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David Brake

@drbrakeyyt.bsky.social
205 followers 102 following 118 posts

Journalist, policy wonk, urbanist, PhD, dad, CFA. @EssentialTransitNL.bsky.social and @TransportactionATL.bsky.social Vice Chair of @HappyCitySJ.bsky.social, founder of EVs in Real Life Follow @drbrake for my "old life" (media academic, UK/World affairs)

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by David Brake
greenmusingsyyt.bsky.social @greenmusingsyyt.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
So @joshuafrank.bsky.social can you summarise the chapter of your book where you explain what zero carbon energy sources *should* be used to meet the needs of the 10bn people who will be around in 2050? And how a non-capitalist energy infrastructure should be paid for? bookshop.org/p/books/bad-...
bookshop.org
Bad Energy: The AI Hucksters, Rogue Lithium Extractors, and Wind Industrialists Who Are Selling Off Our Future
Green energy and renewables are heralded as the only way to mitigate our ever-worsening ecological crisis. But that's not the whole story. In Bad Energy, award-winning journalist Joshua Frank argues...
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The War on Cars @thewaroncars.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Blood on Doug Ford's hands.
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Tom Flood @tomflood.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Stay connected. Stay Informed. Stay ready. @thebikinglawyer.bsky.social
Doug ford next to a bike lane

one of these is a tool that saves cyclists lives, the other is a tool that will kill them
Direct Action Coming. Stay Tuned To:
@thebikinglawyer and @cycleto
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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Ugh. This is a disaster for Toronto. Ripping out protected bike lanes on Bloor Street, Yonge Street, and University Ave will gut the city's bike network. Crashes will increase. And no, traffic will not be faster.
cbc.ca
Ontario appeal court says Ford can rip out Toronto bike lanes | CBC News
Premier Doug Ford’s government can rip out 19 kilometres of protected bike lanes in Toronto, the Court of Appeal for Ontario has ruled in a decision released Friday, reversing a lower court decision m...
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Fietser @americanfietser.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
When I'm introduced to new people and decide to talk about how forced car dependency needs to end.
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Clean Energy Canada @cleanenergycanada.org · 20/07/2026
🔋🔌🏠 BC Hydro has announced the province's first-ever utility-scale battery project, calling the project a "strategic" investment for affordable, clean power. #bcpoli #cdnpoli
cbc.ca
B.C. announces 1st battery energy storage project, to be housed on Vancouver Island | CBC News
B.C. Hydro says the project will be housed near Duncan and will allow energy to be saved up and used during peak times.
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Dr David R Brake @drbrake.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
Here I was thinking @avilewis.ca was talking about the UK's Prime Minister who also seems poised to enable more investment in global heating during a summer of record breaking killer heat waves. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
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greenmusingsyyt.bsky.social @greenmusingsyyt.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
I would say it's amazing but these days it isn't. What it is is pretty brazen! And these are the people who NL is going to be doing more oil business with?
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James McLeod @jamespmcleod.ca · 14/06/2026
Impossible to visit the Toronto Reference Library and resist the urge to take a couple photos. Toronto's public palace.
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Dr David R Brake @drbrake.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
Seems to me @economist.com (and @financialtimes.com) are smart enough to see the necessity of many progressive policies but at the last minute their tribal loyalties kick in and they fall back on tired evidence-less talking points that protect their core readership and reinforce their biases.
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Dr David R Brake @drbrake.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Leaving 🇨🇦and going #CarFree? But how will you manage without IKEA when you're movin in? #GreenBrightonLife (I haven't even needed a cargo bike yet 😏)
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Katharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com · 28/05/2026
Both of our former environment & climate ministers are speaking up strongly and critically regarding the direction of the current federal government on climate—even though it is their party. That to me shows integrity and leadership. Thank u @cathmckenna.bsky.social & @stevenguilbeault.bsky.social
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Avi Lewis @avilewis.ca · 27/05/2026
1/ Right now, a bill called C-22 is moving through Parliament. It would let police pull information on who you talk to, when, and where, all without a warrant. It's at committee this week. 🧵
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Seth Klein @sethdklein.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Highly recommend this Front Burner interview with @arnokopecky.bsky.social An extremely clear breakdown of all the Carney climate rollbacks. podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/f...
podcasts.apple.com
Is Carney undoing the Liberals’ climate legacy?
