War as a vector for invasive species: https://therevelator.org/locusts-landmines-ukraine/

My mom and a friend are having a debate about the identity of this bird. I am insisting turkey. Am I wrong?

So this is scary / concerning in crops, but also worth remembering a lot of non-humans eat plants too. At least theoretically, one ramification could be declining global herbivore populations and a related increase in fire. Fascinating paper --> www.cell.com/trends/ecolo...

Solar power is expected to become the world's largest source of electricity by 2033. ☀️🔌💡

There are many claims that AI is a “planet killing” source of greenhouse gases. But is it? This paper might be the most detailed estimate of the emissions associated with AI. It suggests that AI could emit as much as 30-80 *million* tons of CO2 per year. www.cell.com/patterns/ful...

Right whales got the moniker not because they were good at trivia night. It was a way of saying "hunt this one right here" in whaler speak. They swam slowly, surfaced often, floated after death & had large fat deposits for oil. 80% of the global population were killed between 1835-1855.

An absolute bedrock institution for understanding how the planet works, just civilization-scaled vandalism by the most incurious morons on Earth

once every few years i remember there are ants called... gamergates en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamerga...

Life highlight achieved! Huge thanks to @solomonrdavid.bsky.social for showing me my first alligator gar, a 104-lb beauty netted from a floodplain lake by the Mississippi River. Incredible to be in the presence of such ancient, massive, successful critters—the epitome of charismatic ichthyofauna.

This is interesting and I'm glad these particular people are studying it (solar is going to be huge in grasslands, especially semi-arid ones), but seems overly rosy in farming as enhancing ecosystem vs mitigating impacts. Solar is habitat loss for a lot of open space species.

I got a really positive fortune in my fortune cookie, but then my dog ate it. Meaning?

If you ask an AI model the same thing twice, you won’t get the same response. This variation comes from a random number called the “seed.” Researchers recently showed that this feature can be manipulated to pass forbidden instructions on to the model.

Cashmere production is a major driver of Eurasian steppe degradation, especially in Mongolia. This is an *excellent* deep dive on the topic and the reality that the biggest sustainable certification scheme isn't doing much. newlinesmag.com/reportage/su...

Incredible discovery and article that doubles as a good review of the latest (often confusing) research on fire tech's origins Funny that "fool's gold" was, in this case, so much more precious than real gold www.livescience.com/archaeology/...

the prairies are incredibly pretty and if you try to tell me otherwise, i won’t hear it and i won’t respond to it 🙂‍↔️❄️✨ #art

Oof ugh

Grass quote I think about constantly, via retired UC Berkeley prof Lynn Huntsinger: "Trees are just tall grass" Some ways not true, but once you have it in mind, it's like an ecology koan

Great article!

Monsanto scientists ghostwrote this paper claiming the company’s proprietary glyphosate & roundup herbicides had no risk to human health. 25 years & 1300 citations later, it has finally been retracted — 8 years after the collusion was exposed. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Favorite recent or classic readings on the history of environmental movements, 19th and 20th C? This is for a senior seminar, US and Europe as geographical focus #envhist

Earth's largest land animals are limited by salt. Sodium availability constrains the density and distribution of elephants, giraffes and rhinos across Africa, and offers a new explanation for the so-called 'missing megaherbivores'. www.nature.com/articles/s41... Free access: rdcu.be/eTPY2

Great to hear @JamesCTobias on @npratc talking about the big series by @highcountrynews and @propublica on grazing on federal lands and massive government subsidies for wealthy ranchers

What a cool list!

Legit can't remember. Did people say this same sort of stuff about Google?

Some things are just better in print: this informative, annotated illustration on skunks included! (Did you know skunks did handstands? I did not.) www.hcn.org/issues/57-12...

In #Kenya, private conservancies are crucial for conservation and so is the ability of wildlife to move. My news to me good news for Dec 7 brings these two together. #EarthOptimism #BeyondTheObituaries news.mongabay.com/2025/12/a-ma...

To remember William Bond, you could listen to his powerful talk on behalf of grasses! It is a seminal lesson in savanna ecology. Personally, I also find it nice to hear his voice. jgpausas.blogs.uv.es/2021/02/21/a... 🧪🌎🔥🌿🌳🪴🌐 #PlantScience #savanna

Sad news. I was very fortunate to be able to interview Bond and have lost track of all the other grassland / savanna ecologists who referenced his work in other conversations. Open Ecosystems is an amazing work.

Deep sea mining is very bad for deep sea ecosystems.

It's over. Despite the fact that the academic council recommended against it, despite the fact that the program brought in more tuition than it cost, and despite the fact that Nebraskans need & deserve this expertise, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences will be cut. www.dailynebraskan.com/news/adminis...

This is really good

This is an excellent story. I read it because of another one, which is one of my favorite magazine pieces ever, specifically on Narcan www.newyorker.com/magazine/201...

Gotta say, I do not love Bluesky's hardcore Ludditism on AI. The future is just going to be made by others. Friend shared this site that I appreciated for its nuance ai-problems-index.vercel.app

I can never think, speak or spell the word "anonymized," which comes up more than you'd think, without inevitably having to spend the rest of the day trying to break free of www.youtube.com/watch?v=bH7s...

doesn't look toxic at all tho, weird

Moments after I posted this, our 3 yo emerged and yelled, "Daddy, I NEED the maracas!"

Traumatizing experience of reading Calvin and Hobbes and realizing I now identify with the adults

Tossed out this bit of shameless self-promotion on insta last week and figured I’d post here too: my own shit makes great holiday gifts! Twenty-five buckaroos gets you a signed and personalized copy of either of my books; DM for details. Help me afford a haircut and a razor!

Mind-blowingly cool use of AI “Altogether, these findings are leading us to an extraordinary conclusion: Whales may possess a communication system more intricate than our own, one that possibly predates human language by tens of millions of years.” www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/o...

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to the best fox, the San Joaquin kit fox. Endangered throughout its range, this canid lives in very hot places and keeps cool using its ears as radiators to dump heat.

Mustelid only list!

Last few months, New Mexico has passed universal childcare and shielded residents from SNAP cuts and ACA hikes, all from oil / gas revenue (in my understanding) Seems a model for shifting from mineral wealth to long term health. Fascinated to see how it goes. www.governing.com/policy/new-m...

Grandparents got this for the 3.5 year old. Man it's great. I thought I had a sense for variety of animals on this planet...had no idea www.joelsartore.com/product/phot...

Bat-eared fox Swift fox Arctic fox Corsac fox Red fox

I am begrudgingly retweeting this despite the possibility of lowing my own chances of sharking

Steppe life was really nothing like the image of nomads roaming willy nilly (and different periods very different). Awesome discovery!

Whooper Swans, sounding like a brass band falling down the stairs. Sound up. #ukbirding

Dating a North American rock art tradition that lasted 175 generations ⛏️🎨🌎 phys.org/news/2025-11...

New OA paper today! This one is very important to me as is the culmination of over a decade of incredibly intensive field work in KS prairies. I will walk you through the take-homes... 1/n #Tallgrass #GRSP #LTER #Konza #PopulationEcology #Rain dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3...