iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Erik Nordman @eriknordman.bsky.social · 2h

With Nobel Prize season in full swing, it's a great time to learn about the first woman to win the Economics Nobel, Elinor Ostrom. She was awarded the prize in 2009, along with Oliver Williamson for their contributions to "economic governance" - of corporations (OW) and the commons (EO). 👇

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New York Fed @newyorkfed.org · 22h

In today's post, the authors quantify the costs of keeping homeowners on the hook: How costly is moral hazard in homeowner's insurance? How much risk must households retain to preserve these incentives? And who ultimately bears that residual risk? #[nyfed.org/4rPByD4

libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org

Insured, but Still on the Hook: Who Bears the Most Risk in Homeowner's Insurance? - Liberty Street Economics

A look at how much risk households and insurers bear in homeowner’s insurance in light of “moral hazard,” or how well homeowners protect their properties.

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Eileen Clancy 🧿 @clancyny.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Such a trenchant point by Bianca Wylie in the context of the algorithmic decision-making that has become central to our interactions with communities, news, employment, and knowledge itself. "It's arguable that a decision is the unit of democracy." –– @biancawylie.com

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David Roberts @volts.wtf · 04/10/2026

"Absent policy steering, AI’s modeled effects increase the carbon intensity of the global economy and reinforce fossil fuel incumbency—outcomes that current analytical and governance frameworks do not fully capture."

nature.com

AI-driven productivity gains enable more CO₂ emissions than they avoid in a global energy–economy model - npj Climate Action

npj Climate Action - AI-driven productivity gains enable more CO₂ emissions than they avoid in a global energy–economy model

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Erik Schlenker-Goodrich @riogranderift.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

The Green NGO movement is not a monolith. But my informed sense is that most folks are alarmed by the permitting deal. So let me say this respectfully, gently, but firmly to my beloved comrades: political access is not political power.

Josh Siegel: "I later called another speaker on the call, Erik Schlenker-Goodrich, executive director of the Western Environmental Law Center, who explained the divide among greens this way: 'The elephant in the room is Sens. Heinrich and Whitehouse are perceived to be champions of environmental issues, and a lot of the large environmental groups are reluctant to push back for well-intentioned reasons to maintain relationships with them."

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Erik Nordman @eriknordman.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Electric utility DTE's contract with Google for its 1,000 MW "Project Cannoli" data center was approved by regulators. Google will pay for additions to the grid, including "up to 1,600 megawatts of renewable energy like solar farms and up to 480 megawatts of batteries..." #EnergySky 🔌💡

mlive.com

DTE gets green light to power massive Google data center

State energy regulators have approved the second set of utility contracts for a "hyperscale" data center in Michigan, a Google project in Van Buren Township.

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Erik Nordman @eriknordman.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

I have never read Walter Benjamin's "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction," so I'm reading it this weekend. I suspect it has new relevance in the age of AI. web.mit.edu/allanmc/www/...

web.mit.edu

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Erik Nordman @eriknordman.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

mlive.com

DTE gets green light to power massive Google data center

State energy regulators have approved the second set of utility contracts for a "hyperscale" data center in Michigan, a Google project in Van Buren Township.

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Kieran Healy @kjhealy.co · 02/10/2026

I’ve written this up here. In addition to there not being a Covid-scale drop in tourism recently, you might also be wondering why visits from Mexico seem to double around 2004-05. The answer is not a sudden shift in Mexican preferences but rather our old friend, There Was A Change In The Measure.

kieranhealy.org

Trump Tourism Effects

In the past day or two on social media I kept seeing this graph from a Semafor story on the declining volume of international visitors to the United States. Semafor Graph. It seems to show, and was be...

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Mia Murphy 🏳️‍⚧️ @miamurphy.com · 02/10/2026

Spartans Mill

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Gary Wilson @garyglx5.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Focus on the Law to Protect the Environment. Let's give environmental attorneys in the trenches their due. photo: Michigan Supreme Court justices. garyglx5.substack.com/p/focus-on-t...

garyglx5.substack.com

Focus on the Law to Protect the Environment

In tough political times, environmental attorneys remain focused on results. ‘Without the threat of litigation, our policy positions sometimes weren’t taken seriously,’ policy expert says.

