Amanda Fencl (she/they)

I wish they said explicitly that there's $5 billion in emergency reserves they're refusing to use instead they're happy to let people - mostly children, the disabled, and elderly, starve.

Democracy matters! Thanks for featuring our work!

The safety of your water could be related to how your water utility is run Some water utilities are run by elected leaders, others aren't. Research shows utilities with elected managers tend to deliver more affordable drinking water.

How democratic is your water utility? It turns out that those with elected leaders perform better.

This week's @latimes.com Boiling Point newsletter features new research by @kbdobbin.bsky.social and @alfencl.bsky.social on water democracy in California www.latimes.com/environment/...

Colliding Crises Across the US, the housing crisis and climate change-fueld extreme heat are increasingly colliding. At greatest risk: those with the lowest income, including people living in affordable housing, older...

Federal housing funding following disasters should be invested in #ClimateResilient upgrades so the housing stock in highly exposed places is safer from future disasters and chronic #climate stressors like extreme heat. bit.ly/4nkE54q

Colliding Crises Across the US, the housing crisis and climate change-fueld extreme heat are increasingly colliding. At greatest risk: those with the lowest income, including people living in affordable housing, older...

People of color faced disproportionate risks even when accounting for their overrepresentation in those types of housing: on average nationally, a person of color headed 66% of households in public and project-based housing that experienced 3 or more weeks’ worth of heat alerts. bit.ly/4nkE54q

Nearly half of the nation’s affordable housing stock experienced three or more weeks’ worth of extreme heat alerts in 2024, the hottest year on record, as the affordable housing and climate crises increasingly collide.

📢NEW: @ucs.org finds that most of the nation’s affordable homes were in counties exposed to 1 or more weeks’ worth of heat alerts in 2024. Major metropolitan areas account for about 1/3 of the affordable housing exposed and thousands of counties in less densely populated areas account for ~2/3.

The fingerprint of climate change is everywhere here. According to Climate Central’s Climate Shift Index, human-caused climate change made the warm-than-usual waters under Melissa 600 times more likely. csi.climatecentral.org/ocean

Given how slow the storm is moving, there is the potential for significant flash flooding in Jamaica, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. Some forecasting models predict over 12 inches of rain for these countries. Here’s the latest rainfall forecast from the National Hurricane Center through Sunday:

The latest forecast from the National Hurricane Center has Tropical Storm Melissa slowly strengthening throughout the week as it moves very slowly to the northwest. For more information on the forecast for Melissa, head to www.hurricanes.gov.

The Caribbean Needs US Climate, Humanitarian Response, Not Military Aggression US role in climate change requires us to help those most affected.

Danger is brewing this week in the Caribbean, and it’s not just the Trump Administration's sinking of boats. In his latest blog, @decletbarreto.bsky.social calls for US climate and humanitarian aid, rather than military aggression, as Tropical Storm Melissa forms in the Caribbean: bit.ly/477G0o8

Fighting for Fair Development Community Benefits Agreements as a Strategy for Making the Energy Transition More Equitable in the United States

This StoryMap outlines some key case studies from the report: storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/a860...

Excited to share our new report for @cplusc.bsky.social

Building Community Power: Community Benefits Agreements Across the Global Energy Supply Chain

This is practically a book’s worth of research and writing. An interactive CBA toolkit is also forthcoming. Grateful to work with such a great team!

Omg

A massive storm that brought a record storm surge to Alaska was poorly forecast, and “this is one of the clearest possible examples to date where missing upper air soundings due to NWS constraints may have led to a degraded forecast.”

Linking variation in water democracy to system performance on the human right to water Nature Water - Access to safe, affordable and accessible drinking water is influenced by various socioeconomic factors. A survey of a large number of California water systems shows how different...

Amazing work by friends @kbdobbin.bsky.social, @alfencl.bsky.social and Justin McBride (@uclaurbanplanning.bsky.social)

www.nature.com/articles/s44...

California passes bill curbing utilities use of ratepayer money for political spending State lawmakers last week made California the seventh state to pass a bill limiting investor-owned utilities from using customer money to pay for political and lobbying costs.

Governor Newsom has a bill on his desk to hold utilities accountable, and get them to stop passing along their dark money campaigns to everyday Californians.

