Climate Disconnect

(2/2) Beech leaf disease is spreading in New England, and beech bark disease has been present for years. We're not sure if mama beech was afflicted with either of those, or is suffering from the ravages of old age, or a combination. But we're grateful she produced a bumper crop of young beeches.

This is a young beech -- leaves still on in winter a telltale sign -- and next to it is the big one we call "mama beech." Sadly, she has really declined in recent years and doesn't have much time left, but she has left us many offspring throughout our woods. (Background noise is breeze.) (1/2)

2/2 "the problem stems from dwindling rainfall and reduced groundwater. Local farmers are digging more and deeper wells due to water scarcity, which further depletes groundwater reserves, exacerbating the problem... As water tables drop, underground cavities lose the support that once held them up."

‘I live in constant fear’: surge in giant sinkholes threatens Turkey’s farmers Falling groundwater, extreme heat and water-intensive farming are accelerating land collapse, forcing a rethink in agricultural practices

Meanwhile, in other news:

"Now, though, the land is drying up. Turkey is on the brink of a major drought crisis, with almost 90% of the country at risk of becoming desert. Sinkholes are appearing in farmland in the region at an increasing pace." (1/2)

Tufted Puffins Are Vanishing Across the Pacific Northwest—Can an Ambitious New Effort Save Them? | Audubon Armed with enthusiasm, researchers and volunteers have joined forces to safeguard the flamboyant seabirds as climate change warms their ocean homes.

Proposed solution for tufted puffin declines: more monitoring and marine protected areas.

It’s like putting a non-smoking section in a casino.

Drawing a boundary doesn’t change the air.

Local protection matters, but it can’t offset warming oceans and shifting food webs.

PSA TODAY
#TheOutpost 🌱🌿🚶‍♂️🐝🦋🐛

Wow. Just wow.

Dec-Feb 2025-26 precipitation ranking. While not as dray as last winters record driest, this was still a bottom 10 driest winter periods. [reposted with corrected title block]

Even by cult standards, this is just bonkers.

Needed that today. Thank you.

Nobody should using generative AI for anything that they really care about.

This is truly shocking. Why do humans like to kill so many other species?

Photo of a gray wolf in the snow. (Photo courtesy of the Endangered Species Coalition.)

Gray wolves are in danger of extinction, but the US Senate is about to strip their ESA safeguards with the misleadingly named "Pet and Livestock Protection Act." Tell them NO! It's fast/easy with a customizable letter @stopextinction.bsky.social sends for you: actionnetwork.org/letters/stop.... 🌎

Maybe they should watch less TV, stay home and explore their local landscapes instead.

"a whopping 81% of Gen Z and millennial travelers plan vacations based on locations featured in film and TV... American Express suggested 70% of younger people plan trips based on what they see on their screens."

£12m for a Pokémon card? If you’re not in the game you’re missing a trick The record sum paid at auction for a rare example is part of a boom in trading cards – and the prices can be staggering

Tax the rich!

We can move beyond the capitalist model and save the climate – here are the first three steps | Jason Hickel and Yanis Varoufakis Capitalism cares about our species’ prospects as much as a wolf cares about a lamb’s. But democratise our economy and a better world is within our grasp, say Jason Hickel and Yanis Varoufakis

“Capitalism cares about our species’ prospects as much as a wolf cares about a lamb’s. But democratise our economy and a better world is within our grasp”

Excellent article on how capitalism is destroying the planet + how to overcome the dictatorship of capital
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

This is truly awesome! Dr. Fairfax is one of the world's leading beaver scientists, and has been deeply involved in helping shape a new Disney/Pixar animated movie about these wonderful and adorable creatures. Read this piece to find out more:

www.laughingplace.com/disney-enter...

Scott, that's not what the Reuters story says at all. Don't make up crap and post it here.

Delta Air Lines Orders Another 34 Airbus Jets to Drive Growth Delta Air Lines Inc. announced an order for 34 Airbus SE jets, its third aircraft order in less than six weeks, as the airline looks to cement its lead in the US aviation industry.