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Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 01/10/2026

LIHEAP has a 1980s statutory weather bias for winter. Time to balance this antiquated formula the Feds and States use, to include cooling degree days to cover summer electric bills too. Most die due to extreme heat and climate change is not slowing it down. And yes, feds also need to fund it more.

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Erik Nordman @eriknordman.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Michigan's utility regulator has proposed steps to contain rising costs & break the "seemingly endless litigation over rates." The article below features insightful commentary from two longtime @ipu-msu.bsky.social guest instructors, Mark Newton Lowry and Paul Alvarez. #EnergySky 🔌💡

utilitydive.com

Affordability concerns drive momentum for performance-based ratemaking

Michigan is among the states weighing reforms to rate case planning and utility profits. Experts and stakeholders told Utility Dive what works — and what doesn’t.

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Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Time for this classic again.

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Erik Nordman @eriknordman.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

utilitydive.com

Affordability concerns drive momentum for performance-based ratemaking

Michigan is among the states weighing reforms to rate case planning and utility profits. Experts and stakeholders told Utility Dive what works — and what doesn’t.

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UCLA Emmett Institute @uclalawemmett.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Wow! Wise choice! Our Ted Parson, and the whole Emmett Institute, congratulates our former fellow @hollyjeanbuck.bsky.social, now Associate Professor of Environment and Sustainability at the University of Buffalo, who was just awarded a 2026 MacArthur Fellowship. www.macfound.org/fellows/clas...

macfound.org

Holly Jean Buck

Investigating the social, ethical, and political dimensions of climate and energy policies and emerging technologies.

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Josh Lappen @jlappen1.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

This one's a cri de coeur from @gruberte.bsky.social, @jmijin.bsky.social, and I: The coal sector's decline has created strong empirical evidence about how energy transitions play out, but most decarb scholarship and policymaking ignore it. That has to change. www.tandfonline.com/eprint/DJ88Z...

tandfonline.com

How to Save the Energy Transition: What Coal Scholars Can See Coming, and What to Do About It

The energy transition requires rapid, coordinated retirement of essentially all fossil fuel infrastructure with careful attention to impacts on workers and affected communities. Experience with the...

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Commercial Solar Guy @commercialsolarguy.com · 29/09/2026

Pretty large structures. Lots of space for modules to offset those steel and foundation costs. ‘shading the canals led to less algal growth and less fixed aquatic weed growth — reducing maintenance and improving water quality’ www.kqed.org/science/2002...

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Greg Shill @gregshill.com · 29/09/2026

They did the cartoon!

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Adam @adamshap.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

NYC’s congestion pricing program cut ambulance travel times by over a minute

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Institute of Public Utilities at Michigan State University @ipu-msu.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Registration is still open for IPU's Advanced Regulatory Accounting & Auditing course! Sharpen your regulatory skills and earn continuing education credits. Meets live on Zoom on four Thursdays in October. #EnergySky 🔌💡 Registration link: www.canr.msu.edu/ipu/programs...

Event Flyer
MSU Institute of Public Utilities
Advanced Regulatory Accounting & Auditing
Featuring Expert MSU Faculty & Industry Leaders
October 1, 8, 15, 22, 2026
1:00 PM - 3:10 PM Eastern Time
Live on Zoom
Paul Alvarez, President, Wired Group
Lori Jackson, MSU Instructor, Auditing & Financial Reporting
John Mastracchio, VP, Raftelis Financial Consultants
Steven McDonald, Chief Economist, Raftelis Financial Consultants
Dane Watson, Managing Partner, Alliance Consulting Group
Tim Zeldenrust, VP Strategic Consulting, Power Plan

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Qasim Rashid, Esq. @qasimrashid.com · 28/09/2026

This article is for men. Women already know this. This week a woman filed a civil suit against 7 men at Cornell U for drugging, trafficking, and raping her. Zero have faced criminal charges. Women are not safe around men. And the data is devastating. www.qasimrashid.com/p/cornell-un...

qasimrashid.com

Cornell University, Systemic Sexual Abuse, and the Men Responsible

Content Warning: This is a post about men, rape, and women

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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I'll save you the click-through: A lab at University of Copenhagen had been feeding draft manuscripts & data into "Claude Science" & then Anthropic announces a discovery that this lab made a year ago but hasn't published yet. It's plausible that Claude found the same signatures independently...

