New: My essay on living in the beautiful but sure-to-burn Berkeley Hills and how denial in the face of certain catastrophe remains deeply embedded in the California psyche. But the LA fires are forcing a reckoning over how we pursue the California Dream. Free link. www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Update: As it turns out, the meeting is not currently happening bsky.app/profile/did:...

Cajun Navy groups may raise a few million dollars in a good year, collectively. As President Trump weighs major changes to FEMA - like shutting it down - some leaders say they wouldn't be able to replace it. Or simply aren't interested. As one put it: "We don't want to end up sucking like them."

The Cajun Navy started after Katrina as volunteer boaters conducted rescues on the fly. Despite legal trouble, scandals and infighting, it's still going. And some leaders say they've been advising Trump officials on FEMA + the US disaster system. Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

A DHS spokesperson said workers who publicly signed the Katrina Declaration "were wrongly and without authorization reinstated by bureaucrats acting outside their authority." As one whistleblower lawyer put it: "I've never seen a retraction on a retraction like this." Story w/ @zhirji.bsky.social

In a reversal from this morning, FEMA puts whistleblowers back on leave after reinstating them Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

New this AM: FEMA has ordered a group of employees to return to work after placing them on leave in August — and later dismissing one — for publicly raising concerns about the agency’s disaster-response capabilities. Story w/@laurenthal.bsky.social, gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Landmark move: New York City's comptroller @bradlander.bsky.social, with hundreds of billions under his control, recommends dropping investment giant Blackrock because they won't reckon with climate change. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

PG&E, National Grid and other big utilities are using AI models to pick out relatively cheap, targeted fixes that cut the risk of sparking a deadly fire -- think individual poles to replace and trees to trim back. Story w/ @joewertz.bsky.social (gift link) www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Trump's EPA is proposing rule changes that if approved would result in fewer ponds, streams and wetlands being protected from development and pollution under clean water rules. Read all about this proposal and what it means @bloomberg.com (w/a gift link): www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Outgoing FEMA leader David Richardson told @bloomberg.com he "agreed to be the acting administrator through hurricane season when others wouldn’t." As season ends, "I can now leave for other opportunities." From @zhirji.bsky.social, Myles Miller + me: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Battery recycling firm Redwood Materials has begun producing critical minerals at its $3.5 bn South Carolina facility, amid a chill in the US EV market. CEO JB Straubel told me most of its customers today are outside of the EV sector. More on the company's pivot: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

I recently went to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska w/US scientists to study the effect of saltwater on fast-thawing permafrost. 1st in a series by @bloomberg.com on the world's natural carbon sinks with @hayleywarren.bsky.social and @eroston.bsky.social A thread follows: www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...

Astonishing, tragic devastation in Jamaica from Hurricane Melissa. Satellite imagery, maps and accounts by @krishnakarra.bsky.social Christopher Cannon @laurenthal.bsky.social and Josh Saul 🎁🔗 www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...

Happy to have provided input for this well-written story by @laurenthal.bsky.social, highlighting some of the reasons to be concerned about #Melissa, and some of the ways that storms like this are becoming more dangerous in a warmer climate: share.google/96AvQEWmomwa...

Trump's EPA says its proposal to stop greenhouse gas reporting for big polluters could save oil and gas companies up to $256 million a year. Some of them are countering that it could hurt their business instead. Tagteam w/Ruth Liao @bloomberg.com, gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

🚨EXCLUSIVE🚨 Many things are changing before our eyes. Others are harder to see Like the US economy Americans are spending more 💲 recovering from disasters and preparing for the next one. 36% of US GDP growth since 2000 is related to climate disasters. Welcome to the Disaster Industrial Complex 🎁🔗

@laurenthal.bsky.social talked to me, @alaskawx.bsky.social and other scientists about the likelihood NWS upper air data issues contributed to forecasting challenges for Halong. I talk today about what she found as well as several weather risk this weekend. open.substack.com/pub/balanced...

This is good reporting on the disaster in Alaska if you're looking for a reliable summary. This is a bigger disaster than I think most are realizing. 1500 people have been displaced by the flooding with an exceptionally complicated response and recovery. www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5kz...

NEW: Weather models were performing worse ahead of a devastating storm in Alaska compared to a year ago. As one scientist @ecmwf.int put it, "the fact that all the models mis-captured this event tells us something." From me + @joewertz.bsky.social (gift link): www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Until the National Flood Insurance Program kicks back on, up to 1,400 home sales a day could stall or fall through by some estimates. Story for @bloomberg.com (gift link): www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

DHS is moving hundreds of people focused stopping mass shooters, curbing Russian hacks + counter-terrorism work into immigration roles. Some are forcibly moved across the country. And anyone who declines risks losing their job. exclusive with @patrickhowelloneill.com gift link:

News: FEMA is interrogating staffers -- denying union or legal representation -- about a whistleblower letter warning that Trump administration cuts are undercutting disaster response. via @margimurphy.bsky.social @laurenthal.bsky.social @zhirji.bsky.social

Exclusive: FEMA Tells Staff to Name Whistleblowers or Risk Losing Jobs Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

The Senate has confirmed Trump's pick to run NOAA. Neil Jacobs will lead an agency that's lost ~2,000 staff in a year and could lose most of its research division. I did a deep dive on why Jacobs wanted this job for @bloomberg.com. Here's what I learned (thread) www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

NEW: ProPublica obtained records from the Department of Agriculture that detail the millions of pounds of food, down to the number of eggs, that never reached food banks because of the Trump administration’s cuts to an aid program.

