One of the legends in beaver science and ecology just got tenure. Awesome -- and congratulations!

In many states, including my own, there's a year-long open season on hunting coyotes, with no daily limits or season limits ... meaning you can literally kill as many as you want. (Also 3 months of night hunting allowed, plus you can bait & trap them.) Only animal subject to unlimited killing. Why?

I didn't know about this book and just ordered the audio edition. Look forward to listening to it!

It's all getting so weird. They don't want you to know they outsourced their customer support to the Philippines so they'll use AI to make the Filipino voices sound Canadian.

There is no limit to the dishonesty. "Officials at the FDA blocked publication of several studies supporting the safety of widely used vaccines against Covid-19 and shingles in recent months, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed."

America in our 250th year. An actual news story. "Trump upbraided FDA Commissioner Marty Makary for not moving quickly enough to approve flavored vapes and nicotine products ...Trump sought advice from his advisers about Makary and the importance of flavored vaping to young MAGA voters...."

Every day, more of the same. "Internal Interior Department documents show parks are imposing sweeping changes like expanding areas where firearms can by used and allowing game to be cleaned in restrooms."

The future we were all warned about has in fact arrived. "The 2026 wildfire season in the northern hemisphere is already roaring, and summer hasn’t even started."

👇 '“Recent studies suggest these whiplash events are increasingly frequent and will become more common in the future,” said Jennifer Francis at the Woodwell Climate Research Center.... “So in terms of wardrobe-planning, be ready for anything, especially in New England,” Francis said.'

Microplastics -- the gift that keeps on giving. Now helping to heat the planet even more.

AI firms opposed this particular measure. Legislators buckled. Think about that. "A previous version of the bill would have required companies to take steps to *reduce the risk that AI-based algorithms used for high-stakes decisions such as employment or healthcare discriminate against users.*"

I'm so tired. It's all so stupid. "Gov. Spencer Cox fiercely defended the project arguing that every state has the responsibility to accommodate data centers for national security reasons."

This is insane. "The project to widen more than 2 miles of beach is scheduled to take several months. The price tag: roughly $50 million. How much time it will buy is uncertain. The most recent renourishment in Buxton, in 2022, was supposed to provide five years of protection. It didn’t."

Well, this will help reduce carbon emissions.

There will never be enough money for this. “There is no specific timeline to how long New Orleans has left but we know it’s in big trouble. They are facing one of the highest sea level rises in the world and I don’t know how long human effort can fight against that tide. It’s like a timebomb.”

We still haven't reached peak stupid. "There’s a compound that can reverse Alzheimer’s, increase cognitive function and potentially even help you live longer, Dave Asprey, a biohacking influencer, has told his million-plus social media followers. The wonder drug? Nicotine, Mr. Asprey claims."

Of course he's into fashion now. "Bezos and his wife have become front-row fixtures at fashion shows ... they dress in high-end designer labels and commission custom outfits. They’re patrons of the luxury industry not only as consumers but as donors to organizations that support designers."

A couple of the giant rock outcrops in our woods. We knew about the one on the left, but we discovered the one on the right this afternoon while out hiking. Notice all the moss on it.

This is our tree we call "Mama Beech." We've cherished her for years and are now in mourning because she is slowly dying. But she has left us with hundreds of offspring scattered across our woods, including the young beeches at her base -- the saplings that still have their light brown leaves.

I've never noticed these before until this year, but this is red trillium (also known as "wake robin") and they are popping up in our woods right now. Found several on our afternoon hike today.

The powerful conclusion to this insightful essay: (1/2)

Maybe don't lend as much to them? 'The efforts showcase the unprecedented scale of borrowing that underpins the AI sector and the pressure it is putting on lenders. "The sizes we’re talking about . . . they’re out of scale to anything we’ve thought about, ever...Banks very quickly start choking.”'

