Jeff Goodell

Ann Godoff snatched me off the streets as a young hack and turned me into a book writer. She was brilliant and she was tough and knew what mattered on the page.

Wow and I always thought the most damning citation of Larry Summers was the epigraph from *Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor* (2011)

The State of the Climate.

This is true in rougly the same sense that a guy on the subway reeking of urine, screaming, and waving a knife around is “feared.”

Plastic Inc. by Beth Gardiner: 9780593717103 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books An extraordinary exposé of the industry flooding our world with plastic—and now ramping up to make more than ever “Deeply researched, sharply written, and totally compelling.”...

I'm thrilled to say Plastic Inc is out today, shifting the lens on plastic from where it ends up to where it comes from — the fossil fuel industry. "Deeply researched, sharply written & totally compelling," says @elizkolbert.bsky.social "Breath-taking & revelatory"—
@christopherleonard.bsky.social

Congrats on book pub! Gonna buy a copy today.

The Future of Cooling Was Invented Thousands of Years Ago | Atmos As buildings crack under record heat, architects are rediscovering ancient technologies.

As buildings crack under record heat, architects are rediscovering ancient technologies—windcatchers, clay walls, and shaded courtyards—that kept cities habitable long before air-conditioning.

Read about the past and future of cooling our buildings by Yasmin Alrabiei below:

Big Oil’s Not-So-Secret Weapon For World Domination? Plastic. | Atmos Plastic Inc. author Beth Gardiner on how plastics became central to fossil-fuel profits—and how new laws could cut the flow at the source.

"The push for plastic reflects both the [oil] industry’s modus operandi—more production means more money—and a growing anxiety about a future in which demand for fossil fuels as fuel may flatten and eventually decline."

Plastic is the future of oil. Read
@bethgardiner.bsky.social PLASTIC INC.

Deluge fore­cast to raise food prices in Europe Winter ‘pantry’ depleted as rains dev­ast­ate crops across Medi­ter­ranean coun­tries

#Fossilflation European food price edition

Gas-Guzzler Revival Risks Dead-End Future for US Automakers Big trucks and engines are back among US automakers, even as electrics gain ground around the globe.

“Now is a great time for the V-8 engine" the car guys chanted, high on the smell of gasoline, as they dug their graves in an abandoned car dealership outside of Detroit. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

RFK Jr., once poisoned by mercury, is silent as EPA weakens rules against it The HHS secretary has fought mercury pollution for years. He’s now in an administration that wants to make it easier for industries to dump it into the air

RFK Jr spent years denouncing mercury pollution from power plants. He was one of Trump's most public opponents when he tried to roll back mercury limits in 2017. He himself actually got mercury poisoning (eating too much fish). On Friday, Trump's EPA weakened mercury rules. RFK Jr said nothing.

"Here's a very simple rule of thumb: If you're going to institute a policy that's going to upend your own economy, the global economy, foreign relations and change our position in the world... It's probably best to check that it's constitutional first. "

Huge respect for George Saunders' new novel VIGIL, not because it's flawless, but because he found a way to write a bestselling novel about a Big Oil CEO who is tormented on his deathbed by ghosts for his climate crimes.

The National Science Foundation’s entire budget is $10 billion.

He Was a Climate Activist. One Day, the F.B.I. Came Knocking.

“This door knock marks a significant escalation,” said Ronald L. Kuby, the man’s lawyer, who represents several climate activists.

“The fact that they went to the wrong address of a member who has not been active suggests that they are starting an investigation. They are digging.”

Lake Erie’s Storm Surges Become More Extreme

Some excellent writing right here about lakes and mussels and humans who are learning that there are better ways to protect yourself from big waves than building a fortress of rocks along the beach.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/s...

The better the science gets, the more dangerous the endangerment becomes.

Guest column: EPA prizes polluters over people - The Bulletin Our federal government just increased the probability that you or someone you know will get sick—maybe even mortally sick. Most of us will see our incomes go down even as […]

🔥 from lawyer suing Big Oil for climate harm in Oregon: "As I see it, our house is on fire and our fire chief has turned off the water main, replaced the water in the tanker truck with gasoline, and retreated to a golf course to play a few rounds with the billionaire arsonists."

"If you don’t have a stick, you can never make the carrot big enough."

I once traveled across China on a reporting trip with Ma Jun. Great guy, deeply thoughtful about the forces at work in China's complicated moves to clean energy and climate leadership.

Yoon and Prince Andrew wishing they had a friend like John Roberts.

Trump EPA Abandons Climate Working Group Report in Endangerment Finding Repeal Emails from the hand-picked, secretive group of climate crisis deniers revealed flaws in their methods and “animus” toward leading scientists.

It is so funny that the Trumpies tried to pull together a passably credible group of denialist climate scientists & the whole affair was such a clown show that they had to just cut bait & abandon it entirely.

It's not gonna work. I saw my first BYD EV in Austin yesterday. The revolution is here and Detroit is in big trouble.

Colorado’s ski resorts face an existential threat — and growing call for climate action “Climate is an issue that has been polarized. But who doesn’t want clean air, clean water and more powder days?” an Aspen Skiing Co. official said.

A rapidly warming climate is catastrophic for Colorado ski resorts. They love to tout their own actions to reduce emissions. But meaningful political activism? They don't even have the courage to answer @denverpost.com reporter Elise Schmelzer's questions about it.
www.denverpost.com/2026/02/15/c...

Hoping Lee Zeldin can persuade the FCC to ban @drkatemarvel.bsky.social or @katharinehayhoe.com

“.. The Monday interview is on pace to shatter clips of Colbert’s December interview with pop superstar Taylor Swift ..”

@forbes.com #TXsen
@colbertlateshow.bsky.social @jamestalarico.bsky.social
www.forbes.com/sites/mikest...

Quick reminder that 3 °C of warming would set Europe up for heat domes that kill 30,000 people in a single week. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

"Big new global temperature records will remind the world the peril we’re actually in"

Big Oil executives under pressure to spell out growth plans After years focused on payouts and discipline, energy majors are being pressed on the longevity of their reserves

"The first question to Shell chief executive Wael Sawan on the results call captured the mood: 'How can you counter the market concerns that the business is simply shrinking?'” www.ft.com/content/f0a9...

Not coincidentally, early voting in Texas starts today.

YouTube video by CBS News EPA head Lee Zeldin defends decision to revoke "endangerment finding" on greenhouse gases

The shameless idiocy of Lee Zeldin really is something to behold: "We're having a conversation right now, emitting a lot of carbon dioxide at each other. Should I go back to my building right now and start regulating media questions?" (8:45) www.youtube.com/watch?v=STyX...