Nicolas Balcom Raleigh

Energy Dept. Attacks Climate Science in Contentious Report

"Climate scientists said the 151-page report misrepresented or cherry-picked a large body of research on global warming. "

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/31/c...

That’s a creepy campaign. Can they even claim to do professional journalism at that paper?

Observed and projected climate changes across North

North America climate risks as we continue to heat:

1. Accelerating climate change hazards pose 𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙠𝙨 to the well-being of North American populations and the natural, managed and human systems on which they depend (𝙝𝙞𝙜𝙝 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚)

1/

Principles for Building a Culture of Organizational Foresight There is growing interest in developing foresight cultures within international organizations. This reflection on the United Nations Environment Progr…

This article, long in the making, was published in Futures journal on 29th July. (We co-authors are now verifying the copy editing and in conversation about making it Open Access. I'll post again about it with more details when it is done.) www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
#AcadSky

Economists spend too much time playing Wordle, complaining about FT articles, or arguing about whether the min. wage disemployment effects are small or 0.

And not enough time pointing out that the economy is so unaffordable, that even best-case-scenario budget tips are unattainable.

#EconSky

Lest anyone forget, 15% tariffs between US and EU is an overall INCREASE this trade tax by > 12%. www.msn.com/en-ie/news/w...

High seas treaty ‘a long time coming’ UN gathering boosts hopes for sealing deal to protect open ocean, Conservation International expert says.

The High Seas Treaty is a historic, multi-decade effort to finally bring international waters under coordinated conservation.

Before #UNOC3, @conservationorg.bsky.social interviewed Monica Medina on what's at stake and the next steps for the Treaty ratification.

Canadian map of current wildfires and fire risk

With all the daunting Wildfires in the Canadian prairies right now, I thought I'd flag for folks NRCan runs the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System, including an interactive map (with overlays). CWFIS also has a host of data to dig into to stay informed
cwfis.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/interactive-...

🚨 New preprint! 🚨

Using nationally representative survey data from 142 countries (N = 128,093), I find that people who have experienced a climate-related hazard are more likely to consider climate change a 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵. 🧵

Link: osf.io/preprints/ps...

The pursuit of 1.5°C endures as a legal and ethical imperative in a changing world As the world nears 1.5°C of global warming, near-term emissions reductions and adequate adaptation become ever more important to ensure a safe and livable planet for present and future generations

What becomes of the 1.5°C goal now that global warming is approaching that level?🌍🔥🌡️

In a new @science.org Policy Forum we explain how the 1.5°C goal remains a critical legal & ethical benchmark, even as the world nears and may soon exceed 1.5°C of global warming🧵1/
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

A moss covered area in the forest.

Just so you know.

Big paper on global CO2 emissions. Some context - If the remaining carbon budget to 1.5C is 130 GtCO2 & global emissions are 37.8 GT/y, we are ~4 yrs away from reaching that level. The longer we wait to #StopBuringFossilFuels, the worse the damage. #KeepItInTheGround 🧪🔌💡☀️💨🔋

@levarburton.bsky.social Thank you for your inspiring commencement address. Your words of hope and resilience are so needed now.

SETI Institute Names First William J. Welch Postdoctoral Fellow - Astrobiology The SETI Institute is pleased to announce Dr. Karen I. Perez as the inaugural recipient of the William J. Welch Postdoctoral Fellowship at the SETI Institute.

SETI Institute Names First William J. Welch Postdoctoral Fellow
astrobiology.com/2025/06/seti... #astrobiology #astronomy

Why won’t they show their faces? Is it shame? Or fear? Or both?

Saw that coming!

Judge Finds Government Acted Illegally in Russian Scientist Case

Breaking News: A judge said the government should release Kseniia Petrova, a Russian scientist employed by Harvard University, saying U.S. customs had “no factual or legal basis” for revoking her visa.

PhD students in STEM: Nature wants to hear from you Buried in lab work or drowning in data? Take a break and help shape the future of PhD education.

Nature has launched its seventh global survey of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) doctoral students, which will probe graduate students’ views about their goals and challenges, and their experiences of their studies so far. Survey runs until June 11. #Academicsky 🧪

Thinking with one’s own mind using one’s true life neurons and reflexively noticing one’s emotions while solving challenging puzzles.

