The Ledger

Every statement that passed quotation and attribution checks. Mix any filter with any other: certainty 1/5, debate potential 5/5, or both at once.

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why aren't all 1,446 resolved? a statement only gets an assessment when the public record can support or contradict it. opinions and what-ifs never can, and 23 checkable ones are still open, waiting for their date. predictions held up or didn't; assertions are supported or contradicted. on every card: ▮▮▮▮▮ certainty · ▮▮▮▮▮ debate potential. speakers are clickable

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Elon Musk scrapped Tesla's Model 2 on the spot for the robotaxi
“When he saw the robotaxi, he was so bowled over by whatever it was he saw in it, right, that he remarked to his to his team, wow, you know, this looks great. Let's just do this. He scrapped the Model Two on the spot, and he said, let's do the robotaxi. We're d…”
Steve LeVine May 15, 2024 ▶ 10:36 Tesla’s extremely hardcore pivot
Assertion Supported
Cumulative US LNG emissions could exceed the footprint of 1,000 coal plants
“If you add up all the emissions from what's in operation, all the emissions from what's under construction, all the emissions from what is being proposed beyond that, we could be talking about the emission footprint of about a thousand, actually more than a th…”
Jeremy Symons Dec 18, 2023 ▶ 39:00 LNG exports: America’s hidden ‘climate bomb’
Assertion Supported
Del Chiaro: California solar sales fell 80% after net metering changes
“California just announced, you know, just put in place major changes to the number one driver to that market, which was net metering, and we just got data today that shows that sales are down 80% across the state.”
Bernadette Del Chiaro Oct 6, 2023 ▶ 12:48 Can California pull off its clean energy ambitions?
Assertion Supported
Green: Local anti-solar groups receive payments from climate denial networks
“And then they're supported by groups online or in their state or in their community that have ulterior motives, which we found. They're getting payments from organizations that have connections to climate denial,”
Miranda Green Apr 5, 2023 ▶ 17:57 What’s driving a surge in renewables opposition?
Assertion Not publicly verifiable
Utility union president directed extreme misogynistic slurs at female city council members
“At a city council meeting, after it was clear that things were not going to go in their direction, the president of the union himself said, I'm not resting till that fucking red flower, Corella de Vil cunt, and all those other fucking bitches are voted off tha…”
Heidi Harmon May 24, 2022 ▶ 16:16 Introducing Drilled: Bridge to Nowhere
Assertion Contradicted
Hickenlooper: House reconciliation bill proposed taxing all wind and solar energy
“The House bill came over and it had a tax on all wind energy and solar energy. So no, no longer are we going to give them tax credits, but we're going to, you know, we're going to tax them.”
John Hickenlooper Aug 27, 2025 ▶ 18:21 John Hickenlooper’s optimism in the face of opposition
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Das: Most Congressional Republicans now acknowledge human-caused climate change
“By and large, the Republican Party is You know, full of members of Congress who very much believe climate change is happening and is happening. For reasons caused by humans, and now our set of discussions are around how do we solve the issue.”
Tanya Das Dec 4, 2024 ▶ 4:43 The ‘third inning’ of the energy transition [partner content]
Assertion Contradicted
Shah: Wildfire costs account for only 3-5% of PG&E rate hikes
“You know, what amounts to, I think, 15% rate increases every year for the last four years for PG&E because of uncontrolled distribution grade investments, and it's not wildfire related. Let's just be crystal clear. People call it wildfire. Three to four percen…”
Jigar Shah Jul 16, 2024 ▶ 48:11 Our final episode: The top stories of 2024 so far
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Elon Musk canceled Tesla's affordable car to pursue a $10T AI pivot
“He's decided, I'm not a car company, I'm an AI and robotics company, and I'm about creating a 10 trillion dollar company that is based on first robotaxi, but then these humanoid robots, and he canceled, you know, the family car, the affordable car, the one tha…”
Steve LeVine May 15, 2024 ▶ 2:23 Tesla’s extremely hardcore pivot
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Tesla insiders doubt the robotaxi is ready to operate without pedals
“No one outside the company and no one inside the company who I spoke to anyway believes that the robotaxi is ready to be without a steering wheel, without pedals, and even if it were ready, that is ready for regulators are ready to say, yeah, go.”
