Reposted by Future HeistSaul Elbein @saulelbein.bsky.social · 18/09/2026If you're at all interested in climate or energy not paying attention to the Texas Railroad Commission — our state's confoundingly-named oil and gas regulator — I don't even know what to tell you. Except that things are getting *crazy* there in a way that are a serious risk for Texas Republicans. 17825
Future Heist @futureheist.bsky.social · 18/09/2026Texans are mad about the growing torrent of toxic oilfield waste by their homes. So the state oil regulator acted decisively: it told them to please shut up. New op-ed with Virginia Palacios in the San Antonio Express News; gift link in comments. www.expressnews.com/opinion/comm...expressnews.comTexas' oil and gas regulator cuts out the public from its meetingsLast month the Railroad Commission of Texas — which oversees oil and gas, not railroads — ended guaranteed public comment at its monthly open meetings. 100
Future Heist @futureheist.bsky.social · 16/09/2026Texas all having a minor constitutional crisis over oil regulation www.texastribune.org/2026/09/15/t...texastribune.orgDrew Darby berates Wayne Christian for missing Capitol meetingWayne Christian said his agency’s meeting kept him from addressing lawmakers about eliminating some public comments at the Texas Railroad Commission. 000
Future Heist @futureheist.bsky.social · 14/09/2026So the bad news about methods of cooling data center that use less water: they rely on forever chemicals. "In “two-phase immersion cooling” systems, servers are immersed in a pool of Pfas with a low boiling point." www.theguardian.com/environment/...theguardian.com‘Tidal wave’ of Pfas being launched to satisfy AI industry, campaigners warnBig manufacturers planning to produce more of the forever chemicals to meet demand from datacentres 15212149
Reposted by Future HeistEmily Atkin @emorwee.bsky.social · 02/04/2026No matter how high the price of oil climbs, the actual price is far, far higherheated.worldOil worker says fracking waste eroded his jawAn elementary school was built atop the site where the radioactive waste was spread, journalist Saul Elbein reports. 119065
Reposted by Future HeistJustin Mikulka @justinmikulka.bsky.social · 04/09/2026"In doing so, they inadvertently gave the public a free lesson in how to bring the U.S. oil and gas industry to its knees." Intrigued? @saulelbein.bsky.social has the details at @emorwee.bsky.social's Heatedheated.worldOil executives just accidentally exposed the industry’s greatest weaknessTo keep drilling, Big Oil needs permission to dump treated fracking wastewater into rivers and onto cropland. We don’t have to give it to them. 03018
Reposted by Future Heistc-a-m @cad6711.bsky.social · 04/09/2026Texas is proposing to allow frackwater (complete with benzene and radioactive elements) to be discharged into waterways and spread on crops. Sound like a horrible idea? Here's what you can do to stop it. 01014
Future Heist @futureheist.bsky.social · 21/08/2026Every one of these wells is a potential source of chemicals that interfere with children's development and never go away. 001
Future Heist @futureheist.bsky.social · 20/08/2026What are zombie oils wells, and why does it matter that there are 50x as many at-risk wells in Texas as we thought? Read below. 002
Future Heist @futureheist.bsky.social · 20/08/2026Our analysis in @houstonchronicle.com this morning: ~25,000 plugged Texas wells at critical risk of failing, roughly 50x more than anyone had counted. When they do, "industry’s toxic wastewater can flow up the well to the surface." Is one under your house? futureheist.org/zombie-risk/futureheist.orgTexas Zombie Wells — Risk MapTexas oil & gas wells mapped by zombie-well risk, injection threats to drinking water, and schools & daycares. 21216
Reposted by Future HeistSaul Elbein @saulelbein.bsky.social · 20/08/2026Texas has hundreds of thousands of old oil and gas wells that were plugged decades ago and then forgotten — many now under neighborhoods grew on top of them. We read the state's own records against the scientific lit. We found 25,000+ now at risk of going zombie. tinyurl.com/zombie-wellstinyurl.com25K Texas oil and gas wells could soon be ‘zombie wells,' watchdog group warnsAnalysis by Future Heist watchdog group identifies 25,000 high-risk "zombie wells" and hundreds with leaks threatening groundwater and communities. 31410
Reposted by Future HeistAsher Elbein @asherelbein.bsky.social · 20/08/2026@saulelbein.bsky.social's climate watchdog @futureheist.bsky.social turns public data into (very cool) tools the public can actually use. This map shows the sheer extent to which Texas has been penetrated by the fossil fuel industry. It's a visual primer on oil power you have to see to believefutureheist.orgTexas Zombie Wells — Risk MapTexas oil & gas wells mapped by zombie-well risk, injection threats to drinking water, and schools & daycares. 01710
