In all my years of existence, I have never once stepped foot into an IKEA and it’s now a point of pride for me.

If a tiny fraction of the resources deployed towards AI was invested instead in actual artists we'd be enjoying a renaissance rather than drowning in a sea of garbage

I’ll admit, #Tugtupite is a toughie, but as a Mineral Cup rookie, we all know that the Reindeer Blood stone’s approach will be to slide its blade along the stubby sides of #Kyanite to no effect whatsoever! Anisotropic. Beautiful DEEP blue. Kyanite is rested and ready to be #MinCup25 champion!

Portland doesn’t need the military. Portland has its own defenses.

I genuinely had this conversation w/ my 1st year grad student TODAY. There's STILL no solicitation posted, but the hard deadline stands - making it impossible to know the specific guidelines for the application or even apply! This is INFURIATING as an advisor and a scientist & totally unacceptable.

To eat through the awfulness, here is a reminder that nature is, in the most literal sense, AWESOME.

The federal government has censored the work of dozens of scientists, including work by my lab, on the impacts of climate change on Acadia National Park. Signs have been removed from Cadillac and Great Meadow. They’re also removing signs about the Wabanaki’s sacred connections to Cadillac.

As you cancel streaming services, here is a casual reminder that only 16% of Americans read for pleasure anymore, and your local library has hundreds or thousands of books you haven't read. They would love to see you stop by and renew your library card.

This is the playbook, folks. If you're not paying attention now and doing something about it, then you're going to have to sit down the rest of your life because democracy is being taken away. Do not be quiet in this moment.

The people I know who hard scrabbled their way out of poverty - ACTUAL poverty - don’t call themselves “self made”. They are more apt to call themselves ‘community made’. They see and acknowledge the ones who helped them build along the way. And will then become someone else’s community too.

Cuprosklodowskite has a cool name, is a uranium mineral, and has our vote in today’s #MinCup25 matchup. eos.org/tag/uranium Plus you add a couple of googly eyes and it’s a Muppet, so it’s got that going for it.

Strongly leaning towards Scrabble champion #Cuprosklodowskite over #Ikaite. Not only is it a radioactive devil & named after Marie Skłodowska Curie, its color range — “green” to “more green” — gives it a deadly look. It’s mad, bad & dangerous to know. #MinCup25 might just be a Green v Blue tourney!

Fun fact: the #cuprosklodowskite specimens on display at LANHM has a misspelled display card, which I noticed when visiting with a few members of my Twitch community several years ago. Try saying “cuprosklodowskite” 6x fast & when you can’t, go vote for it!!!

I doubt Kyanite will win top prize in this year's #MinCup but I really think it ought to one of these years. a) pretty b) anisotropic c) index mineral for certain types of metamorphism d) classic example of a polymorph (with sillimanite and andalusite)

I will always diligently vote against kyanite for what it does to quartz 🤬

KC has been a blue dot in a red state for years. I was lucky enough to attend predominantly black K12s & grew up around all types of people from myriad backgrounds-really shaping my worldview. Breaking up KC’s voting districts gets rid of one of the few strongholds where it still feels safe to be.

Crystals won’t help your chakras, but #zunyite wonderous little stars will certainly make you smile :) #MinCup25

I have just heard an ALARMING report that my former Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Nebraska is threatened with elimination, due to a university & state-wide budget crisis, and despite their ongoing success in scholarship and teaching. This is really shocking.

If you vote against calcite this is what you're voting against.

Ok, seems like I need to utilize the nuclear option: all my past collection of posts about #Team Calcite:

If the Trump White House wants to ban all transgender people from owning guns because a handful were responsible for mass shootings, wait until they hear how many shootings straight cis white guys have done.

The clearest of calcite I crave For historically speaking, it gave A view of refraction With quite a reaction: Learning that light is a wave #MinCup25 #MinPoem

CDC senior staff are walking out in protest bc this is basically the other option.

earth science at NASA includes improving hurricane and wildfire prediction, just so you know

This is our satellite. Bought and paid for with taxpayer dollars, appropriated for this specific mission by the elected Congress. Those who would destroy it on purpose are our enemies.

☀️THE SUMMER FIGHT FOR SCIENCE☀️ 🫵 WHO: You + all our friends 🧪 WHAT: Share science with your neighbors and tell them about the impact of proposed budget cuts. 🇺🇸 WHERE: Your local community 🏖️ WHEN: Now to Sept 30th 🔬 WHY: The 9/30 budget vote will determine the future of science in America.

My ongoing request: If your NSF or NIH grant was terminated--whether at Harvard or elsewhere--please report it here. NSF: grant-watch.us/submit-nsf.h... NIH: grant-watch.us/submit-nih.h... Our trackers are actively used in lawsuits and are often the only record that terminations ever occurred.

