Ruth Merino

Washington Post capitulated.
LA Times capitulated.
ABC capitulated.
CBS capitulated.
CNN capitulated.

Support independent, pro democracy media like @status.news, @thebulwark.com, @crooked.com, @boltsmag.org, @the-downballot.com, @contrariannews.org and, of course, @democracydocket.com.

YouTube video by Democracy Docket How The Epstein Files Are Breaking The Government | Rep. Ro Khanna

NEW EPISODE: Congressman Ro Khanna joins me to discuss the government shutdown, Trump’s influence over GOP policy, and how economic inequality threatens the economy and democracy itself. He reacts to new revelations on Republican efforts to undermine voting rights.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjIj...

How Reducing Reliance On Fossil Fuels May Also Combat Breast Cancer Pollution from fossil fuel combustion produces carcinogens that have been linked to increasing rates of breast cancer.

I want to take this moment during #BreastCancerAwarenessMonth to share a personal update. As many folks are aware, one year ago, in October 2024, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. It motivated me to write on how the energy industry is linked to rising diagnoses 1/11 www.forbes.com/sites/kellyf...

ZEVs capture record 29.1% of California’s new car market in Q3 Californians just set another record for zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) adoption. In Q3 2025, residents bought 124,755 ZEVs – that’s nearly 1 in 3 new cars sold statewide. The 29.1% market share marks California’s highest quarterly total of ZEVs yet. more…

ZEVs capture record 29.1% of California’s new car market in Q3

Big day tomorrow. Don’t let Trump’s authoritarian crowd bully you into silence. This is our moment to stand up for our democracy and against his corruption.

I will be with @sanders.senate.gov at the DC rally. Find yours at nokings.org.

Millions rise up at over 2,500 peaceful protests to say: No Kings YouTube video by No Kings

Today’s No Kings protests could be the biggest in US history.

I’ll be speaking in front of tens of thousands here in Washington DC onstage alongside Senators Bernie Sanders and Chris Murphy, and Bill Nye and others.

Watch the livestream from 12pm ET:
www.youtube.com/live/raD5GuV...

I’m handing out pro-democracy grades to the media The Guardian gets an A, the NY Times gets a C, CBS gets an F

I recently gave out letter grades to news outlets based on their service to citizens in a democracy. ProPublica got an A. The New York Times got a C. CBS got an F. See other grades and my rationale in this edition of my Stop the Presses newsletter, which you should subscribe to. (It's free.)

Microplastics are everywhere. You can do one simple thing to avoid them. The biggest sources of microplastics have one thing in common: Heat.

It’s the heat that releases the microplastics wapo.st/46Zw1Qd gift link

Air traffic controller’s commitment to their jobs and the oath they took to our constitution and the American people, just like millions of other federal workers, is something Majority Leader Thune should emulate, not exploit. 4/6

Tell Congress: Two crises. One vote. Open the government today. Millions of federal workers we depend on for safety and security are furloughed, including tens of thousands of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employee...

LeaderJohnThune:
Two crises. One vote. End the lockout and protect healthcare for all Americans. Open the government today.
www.afacwa.org/tell_congres...
1/6

Base Power hauls in $1B for mass deployment of huge home batteries It’s a standout fundraise for the current cleantech market. The Texas startup will use the money to beef up manufacturing and install batteries even…

ICYMI: Base Power just raised $1 billion to turbocharge its unique home battery strategy, in which it leases batteries to households and then uses them as a grid resource.

Book Review: A Call to Arms About the Threat of Anti-Science - Bucks County Beacon “Science Under Siege,” by Michael E. Mann and Peter J. Hotez, is an impassioned manifesto against attacks on science.

"Book Review: A Call to Arms About the Threat of Anti-Science" | Great review of #ScienceUnderSiege by @danfalk.bsky.social for the @buckscountybeacon.com: buckscountybeacon.com/2025/10/book...

A horizontal bar chart titled “19 climate-friendly choices, ranked” shows actions individuals can take to reduce their carbon footprint, ordered from most to least impactful. The x-axis represents projected impact in tons of CO₂ equivalent per capita per year (tCO₂e/cap/yr), ranging from 0 to about 2.5. Each action is color-coded by sector: transportation (blue), energy (orange), and food (green). Go car-free – highest impact (blue bar extending to about 2.5 tCO₂e). Fly less (blue, about 1.5). Shift to renewable home energy (orange, about 1.4). Switch to EV or hybrid car (blue, about 1.2). Go vegan (green, about 1.0). Walk, bike, or take transit more (blue). Make energy-efficient renovations (orange). Use clean cooking equipment (orange). Go vegetarian (green). Shift driving habits (e.g., carpooling) (blue). Increase telecommuting (blue). Shift to regional/seasonal diet (green). Move to energy-efficient home (orange). Decrease food waste (green). Eat less meat (green). Use less energy at home (orange). Reduce packaged food, dining out (green). Use energy-efficient appliances (orange). Compost – least impact (green, under 0.1). A note clarifies that these are meta-analytic estimates of greenhouse gas reduction potentials, drawn from 659 estimates across 47 academic journal articles. The average person emits 6.28 tonnes of CO₂e per year, though this varies widely by income and country. Wealthier populations may emit up to 110 tonnes per year, while lower-income populations may emit as little as 1.6 tonnes. Source: WRI, based on data from Ivanova et al., 2020.

Ok, since many people are obviously not reading the article, here's a pertinent figure from it showing the top actions to reduce emissions.

