Sign in

Robinson Meyer

@robinsonmeyer.bsky.social
45K followers 1.1K following 3.6K posts

I’m the founding executive editor of Heatmap News, a contributing Opinion writer for The New York Times, and the cohost of the Shift Key podcast. 📍NYC

PostsRepliesMedia
Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 22h
don’t hate me but “weird recurring instinctive desire to create and cede power to terrestrial non-human intelligence” turned out to be yet another thing the Abrahamic traditions got right
1222
Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 22h
think this also clarifies why trump and the gop ending the ev tax credit was so destructive for the bolt and other vehicles at the low end of the new market, the $20-29k segment is pretty deep and a new $20k bolt is a different proposition than a $27k one
13610
Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 22h
to put this in terms the bluesky car consumer can understand, why buy a new $27k chevy bolt when you can buy a $24k used ioniq 5, $14k used honda fit or $10k JDM kei van
6443
Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 22h
as cars become more and more durable, cheap new cars compete with the far larger and deeper universe of nice used cars
4498
Reposted by Robinson Meyer
David Roberts @volts.wtf · 06/10/2026
You often hear that clean energy is not replacing fossil energy, only adding to total energy, and thereby not reducing emissions. ("There is no transition," they say.) It's nonsense. Read this post from @zekehausfather.com about how much FF has been displaced by renewable energy:
theclimatebrink.com
What if the world hadn't built wind and solar?
Clean energy does not simply “add to” global energy use; it displaces fossil sources that would otherwise get built.
413437
Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
(We were just moving them around)
1120
Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Bluesky able to answer the only really urgent question I ever pose to my real-time news service: Are We Going to War Or Just Loudly Moving Planes Around
2281
Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
major democracies electing far-right populist governments
131586280
Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Hell yeah. What interface is this - does Whoop track run timing now?
130
Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Think I’ve overheard three different conversations in the past 24h about GTA. Monoculture incoming.
240
Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
A rich image beyond Trump going camera off. Why is Merz in shirt sleeves in his … attic? Why is Miliband there and not Burnham. Why are Meloni, Carney, and Macron the only ones who’ve figured out a flattering camera position.
3181
Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Erik, I posted the thread because I found Ketan’s summary of my story incompete. Evidently you found my thread sufficiently useful that it helped inform your thinking too. Agreed there are other significant measures in the bill — that’s why we’ve been covering them at Heatmap as well.
100
Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Agreed that it’s fair that they pay for this kind of grid upgrade, but I’m talking about ‘normal’ as a synonym for “ordinary” or “usual” — and right now, mandating this kind of payment from data centers is not only unusual, it’s illegal under US law. The law would need to change to make it normal.
020
Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
The bill empowers states to go above and beyond this new mandate that data centers & crypto pay for both necessary grid upgrades and the rest of the grid. It says states can discriminate against data centers & crypto, make them bid on a grid hookup, & force them to cross-subsidize other ratepayers.
3150
Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
I think the permitting bill’s new rules for data centers go beyond a “normal” fee too fwiw. The bill carves out data centers and crypto as special types of customers, then mandates they pay full freight to use the grid and for all necessary grid upgrades. Requiring this is illegal under current law.
2141
Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
I don’t think this gloss of my story gets it right. The permitting bill would enact the mandatory rules that Democrats say they want. The policy that Schumer is calling for in the screenshot — that data centers must pay for all of their grid upgrades — is what’s required by the new bill.
2267
Reposted by Robinson Meyer
katie brigham @kbrigham.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
hi energy freaks, as you surely know, the senate has a permitting deal! heatmap explains!
heatmap.news
The Senate’s Big Bipartisan Permitting Deal, Explained
The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act would remove longstanding roadblocks to expanding the power grid and developing new energy infrastructure. Here’s our guide.
0269
Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
That is, for better or worse, how all federal legislation looks
170
Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Under the new bipartisan permitting bill, AI data centers and crypto miners would have to report their energy use to the federal government for the first time. This is already required for other large energy users. Has been long sought for data centers by Elizabeth Warren and others.
SEC. 2114. COLLECTION OF DATA ON COMPUTATIONAL
2
LOAD ENTITIES.
3
(a) DEPINITION OF DATA CENTER ENTITY.-
4
(1) IN GENERAL.-In this section, the term
5
"data center entity" means an end-user, or group of
6
co-located end-users, the primary purpose of which
7
is to house computing, networking, or data storage
8
equipment used to process, store, or transmit digital
9
data, including equipment used for
10
(A) artificial intelligence training or infer-
=
ence;
12
(B) cloud computing or data hosting; or
13
(C) cryptocurrency mining or other distrib-
14
uted-ledger or digital-asset computation.
15
(2) ExcLUSION.—In this section, the term
이
"data center entity" does not include computing or
17
data storage equipment that is ancillary to a facility
18
the primary purpose of which is commercial or in-
19
dustrial activity other than an activity deseribed in
20
paragraph (1).
21
(b) DATA COLLECTION.—Not later than 90 days be-
22 fore the first April 1 after the date of enactment of this
23 Act, the Administrator of the Energy Information Admin-24 istration shall revise Form 861 of the Energy Information
25 Administration to include load from data center entities.
56214
Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Thank you!
1100
Reposted by Robinson Meyer
Luke Kawa @ljkawa.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Search interest in “Muse” was still higher in September 2009 than it is now (That’s when the band Muse released its amazing “Resistance” album)
3448
Reposted by Robinson Meyer
George Pearkes @peark.es · 24/09/2026
seems like permitting reform is dead until the lame duck. no real view on whether it might be able to squeak through then. *WHITEHOUSE: UNLIKELY PERMITTING REFORM GETS VOTE BEFORE MIDTERM See @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social ShiftKey ep from end of July for background if you're curious.