Steve LeVine May 15, 2024 ▶ 14:24 Tesla’s extremely hardcore pivot
Assertion Supported
Cornell research finds LNG lifecycle emissions are worse than coal
“It's been clear for years now that natural gas used domestically, because a lot of it leaks out, is pretty much akin to using coal, and now we have really interesting new data from Bob Howarth that Cornell, the kind of dean of methane scientists, who's done th…”
Bill McKibben Dec 18, 2023 ▶ 5:22 LNG exports: America’s hidden ‘climate bomb’
Assertion Supported
Del Chiaro: CPUC proposal forces multi-meter solar to repurchase generated power
“The Public Utilities Commission wants to apply the draconian changes to net metering and then some. They want to basically declare every electron that solar system generates on that apartment building and export and then force people to buy it back from PG&E a…”
Bernadette Del Chiaro Oct 6, 2023 ▶ 1:00:07 Can California pull off its clean energy ambitions?
Assertion Supported
Bowman: UN Draft Guidance Asserts Engineered Carbon Removal Is Unproven
“The Article VI supervisory body issued a guidance in May of this year, which by the way is not formally approved yet, and included a technical note that states that engineered carbon removal activities Do not contribute to sustainable development. The proposal…”
Savvy Bowman Aug 23, 2023 ▶ 4:03 As debate over carbon removal swirls, America steps up funding
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Tomlinson: Bass Brothers and Dan Friedkin pushed SB 624 to preserve ranch views
“And we know where that comes from. It's a coalition of wealthy landowners it's the Bass Brothers from Fort Worth. It's Dan Friedkin, who's a Hollywood producer and banker. We know about the folks down in South Texas. These are people who own hobby ranches. Rea…”
Chris Tomlinson Jun 1, 2023 ▶ 14:20 Why Texas Republicans are trying to crush wind and solar
Assertion Supported
O'Brien: Nearly 60% of US TV meteorologists denied climate change recently
“For a very long time in our country, TV meteorologists were Outright denialists when it came to climate change. 50 plus, I, it was close to 60% just a few years ago.”
Miles O'Brien Apr 19, 2023 ▶ 28:33 Will America’s commercial kitchens go electric?
Assertion Supported
Florida Power & Light paid Matrix millions to fund ghost candidates
“An investigation from the Miami Herald and Orlando Sentinel found that FPNL, Florida's biggest utility, sent millions of dollars to Matrix to prop up fake candidates in local races. Those so-called ghost candidates siphoned votes away from candidates who the u…”
Stephen Lacey Apr 5, 2023 ▶ 20:31 What’s driving a surge in renewables opposition?
Assertion Supported
Matrix used utility funds to secretly finance six local news sites
“The floodlight team found direct financial links between six local news outlets, Matrix, FPNL, and Alabama Power. Matrix used utility money to fund political websites with names like Alabama Today, Florida Politics, and The Capitalist, and buy favorable covera…”
Stephen Lacey Apr 5, 2023 ▶ 21:05 What’s driving a surge in renewables opposition?
Assertion Supported
Kra: Greg Becker told investors only a run could bring SVB down
“And then Greg said something peculiar on the call. He said, we're solvent. We're in great shape. And the only thing that can bring us down is if all of you tell all of your companies to start pulling out share money.”
Gabriel Kra Mar 20, 2023 ▶ 8:12 A bank collapse threatens climate startups
Assertion Supported
Patton: Some Louisiana plants have violated Clean Air permits for over a decade
“Some of these plants have been in consistent violation of their Clean Air Act permits for more than a decade, and they are still in operation every day.”
Jane Patton Mar 13, 2023 ▶ 39:08 Introducing Discarded: Episode 1, David vs. Goliath
Assertion Supported
Patton: Marathon received $1.5M in ITEP tax exemptions per job created
“Under the ITEP program, Marathon was by far the largest benefactor from the program. At one point they were receiving 1.5 million dollars in tax exemptions per job that Marathon created.”
Jane Patton Mar 13, 2023 ▶ 42:58 Introducing Discarded: Episode 1, David vs. Goliath
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Shah: Solar and wind generated 36% annualized returns since 2007
“Most of us who've been in the solar and wind industry have generated 36% annualized returns every single year since we were in there from 2007.”
Jigar Shah Mar 8, 2023 ▶ 18:12 Are oil & gas majors abandoning clean energy?
Assertion Supported
Gas stoves account for 12.7% of childhood asthma cases in the US
“We found that 12.7% of childhood asthma Could be attributed to gas stove use, but in some states it was much higher because, for example, in Illinois, 80% of households with children cook with gas, and so for, in that state, it was about 21%, similar in Califo…”
Brady Seals Feb 15, 2023 ▶ 7:39 A surprising history of gas stove pollution
Assertion Supported
Gas stove asthma risk is directly comparable to secondhand smoke exposure
“So when we looked at, okay, who else has calculated this PAF, population tributal fraction, for other factors, we found that for childhood asthma, it was very similar to exposure to secondhand smoke.”
