H. R. Martinez

Being Trans in Trump’s America - Truthdig How a new generation of transgender people are navigating a rising tide of anti-trans policies and ideology.

Anti-trans laws are rising across the U.S.—but so is the resilience of the trans community.

Thankful to have gotten the chance to work on such an important story, featuring incredible community members and advocates!

Exxon is quietly planning a new $8.6 billion plastics plant in Texas Exxon's proposal for a plastics factory on the Gulf Coast raises alarms for a community already dealing with pollution.

Exxon is quietly planning a new $8.6 billion plastics plant in Texas.

Exxon's proposal for a plastics factory on the Gulf Coast raises alarms for a community already dealing with pollution.

grist.org/accountabili...

#Texas #Exxon #Plastic #Climate

Reasons to Live Through the Apocalypse Sunrises. People you have still to meet and laugh with. Songs about love, peace, anger, and revolution. Walks in the woods. The smile you exchange with a stranger when you experience beauty accidentally together. Butterflies. Seeing your grandparents again. The moon in all her forms, whether half or full. Dogs. Birthdays and half-birthdays. That feeling of floating in love. Watching birds eat from bird feeders. The waves of happiness that follow the end of sadness. Brown eyes. Watching a boat cross an empty sea. Sunsets. Dipping your feet in the river. Balconies. Cake. The wind in your face when you roll the car window down on an open highway. Falling asleep to the sound of a steady heartbeat. Warm cups of tea on cold days. Hugs. Night skies. Art museums. Books filled with everything you do not yet know. Long conversations. Long-lost friends. Poetry.

I wrote this on one of the darkest days of my life. It gave me an anchor to hold onto.

AI set to fuel surge in new US gas power plants Climate targets in peril as Big Tech turns to fossil fuels to feed energy demand

Which is more important -- that AI summary of your search results (which you don't read and can't turn off) or a habitable planet? www.ft.com/content/63c3...

Former State Department Official: US Implicated in Every Bomb Israel Drops on Gaza “There is a linkage between every single bomb that is dropped in Gaza and the U.S.,” one former official said.

“There is a linkage between every single bomb that is dropped in Gaza and the U.S. because every single bomb that is dropped is dropped from an American-made plane.”

Project 2025's plan to dismantle public education—and screw over disabled kids Nearly nine million students rely on DOE-backed disability accommodations.

“If you take away those federal funds, you’re taking away qualified teachers…it would be a domino effect.”

Totally agree

Honestly I don't think so, but it is exhausting and demoralizing working so hard to prevent this very thing from happening and then facing it firsthand and being on the verge of losing everything. That's why we keep going.

There's a reason trans youth have one of the highest rates of suicide in the country... and there's a lot we could be doing to address that crisis. This is not one of those things.

Former Exxon lobbyist Keith McCoy:

“Did we aggressively fight against some of the science? Yes.”

“Did we join some of these shadow groups to work against some of the early efforts? Yes, that’s true.”

“We were looking out for our investments.”

#ExxonKnew

Los Angeles fires cause thousands to flee - NASA JPL closed Fire crews fight to keep people, homes, and science safe

When I started writing this piece the number of LA folks under evacuation orders was 30,000. Now it's 70,000 and with water pressure falling and the winds still strong that number will rise again.

Good luck one and all, and crossing fingers and toes for those fleeing and JPL.

Wildfire climate connection Climate change, including increased heat, extended drought, and a thirsty atmosphere, has been a key driver in increasing the risk and extent of wildfires in the western United States during the last ...

ABC, NBC & CBS dedicated about 16 minutes of airtime last night to the California wildfires without once mentioning climate change.

Since the news failed do it's job, here's a short summary of the role of climate change and wildfire risk:

www.noaa.gov/noaa-wildfir...

Live: Updates on Los Angeles Wildfires

AccuWeather has a preliminary estimate for damages and economic loss from the wildfires: $52 billion to $57 billion.