Reposted by Future HeistAsher Elbein @asherelbein.bsky.social · 20/08/2026Texas pumps billions of barrels of oil waste underground annually, often down the nearest old well. But when the plugs fail, a hole everyone thought was dead leaks upward again — and people living over "zombie wells" rarely know it. Check @futureheist.bsky.social's new map to see if that's you.futureheist.orgTexas Zombie Wells — Risk MapTexas oil & gas wells mapped by zombie-well risk, injection threats to drinking water, and schools & daycares. 1197
Reposted by Future HeistDavid Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 10/08/2026Good message: “Scientists have made clear that the elevated heat, along with vast fires, was being significantly amplified by the human-caused climate crisis, accelerated by the burning of fossil fuels.”theguardian.comJuly was hottest month ever recorded in US as heatwaves scorched countryScientists have made clear that the elevated heat in the US was being amplified by the human-caused climate crisis 3322131
Future Heist @futureheist.bsky.social · 12/08/2026And as a counterpoint of how not to write a headline: may we submit this piece www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...theguardian.comRecord wildfires in Europe show failure to adapt carries a mounting costScientists call for better land management alongside reduction in greenhouse gases causing the crisis 000
Future Heist @futureheist.bsky.social · 12/08/2026Worth saying they're also looking to seize land from hundreds of landowners and at least three Texas state parks for the Wall, too. 000
Reposted by Future HeistSaul Elbein @saulelbein.bsky.social · 12/08/2026The attack on data represents media savvy by the pro-fossil camp: it doesn't just stop climate science, it also closes off a data pipeline that translates directly into artifacts that journalists can quote, and numbers that can become memes. It leaves the question of: how do you cover an absence? 023
Future Heist @futureheist.bsky.social · 12/08/2026The data centers, the Big Bend wall, and the rush to put fracking fluid on crops are interesting choices for an election year. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...theguardian.com‘I’ve never worked with so many conservatives’: the Texans fighting the Big Bend border wallResidents across party lines say Trump’s proposed wall threatens their homes, livelihoods and wilderness along the Rio Grande 000
Future Heist @futureheist.bsky.social · 11/08/2026Underappreciated trend of the last two years is pro-fossil movement in Texas watching the rise of renewables and concluding that the problem is a free market. insideclimatenews.org/news/0608202...insideclimatenews.orgAs Solar and Batteries Dominate in Texas, Republican Lawmakers Consider Natural Gas Minimums - Inside Climate NewsRenewables make up 70 percent of the state’s future electricity generation, outcompeting fossil fuels in the marketplace. 000
Future Heist @futureheist.bsky.social · 09/08/2026Worth noting that in farm regions, pesticides a bigger cause of cancer than cigarettes. There's a significant political opening here — polling shows most Americans aren't with MAHA on vaccines or even seed oils, but they *do* agree on environmental chemicals. thehill.com/policy/energ...thehill.comRepublicans vote down farm bill amendment enabling lawsuits against pesticide companies, a blow to MAHASenate Republicans on Thursday voted down an amendment that sought to open up Americans’ ability to sue pesticide companies over the health impacts of their products. The amendment to the Sen… 010
Future Heist @futureheist.bsky.social · 09/08/2026“Republicans should be on this issue and we’re not,” Miller said. “The Democrats are, and they’re right on the issue. I’m not endorsing any Democrats, but we’re going to lose some elections in the midterms because of this one subject.” He called out Abbott for "inaction."texastribune.orgSid Miller says Texas GOP will lose because of data centersThe Texas agriculture commissioner has openly criticized Gov. Greg Abbott for not taking a stronger stand against data center development. The governor has ignored him. 110
Future Heist @futureheist.bsky.social · 08/08/2026Chevron and Williams are explicitly pitching investors on their ability to sell to data centers — making data centers a "lifeline" to a fossil fuel industry increasingly outcompeted by solar + storage. wired.com/story/chevro...wired.comTwo Fossil Fuel Companies Are Betting Big on Data CentersChevron and Williams are big winners in the race to power artificial intelligence as they build out gas-fired power plants and pipelines. 000
