Industrious Labs

Industrious Labs

@industriouslabs.bsky.social

https://linktr.ee/industriouslabs https://industriouslabs.org/

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Industrious Labs
@industriouslabs.bsky.social

BREAKING: Magnitude 7 Metals announced it will restart this year. This will bring jobs back to the Bootheel, but communities deserve more than a return to the old model. Clean air, clean water, and good jobs should all be part of the same industrial future. industriouslabs.org/archive/pres...

industriouslabs.orgPress Release: Magnitude 7 Metals Restart Brings Jobs Back to Bootheel, Raises Questions About Long-Term StabilityMagnitude 7 Metals announced today plans to restart the first potline at its aluminum smelter in Marston, Missouri.
Industrious Labs
@industriouslabs.bsky.social

On Saturday, 120+ neighbors, steelworkers, and local leaders opened Our Mill, Our Home in Gary: 20 portraits and stories from Northwest Indiana residents on what steel gave their families, what it cost, and what they want to see next in the region. Read their stories: ourmillourhome.com

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Recourse
@re-course.org

The IFC and MIGA are updating the environmental and social safeguards intended to prevent their investments and development projects from harming people or the planet. With the framework’s first draft expected soon, civil society is calling for stronger protections. 🧵

Industrious Labs
@industriouslabs.bsky.social

As Kentucky considers data center proposals, it’s important to ask: how much power will they consume, who will pay for grid upgrades, and how many permanent jobs will they support? Strong piece by Lane Boldman: kentuckylantern.com/2026/08/17/d...

kentuckylantern.comData centers are not the answer to Kentucky's industrial and economic woes • Kentucky LanternIn Kentucky, the expansion of data centers raises a deeper question: who really benefits when these facilities move in, and who pays the price?
Industrious Labs
@industriouslabs.bsky.social

Latest UC Berkeley report shows clean industrial heat is possible — but electricity costs must come down to unlock its full potential. Canary Media breaks down the challenges and the policies that can help manufacturers transition to cleaner, more affordable heat: www.canarymedia.com/articles/cle...

canarymedia.comUS factories are struggling to get cleaner heat. These ideas may help.Many manufacturers burn fossil fuels to make snacks, materials, and chemicals. High electricity costs are complicating their efforts to switch to cleaner…
Industrious Labs
@industriouslabs.bsky.social

What Garden Grove revealed: Industrial pollution is often closer than we think. Read Ayn Craciun's new Voice of OC op-ed on the proximity of hundreds of fossil fuel boilers to Orange County communities and explore the interactive map: voiceofoc.org/2026/07/crac...

voiceofoc.orgCraciun: What Garden Grove Revealed About the Pollution We Don't SeeThe Garden Grove chemical emergency exposed industrial risks many Orange County residents never knew existed. Long before emergency alerts, thousands of industrial boilers have quietly polluted the ai...
Industrious Labs
@industriouslabs.bsky.social

A new UC Berkeley analysis finds on-site wind, solar, storage, and heat pumps can economically meet up to one-third of U.S. industrial heat demand by 2035. Clean manufacturing is already within reach. Read Utility Dive’s article: www.utilitydive.com/news/renewab...

utilitydive.comRenewables, storage can meet one-third of US industrial heat demand: reportThe UC Berkeley analysis should be welcome news for a manufacturing industry that is heavily reliant on natural gas, with its volatile prices, said Jose Dominguez, one of the report’s authors.
Industrious Labs
@industriouslabs.bsky.social

New Canary Media piece highlights findings from the latest UC Berkeley report: high electricity costs remain one of the biggest barriers to clean manufacturing—but rate reform, renewable energy, and thermal storage can help power the transition. Read more: www.canarymedia.com/articles/cle...

canarymedia.comUS factories are struggling to get cleaner heat. These ideas may help.Many manufacturers burn fossil fuels to make snacks, materials, and chemicals. High electricity costs are complicating their efforts to switch to cleaner…
Industrious Labs
@industriouslabs.bsky.social

Utility Dive: Industrial electrification isn't just good for the climate—it's increasingly cost-competitive. New UC Berkeley research shows renewables and storage can economically power up to one-third of U.S. industrial heat demand. www.utilitydive.com/news/renewab...

