Kickstarting my birdwatching era 🦩

Unreal.

If Jeff Bezos could afford to spend $75 million on the Melania movie & $500 million for a yacht to sail off to his $55 million wedding to give his wife a $5 million ring, please don't tell me he needed to fire one-third of the Washington Post staff. Democracy dies in oligarchy.

If you write primarily about nature and environmental issues, it can be hard to see the value of your work during times like these. I wrote about this a bit in my introduction to @biographic.bsky.social's weekly newsletter.

Dozens of routinely updated CDC databases have gone quiet. Here’s what states and medical societies are doing to preserve U.S. public health

Always read @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social. A lot of problems I think about would be less intractable if we talked to real humans.

A federal judge on Friday ruled the Energy Department violated the law when Secretary Chris Wright handpicked five researchers who reject the scientific consensus on #climate change to work in secret on a sweeping government report on global warming. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/c...

DHS has shot 12 people during immigration enforcement operations since September:

Portland neighbor

Shooting a man, who didn’t attack you, who was on hands and knees, in the back 5+ times… and you’re the victim? What Bovino is saying is that Border Patrol have complete immunity to act however they want and anyone who inconveniences them slightly has victimized them and can be executed. Madness

Klobuchar: "Somehow 50,000 peaceful protesters in 10 below weather were able to march without any problems, and then the next day half a dozen ICE and CBP agents couldn't handle a guy with a cell phone taking video of them and shot him. I think it's pretty obvious what's going on here."

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara: "People have had enough. This is the third shooting in less than 3 weeks. The MPD went the entire year last year recovering about 900 guns from the street, arresting hundreds of violent offenders, and we didn't shoot anyone ... this is not sustainable."

Alex Pretti "used to tell people off when they made sexist comments to female physicians. He bought me coffee when I had a really bad day as an intern...I laughed alongside him daily. He made a point to teach medical residents without judgement, but with a smile on his face and a joke."

Especially after senseless unjust killings

In high rotation lately.

The US withdrawal from #WHO became official today, leaving the world less prepared for dangerous disease outbreaks. “When that will bite us in the ass, it’s impossible to predict. But there is a 100% certainty that it will bite us in the ass,” one expert told me. www.statnews.com/2026/01/22/u...

Anyone know why @pitt.edu emails are bouncing back? Thx

Latest exclusive from @maxkozlov.bsky.social: Billions could be frozen by the end of 2026

BREAKING: Immigration officers are asserting sweeping power to enter homes without a judge’s warrant, a memo obtained by AP says.

“Clean air is one of the great success stories of government policy in the last half-century,” Dr. Greenstone said. “And at the heart of the Clean Air Act is the idea that when you allow people to lead longer and healthier lives, that has value that can be measured in dollars.”

This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again. www.nature.com/immersive/d4...

Wildfires in Chile rage for third day, entire towns wiped out u.afp.com/SB5w

This is @nature.com Careers reporter @virginiagewin.bsky.social 's tour de force to mark 1-year of Trump administration policies wreaking havoc on US science. Hear from the scientists directly affected, both inside and outside the gov't. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Diet recommendations heavy on meat and dairy come with massive demand for more land

Like so many, I’ve been affected by the new US federal stance against science. As a result of this and seeking a better life balance, I have accepted a new Full Prof position at the University Helsinki, Finland 🇫🇮🤩 I will miss CA deeply, but a new adventure awaits 🐟 www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Must-read reporting by @virginiagewin.bsky.social on how US federal actions are affecting science. By pairing the scale of the damage with the very human, personal stories behind the numbers, she paints a powerful and comprehensive picture of just how thoroughly US science is being hollowed out.

“The speed, the scope and the severity of the attacks on science are beyond anything we’ve ever seen,” says @gretchentg.bsky.social. My @nature.com story on the human toll of the 2nd Trump presidency. Thx to @dochfroehlich.bsky.social, @briannosek.bsky.social, @katharinehayhoe.com & others.

Our @csfh-lab.bsky.social response to EPA's plan to remove human health from its cost/benefit analysis for #airpollution @globalecoguy.bsky.social @katharinehayhoe.com @maibached.bsky.social @jonlevybu.bsky.social @yalee360.bsky.social @davidfrum.bsky.social captimes.com/opinion/gues...

As online harassment of scientists persists, here is a rundown of digital security tools and practices that academics may find helpful. My latest @nature story.

“In the US only, referrals from organic Google search were down by 38% year on year and Google Discover was down 29%.”

As I doom-scrolled this evening, I and stumbled on a TikTok about (Father of Microbiology) Antonie van Leeuwenhoek’s Animicules. First thought: such a great band name. Surely someone has…. Yes! They have. Not really my jam but 💯 on the name

“There is a risk of the trend continuing, and potential decline,” Mr. Baty said. “I use the word ‘decline’ very carefully. It’s not as if U.S. schools are getting demonstrably worse, it’s just the global competition: Other nations are making more rapid progress.”

I talked to experts about steps scientist can take to improve their cybersecurity. Fav quote: “Every time you order food, you are spraying data into the world" Many thanks to @isaackamola.bsky.social, @hellobrittparis.bsky.social, @gleemie.bsky.social & others!

New @nature.com: Researchers around the world are increasingly under fire. Cybersecurity experts offer six strategies to protect yourself from digital harassment. By @virginiagewin.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/d41...

“The reporter, Hannah Natanson, has spent the past year covering the Trump administration’s effort to fire federal workers & redirect much of the workforce to enforcing his agenda. Many of those employees shared their anger, frustration & fear with the changes the administration was making.”

Ocean heat content increased by 23 billion trillion joules, which was around 39 times greater than global primary energy use this year. This is the largest rise in OHC since 2017; overall OHC has increased by over 500 zettajoules since the 1940s.

2025 was an exceptional year for the Earth's climate ⬆️ Warmest ocean heat content ⬆️ Tied as second warmest surface temps ⬆️ Second warmest troposphere ⬆️ Record high sea level and GHGs ⬇️ Record low winter Arctic ice New State of the Climate over at Carbon Brief: www.carbonbrief.org/...

👁️

My 18yo is home for winter break, and hearing him blaring Under Pressure while in the shower is the hopeful sign I needed this morning.

USGS scientists: has Congress taken steps to save Ecosystem Mission area funding?

Listening to the My Cousin Rachel audiobook, and the birthday tell is *chef’s kiss*

Venezuela's interior minister says 100 people died in U.S. attack reut.rs/3L8Fqye

Trump moves to pull the US from bedrock climate treaty, UN IPCC and other int'l orgs & UN agencies. In doing so, the US becomes the only country to withdraw from this particular climate agreement dating back to 1992 (UNFCCC). www.cnn.com/2026/01/07/c...

DHS tweeted this yesterday. Little more than 24 hours later, ICE agents just shot and killed a legal observer in Minneapolis.

From American Institute of Physics policy newsletter (reminding myself to subscribe)

“Fewer children will be vaccinated, and children will be harmed because of this decision,” says @ylepidemiologist.bsky.social about today's vaccine schedule change.

RFK Jr's HHS had a press call to announce they were — based on no new data — overhauling the childhood vaccine schedule. Senior officials at HHS answered questions but refused to go on the record, saying we could only attribute the quotes to "officials." www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...

ICYMI…the most gobsmacking fact from this reporting—>how much land will be needed to produce sustainable aviation fuel “The maximum amount of land that we’ve converted to cropland in a single year (roughly 1.8 million acres), would have to be quadrupled every year for the next 30 years,” said Limb.

#sicb2026 attendees: I’m a Portland-based science journalist at the meeting. Do you have a story to share? If so, let’s chat.