Future Heist @futureheist.bsky.social · 08/08/2026The crazy part of this isn't just that the drought in Central Europe is so bad that Romania had to sink ships to keep water levels high enough to run nuclear — it's that doing so just buys them *days* apnews.com/article/roma...apnews.comRomania rushes to sink 4 barges in the Danube to keep a nuclear power plant's second reactor runningRomania is racing to sink four barges into the Danube River to redirect water toward a nuclear power plant. 100
Future Heist @futureheist.bsky.social · 08/08/2026Califronia alleges that everal DuPont spin-off companies [created] a “fall guy” company designed to take the financial hit stemming from several multibillion-dollar pollution lawsuits while keeping the companies’ most valuable assets out of reach." latimes.com/science/stor...latimes.comBonta accuses DuPont of 'corporate shell game' to dodge PFAS cleanup in CaliforniaCalifornia's attorney general has added an amendment to a suit he filed in 2022 against the makers of forever chemicals. He claims the defendants were involved in a fraudulent transaction scheme. 000
Future Heist @futureheist.bsky.social · 07/08/2026"Still, he acknowledged it’s getting harder to find a home for produced water," which is to say, the toxic wastewater that comes out of the oilfield at 4x the volume of oil — minimum. "Reuse [putting it on crops and in rivers] has to be introduced at some point." www.mrt.com/business/oil...mrt.comPermian Basin oil companies prioritize water management strategiesProducers highlight the need to incorporate water management into their operations 001
Future Heist @futureheist.bsky.social · 07/08/2026"Developers must win every permit. If they lose only one, it’s likely that it’s game over." Great advice here on organizing in general. "Your neighbors have jobs, children and livestock. They will act only if acting is easy and the ask comes from someone they trust. dallasnews.com/news/watchdo...dallasnews.comA Texas community stopped a proposed data center in just 11 weeks.Part 2 of 2 A Texas community defeated a proposed data center in 11 weeks. Its leaders share a 10-step blueprint. 020
Future Heist @futureheist.bsky.social · 05/08/2026"This is pretty simple. It’s fossil fuel companies destroying our future for a quick buck." Only thing we'd add: and if they *stop* destroying our future in a way that slows the flow of quick bucks, the shareholders get to sue them. Only way out: changing the structure in which they operate. 000
Reposted by Future HeistFuture Heist @futureheist.bsky.social · 05/08/2026What Texans need to understand is that these projects aren't subject to Greg Abbott's state pause, because they *don't connect to the grid.* 013
Reposted by Future HeistFuture Heist @futureheist.bsky.social · 05/08/2026What's particularly startling about this story is that this is happening in Southern France and the U.K., which are at the same latitude as, respectively Maine and Newfoundland. Imagine, please, what this means for Texas. 0117
Future Heist @futureheist.bsky.social · 05/08/2026Not just a lot of money for batteries, but a lot of money for Austin, TX manufacturing (and, by the way, non-software tech) www.canarymedia.com/articles/bat...canarymedia.comBase Power raises $1B to get big batteries into more homesThe startup, newly valued at $13 billion, is now manufacturing batteries in Texas. It offers an affordable way for homeowners to get backup power and it… 011
Future Heist @futureheist.bsky.social · 05/08/2026Government regulators "said the staffing loss has also led to a loss of institutional knowledge and experienced people." The thing to remember is: this year we may scrape by, as the El Nino wind shear rips apart Atlantic hurricanes before they can form. But what about after that? 000
Future Heist @futureheist.bsky.social · 05/08/2026What's particularly startling about this story is that this is happening in Southern France and the U.K., which are at the same latitude as, respectively Maine and Newfoundland. Imagine, please, what this means for Texas. 0117
Future Heist @futureheist.bsky.social · 05/08/2026You might think that combined brutal heat wave, calls of "climate emergency" in Spain and France ... added to clear evidence that fossil reliance exposes you to wild out-of-control price swings would cut the value of fossil fuel companies. This is not the case. Market valuations post-Iran up $600B 011
