Maybe this could make zerowaste alternatives more popular. I'm hopeful that the price hikes could encourage some people to make sustainable changes (e.g. shampoo/conditioner/soap bars without packaging instead of liquid versions that come in plastic)
He's still going environmental advocacy, as is his daughter Karenna Gore. I saw both of them at COP30 and I think they'll both be in Nashville soon for the Climate Reality training.
Academics, did you use time in your PhD program to target a dream job?
I'm interested in a small niche and would have to start incorporating things outside of my advisor's expertise to build the right resume. I don't know if that's a good idea if I want to graduate on time. Advice appreciated :)
Pop culture often depicts environmentalists in unflattering ways, and I think that's preventing people from adopting more sustainable lifestyles. I wonder if we can provoke change by deploying charismatic, attractive people to model behaviors that we want to become more widely adopted.
Has anyone studied provoking societal change through social/cultural capital? E.g. are people more likely to use native plants for landscaping if they see someone they respect/admire doing it? Will more people adopt zero waste practices if they see attractive people modelling those practices?
“NSF Plant Biology Act.”
H.R. 7949
www.congress.gov/bill/119th-c...
This bill would expand NSF funding for plant and microbial biology grants with $150 million authorized each year from FY2026 through 2031.
Reach out to your representatives.
www.house.gov/representati...
Is that why the online portal to access my W-2 won't let me in? Because some vibecoder is looksmaxxing and Linked-in mogging instead of making the website work?
Absolutely. Studyblr may be dead but I'm still taking good notes in pretty cursive.
Literally started taking the bus because I don't want to scan a QR code to park, plus my phone battery dies so quickly that I don't use it outside of the house for anything non-essential. I'm not wasting precious battery percentages on QR code parking.
On a related note, coffee shops that play insanely loud music to prevent people from hanging out shouldn't exist. This is about Barista Parlor specifically, which everyone should already be boycotting for their labor issues.
The mountain azaleas are blooming, 5-lined skinks are running around, and leaf-out is in full swing! Fingers crossed we get some rain soon because I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of the mushrooms 🍄
I was in the field today and in the time we had the line quantum sensor case open (about 15 seconds) like 5 leaves fell in. Makes me wonder if there's any little forest creatures messing with us
I'm seeing a lot of newly planted street trees around Nashville, and none of them are invasive species (I checked)! Plus, the trees planted on my street last year are doing well. Things are really moving in the right direction here
I dream of a world where the people who must live in suburban sprawl will at least choose a Prius instead of an Escalade
Is anyone else cautiously optimistic about the silver linings of gas prices? I'm hoping this is what gets the average suburbanite to choose any form of transit other than massive SUVs/pickups. Maybe plastics won't be the cheap default packaging if prices stay high. Anything's possible
> Me pretending my dissertation experiments matter at all
I now have a paper in review that cites another one of my papers that is also in review. Feeling very academic 😎
Revising figures in R you made a year ago when you're at the very end of writing a manuscript is like deciphering hieroglyphics
Ooh very fun!
I'm Gen z and have never made a purchase via phone because I don't trust it. If I could I'd throw my phone away and get a flip phone instead, but unfortunately my employer requires 2-factor authentication for everything
Update: our building is STILL out, it's on a generator now. The building next to ours doesn't have a generator so they're just out of luck with any samples that have temperature requirements
We had a university-wide power outage starting Saturday that PIs weren't informed of until Sunday. Lost a ton of samples, the other campus across town was also affected, and no reason has been given. At this point I think incompetence must be a requirement for administrative positions.
Always sad when you hear from an old classmate and it turns out they just want you to join an MLM.
Has anyone else noticed the lack of studies looking into why AM seedlings are less inhibited by ericaceous shrubs than ECM seedlings? I've collected a few citations showing that pattern, but none have measured root colonization by AM or looked at the community composition/structure changes
Nashville's public transit has improved so much in the four years I've lived here that the bus has actually become a commute option for me! Thanks Freddie
@freddieoconnell.bsky.social
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
When I was a kid up in the Keweenaw we rarely got over 300" in a year. Seems like now 300"+ is happening more years than not! Thank God for snow blowers, I can't imagine dealing with this much snow with a shovel (or even a yooper scooper)
The long-awaited @robertmoor.com In Trees: An Exploration comes out Apr 7! I've been looking forward to this book since reading Moor's brilliant On Trails.
I just preordered. You can, too. Support an excellent author & have something great to look forward to.
www.publishersweekly.com/9781476739250
What a delight it is to come across people you know while browsing literature outside of your field. It's like finding an easter egg
