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Dr. Genevieve Guenther (she/they)

@doctorvive.bsky.social
37K followers 1.7K following 11K posts

Founding Director, End Climate Silence Author, *The Language of Climate Politics: Fossil-Fuel Propaganda and How to Fight It* genevieveguenther.com

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Dr. Genevieve Guenther (she/they) @doctorvive.bsky.social · 4h
The real question is how this Permitting Reform bill expands global emissions. Most of the fossil infrastructure that will get built without review will be used for methane-gas exports. Advocates’ claim that US emissions will go down is like the three card monte of the campaign for this bill.
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isaac @sevier.io · 02/10/2026
Saw a post from @climatebrad.hillheat.com that reminded me why it's important to turn off and keep off all of the AI transcript tools from climate organizing! If you want a "private" call or even a Chatham House rules you gotta turn off those tools.
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Dustin A. Chacón @lingdustin.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
I've heard people make claims that AI would lead to a new Renaissance, but I didn't imagine it'd happen like this:
Screenshot of a Tweet from Pope Leo XIV. It reads: 

"In this era of artificial intelligence, it is becoming urgen to distinguish human art from what machines produce. There is an ontological difference, even before an aesthetic one, between art and what a machine can generate through statistical calculation based on millions of images created by others. Algorithms lack the spark of humanity. For this reason, the Church wishes to renew an alliance with artists and cultural institutions to safeguard our humanity."
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Brad Johnson @climatebrad.hillheat.com · 02/10/2026
The only reasonable conclusion is that just like the American Petroleum Institute and the American Gas Association, the data-center lobbyists are wrong about the implications of this bill that was negotiated with Mike Lee, Shelley Capito, and the White House Energy Dominance Council.
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Dr. Genevieve Guenther (she/they) @doctorvive.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Today Permitting Reform advocates are all pivoting to the message that this bill will make tech companies bear the costs for data-center power use. But here's a fact: the lobbying group for Big Tech loves the bill and wants it to pass. Weird contradiction, no?
ITI: Permitting Reform is Essential to Maintain America's Technology Leadership
• September 30, 2026 WASHINGTON - Following release of the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026, global
tech trade association ITI President and CEO Jason Oxman issued the following statement: "Comprehensive permitting reform is essential to America's ability to build, compete, and lead - especially in the Al era. Greater certainty, lower costs, and faster deployment of critical infrastructure will help power
the next era of American growth while maintaining important environmental safeguards. "The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act is an encouraging step forward and offers a strong foundation to shorten environmental review timelines, streamline transmission permitting and planning, enable deployment of advanced transmission technologies, and leverage Al to address interconnection
delays. "Congress should act to deliver lasting permitting reform that allows America to build at the speed and
scale our economic security demands."ITI Members
accenture
Adobe
AMDE Akamai
amazon APPLIED
MATERIALS.
MURA
A BROADCOM®
Canon
Canva
CDW
0110.010.
CISCO
CLOUDFLARE
cognizant
Core Weave
CORNING
CROWDSTRIKE
DALL
Technologies
• Dropbox
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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
According to the International Energy Agency, total global investment in solar energy (including both rooftop solar and utility-scale projects) was less than half of this figure, despite our dire ecological situation
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Kevin J. Kircher @kevinjkircher.com · 02/10/2026
I'm only halfway through a careful read of the permitting bill (thing's a beast), but have not yet seen anything that would stop presidents from using federal funds to pay renewable developers to stop building projects. Trump has spent billions of taxpayer dollars this way to kill offshore wind.
upi.com
Trump administration pays billions to not build wind energy projects - UPI.com
The Trump administration has agreed to pay out about $4 billion to companies to encourage them not to build out offshore wind energy projects.
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Dana R. Fisher (aka the Apocalyptic Optimist) @fisherdanar.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
For anyone wondering how to interpret the permitting reform bill that is being supported by Rs and Ds in the Congress, here's the rub: Like the IRA did, this bill will help expand fossil fuel infrastructure in the USA (thereby facilitating burning MORE dirty energy). Read below for details 👇
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Kevin J. Kircher @kevinjkircher.com · 02/10/2026
- A bill this big and complex would no doubt have unforeseen consequences. That's okay-ish for Repubs, who can use captured courts to reinterpret or remove things that end up bad for their fossil donors. It's bad for Dems, who'd need a trifecta + 60-vote Senate supermajority to change anything.
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Dr. Genevieve Guenther (she/they) @doctorvive.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Does anyone on here know whether the permitting reform bill forces data centers to connect to the grid?
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Dr. Genevieve Guenther (she/they) @doctorvive.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
1/2
"More coal, more natural gas, more
American oil."
X
This is how the head of marketing at the American Petroleum Institute (this woman) is marketing
@SenWhitehouse
@SenatorHeinrich's Permitting
Reform bill.
\ Liz Bowman
MsLi... 22h
New Permitting Reform drip
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lynda williams @lyndalovon.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
As an environmentalist activist who reads EIS & EA’s and then writes about it and advocates with communities, 150 days is not enough time for public review. Many small organizations don’t have lawyers. This bill is bad for the people & our right to protect the environment and wilderness
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Dr. Genevieve Guenther (she/they) @doctorvive.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
people will rightly dunk on this, but really it's just as bad to say that we know we can take a trillion tons (tons!) of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere with machines
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J. Mijin Cha @jmijin.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
The permitting reform we need is not gutting existing laws but making sure things like this don't happen.
theguardian.com
US datacenter discharged large amounts of pollution for almost a year with no permits
Records show Vineland facility in New Jersey emitted health-harming pollution before regulators stepped in
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John Kostyack @kostyack.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
For those analyzing new permitting reform bill: what is "business as usual" gas-fired power plant build against which is being evaluated? Any BAU scenario must make big assumptions about the ever-growing movement to stop fossil fueled data centers. Would love to see assumptions disclosed.
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Dr. Genevieve Guenther (she/they) @doctorvive.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I was told by a Hill staffer that this Permitting Reform bill allows fossil fuel companies to enlarge (that is, expand) their natural gas pipelines without any environmental review so long as there's an existing pipeline in place. This is very bad.
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Erik Schlenker-Goodrich @riogranderift.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
The American Petroleum Institute, Natural Gas Supply Association, and U.S. O&G Association are definitely panicked that the permitting deal will erode U.S. dependency on fossil fuels!
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Dr. Genevieve Guenther (she/they) @doctorvive.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
And anyone who says that this👇 is ok, because the law would apply to both sides, is too naïve or ideological to be listened to. Or maybe they just haven't been noticing that the Republicans have been breaking laws and ignoring the courts with impunity almost every day since January 2025.
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Dr. Genevieve Guenther (she/they) @doctorvive.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
This Permitting Reform bill, if it passes, would also hobble the capacity of a Democratic President to move against oil and gas infrastructure basically forever.
It would streamline the often arduous permitting processes that can ensnarl and delay virtually any kind of federal infrastructure project, rewriting a slew of largely procedural laws that have come to frustrate leaders in both parties. And it would limit executive agencies from hemming specific sectors of the energy industry, as President Donald Trump has done to the
wind sector and previous Democratic presidents did to oil and gas.
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
You can see the genocide from space. Yet still it is widely denied.
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Matthew Haugen @mjhaugen.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I haven't read the permitting reform bill yet (seems like there's some good stuff), but I want to once again suggest to fellow clean energy advocates that saying or implying that biodiversity, endangered species, & other non-climate environmental issues do not matter is both detrimental & incorrect
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J. Mijin Cha @jmijin.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Why would you trust any bill that comes out of this senate
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Erik Schlenker-Goodrich @riogranderift.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Excellent, sensible, and welcome thoughts from @rephuffman.bsky.social, ranking member of the House Committee on Natural Resources, on the Senate permitting deal.
My thoughts on the Senate's permitting reform bill: 
 
