Course: AI Engineering and Policy for Climate Mitigation and Resilience
Learn how artificial intelligence and data centers affect the climate and environment, and about the policy options to improve societal outcomes

Prof. Costa Samaras
12-607 – 9 units for undergraduate students, open to all
12-707 – 12 units for graduate students, open to all
90-746 – 12 units for graduate students in Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy

Course Summary
The use of Artificial Intelligence enables both opportunities and risks for the energy system and for broader climate mitigation and climate resilience efforts. An understanding of how AI tools affect these systems is essential for decision-makers to be able to protect the public, advance innovation, maximize the benefits, and minimize the risks. Students will use readings, open data, and technical examples to examine emerging AI applications for climate mitigation and resilience, evaluate potential impacts and benefits, and communicate their technical recommendations through policy briefs. Students successfully completing this course will be able to understand a suite of AI tools, and describe how AI can affect energy use, communities, greenhouse gas emissions, and climate resilience.

Days: Mondays and Wednesdays
Time: 8:30AM to 9:50AM (but this font is really small because it's an early time)

2343

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 22/07/2026

bonkers title page font choice

SCIENCE
A NEW GOLDEN AGE

In an italic thin serif font

2202

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 20/07/2026

WSJ op-ed page doesn’t like the answers science found, so it attacks National Academies, and also looks like incorrectly wrote C02 not CO2 in their subheadline. The National Academies are a national treasure and the staff are brilliant professionals. Leave them alone.

WSJ opinion

A Climate Coup at the National Academies of Science
A report on C02 and extreme weather is a trial-lawyer operation.

25474106

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 18/07/2026

Air in Pittsburgh had a little better air quality today (upper 200s AQI vs 300s yesterday). But outside with a mask today for a few minutes & my eyes were burning. Saw some folks on bikes with bike gear huffing and puffing up the hill and I really don’t understand folks going out for a leisure ride.

Smoky gray skies in Pittsburgh with the cathedral of learning in the background.

3210

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 17/07/2026

EPA still has a good AirNow app that can provide good info about current conditions.

Airnow EPA app in the App Store showing hazardous air in Pittsburgh with an AQI of 316

48022

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 16/07/2026

Wildfire smoke visible, smellable, and tasteable in Pittsburgh.

Smoky gray skies with the Carnegie Museum, Carnegie Library, and Cathedral of Learning in Pittsburgh.

98413

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 14/07/2026

Gratitude and congratulations to @cdelawalla.bsky.social, @colesci.bsky.social, and the @standupforscience.net team. With 3 hours until the comment period closes, there are 341,699 public comments! Still time to submit one: www.regulations.gov/docket/OMB-2...

https://www.regulations.gov/docket/OMB-2026-0034 OMB docket showing 341,699 comments

56832

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 13/07/2026

it's only one singular costa, how much could it cost, $500?

Good Morning,

Do you have any interest in costasamara .com for 500 usd? i noticed you own costasamaras, the plural version, so maybe you will be interested in this one as well.

72077

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 13/07/2026

Here's what I wrote about energy, AI, and climate: data centers pay into a grid infrastructure trust fund, country builds a green grid for everyone and to deal with climate change. We need a Grid New Deal. gizmodo.com/what-is-the-...

The electric power system is the foundational economic, security, and environmental infrastructure of this century, but the grid is aging and is vulnerable to extreme weather events amplified by climate change. Al data centers are helping drive near-term electricity growth, but we have a generational moment to rebuild the electricity system for this century and to power the electrification of buildings, vehicles, and factories. Powering the Al boom in a way that is good for the economy, communities, and the climate requires bold actions across power generation, transmission, and demand.
First, we need a grid infrastructure trust fund that helps us to double the capacity of the grid by 2040—not just to power Al, but to power the broader electrification needed to address climate change. This could be funded in part by data centers using a "Smart Al Fast Lane" connection fee to quickly connect to the grid when they bring their own clean power and enough additional power and energy storage to benefit surrounding communities. A larger, cleaner grid needs lots of solar, wind power, and batteries right now, as well as ramped up investments in geothermal, advanced nuclear, and broader energy innovation.

Next, the wires and equipment that bring electricity to cities and neighborhoods need an upgrade to be resilient to climate change, move more power, and be ready for broader electrification. Data centers, firms, and governments can share in the reinvestment needed beyond the needs of a specific data center, which can help keep electricity costs affordable. The grid is an essential national infrastructure asset, and residential customers shouldn’t be required to pay the entire bill for a 21st century refresh.

