Jalal Awan

Approving SB 1221’s neighborhood-decarbonization pilots was the easy step; the hard part is picking zones and cost-effectiveness rules that counter utilities’ incentive to keep spending on gas pipelines. Argues the CPUC should use CalEnviroScreen to prioritize high-burden inland communities over well-organized coastal ones.

The state’s neighborhood-decarbonization pilots risk deepening energy inequity unless the CPUC targets the communities that need them most. Calls for transparent, data-driven zone selection over well-resourced coastal neighborhoods.

xAI’s Colossus supercomputer runs on 18 gas turbines in South Memphis, emitting heavily without full air permits. The burden lands on a predominantly Black community with elevated asthma and cancer rates, for just 32 of a promised 300 jobs.

Examines California’s contradiction as a climate leader and a major oil producer, and proposes community-inclusive governance for oil and gas operations. Highlights the disproportionate health toll on Hispanic and Black communities living near wells. With Aaron Clark-Ginsberg.

Applies smart-grid sensing and data analytics to reduce losses in water-distribution systems. An early, cross-sector case for sensor-driven infrastructure management. With M.E. Miro and M.E. Marlier.

Assesses Pakistan after Imran Khan’s PTI unseated entrenched dynasties in the 2018 election. Argues that persistent poverty and ambivalence on counterterrorism keep its democracy, and its nuclear arsenal, a global risk. With Rafiq Dossani.

An independent, publicly-sourced re-examination of whether data centers shift costs onto ordinary ratepayers, drawing on 1,506 U.S. facilities and the full 77-tariff SEPA database. Host counties carry higher PM2.5, greenhouse gases, water withdrawals, and minority population share, and most large-load tariffs score poorly on customer protection. Preprint.