utilitydive.comRenewables, storage can meet one-third of US industrial heat demand: reportThe UC Berkeley analysis should be welcome news for a manufacturing industry that is heavily reliant on natural gas, with its volatile prices, said Jose Dominguez, one of the report’s authors.
Industrious Labs
@industriouslabs.bsky.social

The Garden Grove chemical emergency raised an important question: What industrial pollution exists in our own neighborhoods that we never see? New in Voice of OC, Ayn Craciun explains why hidden boiler pollution deserves more attention—and action from SCAQMD. Read: voiceofoc.org/2026/07/crac...

voiceofoc.orgCraciun: What Garden Grove Revealed About the Pollution We Don't SeeThe Garden Grove chemical emergency exposed industrial risks many Orange County residents never knew existed. Long before emergency alerts, thousands of industrial boilers have quietly polluted the ai...
Industrious Labs
@industriouslabs.bsky.social

"If these leaders truly believe faith and work build America, then the community that built this industry deserves the same justice and mercy being delivered to Arkansas." - Rev. Jackson, Gary, Indiana. via @chicagotribune.com

chicagotribune.comRev. John E. Jackson Sr.: Gary awaits a jubilee of its own as Nippon Steel takes over US SteelThe Black struggle is inseparable from the story of American steel. Nippon Steel has inherited this debt. So far, it shows no intention of paying it.

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Hilary Lewis
@hilarylewis.bsky.social

“We deserve the same modernization investments that are happening elsewhere,” Councilwoman Latham said. “Green steelmaking and cleaner technologies are possible, and they’re worth discussing. … The future of steel must include us. It must include our voices.” via @chicagotribune.com

chicagotribune.comMore than 100 gather for Gary green steel town hallNorthwest Indiana has carried the environmental burden of creating steel for decades, Gary Councilwoman Lori Latham, D-1st, said. Now, she believes it’s time for a change in the city. “We deserve ...

Industrious Labs reposted

Capital B Gary
@capitalbgary.bsky.social

More than 100 residents gathered at a town hall to discuss whether Northwest Indiana’s aging steel infrastructure will be modernized or left behind as companies increasingly invest in newer, cleaner technologies elsewhere. https://bit.ly/3PSAZtE

gary.capitalbnews.orgThe Future of Gary Works Sparks Concerns at Town Hall - Capital B GaryAt a town hall, the community raised questions about pollution and the future of Gary Works.

Industrious Labs reposted

Renew Missouri
@renewmissouri.bsky.social

@industriouslabs.bsky.social surveyed Bootheel residents about the future of the Magnitude 7 Metals smelter. 72% support reopening, in a community that lost nearly 500 jobs when it closed. Full breakdown from Renew Missouri’s Jessica Polk Sentell: www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-m...

linkedin.comWhat Missouri residents think of reopening the Magnitude 7 Metals smelterMagnitude 7 Metals shuttered in January 2024, laying off more than 500 workers and hollowing out a community that once depended on the smelter for stable, good-paying jobs. Now, new survey data from I...
Industrious Labs
@industriouslabs.bsky.social

Our new survey of local residents shows they want the smelter back — but with strong safety standards, cleaner power, and real community benefits in place. Jessica Polk Sentell @renewmissouri.bsky.social breaks down the findings. www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-m...

linkedin.comWhat Missouri residents think of reopening the Magnitude 7 Metals smelterMagnitude 7 Metals shuttered in January 2024, laying off more than 500 workers and hollowing out a community that once depended on the smelter for stable, good-paying jobs. Now, new survey data from I...
Industrious Labs
@industriouslabs.bsky.social

An AI-generated flood of comments killed clean air rules in SoCal that would have expanded pollution-free heat pumps. This manipulation of the public process is "deeply disturbing" and undermines legitimate democratic participation as the region considers 1146/1146.1. www.latimes.com/environment/...

latimes.comSouthern California air board rejected pollution rules after AI-generated flood of commentsSoCal’s pollution authority scrapped a plan to phase out gas-powered appliances after receiving more than 20,000 emails sent by an AI-powered platform called CiviClick.
Industrious Labs
@industriouslabs.bsky.social

Community concerns like these underscore a key lesson: any new industrial facility must be as clean and community-informed as possible. Clean production and strong community benefits agreements aren’t just good PR — they’re how projects earn trust and long-term success. www.fox23.com/news/inola-r...

