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Greg Quetin

@grquetin.bsky.social
3.8K followers 1.5K following 135 posts

Scientist | Engineer | Cargo Bike Enthusiast. Romantic about the indelible nature of cities full of people living in every way imaginable. Day job - climate change, and the trees of it.

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Reposted by Greg Quetin
Qagggy! @qagggy.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I don't think being a jerk is an effective way for a councilmember to interact with SDOT.
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Greg Quetin @grquetin.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
The number of times a day I think about this...probably not healthy, but sidewalks matter!
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A. Zivarts @nondriver.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Yes 👇
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David William with a 'This IS my costume' pin @nrvscrcts.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
The enshittification of Google Scholar has begun.
scholar.googleblog.com
Quick Read: see how a paper answers your question
Answering a research question often requires reading through several papers and figuring out how each of them might be useful. You need to t...
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Greg Quetin @grquetin.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Agreed, one of these days we will get serious about trains. www.theurbanist.org/we-need-to-t...
theurbanist.org
We Need to Try Everything But Build a New Airport » The Urbanist
# If you sit on the Seattle waterfront on a sunny spring day you can hear a rumble in the distance. No, it’s not the new waterfront highway built where the old highway Viaduct used to be -- and on top...
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Reposted by Greg Quetin
Marcel Moran @marcelmoran.com · 19/08/2026
Stunning chart from the Times. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
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Greg Quetin @grquetin.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
I just walked through here and couldn't have even imagined adding cars back in...
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Reposted by Greg Quetin
The Climate Brink @theclimatebrink.skystack.xyz · 12/08/2026
♫ Smoke Gets in Your Eyes ♫ • and your lungs, your blood stream, your brain, just about everywhere
theclimatebrink.com
♫ Smoke Gets in Your Eyes ♫
and your lungs, your blood stream, your brain, just about everywhere
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Reposted by Greg Quetin
jseattle @jseattle.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
SDOT rolls out first big changes to make the 8 less late on Denny Way
dlvr.it
SDOT rolls out first big changes to make the 8 less late on Denny Way
The 8 is on its way to not being late. Over the weekend, the Seattle Department of Transportation put the pieces in place for the opening of the first phase of changes on Denny Way hoped to streamline transit service … Continue reading →
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Reposted by Greg Quetin
Qagggy! @qagggy.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
WE ARE PEDESTRIANIZING THIS STREET. Core stakeholders are meeting with SDOT and their consulting team for three hours tomorrow to set the design parameters for future Crockett Plaza.
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Nolan Hicks @ndhapple.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
“It’s not a matter of money. It’s not a matter of investment. It’s not a matter of how heroic the firefighters are,” said Raul Cordero Carrasco, a climate researcher at the University of Groningen. “You just cannot stop a fire when the conditions are so extreme as we have seen in recent days”
bloomberg.com
The Age of Unstoppable Wildfires Has Reached Europe
Climate change means giant fires of the kind that ripped across France and Spain are becoming common, with potentially dire consequences for Europe’s economies.
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Reposted by Greg Quetin
David Roberts @volts.wtf · 29/07/2026
Really interesting story here. You know how the hyperscaler cowboys are powering their data centers with gas turbines? It turns out the demands of AI are not very friendly to those turbines. They're supposed to last 5+ years & instead they're wearing out in under 12 months!
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Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 24/07/2026
Why is your current, and future, energy bill higher than before? Here's a reason.
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lines down @linesdown.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
The growth of solar energy in Pakistan
Pakistan's rooftop solar revolution pushed solar to account for a fifth of its electricity generation in 2025
Solar
Other low carbon
Fossil
Rooftop solar capacity (GW)
Electricity generation (%)
20
15
10
5
100
80
60
40
20
2015
2020
2025
Rooftop solar capacity includes behind-the-meter and off grid solar capacity
Source: S&P Global Energy
2015
2020
2025
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Benjamin DeAngelo @bendeangelo.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Congrats to my former NOAA colleagues for launching the independent climate.us. This websites restores and maintains lots of taxpayer-funded and in some cases congressionally-mandated info that has been removed from fed websites. Check it out if you haven't already. lnkd.in/emwFQN7w
climate.us
Climate.us Home
independent, nonprofit, and immune to politics
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Ryan Packer @typewriteralley.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
The vibes across downtown are, as they say, immaculate.
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Scientific American @sciam.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
The Ocean Observatories Initiative has been collecting data on physical, chemical, geological and biological conditions in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans for the past decade
scientificamerican.com
Trump administration takes aim at crucial ocean monitoring network
The Ocean Observatories Initiative has been collecting data on physical, chemical, geological and biological conditions in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans for the past decade
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Jacquelyn Gill @jacquelyngill.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
🧵 Public science in the US has taken some heavy hits over the last year, but the White House OMB is proposing a series of changes that will result in a TKO for science as we know it unless we fight back. Here's what's happening, and why it matters. 1/n
