Tory Stephens

for those of you who werent adults during iraq, its hard to overstate how much the media loves war porn. they salivate over pentagon spin briefings. they love stories about all the bombs and how supposedly infallible they are. they love the notion of the commander in chief, in the situation room etc

The Colorado River is nearing collapse. It’s Trump’s problem now. The Interior Department must force seven bickering states to agree on drastic water cuts — after the driest winter in decades.

The Colorado River is nearing collapse. It’s Trump’s problem now.

The polycrisis is nigh 👇

Sometimes fiction tells truths that facts cannot. It was true of Steinbeck's THE GRAPES OF WRATH, and it's true of Larwence Wright's t heartfelt novel of the days leading up to the Hamas attack on Israel in 2023. THE HUMAN SCALE is suspenseful, hard to put down, even harder to forget.

Electric Bills are Bonkers. What Can We Do About It? Rising electricity rates across the country are adding pressure to families and businesses already dealing with inflation in other aspects of their lives. Most Americans get their power from a utility...

Most Americans get their power from a utility that needs to turn a profit for investors — and people are fed up with rising electricity rates. But switching to public power is an uphill battle. What are other strategies for making electricity more affordable?

🎧 Listen to the latest on #ClimateOne

Atlanta ranks worst in eviction rates with more total evictions than New York City The new report found there were multiple complexes that averaged an eviction a day.

In the past year, metro Atlanta saw more evictions than all of New York City—despite having *one-quarter* the renters.

Multiple Atlanta apartment complexes averaged an eviction a day.

"The numbers are mind-blowing," said Grace Hartley of Princeton's Eviction Lab.

The numbers are remarkably clear on this one: the shift to the Greens was almost entirely Labour voters, with Reform grabbing all of the Tories' support.

Those "Asian communities" used to vote Labour until Starmer directed the party to demonize them.

The fuck were these idiots expecting, really?

Green win shows progressive voters are now voting against Labour as well as Reform Gorton and Denton byelection shatters Labour strategy of neglecting its core base while focusing on Reform defectors

Following up some of my morning thoughts: "Labour’s basic electoral problem comes from the fact that left-leaning voters are indeed choosing to vote against rather than for parties. The problem is that progressives aren’t just voting against Reform. They are now actively voting against Labour."

Hope Beats Hate: Green Party Defeats Reform and Labour in Huge Gorton and Denton By-Election Victory A concerted political and media campaign to scare voters about a “Green Menace” winning this by-election failed, reports Adam Bienkov

Gorton and Denton was 127th on the list of Green Party target seats.

To win by such a margin there suggests there is much bigger potential for Green gains in May's local elections than most people expect

bylinetimes.com/2026/02/27/h...

The beautiful Venetian plant with a secret climate superpower Not far from the crowds of Venice, scientists are finding that sea lavender locks away carbon, builds ecosystems, and could help coastal cities weather a warming world.

The beautiful Venetian plant with a secret climate superpower

I’m not sure a joint US-Israeli war on Iran is gonna help these numbers.

A major shift, via Gallup. More from @joshuakeating.bsky.social www.vox.com/politics/480...

BREAKING: We're suing Kansas for a law that invalidates transgender people's updated driver's licenses and authorizes anyone to sue anyone they suspect of being trans for using the "wrong" bathroom.

Americans Are Leaving the U.S. in Record Numbers More citizens are replanting overseas, drawn by a quality of life made easily affordable by the U.S.’s enviable salaries.

This is such a well done piece that reports out, with hard data and interviews, something profound about what's gone wrong in this country.

www.wsj.com/us-news/amer...

To power Utah’s data center boom, companies are turning to fossil fuels The rush to meet AI's energy needs is sure to rely on natural gas, raising worries about air pollution in the state's urban corridor.

To power Utah’s data center boom, companies are turning to fossil fuels

A hotter, wetter South is becoming a breeding ground for mold In Asheville, North Carolina, a housing crisis is colliding with a poorly understood health threat.

