Working on a just energy transition Formerly: NREL, University of Wyoming Currently: Facilitator and policy strategist Enviro Humanities PhD Book on water justice Based in the rural Westhttps://bsky.app/profile/menrywy.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/menrywy.bsky.social/post/3mtsgczfqz22vEven if data center developers weren't so badly equipped to engage communities to "sell" the infrastructure they want to build or push flimsy community benefits plans, data centers have virtually no real value proposition to build a narrative around.24 Aug 2026 04:03 +0000at://did:plc:etbsjtghulp2irin5ch3nro6/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtsgczfqz22vhttps://bsky.app/profile/menrywy.bsky.social/post/3mthgkw2jx22pSomeone reached out today to tell me they liked my book (random, unexpected, really nice!) but also made it clear they think I'm a hydrologist (random, unexpected, really nice!).19 Aug 2026 19:08 +0000at://did:plc:etbsjtghulp2irin5ch3nro6/app.bsky.feed.post/3mthgkw2jx22phttps://bsky.app/profile/menrywy.bsky.social/post/3mth3efcgdk2pI am reviewing an academic book proposal today, first in 2 years. It for a very interdisciplinary environmental humanities monograph. My brain is out of shape for this kind of thinking. It is a very promising project that is written in a language completely foreign to the policy space I work in now.19 Aug 2026 15:48 +0000at://did:plc:etbsjtghulp2irin5ch3nro6/app.bsky.feed.post/3mth3efcgdk2phttps://bsky.app/profile/menrywy.bsky.social/post/3mtfvpmgetc2wNiche post but I’m very happy Megan Degenfelder didn’t win the Wyoming gubernatorial primary. She is batshit crazy.19 Aug 2026 04:34 +0000at://did:plc:etbsjtghulp2irin5ch3nro6/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtfvpmgetc2whttps://bsky.app/profile/menrywy.bsky.social/post/3mswcz2syek27Feels like a good day to remind everyone that Chris Wright is a piece of shit.12 Aug 2026 23:49 +0000at://did:plc:etbsjtghulp2irin5ch3nro6/app.bsky.feed.post/3mswcz2syek27https://bsky.app/profile/menrywy.bsky.social/post/3mstpuvgntk2xWhy the fuck am I not just being a writer11 Aug 2026 23:02 +0000at://did:plc:etbsjtghulp2irin5ch3nro6/app.bsky.feed.post/3mstpuvgntk2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/menrywy.bsky.social/post/3msjjkusvx224A lesson I’m learning post-academia is that for most PhDs it probably takes a few tries, misadventures, and detours before you end up in a place where you can maximize your skills, expertise, and experience.07 Aug 2026 21:42 +0000at://did:plc:etbsjtghulp2irin5ch3nro6/app.bsky.feed.post/3msjjkusvx224https://bsky.app/profile/menrywy.bsky.social/post/3ms7xmqkots2sIn a functioning and sane society everyone would be freaking the fuck out about Spokane burning.04 Aug 2026 02:27 +0000at://did:plc:etbsjtghulp2irin5ch3nro6/app.bsky.feed.post/3ms7xmqkots2shttps://bsky.app/profile/menrywy.bsky.social/post/3ms4cqum4522dIn my scholarship I pretty frequently panned technocratic approaches to climate and energy policy/governance based mostly on desktop and primary source research. Now working within technocratic spaces (and working to make them more equitable/participatory) and it mostly holds true.02 Aug 2026 15:35 +0000at://did:plc:etbsjtghulp2irin5ch3nro6/app.bsky.feed.post/3ms4cqum4522dhttps://bsky.app/profile/menrywy.bsky.social/post/3ms36lwwpns2lGuess there’s no point in watching baseball for awhile02 Aug 2026 04:48 +0000at://did:plc:etbsjtghulp2irin5ch3nro6/app.bsky.feed.post/3ms36lwwpns2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/menrywy.bsky.social/post/3ms2yheosrc2nMy god, Spokane.02 Aug 2026 02:59 +0000at://did:plc:etbsjtghulp2irin5ch3nro6/app.bsky.feed.post/3ms2yheosrc2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/menrywy.bsky.social/post/3mrxqehg4pc2pI wish I was doing more work directly related to climate. It feels like startlingly few energy policy people think about the climate crisis regularly in their work (especially beyond impacts on the grid), while it's the whole reason I got into this work.31 Jul 2026 19:56 +0000at://did:plc:etbsjtghulp2irin5ch3nro6/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrxqehg4pc2phttps://bsky.app/profile/menrywy.bsky.social/post/3mrsmx45gnc24Saddened by the Glen Hansard news. Saw him perform with Eddie Vedder two years ago in Montana and it was divine. RIP.29 Jul 2026 19:11 +0000at://did:plc:etbsjtghulp2irin5ch3nro6/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrsmx45gnc24https://bsky.app/profile/menrywy.bsky.social/post/3mroch2mwjc2mI think I’ve gone a little too far afield from the type of work that gets me up in the morning.28 Jul 2026 01:53 +0000at://did:plc:etbsjtghulp2irin5ch3nro6/app.bsky.feed.post/3mroch2mwjc2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/menrywy.bsky.social/post/3mrjjbh7kxc2kSpent a week hiking and fishing the Yellowstone backcountry (Lamar River, Mist Creek, Pelican Valley). Something so therapeutic about long walks or long river trips. Not sure I really have any desire to do much else tbh.26 Jul 2026 04:12 +0000at://did:plc:etbsjtghulp2irin5ch3nro6/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrjjbh7kxc2khttps://bsky.app/profile/menrywy.bsky.social/post/3mqip4jr4ok25I spent 4/7 days rowing