Brady Seals Feb 15, 2023 ▶ 8:45 A surprising history of gas stove pollution
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Haspel: Corn and soy dominate due to crop efficiency, not subsidies
“There's a reason that soy and corn came to dominate the landscape, and it's not because of subsidies. It's because corn is the most efficient cereal grass, and soy is the most efficient leg.”
Tamar Haspel Sep 15, 2022 ▶ 46:17 Should we eat bugs, farmed fish, or soy?
Assertion Supported
Rathi: US and China originated the COP26 'phase down' coal language
“And that two or three page document that Came on Wednesday was what then set the tone for the deal to happen on the Saturday, and in that deal is where we had the language around phase down of coal, and that's the language that eventually made it into the fina…”
Akshat Rathi Nov 19, 2021 ▶ 12:50 How the Glasgow climate deal nearly collapsed
Assertion Open · timeframe Dec 2050
Dennett: 2024-2050 copper demand will exceed all historical production combined
“We need more copper between now and twenty-fifty than in the history of human civilization. That includes the Bronze Age.”
Liz Dennett Aug 26, 2026 ▶ 15:44 The microbial solution to our massive copper shortfall
Assertion Supported
Jurowicz: Nuclear is the only power source enabling decades of fuel stockpiling
“You can actually safe harbor and stockpile years, even decades, of a nation's worth of fuel and energy in the form of uranium and nuclear fuel. You can't do that with any other power generation technology. You can't do that with gas. You can't do that with coa…”
Jake Jurowicz Aug 12, 2026 ▶ 7:52 Did someone just figure out how to project finance nuclear?
Assertion Supported
Jurowicz: Nuclear power has never been commercially project financed
“Nuclear power has never been project financed before. It has always been financed on the backs of taxpayers and ratepayers because it's been so prone to construction risk.”
Jake Jurowicz Aug 12, 2026 ▶ 22:17 Did someone just figure out how to project finance nuclear?
Assertion Not checkable as stated
O'Sullivan: Mega-fund co-investing concentrates capital into narrow innovation categories
“Many of these larger funds end up doing quite a bit of co-investment amongst themselves. So that co-investment dynamic drives further concentration of the aggregate capital into a relatively narrow category of innovation at the early stage.”
Frank O'Sullivan Jun 17, 2026 ▶ 24:24 Why the climate tech ‘missing middle’ is a massive opportunity
Assertion Supported
O'Sullivan: Half of top 20 energy exits were corporate spinouts, not VC-backed
“Of, you know, the top 20 exits actually probably half or more were not kind of venture orientated or indeed growth or backed businesses, but they were corporate spin-outs and so on and so forth.”
Frank O'Sullivan Jun 17, 2026 ▶ 32:24 Why the climate tech ‘missing middle’ is a massive opportunity
Assertion Partly supported
Paruri: Perovskite Solar Requires No Rare Earths and Nothing From China
“There's no rare earths or critical minerals, no kind of Supply chain sensitivities or vulnerabilities, right? Like nothing from the inputs or the tools has to come from China.”
Saritha Paruri Jun 3, 2026 ▶ 4:57 The perovskite bet that could transform solar
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Paruri: Tandem PV Tested Module Outdoors for 18 Months Without Degradation
“For the last few years, we've been making 10,000 panels a year, testing those in our indoor accelerated labs and also external testing And, you know, we're there on our kind of R&D format where we're able to, you know, we had a module outdoors for 18 months wi…”
Saritha Paruri Jun 3, 2026 ▶ 17:02 The perovskite bet that could transform solar
Assertion Open · timeframe May 2029
Supercool Earth extracts more water from clouds than silver iodide
“And what we bring, as opposed to silver iodide, is that we can target more clouds and essentially bring, get more rain than silver iodide can currently today. So we can target more geographies, more warmer clouds, more seasonalities, and then at that same temp…”
Dacia Leone May 20, 2026 ▶ 29:18 How Supercool Earth's microbes could ease the water crisis
Assertion Supported
Su: FT reported major Gulf economies reviewed invoking force majeure on commitments
“In early March, the Financial Times reported that the three of the four major Gulf economies were collectively Doing an internal review of whether they could invoke force majeure on their financial commitments.”
Susan Su May 6, 2026 ▶ 12:14 The $6 trillion threat to climate tech finance
Assertion Partly supported
Su: Captive coal plants supply 60% of energy for Chinese solar manufacturing
“So it's kind of like you know, behind the meter for coal for a solar facility. So it's accounting for, I've seen some estimates, accounting for 60% of the energy used to produce these solar panels.”