A hotter, wetter South is becoming a breeding ground for mold

'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.

‘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.

grist.org/accountabili...

#Musk #DataCenters #Mississippi #Climate

Visit our late backer store today and start reading THE BOOK OF SPORES 🍄
the-book-of-spores-a-fungal-sff-anthology.pledgebox.com/preorder

US congressman refuses to resign after allegations of affair with staffer Republican Tony Gonzales allegedly pressured Regina Ann Santos-Aviles, who died by suicide, into sexual relationship

Republican Tony Gonzales allegedly pressured Regina Ann Santos-Aviles, who died by suicide, into a sexual relationship. He is refusing to resign.

Reminder 🌿

I’m facilitating a 5-day spiritual retreat for eco-writers engaging climate stories with care, slowness, and grounding.

📍 North Andover, MA | 🗓 July 13–17, 2026
Learn more: thebtscenter.org/ecowriters/

#Writers #BosPoli #Massachusetts #WritingCommunity #WritersLife

How a greening Arctic might be kick-starting a dangerous feedback loop  New research finds that Arctic peatlands are expanding as the far north undergoes rapid changes. It's an ominous sign.

How a greening Arctic might be kick-starting a dangerous feedback loop 

Did the USDA just forget about $400M in drought aid for farmers? More than a year later, not a dollar has been spent — and no one knows what happened to the money.

Did the USDA just forget about $400M in drought aid for farmers?

What’s behind your eye-popping power bill? We broke it down, region by region. The culprit depends on where you live — but it’s probably not data centers (yet).

What’s behind your eye-popping power bill? We broke it down, region by region.

The culprit depends on where you live — but it’s probably not data centers (yet).

grist.org/energy/power...

#Bills #Electricity #Energy #Climate

Reminder 🌿

I’m facilitating a 5-day spiritual retreat for eco-writers engaging climate stories with care, slowness, and grounding.

📍 North Andover, MA | 🗓 July 13–17, 2026
Learn more: thebtscenter.org/ecowriters/

#Writers #BosPoli #Massachusetts #WritingCommunity #WritersLife

What is Trump going to sell to the country in the State of the Union on Tuesday? Tariffs, ICE, and a slower economy?

Let's look at some data. First, the tariffs are wildly unpopular. 1/

Trump’s Tariffs Aren’t As Dead As You Think They Are If you’re hoping for grocery prices to go down, I’ve got some bad news.

been seeing a lot of misconceptions (and not just here tbc) around what the Supreme Court decision means for Trump's tariffs powers, what "refunds" might result, and what this all means for your grocery bills. so I put together a tariff-ic lil explainer for everyone: slate.com/business/202...

Bookbub Bright Green Futures, was $5.99, now free Part of series ‏ : ‎ Bright Green Futures Best Sellers Rank: #156 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store) #1 in Hard Science Fiction (Kindle Store) #1 in LGBTQ+ Science Fiction (Kindle Store) #3 in Science Fiction Anthologies (Kindle Store)

DANG, people are hungry for a better world! This #solarpunk anthology had its Bookbub ad *a week ago* & it's still in the top 200,going strong. Makes my heart glad.

"clicky space centipedes, sentient trees, a flooded future Rio de Janeiro...each story imagines a way to survive the future, together"

The floor plan for the planned ICE concentration camp in Social Circle, Georgia:

How Many People Have Been Shot in ICE Raids? The Trace is tracking gun incidents connected to Trump’s deployment of immigration agents. Know of an incident? Please be in touch.

According to @thetrace.org, there have been 21 incidents in which federal immigration agents shot at people and another 41 incidents in which agents held bystanders, protestors, or other people at gunpoint since Trump’s immigration operations began last year.

“The purpose behind the release of herbicide on the villages remains unclear.”

Israel has been dumping herbicides throughout southern Lebanon as part of a concerted ecocide campaign to render the region uninhabitable. This has been going on for months with Lebanese journalists & environmentalists regularly reporting on it.

The BBC: we don’t know why the Israelis are doing it