Cover of Dave Kamper’s book, “Who’s Got the Power? The Resurgence of American Unions”

Title page with a very kind note from Dave to Sara. Kind note covered by humbled Sara, but Solidarity with Dave’s signature is plain to see.

An optimistic book in a grueling time. @dskamper.bsky.social gives us hope with stories of strategic fights led with the awakening of worker power. Solidarity is essential and so is reading this book. I was honored to write the foreword of Who✊s Got the Power?

🚲🥗🚗 Small choices matter, but big change happens when systems support them.

WRI Climate ranked 19 climate-friendly behaviors to show which ones cut the most emissions and why policies & businesses must make them accessible.

See the list 👉 bit.ly/4q0pWvC

Poster Image with a woman yelling into a megaphone.; Title reads: Fight for Science. Bubbles read: 3:00pm, Rally, Oct 17th.; Subtitle reads: Health and Science for the People!; A pin emoji with text: 200 Independence Ave SW, Washington DC; a Virtual Call emoji with text: Join us virtually at: bit.ly/4mXwrfY ; bottom corner has QR code and a logo for Stand Up For Science

FIGHT FOR SCIENCE RALLY ✊🌏
⏰ WHEN: October 17th, 2025
📍WHERE: 200 Independence Ave SW, Washington DC!
RSVP to JOIN THE FIGHT IRL: zurl.co/LayiM ‼️

📲 Join us Virtually!: zurl.co/Um47l

I Refuse to Stay Silent. Will You? Read more here.

I refuse to let hopelessness prevail. This may just be one essay, by a lawyer few have heard of, in a newsletter read by a fraction of the public. But I will not stay silent.

Will you?
www.democracydocket.com/opinion/i-re...

The Crucible of 2020 and the Birth of Democracy Docket Read more here.

Last year, we added a premium tier. This has allowed us to hire more staff, expand our coverage, and provide even greater depth and analysis for those who want it. Recently, we announced that Democracy Docket’s paid membership had crossed 50,000. www.democracydocket.com/opinion/the-...

YouTube video by Democracy Docket SCARY: Trump Knows What He's Doing | Ruth Ben-Ghiat

NEW VIDEO: Donald Trump knows what he is doing. Historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat shared with me a warning about Trump's next authoritarian moves and how we can fight back www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovor...

Hey, folks, please check out the new Drawdown Explorer.

It’s the world’s leading resource for science-backed climate solutions. And now it provides the most up-to-date, localized, actionable intelligence to help scale these solutions out in the world.

Drawdown.org/explorer

"People think hope is wishful thinking, and actually hope is about action." Quote from the Wiser Than Me podcast with Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

"Only when our clever brain and our human heart work together in harmony can we achieve our true potential." Graphic by the Jane Goodall Institute of South Africa.

"You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make." Graphic by Ariana Huffington on Instagram.

My favourite Jane Goodall quotes....so many, so to the point, so wise. How different the world would be if enough people listened to her.

My latest for Democracy Docket members went out this morning. Join now to support independent, pro-democracy media while also getting access to exclusive content. hubs.ly/Q03CbHTt0

YouTube video by Democracy Docket Can We Actually Save America?

I feel very strongly that we must use the next three years to build a new opposition movement. I tried to lay out my reasons and what I think we need to do to make it happen.

Please watch, comment, and share. youtu.be/_GUgnpAYMCc

Can climate comedy still work? This offshore wind ad suggests it can. The satirical video starring Samuel L. Jackson pokes fun at offshore wind disinformation right as the Trump administration is targeting both comedy and…

“There’s this tragedy of killing freedom of speech. … The reason this is happening is because [Trump officials] don’t have the superpower of comedy,” said Staci Roberts-Steele of @weareyellowdot.bsky.social

I got to interview some very cool comedy writers and experts for today’s story. 🎭

The Math of Climate Change Tipping Points | Quanta Magazine Tipping points in our climate predictions are both wildly dramatic and wildly uncertain. Can mathematicians make them useful?

Tipping points are moments when a gradual change leads to a forceful, surprising shift in a system. They show up in chemical reactions, electronics, cells and — potentially catastrophically — in Earth’s climate. What can they tell us, and what can’t they?

Climate Change Intensified Super Typhoon Ragasa, Study Finds Super Typhoons similar to Ragasa are around 1C warmer, up to 10% wetter, and slightly windier in present-day climate compared to the past.

Climate Change Intensified Super Typhoon Ragasa, Study Finds

How We Came To Know Earth | Quanta Magazine Climate science is the most significant scientific collaboration in history. This series from Quanta Magazine guides you through basic climate science — from quantum effects to ancient hothouses, from...

Hii! Last week Quanta published a project I've been working on all year — a special issue about climate science, or what research into climate change is revealing about how our planet works www.quantamagazine.org/how-we-came-...

Sierra Club Publishes New Guidance for Financial Institutions on Credible Investments in Climate Solutions Principles urge major investors like public pensions to direct capital toward real-world decarbonization, community resilience, and green jobs

Our new principles guide financial institutions like pensions on how to make credible investments in climate solutions. It goes beyond support for clean energy technologies and includes things like community resilience, green jobs & more.

Self-Driving Cars Explained Self-driving cars are hitting the streets—are we ready for the potential impacts?

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are cars or trucks that can operate safely without human drivers taking control. But how do they work, and what impact do they have? Learn more in our updated explainer:

This went out to Democracy Docket subscribers this morning. Become a premium member now to access my entire analysis of why legacy media is bowing to Trump, while also helping promote pro-democracy independent media.

Your support has never been more important. hubs.ly/Q03CbHTt0