Dumb and Dumber

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In what I can only describe as the largest self-inflicted policy wound in human history, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) moves to repeal its own authority to regulate climate pollution, and the planet isn’t waiting for permission to warm the fuck up.

Lee Zeldin, the dufus in charge of the EPA, proposed dismantling the 2009 endangerment finding, the legal backbone that has historically enabled the agency to regulate carbon emissions under the Clean Air Act.

These a-holes actually argued that the original EPA findings were unduly pessimistic and that warmer temperatures and higher CO2 levels may have benefits.

Without these provisions, there are no guardrails on CO₂ emissions from cars, trucks, power plants, or factories in the US.

None.

According to the EPA’s own math (when they were capable of doing math), those protections have saved tens of thousands of lives annually and yielded up to $275 billion in public health benefits, not to mention the emissions cuts that help slow global warming.

National Geographic reported in 2020 that the Clean Air Act has both saved millions of lives and trillions of dollars.

Supporters of the repeal argue that it lifts burdens off industry, especially fossil-fuel-heavy sectors like automotive manufacturing, mining, oil production, and energy production for things like AI data centers that are ravenous for power.

But this so-called deregulatory relief comes at a steep cost: more mercury in US lakes, more soot in Americans’ lungs, more carbon in the global atmosphere, and likely more dead Americans.

Climate change is not a debate; it’s a dataset.

While some political leaders question the reality of climate change, those people are (what’s a good couple of words here) fucking stupid. The evidence is irrefutable.

Global temperatures have risen over 1.1°C (2°F) since pre-industrial levels.

And the last decade was the hottest in history. NASA confirms it.

2024 was the hottest year on record.

Arctic sea ice is declining at a rate of 13% per decade.

Greenland and Antarctica are losing hundreds of billions of tons of ice each year.

Oceans are heating rapidly and acidifying, damaging coral reefs and marine ecosystems.

Sea levels have risen by over 9 inches globally since 1880, and are accelerating.

Extreme weather is now the norm: heatwaves in Europe and Asia, wildfires across Canada, floods from Vermont to Pakistan.

Atmospheric CO₂ now exceeds 420 ppm, the highest level in at least 800,000 years.

The even more asinine part of this repeal is the assumption that they are doing themselves and the American people a favour by retracting these regulations.

The EPA’s own draft impact analysis shows the proposal will cost the country more than it would save.

The Donald’s administration touted a potential $54 billion in annual savings for Americans.

However, an EPA spokesperson clarified that the figure included benefits from expected new vehicle technology but did not include costs such as long-term maintenance. Adding those back into the equation leads to a net cost increase of $18 billion a year.

In a perverse interview at Palmer Trucks, Zeldin and the US Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright, suggested that their efforts were to benefit the automotive industry.

I guess they missed the news that reported how GM lost $1 billion, Stellantis lost $1.7 billion, and Ford lost $2 billion due to The Donald’s bullshit tariffs.

Meanwhile, Chinese OEMs are leaving American and European brands in the dust.

Electric Vehicles, the fastest growing segment of vehicles, are expected to hit 22 million in sales this year globally, a jump of 25% from 2024, as the cost of lithium-ion batteries drops and production of more affordable EV models ramps up.

It’s hard to save an industry with deregulation when you’re also killing it with punitive tariff costs and failing to invest in it to make it competitive globally, all at the same time.

The Bestune Pony EV sells for less than $5,000 in China. electrek.co

BYD overtakes Tesla on Fortune’s Global 500 list. fortune.com

Tesla signs $4.3 billion LGES battery deal. reuters.com

Tesla signs $16.5 billion Samsung chips deal. reuters.com

Tesla’s registrations fell again in several key European markets last month. reuters.com

Tesla was found partly liable in a wrongful death case involving the electric vehicle company’s Autopilot system, with a jury awarding the plaintiffs $200 million in punitive damages plus additional money in compensatory damages. cbsnews.com

The Boring Company, Elon Musk’s tunnel-digging company, and Tennessee Governor Bill Lee have announced a plan to build a 10-mile “loop” that will connect Nashville’s downtown and its convention center to the area’s airport. techcrunch.com

Scientists analyze 76 million radio telescope images, find Starlink satellite interference all over the damn place. space.com

Tesla is not paying its bills. electrek.co

Solar-powered, remote-controlled robot bunnies are being deployed to monitor the invasive python population of Florida. popsci.com

Various maintenance robots are being used in Detroit to pick up trash, mow lawns, and sift flotsam and jetsam from waterfronts. futurism.com

Researchers explore “robot metabolism” with a weird machine that can integrate material from other robots, increasing its capabilities and overcoming new physical challenges (it doesn’t ask if your name is Sarah Connor just yet). livescience.com

Drones were used to drop an electric bike on the battlefield to help rescue a stranded Ukrainian soldier. businessinsider.com

ICYMI: The world’s first direct air capture test centre opened its doors in Innisfail, Alberta, last month. deepskyclimate.com/alpha

A new peer-reviewed study from researchers at Poland’s Adam Mickiewicz University has found no evidence that wind turbine noise causes mental harm, putting to rest a persistent and unsubstantiated claim that clean energy projects may be harming our health. yahoo.com

Google announced that it has signed a commercial partnership with Milan-based startup Energy Dome to use their carbon dioxide battery for grid-level storage to power Google’s data centre operations around the world. engadget.com

The largest solar installation in the Philippines is on top of a Mall. cleantechnica.com

Loblaw is installing a massive rooftop solar array on its distribution centre. theglobeandmail.com

There’s just one problem with Europe’s promise to buy $750 billion of energy in the US-EU trade deal that The Donald announced at the weekend: It’s not going to happen. ft.com

We already established that The Donald hates wind turbines. Now he’s rescinding every single fucking Wind Energy Area (WEA) in US federal waters, wiping out over 3.5 million acres of zones once earmarked for offshore wind development. electrek.co

Car and Driver names the Porsche Taycan the 2025 EV of the year. caranddriver.com

Kia recalls 201,149 US Tellurides. reuters.com

Nissan isn’t dead yet. reuters.com

The Donald imposed 35% bullshit tariffs on Canadian imports, effective Friday, but the impact on most vehicles and auto parts is unchanged, while the USMCA still stands. autonews.com

US, Canada trade deal could still be weeks away. reuters.com

The Donald’s tariffs be damned, Toyota’s global output and sales reached record highs for the first six months of 2025. reuters.com

Waymo partners with Avis to manage its robotaxi fleet in Dallas when it launches next year. techcrunch.com

Aurora’s autonomous trucks are now driving at night, and the company has three self-driving trucks operating commercially between Dallas and Houston, logging more than 20,000 driverless miles by the end of June. techcrunch.com

ICYMI: EVs accounted for 76% of all passenger vehicles and half of the light commercial vehicles sold in Nepal. nytimes.com

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ICYMI: I chatted with Autograph Analytics CEO Steve Barker on the Change Optimist Podcast. Check it out at thechangeoptimist.com or wherever you get your fucking podcasts.

Don’t forget to subscribe to my Music and Artificial Intelligence newsletters that are part of the growing “Extended Growdy Universe”.

I sat down with Bonar Bulger and Trevor Byrne to record an episode of the Bucket Seat podcast. We covered a lot of ground. I probably shared too much. I was gently molested by a great dane. And I liked it. Take a listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Have an awesome weekend.