I wanted to offer some thoughts on the Gates climate memo that has been circulating this week. While I can't directly speak for others, I can say that my own response is one of dismay & deep frustration (and that this view is shared by many climate/Earth scientists). [1/n]

"The secret sauce has been poured down the drain," says David Draper, former Deputy Chief Scientist of NASA, over the recent firing or departure of 1000s of NASA employees, which will be catastrophic for the legacy of the US🇺🇸😖🚀 www.planetary.org/articles/400... h/t @floragraham.bsky.social 🧪

Super interesting new paper that systematically explores what types of outcomes can be reliably observed through optical remote sensing. Would be super interested to see predictive performance of changes in outcomes, rather than just cross-sectional variation.

DOE's embarrassment of a "climate science" report is 150 pages where as this response from the scientific community is 500. My take: It takes much more effort to refute nonsense than it does to generate it, a tax on the time of all who care about fact and accuracy sites.google.com/tamu.edu/doe...

The letter is ready, thanks to all those who helped out! Starting to gather signature now, please consider signing (link at top of letter) & spread the word. docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Was so rewarding getting to work with a team of brilliant ecologists (@dudney-joan.bsky.social @lauradee.bsky.social @jebyrnes.bsky.social @katherinesiegel.bsky.social ) to think through how to use causal inference to attribute ecological changes to climate change. Hope this framework helps!

The most important U.S. climate legislation over the next few years is out! ASM Irwin's draft California Assembly Bill 1207 reauthorizes California's ground breaking GHG cap-and-trade (C&T) program. Here are 5 key takeaways from AB 1207 1/

The tragic landslide in Blatten gives me the excuse to tell you the story of how we found out Ice Ages existed. It's a cool story and the most important bit is rather similar to what's happening now.

1/9 We are excited to share our new working paper: arxiv.org/abs/2502.12323 If you use ML predictions (like remote-sensed data) as outcomes, the resulting regression coefficients can be biased by measurement error. With @megan-ayers.bsky.social @mdgordo.bsky.social @eliana-stone.bsky.social

Did you know how many billions of dollars California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard makes drivers pay to out-of-state biofuel producers? Turns out it's a lot — a peak of about $2.9 billion in 2021, which is more than enough to give a $7500 rebate to all of the battery EVs sold in 2023.

🌍 How have donors allocated conservation funding in a world with shrinking forests and expanding protected areas? Our new paper in People and Nature explores trends in South American forests and woodlands: doi.org/10.1002/pan3... - Nice work by Siyu Qin @biogeoberlin.bsky.social!

Biodiversity is declining, yet we have limited knowledge about how that affects human well-being. My work linking bats, insecticide use, and human infant health is out today in Science (science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adg0344), and tells a complex story about how those are connected.

A few more weeks left to submit you application to join the amazing Environmental Studies Program @ucsantabarbara as our new Mellichamp Chair in Racially Just, Resilient and Sustainable City Futures! recruit.ap.ucsb.edu/JPF02558