Podcast Episode · Front Burner · May 20 · 28m
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David Brake @drbrakeyyt.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
My first and last interview at NTV HQ! Looking forward to seeing what my successors in transit advocacy can achieve…
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Urban Truth Collective @urbantruth.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
NEW: The One-Hour City Conspiracy! “Here's the REAL conspiracy: Too many people are forced into car-dependent lives, with more health harms, crashes, noise, air pollution, social isolation —& less space for everything our streets should be giving us.” Thanks @usa.streetsblog.org #1HourCityConspiracy
usa.streetsblog.org
Urban Truth Collective: The One-Hour City Conspiracy — Streetsblog USA
Here's the real conspiracy: Too many people are forced into car-dependent lives, with more health harms, more crashes, more noise, more air pollution, more social isolation — and less space for everyt...
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Tom Flood @tomflood.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
come on kids, get off screens and go outside! get off the road it's for cars don't ride your bike on the sidewalk you'll hurt someone take your headphones off it's dangerous stop being so loud you're disturbing people don't just loiter around go to the park but calm down there's little ones
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ACLU of Northern California @aclu-norcal.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
Today, we sued the federal government to stop Google from handing over personal information on a Canadian citizen who criticized Trump online. Under Trump 2.0, social media platforms have received hundreds of similar demands designed to chill speech the government doesn’t like.
aclunorcal.org
Canadian Trump Critic Sues to Stop Google from Sharing Personal Information with Department of Homeland Security - ACLU of Northern California
DHS unlawfully attempted to obtain personal information, including location and physical movements, of Canadian citizen
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Nicholas Pagnucco @nicholaspagnucco.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
This is an incredible resource for social science research: a free searchable database of municipal government transcripts.
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Oliver Moore @oliver-moore.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
Expanding airport to allow for jets will replace car trips to Caribbean
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David Roberts @volts.wtf · 29/04/2026
Today on Volts: Want to invest a little money in renewable energy projects in the emerging economies where they're most needed? Thanks to "Regulation A" (don't ask), a company called Energea can accept consumer investments as low as $100 in solar fields in Brazil, South Africa, or Columbia.
volts.wtf
Enabling ordinary people to invest in renewable energy projects
Energea co-founder Mike Silvestrini explains why the best returns in renewable energy are hiding in places often overlooked by traditional investors.
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greenmusingsyyt.bsky.social @greenmusingsyyt.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
The $6.4bn the NL government has been promised is only 15% of expected project revenues. If this were a project offshore in the UK it would be $10-14bn, and in Norway it would be $16-20bn. And we are expected to pay up to $1bn (Federal) and $350m to buy a dry dock they need but we'd buy for them?
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greenmusingsyyt.bsky.social @greenmusingsyyt.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
🧵This analysis by @angelavcarter.bsky.social and Angela Antle in @independentnl.bsky.social has "run the numbers" and suggests something I always suspected - we are being fleeced by Equinor (and by extension probably with previous projects as well). theindependent.ca/commentary/a...
theindependent.ca
No energy justice with Bay du Nord – The Independent
Newfoundland and Labrador’s Bay du Nord ambitions are out of step with the dire need to phase out global oil production and the province’s benefits agreement with Equinor underscores the need for a ne...
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David Brake @drbrakeyyt.bsky.social · 26/04/2026
I am guessing nearly all of them will be in Quebec and BC with a handful in Ontario. The rest of Canada will miss out thanks largely to the failure to institute provincial sales targets. gmauthority.com/blog/2026/04...
gmauthority.com
BYD Looking To Open 20 Dealerships In Canada This Year
BYD plans to open 20 dealerships in Canada in 2026, moving fast to establish a presence as the country loosens restrictions on Chinese EV imports.
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Reposted by David Brake
David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
The future is electric
electrek.co
MASSIVE 600 ton Liebherr mining excavator converted from diesel to electric
Lloyds Metals and Energy have successfully converted a massive, 650-ton class Liebherr R 996 excavators from diesel power to electric.
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Fietser @americanfietser.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
When the country that circle jerks the "free market" phrase, but force feeds you trucks and SUVs.
