A whooping cough outbreak in an elementary school down the road. Meanwhile I finally got around to reading Candle In the Dark and only a few pages in, you get to its eerily prescient passage. Sigh.

Do you want to see the "big picture" on climate change? Here it is. Emissions are on the left, and include CO2, CH4, N2O, and f-gases. Natural CO2 sinks (from healthy forests & oceans) are on the right. And carbon removal, what little there is, is on the right, too. All expressed as GWP100.

If you're in Boulder on Wed Apr 15, Paul Bierman (U Vermont) will share from his book When the Ice Is Gone (a New Yorker Best Book). The next day, he'll give a talk: Greenland - Landscapes Under Ice Wed 12pm book reading SEEC C215 Thurs 12pm science talk SEEC N224 More on Paul www.paulbierman.net

Powerful piece in NYT by former NASA scientist @drkatemarvel.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/04/08/o...

On this Easter Sunday and reflecting on humanity, this now iconic picture of Earth from Orion astronaut Reid Wiseman inspired my writing today on 7 hidden science lessons in it and message of hope www.forbes.com/sites/marsha...

SPEAK UP! Democracy dies in silence. @foreverindivisible.bsky.social @nd2b.bsky.social @indivisible.org @indivisible-co.bsky.social #resist #BoulderCO

So well deserved! Congratulations @nicolegasparini.bsky.social 👩‍🔬🧪

I'd like to do a series of posts this week to highlight CSDMS Data Components. Data Components are software that help connect data sources to numerical models. For more information on the idea behind Data Components and their implementation, see Gan et al. 2024: doi.org/10.5194/gmd-....

There are a whole bunch of reasons to turn out for #nokings tomorrow but here are maybe the top two: 1) huge turnout is a signal to republicans edging away from Trump and puts steel in Dem spines. 2) least we can do to honor bravery of Minnesotans who turned the tide

It's going to be chilly in the East on Saturday, and hot in the West, so No Kings Day requires that we all do a little extra organizing over the next 48 hours. Text people and tell them where to go! billmckibben.substack.com/p/a-time-to-...

Landscape Features xkcd.com/3221/

Last day for comments on the US government's proposed move to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). The link for submitting comments (the "Dear Colleague Letter") is provided in this article: boulderreportinglab.org/2026/03/09/n...

The Inspector General for NSF must launch an investigation into the Trump administration’s alleged attempt to sell-off parts of NCAR — immediately! 👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽

From the Grand Junction, Colorado, Daily Sentinel: www.gjsentinel.com/opinion/colu...

NCAR is a vital national asset. It would be a tragic and costly mistake to lose it. www.youtube.com/watch?app=de...

Attention folks in the weather, climate, disaster, wildfire, and Earth science communities: NSF has just published a new "Dear Colleague" letter inviting feedback (by Mar 13) on the proposal to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). www.nsf.gov/funding/...

US researchers: Do you think science should be free from political interference? Do you think NCAR is a national treasure that shouldn't be erased at the stroke of a pen? Please consider submitting comments on NSF's Strategic Plan. Deadline is Tue 27 Jan midnight ET. www.nsf.gov/od/updates/n...

Just finished Mark Miodownik’s wonderful book “It’s a Gas” - highly recommend! @markmiodownik.bsky.social www.penguin.co.uk/books/312206...

The National Science Foundation sign on our Eisenhower Av building is now gone. The NSF mural in the foyer is removed and torn off in sheets. We were supposed to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the agency in May 2025. That never happened.

This may come as a shock to you, but I wrote a thing. Begins with ICE violence in Minnesota, ends with the Buddhist walk for peace across the Southeast. Discusses the profound weakness of the administration in the middle.

I encourage everyone to read this beautiful piece by my friend Lisa Graumlich. open.substack.com/pub/lisagrau...

In the span of four days, we’ve built a coalition of over 80 lawmakers — including several Republicans — to stop the dismantling of NCAR. I’m grateful to them for their efforts as we work to secure language protecting NCAR in the upcoming CJS appropriations bill. We will not back down! 👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽

From wildfire warnings to flood forecasts, NCAR's research impacts everyone in America. President Trump's attempt to dismantle it for political vengeance is beyond reckless. We will fight against this dangerous scheme every step of the way.

