Mathew Barlow

CBS News kills its climate unit David Ellison, the new pro-Trump chief executive of Paramount Skydance, has dismantled the best climate change reporting team in cable news.

A scoop that I’m not happy to report:

CBS News has gutted its climate change reporting team, one of the best in the business, and one of the only ones on cable news that consistently called out fossil fuels as the main source of climate pollution.

heated.world/p/cbs-news-k...

This is by far the most brilliant take down of the Gates memo that I’ve read. It utterly dismantles the false choice between poverty alleviation and climate mitigation that Gates advances — and not even just by saying “climate makes poverty worse.”

I won’t spoil it here — you must read it!

A look at the devastating power loss across Jamaica following the historic crossing of Hurricane Melissa, captured by NOAA-21.

‘People will freeze to death’ if heating aid doesn’t come soon The federal government shutdown means heating aid will not be released Nov. 1, leading to stark worries from those who manage the program.

“I have a great and considerable fear that people will freeze to death in their homes this winter if we do not turn this around quickly.”

themainemonitor.org/people-freez...

Covering Hurricane Melissa’s landfall, national TV news networks largely neglected the storm’s links to climate change Hurricane Melissa made landfall in western Jamaica on October 28 as a Category 5 storm with 185 mph winds, tying the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane as the strongest Atlantic landfall on record. Scientists s...

Covering Hurricane Melissa’s landfall, national TV news networks largely neglected the storm’s links to climate change" | Article by Evlondo Cooper for #mediamattersforamerica:

www.mediamatters.org/broadcast-ne...

John Morales on ‘infamous' Hurricane Melissa's destructive path and worrying trends Melissa, now an infamous hurricane, will see its name retired by the World Meteorological Organization. It’s the third strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic basin, the strongest observed s...

"I don’t need to tell you that I am quite distressed about this new era of abnormally hot Atlantic waters and the catastrophic hurricanes that come as a result. Like it or not, you should be concerned too." My reflections on Hurricane #Melissa for @nbcmiami.com. www.nbcmiami.com/weather/hurr...

Woman from a garment worker union at a parade to see Jimmy Carter.

You in fact can't talk about the history of the labor movement without talking about multi-ethnic coalitions. The International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union was initially composed of Jewish and Italian immigrants, but later grew to Black, Puerto Rican, Chinese, and Filipino workers.

Textile workers marching through the street holding USA flags.

A banner of revolt displayed during the protest.

Instead of breaking up, the workers galvanized. Tens of thousands of workers from different ethnic background marched through Lawrence, holding flags and singing in the streets. Their determination eventually won out and the moment is remembered as the "Bread and Roses Strike."

A tattered red bandana from that period.

The coal miners lost that 1921 battle, but they also laid the groundwork for future labor gains. The Battle of Blair Mountain became a rallying point for labor rights in Appalachia, catalyzing the United Mine Workers of America. The red bandana also stood for multi-ethnic class solidarity.

My quote from an Axios interview, stating that: People often think of climate change as a separate bucket at the end of a long row of other buckets of problems we're trying to fix that are wrong in the world," Hayhoe told Axios. This includes poverty, disease and access to clean water. "Climate change is not a separate bucket," Hayhoe said. "The reason we care about climate change is that it's the hole in every bucket."

If you take the time to read the whole Gates memo (which I did), the bulk of the content was mostly solid and encouraging. Really!

It was the FRAME that was off--very off, from the first line.

And when your framing is off, then how you make decisions and set priorities is off. THAT'S the problem.

The Python Software Foundation won a $1.5m grant from the US government National Science Foundation.
Turned it down because required to affirm that we "will not... operate any programs that advance or promote DEI"

simonwillison.net/2025/Oct/27/...

Interactive browser-based simulation of 2D shear instability using @visualpde.com for two related cases (1 of 2):

a line of vorticity:
visualpde.com/sim/?mini=Vk...

Interactive browser-based simulation of 2D shear instability using @visualpde.com for two related cases (1 of 2):

a ring of vorticity
visualpde.com/sim/?mini=vQ...

Most simply, a storm is an area of rotating winds: a disk of vorticity. Strong hurricanes can develop more of a ring-like shape in vorticity, which can be unstable & develop mesovortices.

This is a basic process & can be simulated in a barotropic or shallow water model (here, with @visualpde.com).

Depends a bit on what folks have time to submit, I think 😀

Here are all the Category 5 segments of the 45 known Cat 5 Atlantic Basin hurricanes since 1924, with Melissa's 36-hour segment highlighted.

Opinion | In 40 Years of Forecasting, I’ve Never Seen a Hurricane Like Melissa

Thrilled to work with @wxmanms1.bsky.social, whose Substack I've read and admired for some time, on this piece on #Melissa www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/o...

This is horrifying and it also feels like the inevitable conclusion of any homelessness policy that begins and ends with “break up encampments and make people invisible”.

Hurricane Melissa leaves Jamaica devastated. And, the shutdown's impact on airports Officials are assessing the damage after Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica as a Category 5.  And, how the government shutdown is impacting air traffic controllers.

Officials are assessing the damage after Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica as a Category 5. And, how the government shutdown is impacting air traffic controllers. n.pr/4ohyQnk

plot comparing vorticity and wind speed between different forecast models for Hurricane Melissa

Fascinated by the distinct differences in Melissa's eyewall structure between HWRF, HFSA, and HFSB

Judge Stops Shutdown-Related RIFs Indefinitely - Eos A judge has announced she would rule that the government cannot issue further reduction-in-force (RIF) notices to federal employees because of the government shutdown, nor implement RIFs that had alre...

A federal judge has ruled that the government pause plans to lay off thousands of employees, including at USGS, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service.

eos.org/research-and...

Received a few questions regarding insurance in Jamaica. Roughly 20% of residential properties currently have insurance. However. Of that ~20%, a remarkable 95% of those properties are "underinsured" -- or not insured for the full value of their home. #Melissa

jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news...

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Hi, It’s Me, Wikipedia, and I Am Ready for Your Apology “Wikipedia, the constantly changing knowledge base created by a global free-for-all of anonymous users, now stands as the leading force for the dum...

Once again, @mcsweeneys.net does not miss.

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"In 2004, you saw some college guy using me and thought, 'What a lazy cheater.'

Now you’d think, 'At least he’s not asking Gemini.'

In a few years, you’ll say, 'Wow, look, a human being who can read.'"

SHUTDOWN: NOAA closes; Hurricane Hunters work without pay Since the federal government shutdown began, public servants are already feeling the effects of Congress’s failure to move forward with funding.

Shockingly, because of the government shutdown, the hurricane hunters are going unpaid as they risk their lives for theise data. And staff at the National Hurricane Center are also without pay as they continue to perform their critical duties during this record-breaking storm.

Please read our statement, share it with your networks, and support us if you can. www.python.org/sponsors/app... psfmember.org/civicrm/cont...

The official home of the Python Programming Language

TLDR; The PSF has made the decision to put our community and our shared diversity, equity, and inclusion values ahead of seeking $1.5M in new revenue. Please read and share. pyfound.blogspot.com/2025/10/NSF-...
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Hurricane Melissa Is a Monster Climate Change-Fueled Hurricane: Here’s What to Know This is the third Category 5 hurricane this year.

"Let’s not forget that there are those to hold accountable for disasters like this: the policymakers and fossil fuel companies who have long obstructed climate action, lied about climate science, and left communities to face the destruction of extreme disasters."

The US must quickly move to aid in relief and recovery efforts in Jamaica: out of simple decency in the face of catastrophe, out of care for friends and family there, and out of our shared responsibility for supercharging these events through fossil fuel emissions.