Twilight Greenaway

Birds Aren’t Just Declining. They’re Declining Faster, a New Study Finds.

“The American dream turns into the American nightmare as we start to look at what we’re doing to biodiversity and systems that we depend on as humans."

This should be a front-page scandal.

This 18-year-old is protecting his California farm community – and his own mother – from ICE Cesar Vasquez, who has supported families of undocumented immigrants since age 14, has become a community lifeline – and a known ICE target

“I’m continuously preparing for the worst,” Vasquez said. He keeps a “to-go bag”, extra clothes and cash in his car. 💔

www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

US farmers are rejecting multimillion-dollar datacenter bids for their land: ‘I’m not for sale’ Families are navigating the tough choice between unimaginable riches and the identity that comes with land

"You don't have enough to buy me out. I'm not for sale. Leave me alone, I'm satisfied."
— Ida Huddleston, 82-year old Kentucky farmer, rejecting a $33 million dollar offer

The world’s 280 million electric bikes and mopeds are cutting demand for oil far more than electric cars Electric vehicles get all the press – but it’s the smaller unsung two wheelers cutting oil demand the most.

Micromobility options are "displacing 4x as much demand for oil as all the world’s electric cars at present, due to their staggering uptake in China and other nations where mopeds are a common form of transport."
theconversation.com/the-worlds-2...

Extreme events and river biodiversity under climate change - Nature Reviews Biodiversity Extreme events — such as floods, droughts and heatwaves — are escalating in frequency, magnitude and duration. This Review discusses the implications of these global changes for biodiversity in rivers...

Rivers aren’t just warming: they’re being reshaped by extreme events
Our new paper in @natrevbiodiv.nature.com shows how floods, droughts & heatwaves are pushing ecosystems past their limits, with recovery no longer guaranteed
We can build resilience, but it requires a shift in how we manage rivers

'A different set of rules': Thermal drone footage shows Musk's AI power plant flouting clean air regulations Images confirm xAI is continuing to defy EPA regulations in Mississippi to power its flagship data centers.

"State regulators in Mississippi maintain that since the turbines are parked on tractor trailers, they don't require permits."
floodlightnews.org/thermal-dron...

Fire chief, four others critically injured in 'catastrophic' explosion at Boonville church Emergency crews responded to a report of a gas and odor explosion at Abundant Life Church in Boonville, Oneida County, N.Y.

Natural gas explosion destroys church in Boonsville, NY, critically injures 5 people including fire chief. Very sad. And a reminder that gas is very dangerous.
cnycentral.com/news/local/r...

China now consumes a third of global electricity, more than twice that of the United States.

Surveillance pricing.

"The email onslaught almost certainly influenced the board’s June decision, according to agency insiders, who noted that the number of public comments typically submitted on agenda items can be counted on one hand."

Colorado River states tell feds 'no deal' on water shortage plan A Valentine's Day deadline will pass without shortage-sharing agreement among the seven Colorado River states, raising the specter of lawsuits.

The states that share the Colorado River have failed to reach a deal by the federal government's deadline. What's next? More talk, but also the possibility of a long court battle while climate change continues to threaten reservoir storage and users.

www.azcentral.com/story/news/l...

Western U.S. snowpack is worth trillions of dollars Putting a price tag on the water stored in the region’s high-elevation frozen reservoir

How much is the West’s snowpack worth?

I dug into research that puts a price tag on the water stored in snow—and projects how climate change will alter that value.

Snow also sustains ecosystems and economies while supporting winter recreation and cooling the planet.

waterdesk.org/2026/02/west...

US repeals key ‘endangerment finding’ that climate change is a public threat Overturning the 2009 decision means billions of extra tonnes of greenhouse-gas emissions over the next three decades.

Today’s action “is a rejection of the most basic laws of physics”, says #climate scientist Friederike Otto.

I report on the EPA revoking its own ruling on the danger of greenhouse gases:

www.nature.com/articles/d41... 🧪

Useful thread.

A bill (SB26-102) has been introduced to the Colorado Senate that puts smart guardrails on data center development.

This bill will:
💡 Require data centers to use renewable energy
💧 Protect our water resources
💲 Make tech companies pay their fair share for the power and grid upgrades they need

Scientists thought they understood global warming. Then the past three years happened. The fastest warming period since 1880 occurred in the past 30 years, according to a Washington Post analysis of NASA data.