a raft down a Montana river last week, the other three working on energy policy. Why do anything else?13 Jul 2026 02:58 +0000at://did:plc:etbsjtghulp2irin5ch3nro6/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqip4jr4ok25https://bsky.app/profile/menrywy.bsky.social/post/3mpnarwbobs25I was happy to have been part of the effort to make this a reality over the last 10 months. [contains quote post or other embedded content]02 Jul 2026 05:00 +0000at://did:plc:etbsjtghulp2irin5ch3nro6/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpnarwbobs25https://bsky.app/profile/menrywy.bsky.social/post/3mpnarwbobs25I was happy to have been part of the effort to make this a reality over the last 10 months. [contains quote post or other embedded content]02 Jul 2026 05:00 +0000at://did:plc:etbsjtghulp2irin5ch3nro6/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpnarwbobs25https://bsky.app/profile/menrywy.bsky.social/post/3mpfqdxuvqk25Headed to Park City for the Western Governors Association Annual Meeting tomorrow. Was not on my career bingo card previously.29 Jun 2026 05:17 +0000at://did:plc:etbsjtghulp2irin5ch3nro6/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpfqdxuvqk25https://bsky.app/profile/menrywy.bsky.social/post/3mp5jfiwjy22wThe academic in me wants to launch a project tracing/connecting the anti-data center movement to other anti-infrastructure movements (dams, pipelines, MTR sites, renewables, coal and gas ports, etc.).25 Jun 2026 22:51 +0000at://did:plc:etbsjtghulp2irin5ch3nro6/app.bsky.feed.post/3mp5jfiwjy22whttps://bsky.app/profile/menrywy.bsky.social/post/3moj3ovupvc2mOver the last two weeks, I've begun working on a project driven by the theory of change underlying all of my academic work: narrative shift work can lead to just energy/climate policy outcomes. It's surreal, still tenuous, and I don't want to jinx it because we have a ways to go.17 Jun 2026 19:53 +0000at://did:plc:etbsjtghulp2irin5ch3nro6/app.bsky.feed.post/3moj3ovupvc2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/menrywy.bsky.social/post/3mo7a7njj5k25I’ve gradually withdrawn from social media and especially academic social media over the last two years and while I’ve no doubt missed out on some opportunities that come with having a big online footprint, my life has tangibly improved.13 Jun 2026 21:47 +0000at://did:plc:etbsjtghulp2irin5ch3nro6/app.bsky.feed.post/3mo7a7njj5k25https://bsky.app/profile/menrywy.bsky.social/post/3mnyi7tpkzk22I feel like lots of smart people in climate who should otherwise know better are hedging on AI and remaining publicly agnostic about data centers out of fear of offending those with funds and power and/or until they can figure out which way the wind is blowing. That sucks.11 Jun 2026 05:22 +0000at://did:plc:etbsjtghulp2irin5ch3nro6/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnyi7tpkzk22https://bsky.app/profile/menrywy.bsky.social/post/3mnyi7tpkzk22I feel like lots of smart people in climate who should otherwise know better are hedging on AI and remaining publicly agnostic about data centers out of fear of offending those with funds and power and/or until they can figure out which way the wind is blowing. That sucks.11 Jun 2026 05:22 +0000at://did:plc:etbsjtghulp2irin5ch3nro6/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnyi7tpkzk22https://bsky.app/profile/menrywy.bsky.social/post/3mnufm74hkc2dAcademic editors emailing my (non-academic) org’s info@ address to request a peer review two years after leaving higher ed, there is no escape ahhhhhh 😱09 Jun 2026 14:24 +0000at://did:plc:etbsjtghulp2irin5ch3nro6/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnufm74hkc2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/menrywy.bsky.social/post/3mnij26kr222bWhy is every single person with political aspirations in this country such an enormous piece of shit04 Jun 2026 20:54 +0000at://did:plc:etbsjtghulp2irin5ch3nro6/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnij26kr222bhttps://bsky.app/profile/menrywy.bsky.social/post/3mnic4g2yh22gThe premise that early community engagement from infrastructure developers is important to "de-risk" projects is based on the assumed inevitability of said projects.04 Jun 2026 18:50 +0000at://did:plc:etbsjtghulp2irin5ch3nro6/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnic4g2yh22ghttps://bsky.app/profile/menrywy.bsky.social/post/3mnflfm6nxs2nI so feel this. It's weird being a politics-oriented researcher who pro-actively moved into policy when the environment for it seemed favorable (IRA/BIL, etc.) and then realizing that it had been politics all along. It feels like whiplash and wasted time. [contains quote post or other embedded content]03 Jun 2026 16:58 +0000at://did:plc:etbsjtghulp2irin5ch3nro6/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnflfm6nxs2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/menrywy.bsky.social/post/3mnbnvx6ufc2pA huge loss. Dr. Pacheco-Vega always stood out to me as enthusiastic, collegial, enormously generous, and an example of how we all should be in academia. [contains quote post or other embedded content]02 Jun 2026 03:33 +0000at://did:plc:etbsjtghulp2irin5ch3nro6/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnbnvx6ufc2p