Laura Huenneke

The El Paso Balloon Incident Could Have Been a Disaster Shooting experimental lasers next to a major airport without telling anyone—what could go wrong?

I lived many years in Las Cruces near El Paso, so was alarmed this week by the El Paso airport shutdown. And then astounded that a party balloon had triggered it all (real 99-red-balloons stuff). Here's a valuable thoughtful piece on the true implications.
open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...

Me too! I hate to see a high-quality mask in a crowd viewed as an “extreme” measure.

I'm in total agreement! I've done election observing (polling places, tabulation) and worked at the polls in my rural county - it's super frustrating that so few friends and neighbors are willing to learn more and take on some community role in our great local system @coconinovote.bsky.social

Gladys Mae West obituary: mathematician who pioneered GPS technology She made key contributions to US cold-war science despite facing huge barriers as a Black woman.

No joke: I got angry hate mail today for writing an obituary of a Black woman scientist—because the person felt she did didn’t deserve the recognition.

Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...

btw Where is Kelly Yu of Peoria AZ now?
@azfamily.com @kjzz.org

there's something unholy about the Trump administration being laser focused on "fraud" while Trump pardons an endless clown car of fraudsters and bilks taxpayers at every opportunity. it's just transparently absurd.

Neither Trump nor the GOP in congress have this power, & the only way they do this is if we decline to stand up for our rights. He's had a string of electoral defeats & rightfully fears the midterms. His outbursts are real threats, but they come from weakness. Tough shit, he's going down. No Kings.

Not terrifying at all...

Thinking about lying Climate denial taught our leaders shamelessness

Love @billmckibben.bsky.social The Crucial Years. Mix of grim and good news, useful prompts. "If America’s Dept of Energy wasn’t...committed to the idea... “there is no energy transition” we could begin, you know, planning." This edition has solar-powered airships!
open.substack.com/pub/billmcki...

Thanks for sharing your photos of this! With the larger political context these days, it is very hard to keep attention and effort on this truly global existential threat.

Staying active is one of my key strategies for staying sane these days. Today I ran my first race since a serious fall in Aug 2024. Well, to be more accurate, I walked/jogged a little local 5K. First in my age group! (Perhaps only…) Importance of just showing up…

As a poll worker and an election count observer - I am VERY worried about this and several other steps underway to subvert free and fair elections.

Today Fulton County, Tomorrow??? On Wednesday, the FBI executed a search warrant on the Fulton County, Georgia, Elections Operation Center.

I've observed in my AZ county's Election Center as ballots are tabulated, becoming familiar with security measures that ensure safe, accurate, free, fair elections. What happened in Georgia this week is horrifying. A wake-up call for all of us! joycevance.substack.com/p/today-fult...

I live just east of Flagstaff, and there are some strong GOP/Trump folks here. Some outrage being expressed about their kids being out of control! I salute those students standing up for humanity even against family pressure.

I'm not in southern CA, and I'm not much of a soccer/futbol fan, but I've been fascinated by @awalkerinla.bsky.social posts about (non)progress in mega-event preparations. This particular piece really pulls in the brutal realities of where we are in this moment of the Trump administration.

Love this! Will use national, state, and county (even congressional district!) data both in conversations and in outreach - such as our local Master Gardeners. Not what you would think of as a rabble-rousing group, but certainly attuned to the natural world and interested in science-based efforts.

Thanks for sharing this. In the midst of <all this> I really enjoyed catching up on what’s happening at this crucial long-term ecological research site. Even though the news, for plants and rodents, is not good.

Do you have a local food bank? I know our local food center puts together 300-400 bags of fresh produce each day - they would be thrilled to get 500 or more lemons to put one in each bag for a day or two…

they're executing moms and nurses in the street. they're using preschoolers as bait. they're stealing people's dads and grandmas and children. they're tear gassing babies. they're staking out schools. there is no remedy but abolition. any proposal that doesn't start there is an act of violence.

He was doing what many have been saying white men should be doing. He went outside to observe, he documented, he put his body on the line to protect another person and for this he was murdered by the gatekeepers of the fascist regime.

Stand With Minnesota Donation Directory Stand With Minnesota is a hub for supporting, learning, and taking action to support Minnesotans impacted by ICE and federal enforcement.

This morning's killing in Minnesota is crushing. I've already urged my (useless GOP) Rep Crane, and both Senators @gallego.senate.gov and @captmarkkelly.bsky.social to refuse to vote for any $$$ for ICE. And chose several groups off this list in Minnesota for donations. www.standwithminnesota.com

If you saw this happening in another country, what would you call it?

[Cartoon by Mike Luckovich]

A red flyer with the words “scientists against ice. Stand up for science calls for a general strike 1/23/26 Minnesota. Mobilize the fight for science and democracy”

Stand Up for Science stands in solidarity with our friends, colleagues, and neighbors who are united against ICE today.

We have a moral imperative to respond to human rights abuses and to link arms in solidarity against injustice.

#StandUpforScience
#ScientistsAgainstICE

The cost of inaction The feds outlined their plans if states don’t reach a deal on Colorado River water. It’s a lot of bad options.

Great piece in AZ Water Agenda explaining options in draft EIS for managing Colo River water in drier future. Though I suspect future hydrology will be even worse than pictured, this may be drastic enough to finally get the attention of people here in AZ! azwateragenda.beehiiv.com/p/the-cost-o...

Looking forward to our Flagstaff event!

Just left voicemails @gallego.senate.gov @captmarkkelly.bsky.social urging votes against approps for DHS w/o strict limits on ICE, CBP. They have new bill "Stop Excessive Force in Immigration Act" which is great but they also need to use EVERY tool at their disposal and right now that is $$$$.

ICE ended up returning the man, Saly, after realizing he’s a fucking US citizen with no criminal record, per his sister-in-law. These fucking animals.

...But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars.” Dr. King said that he felt blessed to live in an era when people had finally woken up and were working together for freedom and economic justice." (3/3)

“Now, that’s a strange statement to make,” King went on, “because the world is all messed up. The nation is sick. Trouble is in the land; confusion all around…. (2/3)

A reminder I really needed, from the always thoughtful and brave @hcrichardson.bsky.social Letters from an American last night. "Dr. King told the audience that if God had let him choose any era in which to live, he would have chosen the one in which he had landed. (1/3)