Passing a good permitting reform package will be one of my top priorities for the next Congress, so I'm very interested in these Senate negotiations. 
 
From what I've seen, Senators Whitehouse and Heinrich have done some good work, but they've been negotiating from a position of weakness and the tentative deal unveiled today raises significant questions and concerns that would have to be resolved before most Democrats could support it. 
 
I'm all for streamlining transmission and clean energy buildout, but the threshold requirement before making major policy concessions is to actually end Trump's war on renewables so that hundreds of bottled-up clean energy projects can bring that affordable power to the grid. Further, we can't throw states, tribes, impacted communities, and threatened and endangered wildlife under the bus. And as we streamline and cut red tape, we must make sure the American people — not just powerful corporate interests — have a say in government decisions about what happens to our air, water, and public lands. That's what serious, responsible permitting reform looks like.There's a way to get there, and parts of this deal are helpful, but some of it concedes too much. Hollowing out the Endangered Species Act through the delegation of authority and problematic definitions, for example, is so extreme that a milder version of it spooked several House Republicans off of Bruce Westerman's ESA bill earlier this year, so you can imagine how it's going to land with the American people who overwhelmingly support protecting wildlife. And the provisions that seek to guarantee fair treatment for wind, solar, and battery storage are novel, untested, and don't really end the war on clean energy, but they will still trigger cries of "Green New Deal" and fierce opposition from the House Freedom Caucus, clouding any path to pass this deal through the House unless it gets much worse. And knowing the GOP players, that's exactly what will happen if this bill advances in the lame duck. 
 