fox23.comInola residents concerned about proposed aluminum smelter, citing environment and health risksSome Inola residents are raising concerns about a proposed aluminum smelter planned for the area, citing potential environmental and health risks.
Industrious Labs
@industriouslabs.bsky.social

"We waited too long to build out our clean energy. We've got an aging fleet of coal-fired power plants, an aging grid, and we need projects to help with the investments." -Lane Boldman, Executive Director of the Kentucky Conservation Committee. www.theedgebereaky.com/coal-country...

theedgebereaky.comCoal country: too costly for factories, just right for data centersKentucky's lost smelter opportunity shows how reliance on fossil fuel repels new jobs, attracts big servers and secret deals in the high tech race to be the biggest AI company. Is Madison County ready...
Industrious Labs
@industriouslabs.bsky.social

Deep dive by @connorgiffin.bsky.social reveals a detailed timeline of how Kentucky ultimately missed out on the chance to host the country's first aluminum smelter in over 45 years. "We should have no trouble in getting a project like this. And yet we did." www.courier-journal.com/story/news/l...

courier-journal.comHow plans for a first-of-its-kind Kentucky aluminum smelter fell apartKentucky lost a multibillion-dollar aluminum smelter project and 1,000 jobs to Oklahoma, despite state efforts. It could be a sign of future challenges for Kentucky's economic development.
Industrious Labs
@industriouslabs.bsky.social

Join us to explore the Industrial Equity Mapper! 📊 🗓 2/19 ⏰ 1pm PT / 4pm ET Learn how to leverage rigorous data + powerful community stories that document the health and economic realities that people living near industrial facilities face. us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

us06web.zoom.usWelcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Explore the Industrial Equity Mapper. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.We’re currently witnessing growing efforts to suppress information about how industrial pollution affects real people and real communities. Earlier this month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency...
Industrious Labs
@industriouslabs.bsky.social

Lane Boldman of the Kentucky Conservation Committee frames Kentucky’s loss of the new aluminum smelter as both a warning sign and a call to modernize the state’s energy system so it can compete for the next major industrial investment. www.canarymedia.com/articles/cle...

canarymedia.comLoss of green smelter highlights Kentucky’s need for clean electricityCentury Aluminum chose Oklahoma, not Kentucky, for a new smelter. Some say it’s a "wake-up call" for the Bluegrass State to modernize – and decarbonize –…
Industrious Labs
@industriouslabs.bsky.social

“It’s been a huge barrier to electrification for manufacturers.” says Teresa Cheng of @industriouslabs.bsky.social. Even as surplus solar power grows, businesses face high electricity costs and demand charges. New industrial rate designs could change that. www.canarymedia.com/articles/cle...

canarymedia.comCalifornia has abundant solar power. Here’s how factories can use it.High electricity costs in California have slowed industrial decarbonization in the state. New industrial rates and other fixes could change that, experts…
Industrious Labs
@industriouslabs.bsky.social

This week made it plain: data centers are beating heavy industry in the fight for power. Century Aluminum just sold its Hawesville smelter site to a data center: proof that in today’s economy, whoever can pay more for electricity wins. www.courier-journal.com/story/news/l...

courier-journal.comAnother data center project is coming to Kentucky. What to knowA long-idle industrial site in Hancock County will be redeveloped into a data center campus, according to the company that owned the land.
Industrious Labs
@industriouslabs.bsky.social

“But the bottom line was that aluminum is a heavy energy user industry, and it really comes down to the price of energy.” Lane Boldman of the Kentucky Conservation Committee is right: Oklahoma's potential to power the smelter w/ clean energy is far more than Kentucky's. www.weku.org/the-commonwe...

weku.orgCost of power drives aluminum plant from Kentucky to OklahomaKentucky was in line for the first aluminum plant in the country in decades. Instead, the project went to Oklahoma.
Industrious Labs
@industriouslabs.bsky.social

Century Aluminum & Emirates Global Aluminium are teaming up on a new aluminum smelter. Huge test of whether the companies can find affordable, clean power fast enough to actually build a low-carbon aluminum backbone in the U.S. ✍🏽 @mariagallucci.bsky.social www.canarymedia.com/articles/cle...

canarymedia.comIt takes two aluminum firms to build one power-hungry smelter,…Century Aluminum was eyeing Kentucky for a new smelter, but in a surprise move says it’s teaming up with Emirates Global Aluminium to build one in…
Industrious Labs
@industriouslabs.bsky.social

Agricultural worker & former smelter employee Dalton Ezell is sounding the alarm on rising power costs. “The truth is, Missouri’s economy runs on the same current: whether you’re melting metal or tending crops, you need dependable electricity at a fair price.” missouriindependent.com/2025/12/13/h...

missouriindependent.comEnergy costs crushed my smelter job and now threaten Missouri farms • Missouri IndependentWhether you’re smelting or farming, you’re fighting the same battle for affordable energy, steady pay and a future worth passing on.