I'm sure "sustainable aviation fuel" will make this all okay.

Including this order, Delta has now placed orders for almost 100 new planes since the year began.

UK Holds Talks With Oil and Gas Firms on Ending Windfall Tax The UK Treasury is considering scrapping a controversial windfall tax on North Sea oil and gas following persistent pushback from producers, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Because no one needs lower taxes more than the oil & gas industry, right? Meanwhile, the UK gov't is so short of money for the NHS and everything else that it was trying to cut winter fuel subsidies for the elderly and impose inheritance taxes on farmers. And this from a Labour government.

2/2 More handouts coming:

"The fossil fuel giant received the credit for the period spanning 2018 to 2024, suggesting other LNG firms could also receive the same credits retroactively. The incentive expired at the end of 2024."

"The IRS decision was met with ... bewilderment from tax experts...."

Fossil fuel giant wins $370 million tax break for burning gas as an ‘alternative fuel’ The IRS allowed one of the world’s largest exporters of natural gas to claim its heavily polluting tankers are low-emissions “motorboats,” the company said.

One of those stories that makes my head hurt.

"The Trump administration handed a $370 million windfall to one of the world’s largest exporters of natural gas by allowing the company to claim an “alternative fuels” tax incentive for operating some of the planet’s most heavily polluting ships." (1/2)

Screenshot of Futurist story headline: Jack Dorsey’s New Company Falling Apart as It Forces Employees to Use AI "The overarching culture at Block is crumbling."

Screenshot of Financial Times story and headline: Jack Dorsey’s Block to cut workforce by ‘nearly half’ as it leans on AI tools Group’s shares surge 25% as CEO says ‘most companies are late’ to realise how much technology will affect employment

Story on left from a week ago. Story on right from today. Workforce to get cut by nearly half because of AI, and stock is up 25%. Welcome to modern, very late-stage capitalism.

Just 1/3 of the share buyback would fund the entire project.

"The company reported profits of £3.5bn for 2025, up from £2.5bn in 2024, as it also promised to give up to £9bn to shareholders over the next 3 years through share buybacks, its biggest return of cash to investors in a decade."

Under water, in denial: is Europe drowning out the climate crisis? Even as weather extremes worsen, the voices calling for the rolling back of environmental rules have grown louder and more influential

"This is Europe’s new reality: under water in winter, withered in summer. Yet even as the weather extremes worsen, the voices of denial have grown louder and more influential."

Check out the photos in this piece.
www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte...

Screenshot of part of Post homepage showing this story listed as just one of many stories of the day.

(2/2) This should have been a dominant story today, but at least in the Post, it was buried way, way down the home page until you eventually found it here:

North American birds are dying off faster. It signals a human crisis, too. The accelerating decline of birds is a bellwether of far deeper biodiversity crisis — one that threatens not only beloved species but the humans who live alongside them.

We're busy killing off everything.

“It’s bad enough if you’re seeing population sizes decreasing,” said co-author Marta Jarzyna of Ohio State University. “But it’s even worse when that loss is stronger with each year, because eventually you will get to the point of no population left.” (1/2)

Why Steve Pearce Is Such A Concerning Nominee To Run BLM “Sell off Steve” refuses to say he won’t sell public land. Here’s how much he could cost us.

Why Steve Pearce Is Such A Concerning Nominee To Run BLM
“Sell off Steve” refuses to say he won’t sell public land. Here’s how much he could cost us.
Wes Siler
#StevePearce #BLM #StevePearceBLM
https://wessiler.substack.com/p/why-steve-pearce-is-such-a-concerning

The most concerning part of Canada’s slow progress toward 30x30 is not that lands and waters aren’t being protected quickly enough to meet the target, but that they continue to be degraded and destroyed at a faster pace than being conserved. This imbalance is not new, but it is accelerating.

Wait ... what? It's legal to spread wastewater from oil & gas drilling on roads in Ohio? I just read that prof's testimony ... road crews ARE using this toxic wastewater as "dust suppressants" on dirt and gravel roads. How can we be so stupid?