U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright arrived in the Tri-Cities this week and a trail of contradictions followed www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

Simply put, his role over the years was to ensure the fundamental principle of the nation’s Superfund law: The polluter pays for the cleanup. He hadn’t tied his retirement to a specific age, or an amount hitting his savings, but rather to seeing some of his cases through.

NEW TWIST: data centers in farm country may accelerate nitrate contamination from agricultural sources with big implications for public health. Studies are needed to confirm or refute this finding. Lack of transparency, monitoring, regulations makes it tough. www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...

Judge Pechman wrote: “ …allowing a change in an administration to upend multiyear grants would cause unnecessary chaos across the vast world of government-supported endeavors undertaken by states, universities, nonprofits & others.” www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news... @isabellabreda.bsky.social

A look at the globally averaged sea surface temperature over the last three months relative to each other July-August-September period since 1854. This warming trend has far-reaching impacts. Data from NOAA ERSSTv5: www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/ext...

Yesterday, Stephen Miller questioned details re 170+ Americans detained by immigration agents. “Abject lies,” he wrote. Here’s the thing: We tracked, catalogued, and compiled every one of those 170+ cases. Because...we do our homework. propub.li/4o2eeiL

Dam operations on the Columbia and Snake have been fought over in one of the longest-running unresolved legal fights in the region. At issue is the extinction of Northwest salmon and the impacts to wildlife, people and industries that rely on them. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

It’s difficult to find the words to express how our unit is feeling right now, but we’ll take a stab at it: shocked, disappointed, angry, gutted. @cascadepbs.bsky.social’s choice to eliminate long-form written reporting is a massive loss for our community in a critical moment. tinyurl.com/LayoffFund

NEW from @isabellabreda.bsky.social - Four weeks after ICE arrested him while he worked the Bear Gulch fire on the Olympic Peninsula, immigration officials released firefighter Rigoberto Hernandez from the detention center in Tacoma. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

Scientists assessed several speculative climate hacks that have been promoted recently, and none of them measured up to the hype—or to a rigorous set of feasibility standards.

Most questions remain unanswered, including whether businesses or firefighters were targeted in the criminal investigation, and whether the investigation was connected to the arrests. Firefighters said it felt like a setup. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

🚨Border Patrol arrested two firefighters who were actively fighting a wildfire at the time. When the other members of the crew asked for a chance to say goodbye, a Border Patrol agent told the crew member “you need to get the f*ck out of here. I’m going to make you leave.”

There aren't many stories that prompt gasps at our editors' daily budget meeting. But this was one.

Border patrol, and other federal agents, arresting firefighters on a red flag day. This isn’t normal.

Context that didn't make it into the story, a quick 🧵 About 60,000 people are currently in custody across the country, said Matt Adams, legal director for the nonprofit Northwest Immigrant Rights Project. 1/9

“The real question is will the Army follow state cleanup law,” said Greg Caron, a manager for the state’s hazardous waste and toxics reduction program. “And they’ve never answered that question.” www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

The number of sockeye returning to the Baker River continues to grow. Interventions including concrete ponds, chutes, an elevator, a fish taxi and a hatchery have changed how the fish navigate the river system—but the method is working. nwtt.co/o4

Sea stars—26 species—have been dying by the billions from Mexico to Alaska, their arms tearing off, their bodies dissolving, w/huge consequences for the sea. Experts finally figured out why— and gave @biographic.bsky.social exclusive access. Can we save them? www.biographic.com/unmasking-th...

A TSUNAMI WATCH is now in effect for Washington state. If you are on the coast, be prepared to take action & stay tuned for more instructions. This alert level will update once more is known. Find details here: tsunami.gov/events/PAAQ/... #TsunamiWatch #WaWX

NEW: According to data not previously reported, thousands of firefighting jobs — as many as 27% of them — remain vacant as the nation enters the peak of fire season, with more than 1 million acres burning across 10 Western states. By @abestreep.bsky.social

A fuel tanker crashed off Highway 101 on Friday and began leaking fuel into a major tributary for salmon, trout and the water supply for Port Angeles. It's a pretty devastating spill. From @isabellabreda.bsky.social and me: www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

“Part of the reason why climate is such a factor here is because we’ve damaged the natural processes, and we prevented the river from being resilient like it was before,” said Ryan Miller, a member of Tulalip Tribes board of directors. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news... @isabellabreda.bsky.social

It's hot, dry and about to get windy! www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

The OBBB is expected to contribute an additional 470 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year by 2035, the annual equivalent of more than 100 million gas-powered cars on the road. insideclimatenews.org/news/0307202...

