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18 Oct, 5 tweets, 2 min read
I've now seen Manchin's "utilities are already doing" it line in probably a half-dozen stories, and not a single journalist has seen fit to point out that it is demonstrably false. Every one of them just lets it sit there.

What is journalism for?
Manchin: utilities are already doing it.

Reality: 2 out of 3,300 utilities are hitting the CEPP target.

Manchin's line is false. Not "Dems say" it's false. Reality says it's false. Maybe some reporters should let their readers know?

Here, for instance, is a tweet from @burgessev. I have looked in vain for the follow-up tweet pointing out that what Manchin is saying is false. Haven't seen it. What public purpose is served by simply conveying Manchin's falsehood to a larger audience?
The "it" that the CEPP is designed to accomplish is decarbonizing the electricity sector by 2035.

Utilities aren't doing that. Current policies have us on track for 17-25% reductions by 2035.

What Manchin says is unequivocally false.
Reality exists!

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More from @drvolts

David Roberts Profile picture
20 Oct
Today on Volts: Manchin has killed the Clean Electricity Performance Program (CEPP), the centerpiece of Democratic climate policy. Is Biden's 2030 target still within reach? I take a close look at several recent analyses to help determine the damage done. volts.wtf/p/can-the-us-r…
My post today features analyses from @EnergyInnovLLC, @rff, & @rhodium_group. One thing they all basically agree on is that losing the CEPP is a big blow, the but the BBB Act, even without it, is still the biggest climate bill in US history.
It was too late to get in my post, but a new Princeton rapid-modeling project, REPEAT, *also* analyses the infrastructure bills with & without the CEPP. Its conclusions are roughly similar: losing CEPP whacks about 25% of the emission reductions. repeatproject.org
Read 6 tweets
David Roberts Profile picture
18 Oct
I wish I could have listened in to this call. The only thing Manchin will say in defense of his position is that utilities are "doing this anyway," which is so manifestly false, so stupid on its face, that I genuinely don't know how people respond. What can you say?
This is why I could never survive inside politics. Everyone around Manchin has to treat him with kid gloves & try to flatter & cajole him along. No one is allowed to lose their temper & just call him a fucking moron, which is what he is. I don't know how people do it.
All the payouts in the CEPP are required by law to go to ratepayer benefits. So IF it were true that utilities were "doing this anyway," then they would just be getting federal money to improve efficiency & lower ratepayer bills. WTF would be wrong with that?
Read 4 tweets
David Roberts Profile picture
17 Oct
An idle Sunday thread about Manchin, psychology, & money.

There's a whole cottage industry trying to figure out what's driving Manchin. Is he angling for reelection in a red state? Maybe angling to run for governor? Trying to ostentatiously show WV voters he's not like other Ds?
Or is it lobbying from FF interests? Manchin is the top Senate recipient of oil & gas money, by a decent margin. opensecrets.org/industries./re…++
Is it him defending his personal wealth? He does, after all, directly benefit from the coal industry. theintercept.com/2021/09/03/joe…
Read 17 tweets
David Roberts Profile picture
16 Oct
Dems are going to try to find other big emission reductions, but ultimately you're circling around an unsolvable problem. The only way to get rapid near-term reductions is by closing FF power plants & building out renewables. Manchin opposes *that goal*, not the means.
Manchin's premise is that coal & natural gas plants should be allowed to run until they can be outfitted with CCS. That's delusional -- it will never be economic & if we wait that long we're toast. The debate over mechanisms is somewhat beside the point; there's no shared goal.
That's what Manchin & Republicans mean when they talk about "innovation rather than elimination." They mean: don't close the FF plants, make them clean. Which sounds neat conceptually but is in practice deeply & fundamentally unworkable.
Read 4 tweets
David Roberts Profile picture
15 Oct
😂🤣😂🤣 omg I cannot overstate how intensely SEATTLE this is. Just chef's-kiss perfect. Instead of implementing all the obvious & available solutions, let's have more process! Let's finally let the tech bros have their say! You couldn't make this up. geekwire.com/2018/seattle-m…
Swear to god, @MayorJenny is like every negative cliche about Seattle made flesh. But I guess that's what Seattleites want -- vague, business-friendly porridge. Endless process that never produces real change or challenges powerful incumbents. The illusion of progressivism.
Ah, stupid me, the article was from 2018. I mean, still funny & all, but lacking that topical bite & currency that you come to the DrVolts TL for. I'm putting together an advisory council of tech bros to develop ways of doing better in the future.
Read 4 tweets
David Roberts Profile picture
15 Oct
One thing I think is worth keeping in mind around the "popularism" debate is that, in an actual democracy, where each voter counted equally & majority voter preferences carried the day, *Democrats would already be winning*. That's not much practical help, but it's true.
I think often about the Waxman-Markey climate bill. Dems assembled support from:
* a majority of the public
* a majority of the biz community
* a majority of House reps
* a majority of senators
* the president

And the whole thing is now remembered as ... a pathetic failure.
It's true that Dems have to deal with the system as it exists -- they have to overcome large & wildly unfair barriers. Gotta be realistic. But it's easy to get too down on them. They're doing well enough that, in a sane political system, they'd be winning.
Read 4 tweets

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