I don't think many on this site thinks much about corporate net zero. But I do, and I have something I think is important to say. You see, net zero is not a target in the ordinary sense. It is a vision with a target component, and an obligation to act to make the vision possible, even when those actions don't show up in GHG inventories. Can companies keep targets they can't reach? I think they should. But we should not judge companies mainly on the basis of their emissions inventory, instead mostly on what they do to help Build the World their Target Assumes. Today too many companies focus too narrowly on what they can measure, not necessarily on what matters most for climate impact. This has a lot of downstream consequences. Luckely I've co-authored a whole report about it

If you have kids, this will hit hard. You’ve been warned 😭

A group of Western VCs goes to China, not to invest but to see what the competition is like. They realize that China is too far ahead on clean tech and decide the only way forward is to work with Chinese companies. One VC describing a visit to Chinese battery giant CATL:

Wife just sent me this video of early Saturday morning of me and my daughter looking for sea shells. In 30 years I will probably be willing to give up most of my net worth to go back this period of my life. Currently my daughter thinks I’m still cool, and I like that

Highs between 78–80F in Raleigh for the next 7 days. I fully accept this is fake fall, but I’m here for it.

I really hope all the colds I’m getting with young kids means I will never get sick once they’re older and out of daycare. Immune system training? 💪

Busy day in the BUS Lab as we prepare bioreactors for anaerobic digestion experiments.

Nothing like replying to urgent emails from my phone while sitting in the eye doctor’s office with both eyes fully dilated

“Globally, sustainable aviation fuel is expected to increase to 0.7% from 0.3% of aviation fuel this year. But the International Air Transport Assn. expects air travel to climb 6%, causing another jump in emissions.” bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

North Carolina is America's Top State for Business in 2025, led by a strong workforce and economy cnbc.com/2025/07/10/north-ca…

China is building 74% of all current solar and wind projects, report says ft.com/content/e51744d9-e585…

👍👍👍

Building Netflix taught me that your first idea is rarely your best idea. We started mailing DVDs, not streaming movies. Stay married to the problem you’re solving, not the solution you THINK will solve it.

So here's the deal on the Senate-passed One Big Bad Bill, now heading back to the House for further debate: 1. Wind & solar projects that commence construction before the end of 2025 can claim the investment or production tax cuts under current law & have up to four years to complete construction. 2. Those beginning construction between 1/1/25 and 12 months after enactment also retain tax cuts but only if they meet new Foreign Entity of Concern (FEOC) supply chain rules (which may be practically un-administrable). 3. Projects after that have to both meet FEOC rules and complete construction before 12/31/27. 4. Other resources like batteries, nuclear, geothermal can claim credits if they commence construction before the end of 2033 (with 75% in 2034 and 50% in 2035), providing some long-term certainty, but they are only eligible IF they satisfy new FEOC rules. That's the lowdown for PTC/ITC. It's still bad. But mostly less bad than it was a few hours before passage. Importantly, the new surprise excise tax on wind and solar after 2027 that I & others (thanks @elonmusk!) sounded the alarm about was removed before passage.

My assistant keeps sleeping on the job

Great piece in today's NYTimes on the recent acceleration of global warming (and its impacts), featuring comments from Kate Marvel, Daniel Swain, Cecilia Bitz, and me: nytimes.com/2025/06/26/clima…

Wow

Y Combinator, one of the most influential startup accelerators in the world, is going all-in on AI agents, making up nearly 50% of their latest cohort of startups. How do people think AI agents will disrupt academia? pitchbook.com/news/articles/…