This is data we paid for out of our taxes, just being thrown away and made unavailable.

URGENT ACTION FOR NSF GRANTEES. For current & recent (since 2020) awards, archive your award history this afternoon/tonight. Screenshot/download/print your work in research.gov & alert your partners. We have credible threats to integrity of awards tracking systems (via @jeremymberg.bsky.social)

NEW: The total loss of NOAA’s office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research —a nerve center of global climate science, data collection and modeling — represents a setback for climate preparedness that experts warn the nation may never recover from. By @abrahm.bsky.social

🙏 We need your help 🙏 The government continues to cancel grants at both NIH and NSF to censor science it doesn't like. We're tracking terminations to organize and advocate. Please report your terminated grants: NIH: forms.gle/J2znQ7y7YpeP... NSF: airtable.com/appGKlSVeXni... w/ @noamross.net

Pope Francis leaves behind a legacy of compassion, courage, and a continuing call to protect our common home and all who share it with us. In his 2023 exhortation, Laudato Deum, he spoke out strongly against those who reject what science tells us about climate and deny their own responsibility. 🧵

🧵 Thread on NSF grant terminations 🧪 This Nature article today confirms what DOGE's arrival at NSF can mean: terminating already awarded grants. "DOGE is...considering more than 200 of them for termination, NSF staff members have told Nature" What can we expect? And what should NSF grantees do?

NOAA just announced a long list of datasets that are going away🧪⚒️🌊: www.nesdis.noaa.gov/about/docume... Download what you need asap and send comments to: [email protected]

We are hiring for our next Chief Communications Officer at @ucsusa.bsky.social to lead our communications across platforms and audiences to meet our mission. Join us! apply.workable.com/union-of-con...

"Effective today, sources tell Science, NSF’s division of grants and awards is returning all grant proposals previously approved for funding and awaiting final signoff to the program officers who oversaw the initial review. In the meantime ... NSF will not make any new awards." 😞

Reminders: "Concentration camps" aren't the same as "extermination camps." Both were/are horrific. Most Nazi camps were *outside Germany*, away from the eyes of German citizens. Those trains? Were to, uh, deport the category of people whose lives were deemed unimportant. Never again is now.

"A budget allocation of just over $170 million, down from about $485 million in 2024, would hobble science as varied as early warning systems for natural disasters, science education for students in kindergarten through high school, and the study of the Arctic." 😭😭😭

It's business as unusual. Every cut to Federal grants for mitigation, emergency management, and preparedness grants, makes it significantly more difficult to save lives and protect property and the environment during the next disaster. This is complete chaos and it will result in worse disasters.

These historic bits are so interesting, but this one really struck me. It illustrates how important it is to clearly inform the public about the different hazards different volcanoes have, and why federal organizations like the USGS & the volcano hazards program are essential! 🌋🧪 #volcanoes #geology

CONVERSE Emerging Researchers has another fantastic ECR speaker lined up for our Spring Webinar Series. Join in tomorrow afternoon at 4pm EDT to learn about the power of melt & fluid inclusions! Register at: tinyurl.com/ER25reg

HVO and AVO office leases are both on that list (I didn't see YVO or CVO when I skimmed it?). HVO is the oldest volcano observatory in the world and monitors the most persistently active volcanoes in the US. AVO monitors very high-risk volcanoes that can esp impact int'l air travel.

"downsizes" is a weak way of saying "forced to cancel dozens of programs, which jeopardizes future STEM careers of talented undergrads" @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...

What does an earthquake look like beneath your feet? This visualization shows seismic waves in action. We’re studying how such visuals improve public communication after major earthquakes. We'd love your input! Please take our short survey & share: ww3.unipark.de/uc/SIOseismi...

Rather than violate their oath or comply with Musk’s illegal requests, 21 civil service employees resigned today from Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (formerly the United States Digital Service), stating they would not use their technical expertise to dismantle critical public services.

Graduating during the pandemic slowed down my process and is part of why I did two postdocs. Now as a first year faculty, all the federal grants are frozen. I love the work I do but this has all of us questioning how much www.science.org/content/arti...

Have you been over to Science Twitch recently? If yes, please take my survey! I'm trying to understand how effective of a platform it is for scicomm & how it may impact public attitudes & perceptions about science & scientists. Survey ends Fri 2/28 - take it at tinyurl.com/TwitchSci

CONVERSE has another great Early Career Researcher lined up to give tomorrow's webinar at 4pm EST. Don't miss out - register today!

El Capitan displays a massive American flag upside down—the traditional signal of distress or extreme emergency.

Looking to access important public information on earthquakes? Not so fast, you have to wait while fewer employees than ever frantically try to find maps with geographic names that satisfy the whims of the guys taking away your rights.