If you've not been following the destruction of Indiana University (largely from within), here's the latest. As an alum, three times over, and former faculty member, I'm disgusted and enraged by the current administration's determination to erase every proud IU legacy, including this newspaper.

Is climate change a religion? Here's my latest OpEd in #TheHill on the EPA's pathetic attempt to dodge science and overturn the #EndangermentFinding. #OpEdProject #PublicVoicesFellowship thehill.com/opinion/ener...

This special issue Religion in Extractive Zones is now complete with the publication of the editors' lead essay this week (Terra Rowe, Christiana Zenner, myself). All articles OPEN ACCESS w/no contributor publishing fees. Begin with our intro & lead essay. Enjoy & please share! www.mdpi.com/3370286

Here's my piece in The Hill this morning about the connection between the weakening of endangered species legislation and the flawed logic of de-extinction. #de-extinction; #direwolf thehill.com/opinion/ener...

The most accurate headline to date. Colossal researchers should hang their heads in shame, especially Miss Duplicitous Beth Shapiro. www.newscientist.com/article/2481...

We once hoped planetary challenges like the climate & Covid would unite national leaders to build responsible global governance. Instead we're seeing nationalists ally with technologists for short-term gain, Boris Shoshitaishvili & @lsideris.bsky.social argue. #planetary #politics #nationalism

This conversation in response to UVa scholar Willis Jenkins' work will take place this Friday 4/25 at 2 (EST), open to the public. Zoom link and text (to read in advance) posted below. Promises to be great conversation!

Offering this as a tribute (in Spanish and English) to Francis on this sad day. Never has this world needed him so much. He saw the divine light of wonder in nature and humans alike. That's why evangelicals hate and fear him. ojs.uc.cl/index.php/ve...

Brilliant analysis of the endtimes fascism, billionaire prepperism and abject cruelty that currently defines American politics. These insights will surprise you, unless you happen to be a religion scholar. www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

This tweet illustrates precisely the "moral hazard" point that I argued in my recent op-ed on de-extinction. Witness sec of interior Doug ("drill, baby, drill") Burgam's move to weaken endangered species legislation in light of the dire-wolf so-called de-extinction.

My first piece as a 2025 Public Voices Fellow Bringing back the mammoth won’t fix the future #opedproject #publicvoicesfellowship #deextinction yaleclimateconnections.org/2025/04/brin...

This is the guy who's gonna get us to Mars. apnews.com/article/cybe...

“There’s an order of operations in which we need to implement climate solutions,” said Daniel Jasper, the policy director for the climate solutions nonprofit Project Drawdown. “Methane is something we call an emergency brake, because we’ve got to do it now.” grist.org/politics/tru...

With the absurdity that is "de-extinction" in the news again today, after "woolly mice" were needlessly created (so close to a mammoth! better luck next time, bros ) I am sharing herewith some of my reflections on the ethics of this wasteful practice and the impoverishment of wonder as coolness.

UCSB Environmental Studies postdoc extraordinaire Amanda Nichols in the news for her work on nuclear technologies, gender, and health justice @amanda-m-nichols.bsky.social @issrnc.bsky.social news.ucsb.edu/2025/021780/...

Proudly flying the maple leaf, chez nous.

I truly think people don’t realize how many universities and colleges — especially public ones — may shut down if restrictions on and withholding of federal funding persists for even one presidency We are facing the demolition of American higher education

It's genuinely difficult to feel happy or hopeful about anything in the world right now. But I did feel some of those things when I wrote this essay about superblooms--an amazing natural phenomenon that I have had the pleasure of witnessing firsthand cswr.hds.harvard.edu/news/2025/02...

Webinar: What Scientists Are Telling Us About Radiation that Nuclear Boosters Won't Feb. 20 - 12pm EST Updates in research about public health impacts of ionizing radiation with Dr. Amanda Nichols (UCSB) + Cindy Folkers (Beyond Nuclear). Mary Olson (Gender + Radiation Project) moderating

Melbourne Uni has curated a collection of Decoloniality, First Nations Thinkers & Thought & Practices from the Global South of 677 items. Two years in the making. Humbled to feature in it; can't believe my luck to share space w/ folks I hold in high esteem. omeka.cloud.unimelb.edu.au/decolonialit...

We got a message from the university to remove any use of the "DEI", "diversity", "equity", or "inclusion" from all public-facing documents. They said that even "biodiversity" is being flagged by the federal government. We live in the dumbest timeline.