🚨 New working paper 🚨

@yangyangzhou.bsky.social, @shuningge.bsky.social, Naijia Liu, and I have completed a shareable draft of our working paper entitled "Liberalizing Refugee Hosting Policies without Losing the Vote." We hope you find it interesting.

See osf.io/preprints/os....

Center for Satellite Applications and Research - NOAA / NESDIS / STAR STAR translates raw satellite data into critical information needed to inform the public and safeguard the environment across the country and around the world.

The NOAA science seminars continue tomorrow with a verrry relevant talk on "The Social Value of Forecasting Hurricanes" by Renato Molina. Unsurprisingly, he finds that public investments in hurricane forecasts pay for themselves many times over in reduced losses.

Read: www.nber.org/papers/w32548

Utilizing aquatic environmental DNA to address global biodiversity targets - Nature Reviews Biodiversity Aquatic eDNA-based technologies offer the potential for universal and standardized biodiversity monitoring. In this Perspective, Altermatt et al. discuss how these technologies can help to achiev...

In our May issue: Perspective led by Florian Altermatt discussing how to bring aquatic eDNA collection and data management in line with the Kunming-Montreal Global #Biodiversity Framework. 🧪🌎
Web link: go.nature.com/4mv2h4W
Readcube: rdcu.be/eh0uC

Bombus flavidus, a common cuckoo bumble bee found in North America. It is illustrated as if seen from above. It has a grayish face, a yellow band across the top of the thorax, an elongated abdomen, and a single band of yellow near the tip of the abdomen. Lots of long fuzzy hair covers its body. It has two translucent wings with a faint purple tint to the veins.

Bombus insularis, a common cuckoo bumble bee found in western North America. It is illustrated as if seen from above. It has a bright yellow head, a yellow band across the top of the thorax, an elongated abdomen, and a bright yellow band near the tip of the abdomen that extends all the way to the tip with a black center at the very end. Lots of long fuzzy hair covers its body. It has two translucent wings with a faint purple tint to the veins.

Bombus mixtus, the "fuzzy-horned bumble bee", illustrated as if seen from above. It has lots of yellow all over, with a black band over the "shoulders" of the thorax. The abdomen starts out yellow, with two broad black bands through the middle. The lowest band fades from black to chestnut orange-brown before becoming yellow again for the final two bands. It has a wide, fat, short abdomen. As with the others, the wings are translucent with purple-tinted veins.

Bombus vancouverensis nearcticus, the "nearctic bumble bee", illustrated as if seen from above. The head and thorax are mostly yellow, but a black vertical stripe divides the yellow at the base of the thorax and the top of the abdomen. The abdomen is mostly black except for the upper divided yellow band, and a thin yellow band near the end of the abdomen. It has a wide, fat, short abdomen. As with the others, the wings are translucent with purple-tinted veins.

It's #WorldBeeDay! A perfect day to show some of the bees I illustrated for @instbirdpop.bsky.social Cole et al. 2025 shows how thinning and prescribed burns can benefit bumble bees and butterflies! birdpop.org/docs/pubs/Co...

🎨🐝 #SciArt #invertebrates see alt text for species

An illustration of the typical step-pool structure of upland streams.

Step-pool structure of streams. From my book A Field Guide to the Connecticut River, Yale University Press, 2024. youtu.be/E1yEbf8zdAM?...
🧪🌿🌎 #sciart #wildlife #scicomm #sciviz #wildlifeart #illustration #scientificillustration #natureart #visualscicomm #sciviz #scicomm #ctriver #connecticutriver

If a foreign adversary snuck into our Federal budget and cut science research and education the way we’re cutting it ourselves — strategically undermining America’s long-term health, wealth, and security — we would likely consider it an act of war.

Severe weather amid record-breaking heat could be on tap for Chicago area There are no weather alerts as of early afternoon, but large hail, high winds and thunderstorms could develop starting at about 4 p.m.

The Chicago area may see severe thunderstorms Thursday evening as the weather also inches toward record-breaking heat for May 15.

buff.ly/AxMoenH

I was planning to write something about this, but I just have no words...

I want to convey my kindest feelings to all the people involved in the projects that will be cut, and the ones who should have been involved in future projects that will never happen due to this horrible decision... 🫶

Would it be possible to persuade JUKOry to start a Bsky account?