Another heartbreaking story of yet another dairy farm going out of business. Why? They're getting $20 for every 100 pounds of milk that now costs more than $30 to produce. Yes, this guy voted for Trump, but get past that and it's an emotional read about generations of dairy farming ending. (1/3)

Did not see this coming.

Cartoon by Drew Sheneman

@deadder.bsky.social Michael de Adder nails it again.

Michael De Adder again has it right

With Ukraine's current success in long-range strikes, it seems a bit outdated to say that we can't produce such weapons on the continent.

Almost 100% of new cars sold in Norway last year were electric. Not just because of oil wealth. Because of carbon taxes, EV incentives, and thirty years of consistent policy. New newsletter: Norway: The World's Most Instructive Energy Paradox janrosenow.substack.com/p/norway-the...

The AI bubble is going to burst all over us.

The decline of everything everywhere.

Plenty of trouble ahead. "Continental glaciers and the Greenland ice sheet will continue to shrink in coming years, scientists say, after data showing Europe has warmed twice as fast as the global average." (1/2) 🎁🔗:

@danamilbank.bsky.social it’s good to have you back. I was at an international conference earlier this week and heard many government ministers (and senior scientists) make comments that align with your thesis. The fear fever is breaking and the world is moving on.

2027 will almost certainly be the warmest year on record for Earth - by a long shot - and perhaps even 2026 may reach a record too. That’s due to the big boost of heat released from El Niño, on top of the long term warming… 1/

While I’ve been quite impressed using Claude Opus at work, I have been extremely underwhelmed by Claude Sonnet for personal projects (see screenshot). Unsure if this is because Opus is so much better or there’s infrastructure at work that makes Claude more useful? 🤔 Probably both.

This is so true. The easy part is the tree planting, the hard part is the longer-term care ... which is why so little of it actually happens.

Makes you wonder about the other three-quarters who stayed, right? As for the new hires coming in: "The department has suspended a requirement that prosecutors should have at least a year’s experience practising law."

Alibaba lost control of one of its AI models and it even started doing crypto mining on its own. And no government is regulating this technology at all. Just read this and imagine what else could go wrong.

Trump’s latest moves on trade and troops in Europe reconfirm two simple facts: no deal with Trump is worth the paper it’s written on & no degree of bending the knee to him makes an iota of a difference (other than shredding European dignity)

”developments … show that European nations are working with shocking speed to free themselves from dependence on America.” The problem never was that Europeans cannot imagine European security without the US. The problem is that Americans can’t imagine that Europeans can do it.

The air pollution from this one data center will be staggering. And then there's the noise from nearly 1,000 generators. How is something like this even possible?

Even Reform UK gets on board with beavers. "A Reform UK council has backed the release of wild beavers into the countryside, despite the party’s opposition to rewilding. The Reform-led Leicestershire county council has backed the release of the rodents as part of efforts to reduce flooding."

You can always count on Republicans to express "concern" but then do absolutely nothing.

Ugh. Another species in peril.

The race is on to restore southern apartheid. Alabama and Tennessee join Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Someone really needs something more important in her life. "I cried for days, consuming everything Prince-related I could. I combed the city looking for purple clothing, eventually sourcing a purple sequined gown, which became my armour. I wore it from the store straight into the subway."

Data centers are shaking up US politics, bringing unlikely allies together. “We’ve been foes for a long time ... but when it comes down to our backyards, we realized we are really just the same people.” @stavernise.bsky.social

Temperatures that abruptly jump from frigid to hot and back are a hallmark of spring, but the shifts are becoming more extreme due to climate change.

The problem is that humans create enormous amounts of waste -- plastic, emissions, sewage, etc. -- and have never figured out or cared about what to do with it. So we just dump it ... somewhere else.

I've never seen a referendum on population growth before. "The so-called 10mn initiative, led by the rightwing Swiss People’s Party, is backed by 52 per cent of voters...business and industry groups have warned that any curbs on immigration will limit access to skilled labour and undermine growth."