The bottom line for me, and I believe most Democrats, is that November 3rd is coming and we are likely to soon have a far better negotiating position. Folding our hand now or in the lame duck makes no sense when we can keep working on this and, in a few more months, have a much better deal that works for everyone.
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Danny Cullenward @ghgpolicy.org · 01/10/2026
Can anyone explain to me why a national permitting deal is best negotiated now, mere weeks from an election that is likely to reshape federal power? Let’s stipulate that a deal of some kind is necessary and good; my question is what about the situation makes now more desirable than, say, Q1 2027?
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Dr. Genevieve Guenther (she/they) @doctorvive.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
worser and worser
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Brad Johnson @climatebrad.hillheat.com · 30/09/2026
I am impressed by folks who have seen the continued dominance of the fossil fuel industry and now the rise of the genocidal hyperscalers who believe that gutting environmental protections is going to help our prospects, it takes a kind of mental gymnastics that I simply lack the flexibility for.
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Dr. Genevieve Guenther (she/they) @doctorvive.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
The biggest barrier to emissions reductions has always been the continued and expanded use of fossil fuels.
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Dr. Genevieve Guenther (she/they) @doctorvive.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
The Searchlight / Third Way / Data-Center-Supporting Dems are also not explaining why — if the Permitting Reform bill is a "climate bill," as one Searchlight pundit said today — why does the American Petroleum Institute want it so badly? Why? @whitehouse.senate.gov @heinrich.senate.gov
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Dr. Genevieve Guenther (she/they) @doctorvive.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
None of the cheerleaders of the Permitting Reform bill are talking about the fact that it establishes a 150-day statute of limitations for lawsuits under *any* federal law challenging authorizations for coal, oil, and gas extraction. Forever. 150 days is no time at all.
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Dr. Genevieve Guenther (she/they) @doctorvive.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
OK, if the Permitting Reform bill passes, let's come back to this tweet in four years, in 2030 (twenty years before we were supposed to be at net zero). Let's see how much fossil energy is replaced by clean energy, and let's see where power-sector and overall emissions are. OK?
Jane Flegal
@JaneAFlegal 15/You really have to contort yourself to believe tech-neutral reforms that make it easier to build big stuff, especially on federal land, won't help clean energy more than anything else. But I'm sensing this is the debate some groups want to have.
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Dr. Genevieve Guenther (she/they) @doctorvive.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
omg
Matthew Yglesias &
@mattyglesias The one thing I don't like about this bill is that I don't like being wrong about things and it turns out I really misjudged @SenWhitehouse when he was on his "climate hushing" kick and didn't realize he was actually
planning on doing important and daring substantive work.

Whitehouse: :-)
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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
It’s a mark of the corruption of our whole way of thinking about the world that trying to meet a planetary emergency is routinely described as “ideological”, while continuing to accelerate it is presented as “pragmatic” and “economic”.
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Dr. Genevieve Guenther (she/they) @doctorvive.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
worse mortality than the first Covid wave, and we’re not even at 1.5C yet end fossil fuels now
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Erik Schlenker-Goodrich @riogranderift.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
And to those who often set the pace of energy transition discourse, like @volts.wtf, if you don't want data center opposition to overspill its borders, a good place to start is opposing a permitting deal that is going to piss off a heck of a lot of people by bulldozing over what they care about.
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Dr. Genevieve Guenther (she/they) @doctorvive.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
static.klipy.com
Lucy Pulls Football from Charlie Brown
ALT: Lucy Pulls Football from Charlie Brown
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 29/09/2026
Jack Smith: "Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in serious crimes against our nation ... rather than accept his defeat in the 2020 election, he engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results and prevent the lawful transfer of power"
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molly taft @mollytaft.com · 28/09/2026
i did a little Climate Week postmortem on data centers: co2 emissions are far & away the most alarming part of the buildout. but there hasn't been much of a reckoning beyond climate spaces kind of wondering when it'll enter the larger convo, if at all, and what that may look like
wired.com
The Data Center Backlash Should Also Be a Climate Reckoning. It Isn’t Yet
Climate groups are latching onto the data center opposition movement, but it remains to be seen if they can get people to care about the facilities’ impact on the atmosphere.
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Sammy Roth @sammyroth.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Like, even if you have Chris Wright and Doug Burgum and Katie Miller on board (big hypothetical). Trump could just wake up one day and blow it all up. Maybe somebody mentions "Solyndra" on Fox News. Or maybe he remembers his Scottish golf course. Or no reason whatsoever. Crazy roll of the dice.
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Revolving Door Project @revolvingdoordc.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Bad news for Exxon, and a win for the power of public pressure calling out the blatant corruption of the Roberts Court: Justice Alito is stepping down from further participating in Suncor v. Boulder, a week before oral arguments. We've been calling for his recusal from this case for YEARS: 🧵
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Erik Schlenker-Goodrich @riogranderift.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Frank Macchiarola, before working at American Clean Power, was, per his LinkedIn, a fossil fuel hack, including at the American Petroleum Institute. Two main players driving the Senate's permitting deal are American Clean Power and the American Petroleum Institute. Connect the dots, people.
About
Chief Advocacy Officer of the American Clean Power Association (ACP), the leading trade association of the multi-tech clean energy industry. From 2023-2025 I served as ACP’s Chief Policy Officer. 

