Ilana Berger

Opinion | EPA is right to reverse Obama overreach If the federal government wants to more heavily regulate greenhouse gas emissions, Congress needs to pass a new law.

I wonder how Bezos' boots taste? What an accomplishment to truly be the paper of the billionaire class, despised by the people. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Oh, and, as it happens ...
bsky.app/profile/mich...

A Secret Panel to Question Climate Science Was Unlawful, Judge Rules

Today we won.

A U.S. District Court ruled that the administration violated federal law when it secretly convened a group of climate contrarians to produce a thoroughly debunked report to overturn the Endangerment Finding.

The science still matters. We won't stop.

www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/c...

(Exclusive.) Bari Weiss this week clocks up four weeks on the job as chief booker (sorry, editor-in-chief) of CBS News. Breaker hears that she has unimpressed staffers with a series of bold ideas in the 9 am call. Last week, following the jewel heist at The Louvre, Weiss suggested they interview author Dan Brown. Staffers questioned what expertise in the matter Brown would provide CBS News viewers? Brown is well known as the bestselling author of the 2003 mystery novel, The Da Vinci Code, about a murder at The Louvre. On Tuesday’s 9 am call, Weiss suggested a story about how people who are scared of climate change aren’t having children. “She is showing her worst self,” one CBS News journalist told Breaker. “People are running to avoid her.”

Lmao what (from today's Breaker newsletter)

This declaration is a testament to the hard work of
CAAD members & others who make sure climate disinformation stays on the agenda! Happy to see countries stepping up where the U.S. is failing miserably.

With COP30 underway, Climate Action Against Disinformation releases a report showing how both Big Carbon and Big Tech are sabotaging climate action worldwide. Cites examples of legislation that has been effective in limiting the harms of disinformation.

“The UN and the World Economic Forum have each declared that Climate Change and disinformation are the greatest threats to Humanity. To truly make this COP the COP of Truth, we need firmly established guardrails against mis and disinformation,” said UCS’s Kate Cell from #COP30 in Belém, Brazil.

Talking climate disinformation at #COP30!

A New Democratic Think Tank Wants to Curb the Influence of Liberal Groups

This coming right after Kathy Hochul endorses Mamdani is.. something. Sure glad we're learning lessons here. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/17/u...

Law Firm Pressures Brown University to Erase Research on Anti-Wind Groups

My lab's been attacked by an anti-wind group and their lawyers. They threatened the science funding of my whole university, to shut me and my undergraduate research assistants up.

NYT just covered it. 1/n

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/c...

From Katrina to Helene: A timeline of Fox News’ hurricane misinformation, harmful narratives, and climate denial For two decades, Fox News has weaponized major disasters caused by supercharged storms to attack political opponents, push right-wing narratives, and deny climate change. Major storms that hit populated areas generate wall-to-wall TV news coverage. At its best, this coverage exposes systemic issues that leave certain populations vulnerable to disasters, keeps a spotlight on both rescue and recovery processes to keep accountable those responsible for disaster response, and discusses the link between our warming planet and the intensification of storms, along with solutions for reducing climate pollution.At its worst, coverage ignores these issues, downplaying or denying the role of climate change and using disasters to amplify false narratives and misinformation that serve a political agenda. In 20 years of hurricane reporting, Fox News’ coverage has predominately reflected the latter.Below is an overview of some of the major storms that have made landfall in the U.S. over the past 20 years – and how Fox covered them.

This week marks the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall in Louisiana. For two decades, Fox News has weaponized disasters caused by supercharged storms to attack political opponents, push right-wing narratives, and deny climate change.

Murdoch media find a scapegoat for New Jersey’s high electric rates

For @mmfa.bsky.social: Murdoch Media is pushing an extremely misleading narrative about rate hikes across the country, and particularly in New Jersey. www.mediamatters.org/rupert-murdo...

The Practice and Assessment of Science: Five Foundational Flaws in the Department of Energy's 2025 Climate Report Adopted by the Executive Committee of the AMS Council on 27 August 2025

Here is the official statement from the American Meteorological Society on the "foundational flaws" of the Department of Energy’s recent attempt to deny the reality of #climate change.

www.ametsoc.org/ams/about-am...

New from me ⬇️
Last week, UCS and EDF moved to block the EPA from attempting to repeal the endangerment finding. Hopefully, legal precedent and scientific reality can withstand this coordinated assault on climate action.

A federal court in Washington, D.C. issued a preliminary injunction today blocking the Federal Trade Commission’s investigation into Media Matters for America from moving forward while the court considers the lawsuit Media Matters filed on June 23. In response, Angelo Carusone, Chairman and President of Media Matters, issued the following statement:“The court’s ruling demonstrates the importance of fighting over folding, which far too many are doing when confronted with intimidation from the Trump administration. This case is not just about the campaign to punish and silence Media Matters, however. It is a critical test for whether the courts will allow any administration - from any political party - to bully media and non-profit organizations through illegal abuses of power. We will continue to stand up and fight for the First Amendment rights that protect every American.”