Future Heist @futureheist.bsky.social · 05/08/2026What Texans need to understand is that these projects aren't subject to Greg Abbott's state pause, because they *don't connect to the grid.* 013
Future Heist @futureheist.bsky.social · 04/08/2026Sneaky move from Greg Abbott: this only applies to those projects that aren't building their own natural gas plants. Which ... a lot are.texastribune.orgNew Texas data center projects frozen until state audits themOn Monday, the governor ordered the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to audit all data centers wanting to connect to the state’s power grid. 000
Future Heist @futureheist.bsky.social · 04/08/2026To be clear: the coal plant is not closing. Developers argue that the solar project (and it is MASSIVE) will cancel it out. grist.org/energy/this-...grist.orgThis Texas coal mine will soon be home to a 1.2GW solar farmPanamint Capital broke ground on a $1.7 billion solar and storage project at the Calvert coal mine. The mine and an adjacent coal plant will stay online. 000
Future Heist @futureheist.bsky.social · 04/08/2026real interesting fight between Trump administration and Texas government over what Texas is calling "illegal" land clearing by federal contractors “Texas sovereignty will not be infringed upon by failure to follow established protocol,” Texas state officials saidtexasstandard.orgTexas officials order contractor on Big Bend area border wall to halt land clearingTexas General Land Office Commissioner Dawn Buckingham on Friday sent cease and desist letters to Barnard Construction and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, claiming the border wall contractor had… 100
Future Heist @futureheist.bsky.social · 04/08/2026More proof the beaver beat deserves (we repeat) at least one reporter at every serious publication: beavers make "really complex wetlands" that fight drought and provide habitat "www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yr7z150…bbc.comBeavers helping to reduce drought with wetlandsResearch shows beavers are creating more wetland areas since being reintroduced to the wild. 111
Future Heist @futureheist.bsky.social · 04/08/2026There's an interesting parallel here: salt caverns are what holds oil and gas; the oil right loves to hold up nuclear (looking at you, Landman) as the thing we're all gonna switch to soon so no need for renewables; also oil and gas waste itself often radioactivefutureheist.orgClient ChallengePlease enable JavaScript to proceed. 000
Future Heist @futureheist.bsky.social · 04/08/2026what if I were to tell you that a substance isn't PFAS if — stay with us here — it would be inconvenient for CropLife America* *the actual name of the pesticide lobby phys.org/news/2026-07... 000
Future Heist @futureheist.bsky.social · 03/08/2026There's a big fight over expanding Texas' grid — something analogous to jump from the old federal highways to Interstates — and fascinating to find the oil hard right (TPPF)and the mainstream oil and gas industry (TXOGA) at daggers drawn over it thetexan.news/issues/energ...thetexan.newsTexas Power Transmission Lines Project Under Fire at Senate Committee HearingTexas’ renewable energy fixation was a topic heavily debated in the hearing. 010
Future Heist @futureheist.bsky.social · 30/07/2026“It became very clearly obvious to me that this is a totally cross-partisan rebellion that’s happening from the bottom up,” @wewill2026.bsky.social told @hurwitz.bsky.social, after watching "MAGA Republicans and true-blue Democrats" protesting a Mich data center. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...motherjones.comCan opposing data centers help progressives win?A Sunrise Movement cofounder says the issue unites people across the aisle. He’s not the only one. 131
Future Heist @futureheist.bsky.social · 30/07/2026Worth noting that people can fall into this perspective honestly – but when they do, there's a well-funded, glad-faced shill network waiting open-armed to greet them 110
Future Heist @futureheist.bsky.social · 30/07/2026"I began to see this as a pattern in some of Fasulo’s arguments against industrial solar: Legitimate concerns were often inflated into sweeping conclusions with shaky evidence." heated.world/p/the-influe...heated.worldThe influencer teaching millions to fear solarAlexandra Fasulo says she’s protecting farms and wildlife. Her campaign is becoming a blueprint for the fossil fuel right. 175
Future Heist @futureheist.bsky.social · 28/07/2026One possibly pertinent fact: Israel gets its virtually all of its oil (semi-illegally) from oilfields in Russia. Turkey kind of looks the other way. But at any point, Ankara could close the Dardenelles, and then things get really interesting. 000