iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Sophie Gilbert @sophielgilbert.bsky.social · 16/10/2026

Yup. Our permitting systems are not great to begin with, but depend on certain assumptions about friction, dictated by human capacities on the part of project proponents, opponents, and regulators. AI is making at least some of these friction coefficients go to zero.

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Sophie Gilbert @sophielgilbert.bsky.social · 16/10/2026

I mulled some of this over from the AI-NIMBYs angle a few months ago, but I think the solutions and vulnerabilities hold up, at least to some extent. sophielgilbert.substack.com/p/the-rise-o...

sophielgilbert.substack.com

The Rise of the AI NIMBY

We needed to fix our broken permitting system before AI grinds it to a halt

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Sophie Gilbert @sophielgilbert.bsky.social · 16/10/2026

I think one potential answer is to move from disclosure-based systems like NEPA and their state equivalents (CEQA, SEPA, etc.), to more substantive systems that actually regulate harms and require mitigation, but do so in a modern and efficient way....

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Sophie Gilbert @sophielgilbert.bsky.social · 16/10/2026

I see this risk coming, too, but AI can distort permitting procesess from many angles- it can super-charge NIMBY-style objections to decent projects that are net good for society, or flood the zone with AI-frosted bad project applications, or even help regulators sift through the chaff...

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Sophie Gilbert @sophielgilbert.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Yeah, and in BAAJA the state or tribal entity has to demonstrate that they do have the resources, and the feds also will offer some resource support still.

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Sophie Gilbert @sophielgilbert.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Hard agree, BUT talking to very smart environmental policy people I know and trust, I don't think this bill is super bad for the environment, despite the screaming headlines from some of The Groups. For example: www.linkedin.com/pulse/senate...

linkedin.com

Senate Permitting Bill, Take One: States Could Take on ESA Consultations

Having states carry out Endangered Species Act consultation with federal agencies instead of the US Fish and Wildlife Service isn't any crazier than having other state agencies help with parts of our ...

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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.

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Sophie Gilbert @sophielgilbert.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

I think getting a permitting deal passed this congress but delaying until post-midterm session, if there is an incoming Dem house majority then, is maximum leverage for getting it passed and signed into law. The new dem-majority house will bow to environmental groups and not pass it at all.

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Sophie Gilbert @sophielgilbert.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

I think getting it passed this congress but delaying until post-midterms, with an incoming Dem house majority, is maximum leverage for getting it passed. A new dem-majority house will bow to environmental groups and not pass at all.

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Sophie Gilbert @sophielgilbert.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

There is a lot of good stuff in there, on transmission especially, and the environmental stuff is not nearly as bad as people feared, based on my read. For example, on ESA x states stuff, which a lot of enviros are talking about: permitmetoexplain.substack.com/p/senate-per...

permitmetoexplain.substack.com

Senate Permitting Bill, Take One: States Could Take on ESA Consultations

At least one ESA provision in the Senate’s permitting bill seems fine...

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Sophie Gilbert @sophielgilbert.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

What is the coolest story from your obviously long and awesome reporting trip that you had to cut from this piece? #ILoveAleWifes

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Sophie Gilbert @sophielgilbert.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Thanks, Zeke! My library access is a lot more limited these days 🫠

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Sophie Gilbert @sophielgilbert.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Curious- has anyone run them through Pangram to detect AI?

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Sophie Gilbert @sophielgilbert.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Is there an open-access version/PDF posted somewhere?

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Ben Goldfarb @bengoldfarb.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

The dam removals that get the most press tend to be superlative western ones, like the Klamath and Elwha—big rivers, big fish. For @biographic.bsky.social, I wrote about some equally vital, under-the-radar projects now restoring eastern streams, one old mill dam at a time. #AlewivesAreTheNewSalmon

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Sophie Gilbert @sophielgilbert.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Looking for your next home improvement project? Weirded out by all the headlines about a “monster” El Niño coming? Here are a bunch of home improvements that can actually help keep you safe(er). sophielgilbert.substack.com/p/the-super-...

sophielgilbert.substack.com

The Super Duper El Niño is coming. Is there anything you can do?

Yes, but nobody is talking about it

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Ken Sands @kensands.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Nice story on the controversy over solar in a corner of Idaho. Nice to see the gray areas on issues instead of pretending it can be black and white. (A bit tl:dr though.) 🔌💡 www.canarymedia.com/articles/cle...

canarymedia.com

An Idaho county banned renewables. It’s having second thoughts.

Solar developments led county officials to ban renewables in 2024. Now, the Republican commissioner who instigated the moratorium is leading the charge to…

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Reposted by Sophie Gilbert

Nick Frass @nickfrass.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

In my most recent essay I argue that balcony solar provides a useful model for decentralized low-power grid resources with direct application to Vehicle-to-Grid. Give it a read and consider subscribing below #energysky nickfrass.substack.com/p/balcony-so...

nickfrass.substack.com

Balcony Solar Proves Vehicle-to-Grid Can Work

A modest proposal for a cleaner future

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Richard Waite @waiterich.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

This here, by the way, is one of the biggest reasons people overestimate the potential for ag soils to sequester carbon. It’s easy to build more C back in the soil (and above ground) if land is taken out of farming & restored to a natural state. It’s way harder if the land is kept in production.

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Sophie Gilbert @sophielgilbert.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Is the world on fire, or not? Global burned area is going down, at the same time that damages from catastrophic wildfires to stuff people care about is going up. I get into it, including the 🔥🧪🌲, in long-form over here: substack.com/@sophielgilb...

substack.com

Is the world on fire, or not?