heatmap.news
What a Permitting Reform Deal Could Look Like
Rob talks with Daniel Palken, the director of infrastructure for energy and permitting at Arnold Ventures, about the policies that would probably make up a grand bargain.
6244
Reposted by Robinson Meyer
Rodger Sherman @rodger.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
I think the most popular song in the country is pretty good and I enjoy it when i hear it
Norman Rockwell painting of a man standing up and talking
171867
Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
5626
Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
he is really going for it
4597
Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
one of the absolute and reliable most computationally taxing things you can do on a modern high-end computer, a task that will bring your $1500 laptop with abundant RAM to a crawl, is jiggle the display cord a little bit
0151
Reposted by Robinson Meyer
Ben Recht @beenwrekt.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
I mean, for whatever it's worth, I check those boxes and am not worried at all. I've even worked in this space far longer than Scott has. But my blog doesn't have a comment section as lively as Scott's.
1121
Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
See, I almost texted to get your take!
010
Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Might be the first AI post to check all the boxes of “does a professional who is much closer to the topic than you are, who became an expert in the field more than 10 years ago, and who finds various relevant interpersonal peculiarities as weird as you do, seem worried?” scottaaronson.blog?p=10062
scottaaronson.blog
The Age of Wonders and Terrors
Twenty years ago, when the idea of AI taking over the world in our lifetimes still struck most of us as the unconstrained fantasy of those who knew too much science fiction and too little science, …
4164
Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Zoomers get a lot of gruff but there are detectably more straight guys in their 20s now who work in clothing retail, know their stuff, and like educating customers about it. It’s great!
0131
Reposted by Robinson Meyer
Matt Zeitlin @zeitlin.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
It's very very hot in Texas. But the grid is fine. Electricity prices are manageable. What happened? 🔋🔋🔋🔋BATTERIES!!! 🔋🔋🔋 heatmap.news/energy/texas...
heatmap.news
The Texas Grid Has Had a Boring Summer Thanks to Batteries
Temperatures are high, but electricity drama is low.
17620142
Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
A forgivable fatalism prevails around a celebrity’s passing but the great Appalachian music tradition of which Dolly Parton was an emissary is not even close to gone — it lives, it thrives, there are young musicians playing music and writing songs today as vital and indelibly their own as hers
0231
Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
[after i tell 2006 me about the 2026 internet] Yes, yes, chatbots, very interesting — but tell me, are people designing with open web standards? Are they using semantic XHTML?
68512
Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
I have a feeling, and it might be very wrong, that the return of real budget constraints is going to serve progressives (and perhaps especially liberals) better than conservatives.
4170
Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
I live on a letter line and it’s completely fine but whenever I’m on the A Division it’s like a conveyance from a lost civilization
120
Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
am relieved and delighted you agree!
010
Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
hear, hear
060
Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
The NYC Subway has two sections — the letter trains, which are a normal transit system, and the number trains, which are magic
2161
Reposted by Robinson Meyer
Emily Pontecorvo @emilypont.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
The biggest fossil fueled power plant EVER BUILT IN THE US.... will get an environmental assessment, the less rigorous review under the national environmental policy act... and complete permitting in just 7 months, per the Trump admin. yep
02916
Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
East Coast vacation norms + Labor Day falling as late as it possibly can has led to total havoc for scheduling fantasy football drafts.
050
Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
i am not well Marginle #20685 - 10/15 🇺🇸 🔵🟡🟢 🏛️ 🟡🔵🔵🟢 👨‍⚖️ 🟢 marginle.com
marginle.com
Marginle: A daily election guessing game.
Three races. Five guesses.
280
Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
narrative violation: some left-wing voices have spent the past few days yelling at david crowley to endorse a data center moratorium in response to GOP attacks. but his data center policies are *already* generally far more restrictive than abdul el-sayed’s heatmap.news/daily/data-c...
heatmap.news
The Data Center Trojan Horse
The last week of Wisconsin’s politics show the risks of the data center issue for Democrats — and decarbonization.
0288
Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
This was so great!
030
Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Possibly the best thing ever written about speed camera libertarianism, why woke 1 was crazy, AI watermarking, and much else: www.ftrain.com/wwic
ftrain.com
The Web Is a Customer Service Medium, by Paul Ford
I look forward to your feedback.
0100
Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
is this GWR territory?
200
Reposted by Robinson Meyer
Peter Brannen @peterbrannen.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
paperback for The Story of CO2 is the Story of Everything is officially out. It got good reviews and I'm pretty sure it's not like any other climate book you've read. Below is my best attempt to summarize the broad themes of the book. If any of this interests you pls buy so I can continue doing this
1112833
Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
They should have Strava for really long drives
3151
Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
NEW SHIFT KEY: I spoke to the great @zekehausfather.com about why the current El Niño is breaking records (and poised to break more), what that will mean for global weather patterns, and whether we can now definitively say global warming is accelerating heatmap.news/podcast/shif...
heatmap.news
Why This El Niño Looks Like a Monster
Rob checks in on this season’s supercharged ocean temperatures with climate researcher Zeke Hausfather.
24115
Reposted by Robinson Meyer
katie brigham @kbrigham.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
reminder that not everything is terrible courtesy of @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social heatmap.news/daily/batter...
04211
Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
AOC didn’t endorse Hong because she and she alone must remain the only candidate who can defeat a Crowley. She knows full well what the prophecy says … and that the final battle with Aleister looms …
31055