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Citizen of Somewhere Else @citizense.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I listen to country music. The Breeders’ “Driving on 9” youtu.be/11AhE8qs9Kk?...

youtu.be

The Breeders - Drivin' On 9 (Live In Big Sur)

YouTube video by The Breeders

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Erik Nordman @eriknordman.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Reading The Power Broker, learning about the origins of Long Island's state parks, including the one named for its benefactor August Heckscher, and thinking of this song by @billjanovitz.bsky.social. billjanovitz.bandcamp.com/track/hecksc...

billjanovitz.bandcamp.com

Heckscher Park, by Bill Janovitz

from the album Walt Whitman Mall

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EconomicsInTen @economicsinten.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Learn more about this amazing woman by listening to our podcast all about her. #EconSky open.spotify.com/episode/0lEv...

open.spotify.com

Season 2 Episode 2 - Elinor Ostrom

Economics In Ten · Episode

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Erik Nordman @eriknordman.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

We have a fantastic lineup of expert instructors for IPU's Advanced Regulatory Accounting & Ratemaking course! Learn from industry leaders like Paul Alvarez, Lori Jackson, John Mastracchio, Steven McDonald, Dane Watson, & Tim Zeldenrust. Join us on Thursdays in October, live on Zoom. Registration 👇

canr.msu.edu

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Erik Nordman @eriknordman.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

canr.msu.edu

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Erik Nordman @eriknordman.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Thanks to our colleagues at MSU IPPSR for convening the policy forum, The Data on #DataCenters. It was a pleasure speaking about utilities, technical innovations for efficiency, and the social context in which hyperscalers are being built. See links below for more information and news.

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Erik Nordman @eriknordman.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

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Institute of Public Utilities at Michigan State University @ipu-msu.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

IPU partnered with the MSU Institute for Public Policy and Social Research for yesterday's policy forum The Data on Data Centers. Panelists included MSU professors @jeanhardy.bsky.social, Dong Zhao, and IPU Director @eriknordman.bsky.social. Thanks to @mattgrossmann.bsky.social and team for hosting.

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George Pearkes @peark.es · 22/09/2026

Quick coda to this thread. I quantified PADD1A's sources of diesel and ~half come from...a country we just started a trade war with.

PADD1A Distillate Fuel Supply By Origin (2022-2024)

From PADD1B 50.1
Canadian Imports 46.1
Other Foreign Imports 2.6
From USGC 0.1

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Ryan Cummings @weakinstrument.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

6/end: Banning diesel exports would, in effect, be a small subsidy to farmers and other industrial users of diesel across the country at the expense of New England residents, who would see heating costs skyrocket if not run into acute physical shortages.

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Ryan Cummings @weakinstrument.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

1/n: Because of record-breaking diesel prices, the Trump Admin is reportedly considering a diesel export ban. There is one part of the country that this would squeeze tremendously, risking physical shortages that would prevent people from heating their homes in winter: New England (PADD 1A).

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MSU Extension Center for Lakes and Streams @msue-lakes-streams.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Looking for a job? Interested in protecting Michigan lakes? Here's a pretty unique opportunity to do just that with the UP Land Conservancy!

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Erik Nordman @eriknordman.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Want to learn more about Elinor Ostrom and her groundbreaking work on "economic governance, especially the commons"? See my thread in the link below. bsky.app/profile/erik...

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Nobel Prize @nobelprize.org · 21/09/2026

When Elinor Ostrom applied for a PhD in economics she was turned away. She took on a different doctorate and in 2009 was the first woman to receive the prize in economic sciences. Find out who will receive this year's prize in economic sciences on 12 October.

Photograph of Elinor Ostrom holding her Nobel Prize medal and diploma during the Nobel Prize award ceremony, wearing traditional attire.

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Erik Nordman @eriknordman.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

If, as the Supreme Court has recently ruled, that commissioners at independent federal agencies must be removable at will, then it follows that administrative law judges must also be removable. What does that mean for FERC and other agencies? www.theregreview.org/2026/09/21/p...

theregreview.org

It May Be Time to Give Up on Agency Adjudication | The Regulatory Review

Weakening agency independence could make agency adjudication unconstitutional without judicial review.

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Erik Nordman @eriknordman.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

"...the removal plan targeted 15 artworks in the African Lounge, an events space...was closed & locked some time after Mr. Trump took over. The lounge’s textiles, artwork & a carved wood sculpture from Ghana representing Africans’ grief over Kennedy’s death were removed without public explanation."

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