Key excerpts from the court’s opinion: “Speech on matters of public concern is the heartland of the First Amendment. The principle that public issues should be debated freely has long been woven into the very fabric of who we are as a Nation. Without it, our democracy stands on shaky ground. It should alarm all Americans when the Government retaliates against individuals or organizations for engaging in constitutionally protected public debate. And that alarm should ring even louder when the Government retaliates against those engaged in newsgathering and reporting.” “Media Matters engaged in quintessential First Amendment activity when it published an online article criticizing Mr. Musk and X.”

In a victory for free speech, Media Matters won a preliminary injunction against the retaliatory FTC investigation.

Below are a statement from @goangelo.bsky.social and some key excerpts from the ruling.

RFK Jr. in interview with Scripps News: ‘Trusting the experts is not science’ HHS Secretary RFK Jr. sat down with Scripps News for a wide-ranging interview, discussing mRNA vaccine funding policy changes and a recent shooting at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

1. "'Trusting the experts is not a feature of either a science or democracy," Kennedy said."

It's literally a vital feature of both science and of representative democracy.

I've written a fair bit about trust in expertise as a vital mechanism in the collective epistemology of science.

Analysis: Sliding US rig count outpaces efficiency gains, threatening onshore oil output HOUSTON (Reuters) -The falling number of oil and gas rigs deployed across the United States is reaching a level that would indicate onshore crude output from the world's top producer could fall in ear...

First a correction:

U.S. oil production has fallen over 300,000 bpd this year. Seems like that should have been mentioned in this article.

It's already in decline.

This isn't true: "U.S. energy companies are producing record amounts of oil"

We fact-checked the Trump administration’s climate report Scientists say the report cherry-picks key data and misrepresents the state of climate research.

We annotated some of the most, er, interesting lines in the DOE's new climate report with the help of scientists.

New from me and the rest of the team:

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

Half of the top 10 online shows spread misinformation or false narratives about Hurricane Helene in 2024

New for @mmfa.bsky.social: We found that popular online shows pushed right-wing misinformation about #HurricaneHelene recovery efforts, and at least 5.7 million people listened. So, what does that mean for Atlantic hurricane season 2025? Nothing good. www.mediamatters.org/hurricanes/h...

One Russian company seems thrilled with Trump’s move on asbestos The US Environmental Protection Agency is moving to open new avenues to approve asbestos products, and at least one Russian asbestos producer seems thrilled about it. Earlier this summer, Uralasbest p...

oh ok got it qz.com/1351489/trum...

A Political Battle Is Brewing Over Data Centers An AI-related provision in the “Big Beautiful Bill” could restrict state-level legislation of energy-hungry data centers—and is raising bipartisan objections across the US.

National Conference of State Legislatures, which represents state lawmakers, is urging the Senate to reject the AI provision in the #BigBeautifulBill. And my mom talked to Wired about it! www.wired.com/story/a-poli...

Kid at NYU just lost his diploma for speech you can overhear by tuning into the UN security council.

Trump's push to bring back coal finds support with right-wing media

Right-wing media claim Trump is "fighting for the little guy" and "a man of the people," as the administration dismisses market realities to prop up expensive coal and eliminates resources to protect the health & safety of miners. www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/tru...

In 15 Years, 80,000 Homes in the New York Area May Be Lost to Flooding The metro region’s housing shortage is acute. But by 2040, dozens of neighborhoods and suburbs are likely to have lost thousands of homes to floods, a new report found.

Long Island's south shore in Nassau County has the most to lose here. It's a special place. Would be heartbroken to see Jones Beach and the beautiful salt marshes disappear, too. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/07/n...

Why I’m leaving congressional journalism. My experience as (probably) the only out trans reporter in Congress.

last year i quit my job as a reporter in congress with an essay saying they’d try to do a mass detransition if trump won — and the media wouldn’t cover it

last week the WH declared all trans people child abusers & threatened prosecution against our medical providers

nothing in: NYT, WaPo, Politico

Storm chasers and meteorologists warn Trump's cuts to NOAA threaten public safety

Weather influencers who say they try to stay out of politics are deeply worried about what the Trump admin is doing to NOAA & NWS. Less than a month after the massive cuts, we've had a week of absolutely hellish weather events that killed at least 42 people. www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump...

From a source: “Just had a co-presenter for a buildings research conference bow out. She’s a dual citizen and the FBI came knocking to ask her about her involvement in coauthoring chunks of the Paris Agreement.

Climate science is being literally (and I mean literally) criminalized.”

Trump’s FBI Moves to Criminally Charge Major Climate Groups The Trump administration is targeting climate organizations that received a Biden-era grant.

This is where the last few years of criminalizing climate protest have been headed:
newrepublic.com/post/192660/...

NYC Congestion Pricing Toll Gains Support Among City Residents New York City’s controversial congestion pricing initiative is gradually gaining support, although the new toll has yet to win over a majority of voters.

Mother has permitted a crumb of good news www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Broadcast correspondents covering climate change in 2024 In a year dominated by election coverage and international conflicts, climate coverage on broadcast news in 2024 was limited. However, many correspondents at corporate broadcast networks remained comm...

Broadcast correspondents provided essential climate coverage in 2024, including former CBS correspondent Ben Tracy and ABC's Ginger Zee. They, among other journalists, ensured climate stories remained in the public discourse amid competing news priorities. www.mediamatters.org/broadcast-ne...