Industrious Labs reposted

Evan
@evangillespie.bsky.social

"Let’s stop pretending tariffs will rebuild our economy. The people who power Missouri — on the factory floor and in the fields — know what we really need: investment in affordable, modern energy that lets us work hard, earn fair, and stay rooted right here at home."

missouriindependent.comEnergy costs crushed my smelter job and now threaten Missouri farms • Missouri IndependentWhether you’re smelting or farming, you’re fighting the same battle for affordable energy, steady pay and a future worth passing on.
Industrious Labs
@industriouslabs.bsky.social

Cato Hernandez at @LAist.com highlights a new map showing where SoCal’s largest industrial boilers are located — and why advocates want @southcoastqmd to adopt zero-emission rules before we lock in decades more pollution. Read it here: laist.com/news/climate...

laist.comBattle over industrial boilers gets a new tool that you can use to combat pollutionA new climate coalition is calling on air quality regulators to phase out 1,800 of these boilers at places like schools and hospitals.

Industrious Labs reposted

Justin Gerdes
@justingerdes.bsky.social

Weekend reading: Learn about a new plan to decarbonize industry in California - responsible for 20% of the state's emissions - in my Q&A with @industriouslabs.bsky.social's Teresa Cheng: www.quittingcarbonmedia.com/california-h... 🔌💡

quittingcarbonmedia.comCalifornia has a new plan to decarbonize industryQuitting Carbon checked in with Teresa Cheng, California director at Industrious Labs, to talk about passage of AB 1280 and the race to decarbonize manufacturing in the Golden State.

Industrious Labs reposted

Justin Gerdes
@justingerdes.bsky.social

ICYMI: Learn about a new plan to decarbonize industry in California - responsible for 20% of the state's emissions - in my Q&A with @industriouslabs.bsky.social's Teresa Cheng: www.quittingcarbonmedia.com/california-h... 🔌💡

quittingcarbonmedia.comCalifornia has a new plan to decarbonize industryQuitting Carbon checked in with Teresa Cheng, California director at Industrious Labs, to talk about passage of AB 1280 and the race to decarbonize manufacturing in the Golden State.
Industrious Labs
@industriouslabs.bsky.social

"The result is a paradox: a country experiencing its highest aluminum demand in modern history, yet unable to supply the metal that underpins the technologies it wants to lead." Read up on AI’s rise and power strains while aluminum fights to stay relevant: www.alcircle.com/news/ais-pow...

alcircle.comAI’s power hunger is turning aluminium into America’s new strategic weak spotThe US faces record aluminium demand, but AI’s soaring power consumption is crippling domestic smelters and turning the metal into a strategic weakness.
Industrious Labs
@industriouslabs.bsky.social

(1/3) When Oklahoma residents were asked why they support Emirates Global Aluminum's potential new #smelter in their state, the answer was clear: #jobs matter. 👷‍♂️ This figure shows how those who "support" or "somewhat support" the smelter rated the importance of smelter jobs.

Industrious Labs
@industriouslabs.bsky.social

(2/3) In fact, 92% of those who support the buildout of the new smelter agree that jobs are important. 37% mentioned "jobs" in their reasoning. Aluminum Campaign Director @anniesartor.bsky.social talks about the survey results in her article: www.linkedin.com/pulse/oklaho...

linkedin.comOklahoma’s bright future: What residents think of a landmark aluminum smelterOklahomans share what they think about the building of a new smelter in their state.
Industrious Labs
@industriouslabs.bsky.social

(3/3) As the U.S. #aluminum industry evolves and potential new investments come to Oklahoma, there is an opportunity for proponents to describe how this smelter will boost jobs and the local economy, such as describing the project's good wages and family-supporting careers.