Register now for this episode of ASLE Spotlight on the theme REPRODUCING ANIMALITY Friday, Feb 21, 1pm EST on Zoom forms.gle/GZgZ4GFuEMmA... #envhum #academicsky

Every paragraph is alarming but the explanation of the "network state" ambition, to create a sovereign cryptocurrency nation, is especially enlightening. This is not just another hot take. theconversation.com/efficiency-o...

#santabarbara Hey everyone in Santa Barbara heads up and share the info. ICE is here and going door to door and stopping cars. Know your rights - Do not open your door, do not say anything, for help go to www.805inimigrante.org #ICEactivity

"What do you do with a region that has long fixated on the apocalypticism that slumbers in its everyday, at a moment when the apocalypse becomes normalized the world over?" www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Check out my latest publication: www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/16...

Stop Forcing A.I. into Fucking EVERYTHING!

"Very bipartisan" support for geoengineering from a Congress with a significant number of climate change deniers. Interesting. The New Climate Gold Rush: Scrubbing Carbon From the Sky www.nytimes.com/2024/12/22/c...

I guess everyone missed that Trump actually entertained AfD at Mar A Lago www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024...

🚨 NEW STUDY 🚨 Microplastics are everywhere and a new study links them to colon and lung cancer, as well as harm to digestive, respiratory, and reproductive health. While governments wait, exposure increases. We need a strong #PlasticsTtreaty, now.

UCSB attractions.

... and a Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher in a prickly pear tree 🎶

Science says potentially globally disastrous, but "inherently incredibly cool"!! 🙄 Drop the coolness and back away. slowly. www.nytimes.com/2024/12/12/s...

Didion: "To live with the Santa Ana is to accept, consciously or unconsciously, a deeply mechanistic view of human behavior ... The winds shows us how close to the edge we are." www.murrieta.k12.ca.us/cms/lib5/CA0...

Climate chaos invites populism and fascism, exacerbating climate chaos. Rinse, repeat. theconversation.com/a-doom-loop-...

ISSR CFP: "Ecology between Religions and Sciences: Minds and Bodies in Nature" 30 June – 3 July 2025 Swindon, UK. Plenary speakers include Mike Hulme, Niels Henrik Gregersen, Susan Bratton, Lisa Sideris, Peter Scott and Panu Pihkala Mar 1 deadline for submissions www.issr.org.uk/issr-stateme...

Giving new meaning to Christmas cactus.

Today, #KashPatel sent a letter to my counsel @markzaidesq.bsky.social threatening to sue & demanding I retract my MSNBC comments on his unfitness to serve as FBI Director. This follows his threats against media & political opponents, showing how he might act if confirmed. I stand by my statements.

Well, I already called myself out for curmudgeonliness, but OK. blueskyroast.com/roast/lsider...

Things that almost keep me from losing it.

So a reminder: It’s not ‘liberals’ saying Hegseth abuses women. It’s his mom. It’s not ‘liberals’ comparing Trump to Hitler. It’s his vice-president. It’s not ‘liberals’ calling Musk a liar and a racist. It’s his own child. For the record.

If you are near Santa Barbara this Monday, please come by UCSB and join us for a lively conversation! Much gratitude to the Iris Committee, the Nature, Ethics, and Technology Program, Lisa Sideris (@lsideris.bsky.social), and the Walter H. Capps Center. 🌎

Real birbs of Santa Barbara

Finally returning home from #AAR on the Surfliner train after MC-ing a reception, presiding over a session, and giving 3 presentations. It wasn't perfect, but I did it.

What are we going to do about all the plastic in the oceans, in our air, in our bodies, in breastmilk, in newborns, in our food, in the bodies of our nonhuman kin? Is progress possible under the incoming fascist regime? Please tell me what's possible and how I can help. news.ucsb.edu/2024/021690/...

Are you ready for para-environmentalism? @hollyjeanbuck.bsky.social explains why you should be. Thought-provoking piece on the weird state of environmental politics in the US.

I am excited to share this piece that Mary Olson and I have been working on for the past year! The paper focuses on disproportionate gendered impacts of ionizing radiation from nuclear technologies and poses a series of critical questions for future radiation research.

Folks working in the Eco-Space -- heads up on a climate conference you won't want to miss this June at UCSB: "Crossing Borders, Transgressing Boundaries: Religion, Migration, and Climate Change." See you there! 😊https://www.issrnc.org/conferences/2025-conference/

If you will be at AAR in San Diego later this week, please join us on Friday night!