Yes and yes.

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Sophie Gilbert @sophielgilbert.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Update: alpha-gal is a sugar common in mammalian tissues, except for old-world primates (including humans), so wild, non-primate mammalian carnivores cannot be allergic to it because it is in their own tissues. Maybe hawks could get it, but ticks probably don’t manage to latch onto hawks very often

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Sophie Gilbert @sophielgilbert.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Anyone know if wild carnivores can get alpha-gal syndrome (red meat allergy) from lonestar ticks? 🧪🐺

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Sophie Gilbert @sophielgilbert.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

AI is good at making pretty, empty facsimiles or research, I bet this is going to go just great for staffers weighing "evidence" for policy decisions 🫠

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Sophie Gilbert @sophielgilbert.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Moooooving heat from milk to water is a great idea!

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Sophie Gilbert @sophielgilbert.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Oh I actually like that it forces me to touch-type because all the keyboards are in QWERTY. But yeah, there are "optimized" keyboard layouts for other languages than English. And english alternatives to QWERTY and DVORAK! typefast.io/keyboard-lay...

typefast.io

Keyboard layouts compared - TypeFast.io

An honest look at QWERTY, Dvorak, Colemak, Workman, and AZERTY. Layout history, ergonomic claims vs. evidence, and whether switching is worth the cost.

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Sophie Gilbert @sophielgilbert.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

It is delightful, the best way to type, and I'm standing by that. Enjoy your carpal tunnel syndrome .

static.klipy.com

Jim Carrey Typing Intensely

ALT: Jim Carrey Typing Intensely

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Sophie Gilbert @sophielgilbert.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

I type Dvorak and it is a delight. 12/10 go learn it today!

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Sophie Gilbert @sophielgilbert.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

My hot take: Abundance thinking is for environmentalists, too. We should ask ourselves what we want more of, and how we can get it. And we should be willing to work with the Abundance movement to get there. 🧪🌲🦇👷🏡 #EnergySky #GreenSky substack.com/home/post/p-...

substack.com

Abundance thinking is for environmentalists, too

We should be asking ourselves what do we want more of and how can we get it?

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Sophie Gilbert @sophielgilbert.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

substack.com

Abundance thinking is for environmentalists, too

We should be asking ourselves what do we want more of and how can we get it?

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Sophie Gilbert @sophielgilbert.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Question: is the name the YEAH (Yes on Environment, Energy, and Housing) Coalition too corny???

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Nick Frass @nickfrass.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Is solar the Costco or Whole Foods of energy? It turns out the answer is complicated. Solar can raise or lower electricity bills depending upon how much of it is built and where. I explore these nuances in my most recent post. 🔌💡 #energysky #climatesky open.substack.com/pub/nickfras...

open.substack.com

Is Solar the Costco or Whole Foods of Energy?

How to think about the cost of renewables

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David_j_roth @davidjroth.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Got a good job down at the Data Center. I work on the line, and it's hard work but it's honest and the wage is fair; my family and I are grateful for it. I rivet the word "absolutely" onto the little apologies that chatbots do when they misunderstand a prompt.

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Sophie Gilbert @sophielgilbert.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Well yes this is mostly 2028 dreaming. But we cannot go back to how it was, either- that also was not working!

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Sarah Taber @sarahtaber.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Ok so this lady says solar panels are getting built on "the most productive farmland" in her area. Which just ain't true at all. It ain't true here in NC either. Where I ALSO hear that talking point over & over again. Smells like astroturf! So let's get the dirt on solar farms & dirt ✨

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Sophie Gilbert @sophielgilbert.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

How could we reform the ESA so that it not only works to displace housing from species’ habitat (which is it should work- this is the “stick”), but also incentivizes housing in non-habitat (via regulatory relief for infill, a new “carrot”). marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevo...

marginalrevolution.com

The Endangered Species Act Reduces Housing - Marginal REVOLUTION

Max Tabarrok’s paper on the Endangered Species Act and housing (WP) has just been published in the Journal of Public Economics! It’s a clever paper: Max observed that the moment an animal is put on th...

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Sophie Gilbert @sophielgilbert.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Equating the environmental impacts of a data canter and a solar farm is just wild, like saying a grizzly bear and a cow are equally likely to maul you because they are both big and brown. Nice reporting by @jael.bsky.social for @heatmap.news. heatmap.news/plus/the-fig...

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Lissa Harris 🌈🗑️🔥⚔️🐀 @lissaharris.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

I have made this argument on my local solar law volunteer committee farms that get subdivided to build second homes don’t go back to being farmland solar payments can help farmers keep their land

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Sophie Gilbert @sophielgilbert.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Do you have a sense for how much one of these costs? Could not find it on the website...

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Sophie Gilbert @sophielgilbert.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Hermit crabs and humans are both dependent on scarce housing, and share some solutions, including “vacancy chains” and markets. Hermit crabs can’t vote for abundance policies, but people can. substack.com/home/post/p-...

substack.com

Housing for Humans and Hermit Crabs

Musings from Maine on why these coastal crustaceans would vote for Abundance

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Richard Waite @waiterich.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Really good explanation of the indirect land use effects (i.e., deforestation and other ecosystem loss) related to crop-based biofuels by @mbolotnikova.bsky.social:

vox.com

This renewable energy source is actually terrible for the planet

America’s biofuels policy is helping destroy the world’s rainforests

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