Florida keeps packing people and buildings on barrier islands. It comes at a high cost Florida barrier islands host 765,000+ residents as development raises hurricane, erosion and insurance risks while taxpayers fund repeated beach restorations.

Latest in the Built on Sand series for @miamiherald.com
Reporting by @denisehruby.bsky.social and myself

Read more at: www.miamiherald.com/news/local/e...

Sinking skyscrapers? As buildings got bigger in Sunny Isles, so did engineering concerns At least a handful of towers have sunk as much as two to three times more than expected, the Miami Herald found in a months-long analysis of dozens of engineering reports covering nearly every building along the city’s multibillion-dollar skyline.

At least a handful of towers have sunk as much as two to three times more than expected, the Miami Herald found in a months-long analysis of dozens of engineering reports covering nearly every building along the city’s multibillion-dollar skyline.

‘Street is lake, urgent!’ Herald mapping reveals flooding blind spots As climate changes soaks South Florida, flood complaints are piling up.

As climate changes soaks South Florida, flood complaints are piling up.

Our best shot to save Florida reefs? A high-tech factory making heat-hardy babies As traditional restoration of reefs fails to counter a coral collapse driven by climate change, scientists are looking toward the industrial-scale production of hardier, factory-bred babies

Our best shot to save #Florida reefs? A high-tech factory making heat-hardy babies
www.miamiherald.com/news/local/e... via @denisehruby.bsky.social

Sharks might be spending less time in Florida. That’s actually not good. Fishermen sometimes complain that they munch their catch before they can get it into their boat, and every so often, one might bite a swimmer or surfer. But as far as the health of our oceans go, shar...

Sharks might be spending less time in #Florida waters. That’s actually not good.
www.miamiherald.com/news/local/e... via @denisehruby.bsky.social

In Texas, Florida and across the globe, warmer climate makes flooding ‘more unprecedented’ As Texas’ flooding death toll climbs, fossil fuel emissions continue to worsen flooding

Texas and Florida floods show climate change's deadly effects - @denisehruby.bsky.social @miamiherald.com

www.miamiherald.com/news/local/e...

How much will a hurricane kit cost? See prices as you get ready for storm season Prepare and avoid panic buying. You’ll save money and your sanity.

Let's get ahead of hurricane season. We're putting together a series of stories to help you navigate the annual storm season. You should have a hurricane kit. Here's what it'll cost, more or less. www.miamiherald.com/news/weather...

What it looks like when parts of a mountain & a glacier come crashing down a village. Absolutely terrifying. There are so many places across the Alps that face similar risks - something I've been covering for years, incl. from France & Italy for Nat Geo: www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/...

"Worst-case scenario". Some 300 residents were evacuated; cows were airlifted by helicopter. I first reported about how the warming climate is making mountains less stable back in 2019 when I traveled across Switzerland with @tcristofoletti.bsky.social

How journalists help readers understand climate change's local effects At the Society of Environmental Journalists conference, four reporters described how they write climate stories to resonate with their audiences.

“There's more stories than we can possibly cover," @denisehruby.bsky.social said. "I often say it's the front lines of climate change. I feel like you can have so much impact when you report on climate change in a community that's already affected.” #SEJ2025

www.azcentral.com/story/news/l...

With a vpn, I assume

We made our j6 audio doc a year and change after the capitol attack. It was designed to stand the test of time. I still think about the extraordinary people who went on mic, all the time

This history will be with us for many years to come.

Did the XX chromosome population where I grew up succumb to some scary virus? Cause here‘s the „leading figures’ outlook on 2025“ cover of the paper I grew up with.

Elon Musk Doubles Down on Support for German Far-Right AfD The world’s richest man, a key adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, ridicules critics over his backing of the German extremist party AfD, as Germany prepares for elections.

Elon Musk shocked many in Germany last week by endorsing its far-right Alternative for Germany party. This week, as Germany prepares for elections, he doubled down.

The clean energy transition, in 10 charts These charts on electric vehicles, clean energy, batteries, and more show where the global clean energy transition stands — and where it’s headed.

These charts on electric vehicles, clean energy, batteries, and more show where the global clean energy transition stands — and where it’s headed.

www.canarymedia.com/...

Why paying for a newspaper (or real journalism) is worth every penny. Florida is no longer the Sunshine State. To get a public record, you often have to hire a lawyer.

