I feel like people focus a little too much on Bruce Springsteen having a slightly cringey stage persona singing boomer music and not enough on that boomer music being pretty fuckin good and him genuinely caring about stuff
This is very disturbing.
The whole project is free and #open-source! Check it out!
github.com/madisonricke...
My friend Madison Rickert made a #WebApp that predicts 🌋 eruptions!
During a visit to #Kīlauea, she built a model based on #USGS data to predict when the volcano would erupt. It was accurate within a few days and was able to take some rad photos during the eruption!
kilauea-tracker.streamlit.app
Exciting to see Dr. Marcus Eriksen from 5Gyres present on his lifetime of studying #microplastics during the EPA's announcement today!
USEPA announced the 'STOMP' - Systematic Targeting of #Microplastics program through ARPA-H, which will provide ~$115 mil to standardize monitoring methods, determine exposure and hazards to human health, and develop methods to reduce body burden.
Thoughts on this?
The #USEPA will make an announcement today from 2-3:30 pm Eastern regarding #microplastics in #drinkingWater. Tune in to learn more.
www.epa.gov/newsroom/live
BREAKING: Bernie Sanders is introducing an amendment to cut ICE’s $75 billion funding increase, and to use those funds to restore the federal cuts to health care.
🙌Some good news! Washington State just adopted a law that requires companies to ensure products contains <50ppm total fluorine to reduce consumer exposure to #PFAS!
www.globalelr.com/2026/01/wash...
ICE must be abolished. It has become a lawless, rogue agency. Federal law enforcement agencies must follow the law, if they're going to have any credibility enforcing it.
We are demanding justice for Renee Good and the prosecution of ICE agent Jonathan Ross for her murder.
I’m seeing a lot of people predict that “the right wing media is going to turn this story for Trump” and “they’re going to work overtime to make America forget this” and you should tell that to all these people out there in Minnesota in fucking January. This can matter. This will matter.
Join me at The #Microplastics Exposure & Human Health Conference in Santa Fe, NM (January 11 - 14, 2026)!
Encouraging to see this work feeding directly into the global conversation!
#Microplastics #DrinkingWater #ScienceToPolicy #GlobalPlasticsTreaty #California
This paper highlights something that often gets overlooked: subnational policy can move faster than global agreements—and help shape them. California’s experience shows it *is* possible to put real structure around microplastics, even amid uncertainty.
Is it perfect? Absolutely not—and that’s okay. What matters is understanding the uncertainties, biases, and best practices, and improving over time.
We needed something transparent, adaptable, and grounded in the best available evidence. Through collaboration with global experts we developed standardized methods, open data infrastructure (One4All), and a risk-based framework that was **good enough for game time**, even with known limitations.
Abkar & Walker connect California’s approach directly to the Global Plastics Treaty negotiations. When we (State Water Board and OEHHA) started building California’s monitoring framework, we definitely didn’t have all the answers (and still don’t). But waiting for *perfect* science wasn’t an option.
This @universitypress.cambridge.org article by @leiliab.bsky.social and @tonyrwalker1.bsky.social genuinely warmed my heart. It’s a reminder that the work we’ve been doing in #California on #microplastics in drinking water can- and does- travel far beyond our borders!
doi.org/10.1017/plc....
Six US state governors have signed a petition demanding the USEPA to monitor #microplastics in #drinkingWater.
michiganadvance.com/2025/12/02/w...
Join #DTSC's Safer Consumer Products team for a virtual workshop on #microplastics in consumer products Thursday, Dec. 11!
Get an overview of our preliminary research/findings + share insights w/ us on Zoom:
⌚ 9:30 – noon (PST)
🔗 Learn more & RSVP: dtsc.ca.gov/event/microp...
Just learned a #nonviolent replacement for the phrase, "Kill two birds with one stone" that I am totally in love with.
"Feed two birds with one scone"
Disappointing to see that scientists are still conflating gender and sex in the literature. The reviewers or editors really should have caught this glaring error in the title of this 2016 paper!
Thank you to authors:
@magdalenammair.bsky.social @analeticiav.bsky.social, Stephanie Kennedy, Anna Kukkola, Ezra Miller, Andrew Yeh, Towsif Ahmed, Lidwina Bertrand, Andrew Barrick, Win Cowger, and Darragh Doyle
Huge thanks to all collaborators who made this possible. This project was truly a labor of love - no funding, 100% volunteer-run, with authors from all over the world!
More to come soon! 🌎✨
Some good news-
By harmonizing data across particle types, exposure conditions, species, and effect endpoints, we created the most comprehensive quality-assured dataset to date for microplastic ecological risk assessment (i.e., ToMEx 2.0)!
microplastics.springeropen.com/articles/10....
This means we can't judge a book by it's cover (or it's age)! High-quality microplastic effects data remain relatively rare, and just because a paper is newer or is published in a 'good' journal doesn't mean it's reliable!
We also found that while 'better' journals (i.e., ⬆️impact factor & Altmetric score) correlate with higher quality studies, there are MANY exceptions, with some of the best studies in mid-impact journals like ES&T and STOTEN.
• Widespread issues with particle characterization, dose reporting, and experimental design.
• Many studies lack the information needed to determine whether observed effects are real, reproducible, or relevant for risk assessment.
What we found: despite explosive growth in the literature, only a small fraction of studies meet minimum standards for use in health-protective risk assessment.
We found:
• A significant negative trend in study quality over time, despite more papers being published each year :/