Follow our coverage of the Los Angeles wildfires for free

2 dead and more than 1,000 homes, businesses, other buildings destroyed in L.A. County fires More than 1,000 homes, businesses and other buildings have burned and at least two people are dead in wildfires burning across L.A. County, making this one of the most destructive firestorms to hit th...

The latest on three devastating fires burning in Los Angeles County:

#EatonFire
🔸 More than 2,220 acres burned
🔸 Two deaths confirmed
🔸 0% contained

#PalisadesFire
🔸 Over 2,900 acres burned
🔸 0% contained

#HurstFire
🔸 About 500 acres burned
🔸 0% contained

Coverage today from @latimes.com:

I Entered Law to Protect My LGBTQ Community. I Need Solidarity From Colleagues. The legal profession must fight to protect us — the lawyers, law students and legal workers fighting for a better world.

Awesome, needed piece by @zanemcneill.bsky.social @truthout.org about being LGBTQ+ in the legal field in 2025. truthout.org/articles/i-e...

Opinion | I Was a Health Insurance Executive. What I Saw Made Me Quit. Shareholders, not patient outcomes, tend to drive decisions at health insurance companies.

Wendell Potter’s op-ed is a must-read insider look at a rigged healthcare system that prioritizes profit over patients. It's why I won't stop fighting for Medicare For All.
www.nytimes.com/2024/12/18/o...

Bernie Sanders: A Mass Movement Can Beat Health CEO Greed We spoke to Bernie Sanders about alleged health insurance CEO shooter Luigi Mangione, the crisis of for-profit health care in America, why only a mass movement can win Medicare for All, and how to fig...

Bernie Sanders is right. Patients have been exploited by private health insurance and PBMs for too long through high premiums, insane deductibles, and claim denials for necessary care. We need a movement for #MedicareForAll.
jacobin.com/2024/12/sand...

Behind UnitedHealthcare’s CEO Is a Larger System of Corporate Rule The violence of for-profit health care’s megastructure can only be overcome through collective resistance campaigns.

Millions of people in the U.S. viscerally hate health insurance corporations, and see these companies and their CEOs as symbols of the worst kind of corporate greed. Enriching themselves whilst denying claims for care that people desperately need.

I remember 20+ years ago Exxon funding the AGU student networking breakfast. It was all a little sus then. But now?! Get with the times. That industry is whatever the opposite of honest broker is when it comes to science. Regardless of anything else, a science org can't take their money. #AGU24

The Oil Industry Is Helping to Spread Misinfo About Whale Deaths A Brown University study found that organized opposition to wind energy was fueled by extensive “information” from the fossil fuel industry.

New research: The fossil fuel industry is helping to spread disinformation about wind energy through false narratives, misleading facts, and fake experts.
newrepublic.com/article/1891...

I'm a queer law student who has done work in LGBTQ+ rights and volunteers for an LGBTQ+ crisis hotline, happy to chat

Disabled folks in the public sector, what kinds of places/industries have you found to be the most accessible places to work? Any nonprofits/types of work that are most conducive to fully remote work?

Signed,
A chronically ill law student learning the legal field may not be so accessible 😕

I have like 5 different apps I ~have~ to have at my university

This is what I mean when I say that much sustainability-focused climate activism that doesn't involve interrogation into the systemic nature of the climate crisis & policy advocacy to hold corporations accountable is performative at best and harmful at worst.

Real universities don’t sell out their students’ futures…
@hanjrmtz.bsky.social

paw.princeton.edu/inbox/anothe...

This is devastating, unsurprising, excellent reporting!

How many lives must be lost before the tides turn?

Five actions Biden can take to protect civil liberties before Trump’s presidency From confirming judges to closing detention centers, six experts address how the president can limit Trump’s impact In less than two months, Donald Trump will take office, threatening several areas of American life and international policy. The…

Five actions Biden can take to protect civil liberties before Trump’s presidency