Thank you @seattletimes-rss.bsky.social @isabellabreda.bsky.social & Lynda Mapes for capturing the story of one of the most inspiring scientists and human beings I know. @noaa.gov and all of us have lost. The dreams Trump is taking away from so many - those are the ones that made America great.

Plans to open a South Seattle Community Food Hub aimed at supporting local farmers and hunger relief groups were canceled due to funding uncertainty under Trump.

Is Washington state on its now whenever the next natural disaster strikes? Emergency managers don't know and the federal government isn't saying. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

The canceled program, called the Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative, was responsible for a plan to reduce illness and save lives in extreme heat in the wake of the 2021 heat dome, among other things. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

This sucks. “What seems so strange to me,” said Jason Vogel, deputy director of the Climate Impacts Group and co-director of the Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative, “is that what initially appeared to be an attack on climate science [...] is becoming an attack on vulnerable communities.”

Thanks @isabellabreda.bsky.social for covering termination of the Northwest's NOAA Climate Adaptation Partnership via @seattletimes-rss.bsky.social. The public needs to know what's being taken from them.

According to @seattletimes.com's @isabellabreda.bsky.social the Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative "represents about 25% of the total work at the UW’s Climate Impacts Group."

His ouster came a day after he told members of Congress that FEMA — which President Trump has suggested should be disbanded — was vital to communities “in their greatest times of need” and should not be eliminated. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/08/u...

Trump's war on woke comes for Seattle housing programs www.seattletimes.com/business/rea...

Trump and EPA's Zeldin are gutting climate policies as fast as they can. This week the GOP-led House, joined by some Dems, voted to revoke waivers EPA long granted CA to pioneer clean-vehicle programs using methods experts say has no legal authority. My latest insideclimatenews.org/news/0105202...

In Gov. Bob Ferguson's first legislative session, he put fences around the tax debate (including nixing a wealth tax), but left many wondering what's in his head. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

NEW: California scientists say a Trump admin proposal to cut tens of millions of dollars to NOAA-funded programs would hamper weather forecasting, disrupt critical ocean data collection and decimate climate research. @sfchronicle.com spoke to more than a dozen CA scientists. Here’s what they said:

I talked to the Seattle Times about how loss of our region's Climate Adaptation Science Center and NOAA Climate Adaptation Partnership would slash our capacity to support NW climate resilience. “If the (centers) are eliminated, then our resource managers are going to be flying blind,” Krosby said."

The Bureau of Land Management is no longer being shy about prioritizing logging in Oregon’s forests. I can’t say I ever noticed it using the hashtag #TimberDominance at the end of a press release before.

Some of you may be getting an error message while trying to access APNews. We are aware of the issue and working to resolve it.

The Trump admin abruptly ended a grant program that could dry up ~$195 million in federal funds destined for 27 WA projects. This is $$ that was intended to help WA communities reduce flooding, build a tsunami evacuation tower, and plan for natural disasters. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

When you stop counting...

A must read if you care about protecting endangered species: “There’s just no way to protect animals and plants from extinction without protecting the places they live, yet the Trump administration is opening the floodgates to immeasurable habitat destruction.” insideclimatenews.org/news/1704202...

New Cascade PBS/Elway Poll finds Trump approval in WA at 35%. Disapproval 63%. Same poll at this point in 2017 had Trump at 40% approval vs 56% disapproval. www.cascadepbs.org/sites/defaul...

People are running around looking for compost bags...Some scientists have bought their own soap and cleaning supplies. A snapshot of the chaos at one NOAA lab as contracts for basic services expire. My latest: www.propublica.org/article/noaa...

My heart has been so heavy the last couple of months with how these brilliant, kind, hardworking colleagues who chose careers of public service have been treated. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...