Earlier in my career, I was Senior Vice President for Policy, Economics & Regulatory Affairs at the American Petroleum Institute (API) and Executive Vice President of Government Affairs at America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA).

Per https://www.linkedin.com/in/macchiarola/
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Dr. Genevieve Guenther (she/they) @doctorvive.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
our enemies are so well funded and organized, it physically pains me to think about it
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Chelsea Harvey @chelseaeharvey.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
NEW - Conservative orgs are filing records requests by the dozens at public universities, demanding documents from climate researchers. @lesleyclark.bsky.social @corbinhiar.bsky.social & I have uncovered more than 100 requests, a campaign targets/allies say is an effort to derail climate litigation
politico.com
Inside the anti-climate campaign against researchers
A POLITICO investigation reveals more than 100 open records requests demanding documents from climate scientists nationwide.
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Dr. Genevieve Guenther (she/they) @doctorvive.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Over 120,000 people marched across France calling for action to halt global heating. www.lemonde.fr/en/environme...
lemonde.fr
Thousands march for climate across France: 'I wish there were more of us, after the summer we've just had'
From Bordeaux to Paris, organizers say 120,000 people took part in 260 demonstrations 'for the climate, for life, for peace, for social justice.
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Matt Patterson @mattpattclimate.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Having recently moved to Scotland, I am struck by how many towns have road names referencing curling ponds. It is a clear sign of how our climate has changed because it’s rarely cold enough now for a pond to freeze over sufficiently to safely walk on.
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Dave Vetter @davidrvetter.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren calls for the removal of climate denier Matthew Wielicki as head of the US govt's climate research office. Wielicki has no training in climate science, and regularly uses AI to invent non-existent sources to support his claims.
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Dr. Genevieve Guenther (she/they) @doctorvive.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Republicans want people to use more gasoline, no matter what it costs them, so that fossil industry profits will rise. No, really. This is not a culture war. That’s why they’re making cars burn more gasoline.
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Ben Prunty @benprunty.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I don't love dunking on folks but it's so fucking funny to me that Trump was convicted of 34 felonies 2 years ago, faced no punishment, and went on to win the presidency a second time and journalists are still like, "hmm, I have an inkling that maybe he believes he's above the law for some reason."
Post from NYT reporter Eric Lipton 

"What an odd moment in United States history.

A U.S. president is running an overtly political campaign advertisement, right before midterm elections, paid for by the U.S. government.

Trump appears to believe he is immune from any kind of legal limit."
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Tony Dutzik @frontiertony.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
It's a bit of a throw-away line in this piece from @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social, but this is false. The primary function of "federal permitting laws" is to protect the public interest from private actions that threaten it. NEPA, specifically, is only a partial exception. heatmap.news/daily/wright...
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CAAD_Coalition @caadcoalition.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
When advertising looks like journalism, corporate PR gets mistaken for public-interest reporting. That is Big Oil’s native-ad playbook. And Big Tech is now using it to sell AI data centres. Read Michelle A. Amazeen's new piece on the blog. buff.ly/xYFnOF1
buff.ly
The Datacenter Playbook: How Big Tech Is Copying Big Oil’s Native Advertising Tactics
We've seen this story before. A struggling region needs economic relief. An industry arrives with promises of jobs, tax revenue, and progress. Sleek, editorial-style content – indistinguishable from journalism – celebrates the arrival of prosperity. Local concerns about environmental damage, strain on infrastructure, and resource depletion get buried beneath narratives of regional rescue.
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