Yuck. Sorry to hear it was a rough one.

and how "later is too late" to get serious about renewables and valuing carbon. Last, we talk about all the ways we can approach #CO2removal (#CDR), watch the roads2removal.org video, and I do my best to get them excited about the big opportunities for agricultural soils!

Today was a good day. Each year in mid-April, I give one of my favorite lectures...at Berkeley High School's 9th grade Climate Conference. We talk about Farming Carbon, how rocks (minerals) + roots + microbes + water = soil. We go over how the earth system is changing...

all >10yr switchgrass fields, next to business-as-usual annual crops. All with #radiocarbon measurements down to 1 meter. Would you expect more SOC in the perennial grass soils? Or a correlation with pH, climate, mineralogy? Read it. You'll be glad you did.
(Hint: yes, it is all about the roots!)

Assessing the Effect of a Deep‐Rooted Grass on Belowground Carbon Storage in Cultivated Land: Insights From a Multi‐Site US Study Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum, L.) stored significantly more carbon in root biomass than shallow-rooted crops at 12 sites across the USA Switchgrass had no detectable effect on soil organic carbo...

You wanna know if deeply rooted grasses put more carbon in the ground? "Sometimes you've gotta rent a van and drive around the country..." So said @ericslessarev.bsky.social & team in this wonderful study. 12 sites in central/eastern USA...
dx.doi.org/10.1029/2025...

Britain responds to Iran war energy shock by requiring solar panels and heat pumps in all new homes The move comes as part of Britain's response to the Iran war, with the conflict triggering the largest supply disruption in the history of the oil market.

In light of the Iran war, the UK will require all new homes to be built with solar panels and energy-efficient electric heat pumps. How...logical! www.cnbc.com/2026/03/24/i...

Our group has just conducted two of the most comprehensive studies of agrivoltaics in the nation. The current utility-scale solar contract for >100K acres of the SJV is not designed to integrate crops.
#mansplaining #checkthebio

Drought Reduces Formation, but Enhances Persistence, of Mineral‐Associated Organic Matter in a Grassland Soil We used a 13C-CO2 labeling study to track the formation and persistence of mineral-associated soil carbon derived from living root and decaying root inputs under normal moisture and droughted conditi...

Drought Reduces Formation, but Enhances Persistence, of Mineral-Associated Organic Matter in a Grassland Soil、Global Change Biology, #stableisotopes onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Rise of the shrubs: what happened when scientists heated a Rocky Mountain wildlife meadow by 2C? A long-running experiment in Colorado provides an ‘alarming’ view of how rapidly unchecked global heating could transform fragile ecosystems

update on the experiment my colleague John Harte started almost 30 years ago

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Farm workers. 340,000 people in SJ county. 0.5 jobs per acre for a working farm. Only 0.01 -0.05 jobs per acre of utility-scale solar after it’s built.

Or… possibly a huge job killer that causes increase in dust storms and loss of soil health. There’s a lot of variables not being considered here.

Spent the evening helping my 16 yo study for her IB Bio exam — ecology and evolution unit. And darned if I don’t actually know some stuff!! Like… all of it. Somehow reaffirming that— even with all the chaos, funding disappearing, sponsors imploding…I still think I chose the right career.

Associate Senior Lecturer/Assistant Professor in Molecular Microbiology The Department of Biology conducts research and teaching in many subject areas such as ecology, evolutionary biology, organismal biology and molecular biology. A total of approximately 300 people curr

Associate Senior Lecturer/Assistant Professor position in Molecular Microbiology available at Lund University, Sweden:
lu.varbi.com/en/what:job/...

Trump’s War on Iran Could Screw Over US Farmers The Middle East supplies a huge amount of the world’s fertilizer. Conflict in the region has sent prices soaring ahead of the critical spring planting season.

there's a lot going on right now but did you know a massive amount of the world's fertilizer flows through the middle east, and did you know that that fertilizer needs to be shipped to the us *right now* for planting season, and uh did you know we are at war with iran

so in other words, a typical Oakland kid 😎

EMSL-JGI meeting in Seattle was pretty great! (although I’ll be happy when we can stop talking nonstop about AI and just use it like any other tool). Best part by far was getting to see my dear friend and former postdoc Ashley Campbell.

MRV should be pretty straightforward…

Ahh, if theres a massive Feb snowstorm in DC, I must be here for the Genomic Sciences mtg. Without fail…

Awesome— congrats!

Felicidades Benito!!! What a wonderful love letter to Puerto Rico, La Isla del Encanto.
We are celebrating with tostones, arroz maspasteao, amarillos, pinchos, pastelillos and coco mojitos!!

Opinion | This Is Just Who Trump Is

"For years, a cottage industry of political observers has contorted itself to obscure and occlude the obvious. That regardless of what others see in him, Trump’s entire political career...cannot be understood outside the context of his bitter, deep-seated racism." (gift link)

We are recruiting a postdoc to study wetland plant-soil-microbe interactions using isotope labeling in our greenhouse at LLNL with me and Erin Nuccio as part of a multidisciplinary project. Experience with wetland plants and SIP a plus. Please share!
www.linkedin.com/posts/activi...

Got em www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/c...

Love it. My hometown.

Across America and the world, people are realizing it’s not possible to appease America’s dictator.

The only way to deal with him is to stand up to him — and the only way to stand up to him is by joining together against him.

It's time for a massive general strike across the country.

Donate to Alex Pretti is an American Hero, organized by Keith Edwards On January 24, 2026, Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a Minneapolis resident and American citizen wa… Keith Edwards needs your support for Alex Pretti is an American Hero

If you’re able, please support this verified GoFundMe for Alex Pretti’s family. And if you’re not in a position to donate, sharing it far and wide matters just as much. It’s at $300K and counting.

My sister-in-law's dad died last week, in hospice in the VA hospital in Minneapolis. I just learned Alex Pretti was part of his care team. They shot Alex less than 1/2 mile from my niece's house while doing the same observation work that my niece is doing. These are real people. Step up folks!

We’ve been in WHO since 1948.

This should be a national shutdown