Washington Post article on STEM cuts at federal agencies. NSF tops it at -42%!
“Between January 2025 and February 2026, STEM and health employees at science-focused agencies saw nearly 15,000 jobs cut. The rate outpaced cuts among other federal workers.”
OPM data - Figure from Wash Post article 19 April. (Where US science has been hit hardest.)
NSF at -42%!
Amazon will pay $20.5 million to settle allegations that two of its Oregon data centers helped contaminate groundwater.
This is exactly why communities across the country are organizing to stop data centers — and winning.
Never doubt your power to change the system.
😮 I assign a project like this in a soils laboratory course I teach
Hope you're having a good learning experience
@scibugs.bsky.social do you concur with the Weevil IDs for this? Possibly yucca weevil?
hey i’m being real fucking serious right now
call your reps. this is insane. he already had thousands of jobs removed from the us fish and wildlife service. dismantling the us forest service will have a devastating impact on habitat protections.
im too mad for words.
Cat paw with two toe beans visible
Grey cat curled into a ball on a blanket, his paws curled over his snoot
Ash was hiding most of his beans but I got two!
Vermillion flycatcher with its body turned to the side looking at the camera. It's bright red feathers stand out against the green foliage.
Me too! Only ever managed photographing one though, months ago
Screenshot of several birds in the Merlin app including a Vermillion flycatcher, Gilla Woodpecker and Red-winged blackbird along with a handful of more common birds like Northern mockingbird
Today's 10-minute Merlin 🐦
#tenminmerlin #10minmerlin #tenminutemerlin #Tucson #TucsonBirds #birds #birding
Renewables are hitting an inflection point.
A president can’t just “declare” that the federal government will determine the ways in which states operate their elections. Enough is enough.
Caterpillars and ants communicate by dancing. The ants tap out a rhythm that the caterpillar matches. There are caterpillars that ants like to take care of: they protect these caterpillars & their babies & the caterpillars in turn secrete sugary fluid the ants eat. buff.ly/iVtLf8j
#ShareGoodNewsToo
If I don't sell enough of these by mid April. They won't be made. And I'll have to refund existing orders.
The lesson of history is that tyrants cannot be appeased.
Appeasement only feeds their insatiable hunger for power.
Tyrants prey on people who feel unsafe and vulnerable.
But without mass submission, a tyrant is powerless.
Remember this.
Always resist: “When finally you surrender to us, it must be of your own free will. We do not destroy the heretic because he resists us: so long as he resists us we never destroy him. We convert him, we capture his inner mind, we reshape him.” (Orwell, 1984)
Group of No Kings protesters holding signs including No Crown for The Clown, Good Trouble Lives On, and Quiet Piggy
Green dinosaur holding a sign saying Dinos for Democracy
Scenes from #NoKings this morning in Tucson 🚫👑
Events are underway across the U.S. in today’s historic protest! #NoKings ❌👑
Find yours at NoKings.org
There will be more protests today than any other day in American history. Please join us at your local No Kings event to reject the regime’s brutality at home and abroad: www.nokings.org?SQF_SOURCE=i... #NoKings
Tucson really turned out for #NoKings today!
(Turn on sound for honks of support)
270 people joined me, and we had a great talk about how to engage our neighbours, friends, and elected officials in climate action using the head-heart-hands model!
(which I explain here: www.astronomy.com/science/solv...)
I will share the recording when it's available.
This is one of the most important issues with the global food system, yet it is often ignored.
Put simply, we don't actually grow much *food* in our farms around the world. Instead, we grow grossly inefficient animal feed and biofuels.
drawdown.org/news/only-ha...
Congrats to the Project Drawdown team. Looks like a useful update of one of my fav papers, @enviroem.bsky.social et al 2013.
Feeding more crops to people & fewer to animals & vehicles would make it way easier to feed 10B people and end deforestation, stabilize the climate, cut water pollution etc.
Here is what you need to know about the SAVE Act:
1. It started as a stunt to protect Mike Johnson's speakership.
2. It has evolved into a massive voter suppression bill.
3. It won't pass.
4. When it fails Trump will escalate.
5. We will fight and win. www.democracydocket.com/opinion/the-...
Protecting forests is a HUGE climate solution.
It is also a solution to biodiversity loss, protecting watersheds, and improving human health.
Put another way, we could get rid of corn ethanol, switch 30% of the freed-up farmland to solar to generate 100% of US electricity, and use the other 70% of the freed-up land for whatever we want.
🌳 Do you want to contribute to research on how humans perceive forests? Take this quick, anonymous 10-min survey 🌲
👉 www.biodiful.org#/forest
This will help us explore how people experience forest biodiversity!
Please share on 🦋 & tag @biodiful.bsky.social to reach more participants 🙏💚
🌐🌍🦤🦑🪴🍁🧪
You're welcome! It was fun haha