Gift link: www.theatlantic.com/science/2025...

NCAR is a crown jewel of US scientific innovation. Dismantling it is utterly crazy. I hope representatives around the country are hearing lots of pushback from their constituents.

Lewis Fry Richardson, often considered the father of numerical weather prediction, turns out to have been a fascinating guy: scientist, Quaker, pacifist, visionary. I wrote a short piece about his legacy: earthcastings.ghost.io/a-roomful-of...

www.linkedin.com/posts/benjam... @csdms.bsky.social @gregtucker.bsky.social

Election Day is a week from tomorrow, and millions of Americans have a chance to elect important local leaders — judges, council members, school boards, and more — crucial to defending and rebuilding democracy. If you haven’t already, make a plan to cast your vote.

Applications are open for the CIRES Visiting Fellows Program! Two-year fellowships are available for postdocs, and terms of up to 12 months for senior scientists on leave or sabbatical. Learn more: cires.colorado.edu/award-progra... #fellowships #postdoc #sabbatical Photo:@alibanwell.bsky.social

I recently gave a talk on earth science to a group of middle schoolers, and it dawned on me that many of the kids in that age group will be alive to witness what the outcome of Roger Revelle's "great geophysical experiment" looks like in the year 2100. earthcastings.ghost.io/pathways/

No words

It’s not too late to join the #NoKingsKickoff livestream! Great line up of speakers.

This summer I got the chance to visit the home town of Eunice Newton Foote, the 19th century inventor and scientist who first noted the heat-trapping property of CO2, and who was also a key player in the US women’s rights movement: earthcastings.ghost.io/the-wizard-o...

Interesting perspective on higher ed teaching in the age of AI (gift link): www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/o...

I wrote a thing, a roundup of some of the resistance going on.

Federal agencies hiding out in a bunker

Geologic Periods xkcd.com/3120/

“The flowing water in a mad river reshapes the entire landscape, a process known as fluvial erosion.” www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

An effusive review of #ScienceUnderSiege by #KirkusReviews of my forthcoming book with @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social, #ScienceUnderSiege

July 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the "Endless Frontier" report, which led to the establishment of NSF and transformed the US from a science backwater to a global research powerhouse. Will today's congress sustain or abandon that incredible success story? earthcastings.ghost.io/the-endless-...

Today is the 34th anniversary of the 1991 Pinatubo eruption. earthcastings.ghost.io/anniversary-...

US climate scientists need all the help they can get. Including from foul-mouthed comedians! 🤡😱😱 Watch Emmy Award-Winning David Cross team up with Prof Michael Oppenheimer in the US launch of the hit series "Climate Science Translated". #climate #arresteddevelopment #climatescience

Large crowds across the U.S. gathered on Saturday to protest the Trump administration. See photos from the “No Kings” rallies here. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/14/u...

"It is insane for us to be slashing expenditures on science" - good interview with former Treasury Sec Larry Summers cafe.com/stay-tuned/b...

The President's Budget request as released yesterday will gut scientific research. Why should you care? 1) Science is fundamentally a jobs program. Many 100,000s are employed to do science and work for you, the US taxpayer.

Cutting research at the National Science Foundation by more than half(!) is intentionally sabotaging the future. These are contracts the federal government competitively awards to universities to develop breakthroughs and train graduate students to become future leaders & experts. Future is at risk.

This is not just a NASA thing, and not just an NSF thing, this is an all-of-science thing (also involving our siblings in the humanities). The president's budget shutters everything that _actually_ makes America great. Please call your Congressfolk and ask them to reject these travesties.

The President's budget request would be devastating to NASA science and our quest for life beyond Earth. But there's still time to act, and your voice matters.

Investing in basic science more than pays for itself! Cutting NSF and NIH would hurt the US economy. (Now might be a good time to remind your congressional reps about this) www.forbes.com/sites/johndr...