Science Mom

Thoughts & prayers to the EPA :(

very cute native plant alert: azolla filiculoides. they’re a fern in ancient symbiosis with a cyanobacteria that allows them to fix nitrogen

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azolla_...

Not many people can show better form doing headstands in their 40s vs their 20s. Bravo! 👏👏

In case you’re just waking up, the U.S. has teamed up with Israel overnight to start an illegal war of regime change, apparently on a presidential whim with no involvement of Congress, and they are already committing horrific atrocities.

The collage of images shows a dark stem with twisted and contorted black leaves (upper left), the same stem starting to absorb water and showing hints of green (upper right), the leaves all green and starting to extend (lower right) and the leaves fully extended and completely green (lower left)

Watching moss rehydrate under the microscope is magical!

Here are 4 photos of Bartramiopsis lescurri (false apple moss) taken over 10 minutes.

Upper left is just before adding water. Clockwise from there shows the hydration process.

😂😭

Yikes.

🫠 it still boggles my mind that he was confirmed.

Thought it was really cool how this afternoon’s snow was only sticking where the support beams are on the board walk. Obv a bit colder there but I’m not sure why.

Awesome! Love hearing the dialogue and explanations as they watch.

I’m sorry— that’s really hard.

After 18 days of near-continuous rain, we saw the Sun again. The dogs were SO happy to be outside and not getting wet!
#AlaskaSky

Beautiful pictures! I love it when the water is that still. One of my favorite spots.

Two people hold signs. One reads “ stop protecting pedophiles.” The other sign says “ love the Neighbor, Canada.”

A woman holds a sign that says: “$10 billion heist: Trump suing IRS for failure of HIS 2018 administration.”

A woman holds a sign that says: “ roses are red, violets are blue, Trump protects pedos, if you support Trump you do too.”

Dozens of people stand along the street holding signs. Some visible signs include: abolish ice In Alaska, we like our ice crushed Prison without due process is a concentration camp

A selection of signs from Ketchikan’s Valentine’s Day Protest. Over 100 people came. We sang several songs, including:

It’s okay to change your mind,
Show us your courage,
Leave this behind.
Oh it’s okay to change
your mind,
And you can join us,
Join us here anytime.

Regulations are what keeps ordinary Americans healthy and, often, alive.

It took spoiled meat and rodent droppings out of our food. It took harmful lead out of our gasoline and paint. It took poison out of our water.

Deregulation only achieves one goal: making rich corporations richer.

WATCH: Trump, EPA's Zeldin announce end of scientific basis for U.S. action on climate change The Trump administration on Thursday revoked a scientific finding that long has been the central basis for U.S. action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change, the most aggressiv...

Today, the Trump administration repealed the endangerment finding: the ruling that served as the basis for limits on tailpipe emissions and power plant rules. Without it, we’ll be less safe, less healthy and less able to fight climate change—all so the fossil fuel industry can make even more money.

There is No Scientific Justification to Revoke the Endangerment Finding The U.S. EPA's decision to repeal the Endangerment Finding will limit the government's ability to regulate emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.

As I say here, there is no scientific justification to revoke the engagement finding. In fact, over the last 15+ yrs, the evidence of how climate change affects our health has only grown. Higher risk of allergies, dementia, fertility, heart disease, and death: that’s what’s on the line. @nature.org

I’d like to introduce you to two of my favorite bryophytes:

Tree Ruffle Liverwort, which swoops out like beautiful vegetative dragons

And Neckera douglasii, which has the most beautiful crinkled leaves.

Every president from Nixon on released their tax returns, but Trump -- who insisted he would follow that custom -- repeatedly refused to do that. So finally they were leaked, showing he paid only $750 in 2016 and nothing in 2017.

He's now demanding all of us, who *did* pay our full taxes, pay him.

Went tidepooling in the dark tonight and saw a rose star! Also a yellow Dorid (I think) and the cutest baby leather star ever.

#AlaskaSky

Not everyone gets super excited to spot some Dendrolycopodium dendroideum (prickly tree club moss) right off the trail. Being able to hike each week with people who do is wonderful. 6/end

17 people stand in front of the Fairweather, a large NOAA ship used to map the sea floor

The beautiful thing about this botany club community is that it has become a nature nerd space. We’ve all gotten into birding and last week one of our members arranged a tour of the NOAA Fairweather, which was awesome! 5/

Botany club started out being just about plants. I was suffering with anxiety and gloom from the actions of our current administration last February and knew I needed to spend more time outside for my mental health. 3/

Before our first hike, I couldn’t tell red cedar from yellow cedar and didn’t know how to identify any mosses.

After a year of study (and some great classes thru @uasoutheast.bsky.social ) I can now identify hundreds of plants! 2/

9 smiling people stand in a parking lot holding mugs.

8 people and 1 poodle stand on a rainy beach. Each person is wearing a colorful rain jacket and standing in rainbow order according to the color of their rain jackets. Red on the left, followed by orange yellow, green, shades of blue, and purple.

Happy birthday botany club!

Yesterday we celebrated with a tailgate picnic of hot chocolate, coffee, and snacks before heading out for a hike in the rain. We’ve hosted a botany-themed hike here in Ketchikan every Sunday for an entire year! 1/

I’m impressed the wood around the hatch has held up! Is it cedar?

A licorice fern arches across a bed of moss covering a fallen branch. A beach is visible in the background

We’ve had several storms lately with high winds. So the trails are decorated with epiphytes. So many beautiful pieces of branches covered with lichen, moss, and ferns.

😬

Agreed. Thank you for calling. It’s so important that we speak out.

That was my message.

It may seem small— making a phone call, sending an email. But imagine the impact of thousands of similar messages.

We only need to turn a few votes in the senate to stop additional funding for ICE. Please call.