Susan Su May 6, 2026 ▶ 33:10 The $6 trillion threat to climate tech finance
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Enhanced rock weathering measurement remains too immature for long-term offtakes
“The quantification methods just aren't there yet. So this has been true for enhanced rock weathering for us to date. It's something we're working through right now. Like, is, do we feel good enough about the quantification methods of carbon removal through enh…”
Phil Goodman Dec 12, 2025 ▶ 23:57 Inside Microsoft’s plan to remove 50 years of carbon emissions
Assertion Contradicted
Eighty percent of data center power consumption comes from cooling
“These new data centers that are so power hungry, where 80% of the power that they use comes from cooling”
Sam White Oct 22, 2025 ▶ 31:20 The thermal battery transforming cold storage for India’s dairy farmers
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Dutta: Startups Raising More Grant Dollars Have Higher Average Failure Rates
“Businesses that raise more grant dollars on average have higher failure rates.”
Shomik Dutta Oct 8, 2025 ▶ 11:49 This VC wants climate tech to play hardball in Washington
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Dutta: Climate Tech Lobbying Spend Relative to Profits Is 1/100th of Oil and Gas
“And if you look at the percentage of profits that the oil and gas industry puts into government lobbying versus the percentage of our profits, not on an absolute dollars basis, we are still one 100th of where the oil and gas industry is.”
Shomik Dutta Oct 8, 2025 ▶ 24:48 This VC wants climate tech to play hardball in Washington
Assertion Supported
No accident scenario can heat Kairos coolant enough to fail TRISO fuel
“The fact that the melting temperature for the salt is, you know, in like the 400, like we don't actually can't get the salt hot enough to like stress the fuel in the way that, that you could theoretically stress from other actors. So we don't have any scenario…”
Mike Laufer Sep 24, 2025 ▶ 5:45 Shortening the nuclear development cycle from decades to years
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Hickenlooper: Manchin secretly remained in IRA talks despite public walkout
“He told the press he was out, he was done. I saw him the next morning, had a nice, 15 minute happy chat, and I said, well, you're not really Over, you're not quitting, right? And he goes, no, but I'm going to let him think it for a while. Just I need space. Yo…”
John Hickenlooper Aug 27, 2025 ▶ 4:15 John Hickenlooper’s optimism in the face of opposition
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Graphitic Energy produces clean hydrogen for $2 to $3 per kilogram
“You know, I thought that decarbonized hydrogen had to come from an electrolyzer and cost, you know, six or nine dollars a kilogram. You guys can do this for two to three?”
Zach Jones Aug 13, 2025 ▶ 33:01 The rogue idea that saved a hydrogen startup
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Needham: Fusion plants can be licensed in 18 months for under $10M
“That means we can actually license a fusion power plant in like less than 18 months and less than ten million, as opposed to a fission plant Under 10 CFR, 50, 52, or 53, which is like five hundred million to a billion in 10 years, five to 10 years.”
Rick Needham Jun 18, 2025 ▶ 33:00 The tape that led to a fusion breakthrough
Assertion Supported
Fernandez: Large EPC firms stopped offering lump sum turnkey contracts post-COVID
“The reality is the EPC CapEx world changed dramatically after, after COVID, right? Things that used to be very secured, large scale EPC companies that used to be able to give you a, you know, lump sum turnkey contract are just not doing that anymore in, in con…”
Mario Fernandez Jun 4, 2025 ▶ 38:55 FOAK tales
Assertion Supported
Jewett: Fervo proved hydraulic fracturing and lateral drilling work in granite
“There was a lot of skepticism. You can't hit those drilling rates in granite. If you can't hit that build rate to a lateral well in granite, you can't do a plug and perf operation, you know, hydraulic fracturing operation in granite in the same way that you ca…”
Sarah Jewett May 21, 2025 ▶ 33:10 Building Fervo's geothermal giant
Assertion Open · timeframe Dec 2026
Only one company is delivering a 100MW firm clean project in 2026
“There is one company that's building a hundred megawatt firm clean energy project that's going to be delivered in twenty-twenty-six, and that's a geothermal company.”
Sarah Jewett May 21, 2025 ▶ 38:29 Building Fervo's geothermal giant
Assertion Contradicted
Garabedian: Large-scale green hydrogen is not bankable today
“Large scale green hydrogen is not bankable today.”
Rafi Garabedian Mar 12, 2025 ▶ 21:36 Electric Hydrogen’s bet on supersized electrolyzers
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Garabedian: Fertilizer industry lacks motivation to decarbonize
“The fertilizer industry has no compulsion or real kind of soft motivation to decarbonize.”
Rafi Garabedian Mar 12, 2025 ▶ 24:07 Electric Hydrogen’s bet on supersized electrolyzers
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