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The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · 29/05/2026
👀 “I really do think it’s time to start talking about governance. If we’re in this constant cycle of crisis, recovery, crisis, recovery, crisis, recovery, maybe a board full of people who are expert at transit running a transit agency and delivering transit projects would be more attuned.”
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Michael Smith @mesmith35673.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
Some good news: the number of crashes on MLK Way between Rainier Ave and the I-90 lid was cut in half between 2023 and 2025 (20 vs 10). What happened in 2024? SDOT built protected bike lanes along this segment.
MLK Way facing north near Bayview St in July 2021. (Google Maps)MLK Way facing north near Bayview St in August 2025. (Google Maps)
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Streetsblog NYC @nyc.streetsblog.org · 28/05/2026
Two people died in a head-on crash on the Queensboro Bridge bike lane between the rider of an illegal e-scooter with a top speed of 50 miles per hour and a cyclist, underscoring the need for enforcement against illegal, super-fast micromobility vehicles.
buff.ly
Two Dead After Illegal Scooter Rider And Cyclist Crash On Queensboro Bridge - Streetsblog New York City
Street safety advocates have been criticizing city officials for failing to fully grasp the dangers of e-motos and illegal stand-up scooters for years.
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Reposted by Greg Quetin
Leah Stokes @leahstokes.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
California could hand over $200 million meant to cool kids’ classrooms to utilities. That money was promised to schools through CalSHAPE — a program Gov. Newsom helped create. With heat waves in winter, kids need cool classrooms. My latest in @latimes.com
latimes.com
Contributor: Use designated money to cool California schools, not to enrich utilities
As the state gets hotter, even in winter, working air conditioning in classrooms is as essential as the lights or the roofing.
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Helen Czerski @helenczerski.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
It's still a shock every time I look at what used to be one of the standard US environmental data services and see that the live data just isn't being updated any more due to funding cuts. It hurts all of us.
National Snow and Ice Data Centre (a US facility) webpage that says that the top that its services have been reduced due to non-renewed funding.
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Greg Quetin @grquetin.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Ah, 340ppm. Likely (WILDLY so) the lowest CO2 concentration I will ever experience outside of a fairly expensive experimental plant chamber.
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Greg Quetin @grquetin.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
This is the way.
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Reposted by Greg Quetin
Jared Rennie @jjrennie.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
HOLY CRAP! @nasaspaceflight.com @wxfront.bsky.social
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Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 01/04/2026
If all goes according to plan, in a few hours, a crew of astronauts will begin a journey that will take them on a loop around the moon. Here's a video that NASA put together to help people visualize the journey through space, first orbiting the earth before looping around the moon and flying home 🔭
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John Bistline @bistline.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
This is my favorite climate change chart. Japanese monks, aristocrats, and emperors kept meticulous records of cherry blossom festivals for 1,200 years and accidentally built the world's longest climate dataset.
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Reposted by Greg Quetin
Qagggy! @qagggy.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
My question was meant to be a softball lobbed across the plate—an opportunity for SDOT to express its stated values. So, here’s a thread demonstrating how they could have responded if they wanted to. 🧵
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Greg Quetin @grquetin.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
A thing of dreams.
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Greg Quetin @grquetin.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
Great time to expand all electric mass transit.
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Greg Quetin @grquetin.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
Does the equivalent of a smart electrical panel (digital, managed load control) exist for the water meter? Could we manage the water supply system better with a bit of water capacity (i.e. water batteries) in more dispersed locations? Smaller pipes between demand points? Easier connection?
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Greg Quetin @grquetin.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
This is the bar. We are still very far from "could a child and their grandma cycle here, be safe, and have fun" in most places.
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
As a starting point, lets just narrow it down to super rich Trump cabinet officials or appointees with a record of using their public position for private gain. *Taps earpiece* Being told that does not help at all.
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Reposted by Greg Quetin
Jeremy Wallace @jeremywallace.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
Making lemonade out of lemons. EV demand growth is far below expectations, but a lot of those facilities are still coming online, repurposed towards the grid. Very important pivot. www.canarymedia.com/articles/cle...
canarymedia.com
Suddenly, the US manufactures a ton of grid batteries
Energy storage is surging on the U.S. grid — and now the country has more than enough battery-making factories to meet that booming demand.
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Reposted by Greg Quetin
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
"The deal is an extraordinary transfer of taxpayer dollars to a foreign company for the purposes of boosting the production of fossil fuels, a main driver of climate change, while throttling offshore wind power."
nytimes.com
Trump Administration to Pay $1 Billion to Energy Giant to Cancel Wind Farms
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Urban Truth Collective @urbantruth.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
Not density OR trees. Density AND trees. Better cities are climate action. #UrbanTruth
“Not density OR trees, density AND trees.” 