Finally, a grid infrastructure trust fund can support energy efficiency and flexibility, distributed power and energy storage, and virtual power plants, which can reduce peak power demands and keep electricity reliable. In addition, transparency from data centers, a “miles per gallon” efficiency measure for AI, and the reporting of electricity use, emissions, and water use would incentivize best in class environmental performance. Communities are facing new economic and environmental risks, and at the same the grid needs a generational investment to get to a zero emissions future. AI has the potential to help drive better climate and infrastructure outcomes, but this will not happen without focused policy and deep partnerships with communities.

14512

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 07/07/2026

This chart is old, but does give a sense of the scale of life cycle consumptive water use of different electricity technologies. The type of cooling used at power plants matters. iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1...

Figure 4 from: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/8/1/015031

Estimated life cycle water consumption factors for selected electricity generation technologies, based on median harmonized estimates, demonstrate significant variability with respect to technology choices. Base case estimates for each life cycle stage, presented in bold font, are held constant for estimating life cycle water consumption factors for other life cycle stages. Estimates for production pathway variants in fuel cycle or power plant (labeled on top of the bars) or operations (bottom) are labeled at points connected to the base case estimate with horizontal lines. Note: PV =photovoltaics; C-Si =crystalline silicone; EGS =enhanced geothermal system; CSP =concentrating solar power; CT =combustion turbine; CC =combined cycle; IGCC =integrated gasification combined cycle; and PC = pulverized coal, sub-critical.

4395

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 29/06/2026

Society didn’t spend on climate at the scale needed until the BIL/IRA. The 2000s vibe, wasn’t “CCS will save us”, it was “put off the hard stuff until later, because it costs more per ton to abate it.” It was a bad move because as I said on Volts, later is now. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/v...

Getting ready for IRA 2 Mar 15, 2024 • 1 hr 9 min
Well, I think that we made the community in the 2000s and 2010s made a mistake in framing this easy-to-carbonize, hard-to-carbonize world, because it was like, oh, we're going to start with electricity, and then we're going to do buildings, and then transportation, and then industry. And so what that did is basically leave industry to now, right? And it also turns out, like, electricity is not that easy.
Yeah, nothing's easy.
It's like the easy one is still got some challenges. You know, we're making amazing progress, but it's like in a world that needs to get to zero fast, we need to be thinking about not what we can put off till later, like later is now, right? And later was then, but now then is now.
I'm sorry.
Volts

3315

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 25/06/2026

In the @wsj.com today, I talked about how we’re barreling into climate impacts with cities designed for last century’s weather. But read the more important part in the next paragraph: www.wsj.com/science/envi...

"A lot of infrastructure we're still using now was built for the weather of the 1950s and
'60s," says Costa Samaras, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. "This is not the weather that we have now, and it's not the weather that we'll have in the future as it continues to be altered because of the emissions that lead to climate change."

A key metric to watch in the coming decades will be the wet-bulb temperature, a measure of combined heat and humidity. When the wet-bulb temperature exceeds 87 degrees Fahrenheit (abour 100 degrees with a relative humidity of 60%), the human body can no longer cool itself efficiently, leading to heat stroke and fever.

918359

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 17/06/2026

it might feel like that, I agree, but there is a lot more heating energy required in Pittsburgh, 5x more in 2025 www.aepohio.com/savings/busi...

https://www.aepohio.com/savings/business/temperature/temperature-monthly-history?station=PIT&stationname=Pittsburgh%20PA&year=2025

Month
Heating
Cooling
January
1262
0
February
929
0
March
534

April
337
33
May
153
32
June
20
267
July
0
379
August

229
September
29
108
October
323

November
694
0
December
1053
0
Totals:
5355
1060

4182

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 17/06/2026

This Kind Of Smart, Walkable, Mixed-use Urbanism Is Illegal To Build In Most American Cities.

Steel tower bringing power lines into Pittsburgh, PA

3222

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 15/06/2026

I mean just look at this, my god www.eia.gov/todayinenerg...

https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=64705

Chart showing U.S. battery capacity increased 66% in 2024 and line going up

921754

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 15/06/2026

Here’s a good graph: homes in colder states use more annual energy than homes in warmer states, because there are many more days where it’s cold outside than there are days when it’s hot. This is changing under climate change, but still 3x the amount of cold days (HDDs) www.eia.gov/todayinenerg...

MAY 4, 2023
U.S. households in
Warmer states consume less site energy than households in colder states
Site energy consumption per household versus average state temperature (2020) million British thermal units (MMBtu) per btu

https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=56380

Data source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2020
Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS)
Note: Average temperature derived from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather data for
RECS sampled households.
80

79018