Is he going to side with utilities, or side with the public and help lower electricity rates?
energyandpolicy.org/california-l...

California passes bill curbing utilities use of ratepayer money for political spending State lawmakers last week made California the seventh state to pass a bill limiting investor-owned utilities from using customer money to pay for political and lobbying costs.

It's not the only or even the main reason @governor.ca.gov
should sign it, but this bill is tailor-made for him to say "I will stand up to powerful interests to lower your monthly bills."

Seems like the kinda thing he wants to communicate!

energyandpolicy.org/california-l...

How Much Water and Energy do Data Centers Consume? A New Jersey Bill Demands Answers. - Inside Climate News If signed, the bill would make data centers release quarterly reports on water and electricity use.

There is also a bill awaiting the governor's signature in New Jersey that would require data centers to release quarterly reports on their water use and electricity use. insideclimatenews.org/news/2409202...

Amid a data center boom, California lawmakers pass a bill to track water use The AI-driven data center boom is adding strain on the West’s water. New legislation in California would require data centers to report how much water they use.

The AI-driven boom in data centers is putting growing demands on water in California and the West. California legislators passed a bill requiring data centers to report how much water they use. www.latimes.com/environment/... @latimes.com

🟡 M4.8 #earthquake detected 3 km ESE of Berkeley, California at 9/22/2025 2:56:12 AM PDT

This reflects data from the U.S. Geological Survey that is subject to change. Visit the USGS page linked below for the latest #quake information

M 4.6 - 2 km ESE of Berkeley, CA Link: https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/nc75240492

The Washington Post Fired Me — But My Voice Will Not Be Silenced. I spoke out against hatred and violence in America — and it cost me my job.

Some personal news:

I've been fired from the Washington Post in the aftermath of the Charlie Kirk shooting.

Thread incoming.

substack.com/@karenattiah...

Weather that drove Iberian wildfires is 40 times more likely due to climate change, report says The hot, dry and windy conditions this summer that fueled the worst wildfires in Spain for at least three decades are 40 times more likely to recur due to human-caused climate change, according to an analysis by World Weather Attribution.

Weather that drove Iberian wildfires is 40 times more likely due to climate change, report says reut.rs/4ghmus3

Every AI chat has a hidden water cost.

One ChatGPT conversation? A couple of tablespoons of water.

Here’s how to calculate the true footprint of your prompts: buff.ly/8Bgglz4

2026 Award and Honors Recipients The AMS is a global community committed to advancing weather, water, and climate science and service.

Congratulations to UCS climate scientist, @carlonimbus.bsky.social for being recognized by @ametsoc.org for pioneering research, transformative leadership in bridging science and society, and exceptional service in fostering inclusive dialog and action across weather, water, and climate enterprise!

EDF, UCS File Lawsuit Against Trump Administration Secret Convening of Climate Skeptics, Use of Their Hidden “Science” Report in Attempt to Overturn Endangerment Finding EDF and UCS are going to court to challenge the Trump administration’s use of a secretively convened group of climate skeptics to prepare a now widely disparaged report in its attempt to undo the Enda...

Today, @ucs.org and @envdefensefund.bsky.social filed suit to challenge the Administration's efforts to use a shoddy DOE report filled with climate disinformation to rollback federal climate action. Their actions are indefensible and we will not let it stand. www.ucs.org/about/news/e...

Scientists’ role in defending democracy The United States’ democratic leadership, commitment to freedom of expression, and investment in the pursuit of knowledge have long enabled its preeminence in science and technology. Yet today we are ...

My new @science.org editorial on the role of scientists in defending democracy is out today. As authoritarianism takes hold in the US, we must fight for the democratic principles that enable a free society and scientists have a key role. I hope you'll join us.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Scientists’ role in defending democracy The United States’ democratic leadership, commitment to freedom of expression, and investment in the pursuit of knowledge have long enabled its preeminence in science and technology. Yet today we are ...

Scientists’ role in defending democracy | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... via @ucs.org

Do we see how calling Trump deploying the national guard to forcibly displace homeless people a "distraction"...

Is a way to absolve people of having to think about how to protect, defend and shelter the targets of his cruelty?