Send your EPA tips to the great @zhirji.bsky.social, who's covering the agency + rulemaking @bloomberg.com. Signal: zhirji.51 | Email: [email protected]

And with the 15z advisories -- #Hurricane #Imdelda & #Humberto are just 479 miles apart. This might be the closest two simultaneous hurricanes have ever been in the Atlantic basin in the satellite era (since ~1975). Close enough for their outer sfc circulations to interact as well.

Electricity now costs 267% more (!!) for 1 month vs. what it cost 5 years ago near data center hotspots. Awesome reporting from Josh Saul @dinabass.bsky.social Leonardo Nicoletti @naurtorious.bsky.social Demetrios Pogkas (gift link) www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...

Hurricane season's ramping up - so is fire risk in Southern California. Private companies like @brightharbor.bsky.social are eager to fill gaps in the disaster recovery system (gift link): www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

Utilities + traders are "craving" more detailed forecasts as power demand gets harder and harder to predict. Using AI, a tech firm is pushing to predict swings in weather - down to the hour - months in advance. Story with @naurtorious.bsky.social (gift link): www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

It's officially fall! And more than 80% of the Northeast is in drought or teetering on the edge of it. Why that's cause for concern: (gift link) www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

NEW: More than 500 pages of #FOIA docs @zhirji.bsky.social @davey.bsky.social & I obtained from FEMA detail previously unreported threats against personnel in the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene & Milton, including the swatting of then-FEMA Director Deanne Criswell 🎁 www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

NEW: Bloomberg obtained 100s of pages of agency emails & other docs via FOIA, shedding new light on how disaster-related misinfo affects the govt's emergency response, sucks up resources & puts staff at risk. with @zhirji.bsky.social @jasonleopold.bsky.social www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

“They don’t want to know about it, and they don’t want anyone else to know about it." Amazing story about the fallout from the Texas oil boom - including 100-ft wastewater geysers! Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...

When a wildfire destroys much of your city, how do you know if your house is too contaminated with toxins to move back in? Ask emmarcourt.bsky.social www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

🚨Exclusive🚨 NASA has revoked facilities-and-systems access for Chinese citizens with US visas who work on its space programs www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

The Trump administration, from the CDC to EPA to NOAA, is going to war with established climate science. I, along w/@blkahn.bsky.social @eroston.bsky.social, try to capture the big picture of what's already happened & what's at stake. Gift link @bloomberg.com: www.bloomberg.com/features/202...

At an alarming pace, the Trump administration has fired climate scientists, rolled back regulations, interfered in data collection, and cut planning and emergency response funds. That puts all Americans at risk. Read The Big Take ⬇️

Trump's ex-FEMA chief Cameron Hamilton speaks out against push to abolish the agency. “I cannot get behind this position that abolishing FEMA is the answer,” Hamilton said on Disaster Tough podcast, calling such a move "an extreme risk" to the American people. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

As President Donald Trump called to abolish the FEMA earlier this year, the agency chief he brought on was pushing back

New: After the LA firestorms, Berkeley was determined not to let the heavily-vegetated Berkeley Hills burn in the next climate-driven urban conflagration. City leaders moved quickly to mandate wildfire protections the state failed to implement for years. Free link. www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Surging utility bills in key battleground states are threatening to become a political liability for Republicans heading into upcoming elections. 🎁 www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Summer commutes in NYC can be miserable - 108F on the platform at City Hall w/ humidity. But New Yorkers are lucky compared to London, where subway cars lack AC + get hotter than city streets. With reporting from 3 continents: (free link) www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Extreme heat is taking a toll on the US’s aging bridges. Here comes the "bridge doctors" who enlist AI and automation to detect hidden dangers before it's too late. My latest for @bloomberg.com (read on for free for 7 days) www.bloomberg.com/news/feature... #infrastructureresilience #climatetech

High temperatures in SoCal raise wildfire risk “There’s pretty high concern because vegetation in some spots is at record dry values for August,” @weatherwest.bsky.social @ucanr.edu told @laurenthal.bsky.social @bloomberg.com www.insurancejournal.com/news/west/20...

California's last nuclear power plant was supposed to be shut down. But now it's on the verge of a 20-year extension, thanks to the state's mounting power needs. Here's an inside look at Diablo Canyon amid its bid for relicensing (free gift link): www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

That tracks with the GFS forecast for significant wave heights with #Erin. In fact, the peak value is exceeding the colorbar on @tropicaltidbits.bsky.social maps, >48 ft in 24 hours! Very dangerous seas for ships & beachgoers alike. Please don’t go out into the water this week in the Eastern US.

Hurricane big

Update: NYC beaches are also closing to swimmers Wednesday + Thursday. Be careful out there!