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David Brake @drbrakeyyt.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
I've lived for years in a province where an overwhelming majority: - speak the same language - share a history and culture - have similar values - Practice one of the Christian religions (or none) Monoculturalism... can be a little dull and uninspiring!
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Dr David R Brake @drbrake.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
Maybe we *can* start having a few nice things? www.bbc.com/news/live/c2...
bbc.com
Hungary election: Viktor Orbán ousted after 16 years in power as opposition heads for landslide - follow live
The long-serving prime minister concedes defeat to Péter Magyar, who has promised closer EU ties and an anti-corruption drive.
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
"To put it bluntly, an X post today receives less than 3% of the views a single tweet delivered seven years ago." If you think it is necessary to be on Twitter to communicate your fact-based worldview, the reality is that worldview is being smothered.
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essentialtransitnl.bsky.social @essentialtransitnl.bsky.social · 04/04/2026
Glad to see Australia acting to tackle the high price of gas by making transit free of charge. Time to think differently about how we get around! www.bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
Fuel tax halved and free public transport offered as war pushes up prices in Australia
Victoria and Tasmania are incentivising commuters not to drive in a bid to ease cost pressures.
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greenmusingsyyt.bsky.social @greenmusingsyyt.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
🧵Shocked by the performative "vibes" environmentalism on display from Chúk Odenigbo, apparently a columnist and guest of CBC's (normally-sound) What on Earth podcast. Sometimes questioned by host Laura Lynch but never really challenged. Let's dig in! www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...
cbc.ca
cbc.ca
© CBC/Radio-Canada 2026. All rights reserved.
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Keith Stewart @climatekeith.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
Well this is interesting...
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Clean Energy Canada @cleanenergycanada.org · 01/04/2026
🍁🔌 B.C.’s updated EV sales regulation—while less ambitious than before—still delivers where it matters, helping keep British Columbians among the first in line for the best EV models available in Canada, says Clean Energy Canada's @joannakyriazis.bsky.social. Full response👇 #bcpoli
cleanenergycanada.org
B.C. rightly charts its own path on EVs, ensuring British Columbians can access the cost-saving cars they want - Clean Energy Canada
VICTORIA — Joanna Kyriazis, director of policy and strategy at Clean Energy Canada, made the following statement in response to B.C.’s updated Zero-Emission Vehicles Act: “B.C.’s historic leadership o...
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T. Ryan Gregory 🇨🇦 @tryangregory.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
As we get excited about a mission around the moon that includes a Canadian astronaut, a quick reminder that Carney is cutting funding for the Canadian Space Agency by 33%. globalnews.ca/news/1173746...
globalnews.ca
To chop spending, Ottawa will cut science, tourism, foreign aid programs - National | Globalnews.ca
While 40 departments will collectively spend $23 billion more next year, another 85 departments will spend $31 billion less in 2026-27.
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David Roberts @volts.wtf · 30/03/2026
"We can't make the roads any less deadly, so it's on you to creep through the urban fabric like a soldier on the battlefield, perpetually fearful & alert."
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Scott Robertson @sarobertson.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
Avi Lewis: "We have shoved Canada Post so far into the market mindset that every few months we have a national conversation about why isn't Canada Post making money. Does the ambulance service make money? Do the police services make money? We're talking about a fundamental public service."
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Avi Lewis @avilewis.ca · 19/03/2026
Avi Lewis and Gerry Rogers embrace in a doorway, smiling for photo, at a Lewis for Leader campaign tour stop in St. John's, NL.Avi Lewis and Jessica McCormick embrace in front of a colorful quilt, smiling for photo, at a Lewis for Leader campaign tour stop in St. John's, NL.Avi Lewis and members of the Just Transition Coalition smile, hold up fists in solidarity, at a Lewis for Leader campaign tour stop in St. John's, NL.Avi Lewis and Peter Cowan sit for an interview for CBC News Here and Now.
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Avi Lewis @avilewis.ca · 19/03/2026
Thank you, St. John’s! 150 people packed the room with incredible energy and characteristic hospitality.  Grateful for the support & conversations with NL New Democrats, labour, & climate leaders.  I'm energized for Winnipeg, where members decide the future of the NDP. Vote by March 28!