“Better cities are climate action.” 

Via the Urban Truth Collective.

Background image of very high density street in Yaletown, in downtown Vancouver. Double row of street trees, plus yard trees, plus trees in the bike lane separator, for a total of five rows of trees along the street edge.
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Reposted by Greg Quetin
Qagggy! @qagggy.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
We need to stop asking how much street width we can use for cars and start asking how much we can use for playgrounds.
One of several "ramblas" in Barcelona (not the one tourists visit). Photo by me.
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Greg Quetin @grquetin.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
I started working on leaves and climate in 2012...still at it with some new tools (plant hydraulics - the plumping of the terrestrial biosphere) to try and predict interannual variation. Response to drought suggests an adaptive acclimate to leaf shedding. eos.org/editor-highl...
eos.org
Trees Shed Their Leaves to Adapt to Droughts - Eos
The browning or loss of tree leaves that can be observed during droughts may be a coping mechanism to deal with dry circumstances by avoiding additional water stress.
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Eos @eos.org · 16/03/2026
Breaking: UCAR filed a lawsuit today against several federal agencies and their directors, alleging that “The Agencies’ ultimate apparent goal is to destroy NCAR entirely.” eos.org/research-and...
eos.org
UCAR Sues Federal Agencies - Eos
The lawsuit alleges that the federal agencies are “waging a campaign of retaliation” against Colorado and its institutions because the state has not bowed to federal authorities.
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Greg Quetin @grquetin.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
PLONK infrastructure. @gordonofseattle.bsky.social (acronym to be determined at a future date, negotiations between PLONK infrastructure and PLOP infrastructure on going)
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Qagggy! @qagggy.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
When you learn how cheap and easy it is to create safer neighborhoods, all the time and effort we spend doing nothing feels like a waste.
Street with a diagonal diverter in Antwerp. Photo by me.
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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
This should be the biggest weather and climate news on your radar today. You can send an email today to say why dismantling NCAR is a bad idea for everyone: NSF_NCAR@nsf.gov
nytimes.com
Trump Administration Readies Plans to Dismantle Renowned Science Lab
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Daniel Swain @weatherwest.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
All signs continue to point to an exceptional, long-duration, and record-breaking to (in some cases) record-shattering March heatwave initially centered across U.S. Southwest but expanding to much broader region next week. This is effectively a full-on summer heatwave in March.
Map of projected temperature anomalies next Thursday across the western U.S. from the ECMWF ensemble. The entire map is bright red and pink, indicative of extreme to record-breaking March warmth. Some location will be 25-30F degrees above average, with a few locations warming over 35F (!) above average.
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Ryan Packer @typewriteralley.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
We're very excited to be launching the new and improved @theurbanist.org website tonight. The new site comes with the ability to become a subscriber and turn off ads, one of our most-requested features. www.theurbanist.org
theurbanist.org
The Urbanist
Advocacy journalism for better cities.
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Greg Quetin @grquetin.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
The difference between a slowly cooling cloud of gas and a fusion powered star.
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Greg Quetin @grquetin.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
I've probably just been listening to too much @volts.wtf, but I can't read this article without thinking "why not just add a small battery?", win for the grid, win for housing. Also cringing at the level of concern trolling around a smart panel curtailing a few percent of people's load.
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southpaw @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
A US submarine sinking a lonely, dinky Iranian surface ship an ocean away from the theater of the main conflict—and 9000 miles from North America—makes it pretty clear the US is fighting a general war, without the declaration required by the Constitution. www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...
reuters.com
U.S. sub sinks Iranian warship off Sri Lanka, killing 87 and expanding war zone
A U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship off the southern coast of Sri Lanka, killing dozens of sailors and dramatically widening Washington's pursuit of the Iranian navy.
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Ryan Marino, MD @ryanmarino.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
The concerning background: -CEO of the Thiel Foundation -Managing Director at Thiel Capital -Managing Director of Clarium Capital (hedge fund led by Peter Thiel) -Managing Director of Mithril Capital Management (VC fund founded by Peter Thiel that funds Palantir) -Co-founder of the Thiel Fellowship
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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Congress rejected massive cuts to US science budgets for 2026, but much of the money still isn’t flowing to researchers. The culprit? The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is quietly slow-walking the release of funds. 🧵👇
nature.com
White House stalls release of approved US science budgets
The US Congress rejected sweeping cuts to science agencies. But the NIH, the NSF and NASA have had their spending slowed.
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