Rod Schoonover-Rey

After leaving WHO, Trump officials propose more expensive replacement to duplicate it HHS proposes spending $2 billion a year to re-create systems the U.S. accessed through the WHO at a fraction of the cost, according to officials briefed on the matter.

More of that “running government like a business” efficiency…

www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...

Ousted South Korean president sentenced to life in prison for insurrection While the court denied prosecutors’ request for the death penalty, the life sentence imposed on Yoon Suk Yeol is a pivotal moment for South Korea’s democracy.

www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/0...

Climate Change Could Make This Horrific New Jersey Wildlife Disease Worse - Inside Climate News The Garden State is home to ranavirus, a pathogen capable of killing amphibians en masse. Scientists still aren’t sure what’s causing outbreaks and what the long-term effects might be, and rising temp...

Ranavirus has caused mass die-offs in both captive and wild fish populations, and tends to be more infectious as temperatures gradually increase.

insideclimatenews.org/news/1702202...

@markgongloff.bsky.social good article, and if you haven’t seen this 2012 workshop of climate folks meeting with tobacco control folks, to compare notes and especially to learn from their longer history in litigation, see:
climateaccountability.org/pdf/Climate%...
Great 2-day intense workshop.

One of Big Oil’s Biggest Defenses Is Getting Blown Up For decades, fossil-fuel companies and their climate-change-denying allies obsessively tried to kill the federal government’s right to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions. Like Ahab, they may find that ...

This is an interesting take & well worth reading.

Ultimately, however, these companies will need to be nationalized to move us, collectively and rapidly, towards the inevitable transition. We cannot let a set of villainous ideologues take us backwards again.

www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Salty, Oily Drinking Water Left Sores in Their Mouths. Oklahoma Refused to Find Out Why. State regulators discovered strong signs of oil pollution, including high levels of salt and toxic metals, in one family’s drinking water. But for two years, they repeatedly delayed basic tests to fin...

NEW: Oklahoma regulators discovered strong signs of oil pollution, including high levels of salt and toxic metals, in one family’s drinking water.

But for two years, they repeatedly delayed basic tests to find the culprit — then closed the case.

With @readfrontier.bsky.social

There is no scientific merit to this decision, and the Administration has already been thumped by the courts for using ideology rather than science in other such actions.

If the Trump administration succeeds in rolling back the Endangerment Finding on #climate change, it won't be because the facts support it, it'll be because the system is corrupt.

The climate symbolism in Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime performance » Yale Climate Connections Bilingual Features Editor Pearl Marvell explains.

Watched the Super Bowl halftime show and not sure what all the symbolism meant? We have a breakdown of the climate-related moments of the show:

TRT World - Heavy snowfall kills 46 in Japan as forecasters warn of possible summer El Nino A powerful cold air mass has brought heavy snow to the Sea of Japan coast since late January, with some areas seeing more than twice the usual volume.

www.trtworld.com/article/ea46...

Orthographic map showing 2-m air temperature anomalies in January 2026 relative to a 1981-2010 baseline. This visualization shows North and South America. Most areas are warmer than average, except for the eastern US.

Orthographic map showing 2-m air temperature anomalies in January 2026 relative to a 1981-2010 baseline using ERA5 data. This visualization shows Africa, Europe, and western Asia. Most areas are warmer than average, except parts of Eurasia.

Orthographic map showing 2-m air temperature anomalies in January 2026 relative to a 1981-2010 baseline using ERA5 data. This visualization shows Australia, Antarctica, and Asia. Most areas are warmer than average.

January 2026 was the 5th warmest January on record for our planet. Temperatures were much colder than average across large parts of the extratropical Northern Hemisphere. In contrast, Australia had its 4th warmest.

Summary by @copernicusecmwf.bsky.social at climate.copernicus.eu/surface-air-... 🌊🧪⚒️

Trump Allies Near ‘Total Victory’ in Wiping Out U.S. Climate Regulation

Although the people named herein are indeed villains that deserve accountability, the core problem is systemic: corporate-captured governance that so obviously and acutely ignores human well-being as a desirable end state.

www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/c...

Trump Allies Near ‘Total Victory’ in Wiping Out U.S. Climate Regulation

Hopefully this villainous anti-human act helps crystallize for US citizens the moment we find ourselves as we head into El Niño. A return to incremental climate policy tweaks is no longer possible, and the next administration must be just as aggressive. More so even.

www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/c...