The climate reporters who remain at WaPo are still doing critical work.

www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

Under GOP Pressure, Federal Agency Pulls Climate Change Chapter From Official Manual for U.S. Judges The “Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence” — updated for the first time in 15 years — eliminates some 90 pages about climate science and comes just as numerous climate cases make their way through ...

NEW: A newly updated reference manual for U.S. judges that provides answers to scientific and technical questions has eliminated some 90 pages about climate science.

It comes as numerous climate cases make their way through state and federal courts.

Happy #SuperbOwl 🦉 Sunday to all who celebrate.

The US food system is highly dependent on the exploitation of immigrant labor from farms to processing plants - the trump administration is ratcheting up unjust policies that have been developed through decades. These workers are showing amazing courage under terrible circumstances.

Melinda French Gates reacts to new details about Bill Gates in the Epstein files In an interview on NPR's Wild Card podcast, Melinda French Gates reacts to her ex-husband, Bill Gates, being mentioned in the most recent release of files related to Jeffrey Epstein.

It's a little bananas that she agreed to make this appearance.
www.npr.org/2026/02/03/n...

New Mexico Senate approves bill to ban ICE detention centers The New Mexico Legislature approved the Immigration Safety Act. House bill 9 bars the state from allowing ICE detention centers.

New Mexico's legislature just passed a bill that bans local governments from joining ICE's 287(g) program *and* from hosting detention centers. On to the governor.

www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/i...

Homeless Oregon youth got $1,000 a month for two years. Most found housing after • Oregon Capital Chronicle Oregon is the second of its kind in the nation to implement the direct cash transfer program after New York City.

"By the end of the two-year period, 94% of participants reported they were housed."

A million pilot programs show the same thing: when people are given enough money to afford housing, homelessness ends.

Other supports matter, but housing comes first. Not policing. Not moralizing. Homes.

Renee Good's brother, Luke Ganger:
 
"And I still don't know how to explain to my 4-year-old what these agents are doing when we pass by."

My Daughter Lived the Liam Ramos Nightmare. It Turned Out Worse for Us. The constant threats took a toll on my health. My daughter’s health deteriorated even faster.

Kelly Vargas writes about what happened to her, her husband, and their 6yo daughter in the family camp in Texas.

Filth, illness, medical abuse—her child has lasting complications from being injured by a staff member.

We don't know the half of what's happening in the camps, but we know enough.

A screenshot of text from a newsletter that reads: "When I struggle to find value in my own work during such times, I think of a line my friend Sierra Crane Murdoch once wrote: “Violence toward land begets violence toward people, and vice versa.” Similarly, care for the land begets care for its people. The well-being of all beings is connected. We can care about plants and animals and ecosystems while also caring about human lives, not only because we have complex brains capable of holding multiple truths at once but because we’re all intertwined. Government violence connects to oil connects to climate change connects to biodiversity. People connect to oxygen connect to trees connect to fungi connect to insects connect to birds."

If you write primarily about nature and environmental issues, it can be hard to see the value of your work during times like these. I wrote about this a bit in my introduction to @biographic.bsky.social's weekly newsletter.

Actually, I do know how to do this In retrospect, paying attention to polluters may be one of the best ways to understand what’s currently happening in the United States.

"The same state willing to criminalize dissent, erode democratic safeguards, and look away from violence in the streets is also willing to let people die slowly through pollution and heat—as long as the right industries remain protected."
heated.world/p/actually-i...

Today, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction allowing construction to resume on Sunrise Wind offshore Long Island. With the ruling, all five under-construction offshore wind projects halted by the Trump administration have been allowed to resume work.

"An Inescapable Network of Mutuality" A meditation on interconnection in stark times

I wrote about sea otters, kelp, resilience, and mutuality in this stark and frightening moment. open.substack.com/pub/windowof...

Minneapolis pastor: "There's a saying around here, ‘When does the ice go out?' When does the ice melt off the lakes? It's called Ice Out Day, you know people will park old cars on the lakes—or they used to—and they make bets on when the car would sink in. We know how to wait for ice out."