Avi Lewis speaking at a podium with a 'Lewis for leader' sign, audience silhouettes. Part of a St. John's campaign tour stop.Audience standing and applauding in an event hall in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. Part of a Lewis for leader campaign tour stop.Avi Lewis and Sheilagh O'Leary, embracing closely, smiling for camera, at a Lewis for Leader campaign tour stop in St. John's, NL.Avi Lewis and Gene Long embrace in front of a stage, smiling for photo, at a Lewis for Leader campaign tour stop in St. John's, NL.
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greenmusingsyyt.bsky.social @greenmusingsyyt.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
I don't understand the reasoning here. Ford claims to want the province to be a powerhouse of EV construction so he should want more EVs to be sold? And to avoid "fragmentation" he could make his own EV mandate!
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David Brake @drbrakeyyt.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
I'll be there! Whatever your views, if you are interested in politics, this is the man who (I believe) will be the next leader of the Federal NDP so what better opportunity to learn how he thinks and raise local issues? act.lewisforleader.ca/stjohns?r=Rl...
act.lewisforleader.ca
St. John's: All in for Avi! - Lewis for Leader - National
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Dr David R Brake @drbrake.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
Protected bike lanes at street level are the nicest but having a sort of utilitarian “ Cycle Expressway” well lit, protected from the wind and insulated from other traffic looks pretty awesome. Well done Melbourne! bigbuild.vic.gov.au/use-west-gat...
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David Brake @drbrakeyyt.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
A terrific new free civic tool has arrived! Date coverage is limited and it uses voice recognition so results can be a little wierd - but whether you are comparing towns in one province or across Canada, this looks like a great start! Citizens, start mining! civicsearchlight.nationalobserver.com
civicsearchlight.nationalobserver.com
CivicSearchlight - by Canada's National Observer
Search transcripts of municipal meetings across Canada. Find discussions about topics that matter to your community with Canada's National Observer's search tool.
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David Brake @drbrakeyyt.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
When I first came to St John's ten years ago, one of the first things I wanted to see improve was the provision of bus shelters for transit users in the city. Sadly, the long history of broken or dropped promises has not changed. But at least now I have it documented www.facebook.com/share/p/18Jv...
facebook.com
Redirecting...
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David Brake @drbrakeyyt.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
Nice to read in the City of St John's 2025 Economic Review *for the city and surrounding communities* that housing starts were up 19% in 2025, edging above 1000 units. But only 78 of those units were built in the city itself - two *fewer* than a year earlier. www.stjohns.ca/en/news/city...
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Peter Norton @norton.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
The few who planned depended upon the many who rode. But the few kept forgetting that.
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Luke LeBrun @lukelebrun.ca · 22/02/2026
Remember this next time this country asks us to send troops to Afghanistan or Iraq
White House: 

Image (probably AI) of a Bald Eagle and Canadian goose
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David Brake @drbrakeyyt.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
*North American* idea... (this is where Newfoundland's provincial government is)
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Transport Action Canada @transportaction.ca · 11/02/2026
This is the strategy Canada should also follow, directing our capacity for investment to public transport and rail infrastructure: open.substack.com/pub/trainexp...
open.substack.com
Rail Before Roads: Switzerland drops 30 motorway projects as rail investment expands
The Swiss government has unveiled its long-term vision for expanding the country’s transport network through to 2045, with an emphasis on strengthening rail services while scaling back major road…
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Avi Lewis @avilewis.ca · 05/02/2026
It’s time to end unchecked corporate welfare. The current Liberal government is handing billions of dollars to profitable corporate giants in subsidies and tax breaks, with very few strings attached. Our plan ensures every public dollar serves the public interest – rather than corporate profits.
"End Corporate Handouts and Break Up Monopolies" slide. Text: "End all fossil fuel subsidies. Keep costly consultants out of the public service. No more blank cheques for corporations that take our money and move production out of Canada."
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Avi Lewis @avilewis.ca · 05/02/2026
Over the last 30 years, corporate profits have doubled while corporate taxes have been slashed – all with the promise that benefits would eventually flow to working people. Today, people are still waiting as wealth piles up at the top and the cost of living only soars. We need real solutions.
"Crack Down on the Corporate Hoarding Class" slide. Text: "Implement a tax on excess corporate profits. Crack down on tax havens that are starving our essential public services of much-needed funds. Adequately fund the CRA to go after tax cheats. Reinstate the Digital Services Tax."
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