Working on a new syllabus for a multimedia journalism class at Florida International University. What are some standout examples for you? (I know pretty much all journalism is „multimedia“ now but still)

From exploring the sun to the dating scene, NPR's can't-miss podcasts from 2024 2024 was an epic year for podcasts across the NPR Network. With less than two weeks left before 2025, now is the time to catch up on a few of our favorite shows and seasons of the year.

given how late it appeared in the year, I'm extra grateful to the NPR people for featuring "The Harvard Plan" from @bostonglobe.com & @onthemedia.bsky.social in this excellent list

www.npr.org/2024/12/20/g...

I've always been fascinated by the power of visual storytelling, interspersed with topical humor to drive points home. When I was with NASA I explored this in many of my internal educational presentations. In order to truly understand present climate, we first need to understand its context. Global temperatures over the past 60 million years.

I've always been fascinated by the power of visual storytelling, interspersed with topical humor to drive points home. When I was with NASA I explored this in many of my internal educational presentations. The world that was, the world that is now and the world may yet come to pass:

Christmas, Key West style

Removing Carbon From the Sky Could Be the Next Climate Gold Rush Investors are betting that they can make a dent in global warming, and healthy profits, with companies that alter the atmosphere.

“This isn’t a market…. A market means liquidity, repeatability, standards. We have none of that here.” Plus: We have close to zero facilities that can actually do it.

A wild ride indeed 👇🏼

How investigators, prosecutors bungled probe of boat crash that killed teen girl A Miami Herald investigation into the boat crash that killed a 17-year-old Lourdes student reveals a deeply flawed probe as FWC investigators and prosecutors built a case against George Pino.

Today's read: A terrible boat crash. A teenage girl dead in the water. A powerful and wealthy man at the helm. Yet the Miami-Dade state attorney ignored mounting evidence that alcohol was a factor in the fatal crash. www.miamiherald.com/news/local/c...

The clues that alcohol was a factor in a catastrophic boat crash in 2022 that drowned one teen and permanently disabled another emerged immediately.

Yet it took less than seven hours for investigators to rule out alcohol as a factor, records reviewed by the Miami Herald show.🧵

Meme. Painting of the wise men coming to see the baby Jesus. Mary, in a blue cloak, is holding the baby while Joseph stands behind her in brown clothes. Mary looks adoring, and Joe looks old. His hair is gray, and he's balding, & he looks like a man who'd need to worry about his young wife stepping out. There are a couple of women in the background who look like they're gossiping. The cow is looking on in the background, peering out of a cave and lowering over an empty manger with the sense of an animal that would like it's trough back, please. The whole right side of the scene is take up by the wise men and their massive entourage. One of the magi is bending to receive Jesus' infant blessing (which may smell like spit up). The others await their turn They're all super-wealthy; even their horse is gold-bedecked. But are they going to set the Holy Family up for life? Nope. They're gonna leave some party favors and jet. Kings, man. Meme text reads: "Anguilles we have heard on high!"

Have you ordered your Christmas eels yet? Have you??

Medieval kings often served eels at their Xmas feasts. In 1213, King John had 10,000 eels at his holiday party. His son, Henry, once ordered up 40,000!

So get on it! You don't want your party to be the First Nö-eel, do you?
🗃️🧪

Donald Trump’s Cabinet of Influencers. Plus, 'The Harvard Plan.' | On the Media | WNYC Studios Why the White House is recruiting officials with their own online microphones, and the ideological battle over America’s universities.

So much of Harvard is about educating tomorrow's leaders. How its own leadership failed so dramatically that Harvard's first Black president resigned is fascinating - and tricky to untangle. Nobody could have done a better job than @ilyamarritz.bsky.social www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm...

www.miamiherald.com/news/local/e...

A big deal:

From this article by @miamiherald.bsky.social's @denisehruby.bsky.social:

"For starters, experts said, this could be a sign that rising sea levels, caused by the continued emission of greenhouse gases, is accelerating the erosion of the limestone on which #SouthFlorida is built."

#ClimateChange

Sunny Isles buildings ’100 percent safe’ but city reviewing them in wake of sinking study Too much construction, too much load on sand, and too much water could all play a role

After a study found dozens of sinking condos and hotels in Miami, at least one of the cities told us they'll take another look at the constructions. Here's our update, plus more on why they might be sinking. www.miamiherald.com/news/local/e...