Global economy must move past GDP to avoid planetary disaster, warns UN chief Exclusive: António Guterres says world’s accounting systems should place true value on the environment

Global economy must move past GDP to avoid planetary disaster, warns UN chief www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Malaysia lost 20% of its coral reefs in three years Malaysia’s coral reefs are shrinking at a pace that is hard to ignore. According to the latest national survey by Reef Check Malaysia, about one-fifth of the country’s coral cover has been lost since…

Malaysia has lost ~20% of its coral cover since 2022, with bleaching, pollution and tourism driving the decline.

Even protected reefs are struggling, threatening fisheries and coastal livelihoods. Researchers urge stronger management before recovery slips further.

‘We’ve lost everything’: anger and despair in Sicilian town collapsing after landslide People in Niscemi struggle to comprehend loss of homes and businesses and feel disaster could have been avoided

Mountain slope instability is sometimes overlooked as an acute climate risk.

www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...

I really, really want the production and stage management teams to win some awards

Dozens of Dead Seahorses Found on Odessa's Coast Amid Black Sea Ecological Crisis - all the latest news today – 112.ua Dozens of Dead Seahorses Found on Odessa's Coast Amid Black Sea Ecological Crisis - latest news today. All events in Ukraine and the world on request Dozens of Dead Seahorses Found on Odessa's Coast A...

Ecological disruption in the Black Sea.

112.ua/en/ekologicn...

Research That Solves North Carolina’s Problems The North Carolina Collaboratory is working to make publicly funded science accountable to the people of the state.

Really interesting model for integrating state-level needs and the research community.

issues.org/north-caroli...

Skua deaths mark first wildlife die-off due to avian flu on Antarctica More than 50 skuas in Antarctica died from the high pathogenicity avian influenza virus H5N1 in the summers of 2023 and 2024, marking the first documented die-off of wildlife from the virus on the con...

phys.org/news/2026-02...

Children in South Carolina are developing rare brain swelling after measles outbreak The majority of the Southeast state’s 876 cases have been in unvaccinated children

Children in South Carolina are developing rare brain swelling complications after measles outbreak trib.al/YRnKgEt

Peter Thiel warns the Antichrist and apocalypse are linked to the ‘end of modernity’ currently happening—and cites Greta Thunberg as a driving example | Fortune The Gen Z Swedish climate activist is a legionnaire of the Antichrist, Thiel claims, a “Luddite” who wants to halt technological progress in its tracks.

In olden times, people would’ve suspected syphilis…

fortune.com/2026/02/04/p...

Flawed economic models mean climate crisis could crash global economy, experts warn States and financial bodies using modelling that ignores shocks from extreme weather and climate tipping points

Focusing on averages rather than distribution tails also greatly underestimates risk across all sectors. And focusing on climate change rather than overall Earth system stress underestimates risk even more.

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

On 2 February, we wrapped up a successful IPBES Stakeholder Day in the lead-up to #IPBES12.

Thank you to all those who worked hard behind the scenes and to the attendees for the continuous engagement on the day, all of of which made for a very thought-provoking, valuable and enjoyable day!

Yes “could” is the safe reasonable language but “will” and “inevitable” are better suited for our polycrisis times.

No problem in America can get addressed until we collectively realize the unaccountable billionaire class is the foundational problem that must be addressed.

People often ask me why I left the U.S. and there are various reasons but the thing that made me start really making an exit strategy was when journalists covering Standing Rock were being arrested. Historically a very bad sign for democracy. Seeing it get worse and more blatant is scary and sad

It’s called ethnic cleansing and it’s a deeply relevant American tradition.

This will be a great conversation tomorrow, all are welcome.

US sides with Egypt over Nile dam dispute, tells Ethiopia to ‘give or sell’ electricity The United States has signalled it will step back into the long-running dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), Africa’s largest hydroelectric project, backing Egypt’s demand for guar...

Diplomatic incompetence. We’ve been seeing the same GERD headlines for over 15 years. The levers that might’ve existed a decade or so ago are long gone. I’m not sure who won this regional Cold War but Ethiopia did not lose.

africa.businessinsider.com/local/lifest...