Alex Music

SNAP yearly retailer redemptions.xlsx

Did some number crunching on the economic impact a pause in SNAP benefits would have on the food economy in Georgia. It's not good! Almost a billion gone in the core of Atlanta, and >$4 billion for the state. docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

Esmeralda 7 Solar Project Has Been Canceled, BLM Says It would have delivered a gargantuan 6.2 gigawatts of power.

SCOOP: The Bureau of Land Management says the largest solar project in Nevada — the Esmeralda 7 mega-farm — has been canceled

The news was quietly dropped via a sudden website update with no public word from any of the companies involved or a statement from the agency

@heatmap.news

Police Said They Surveilled Woman Who Had an Abortion for Her 'Safety.' Court Records Show They Considered Charging Her With a Crime Court records show that the narrative Flock and a Texas Sheriff's Office has told the public isn't the whole story, and that police were conducting a 'death investigation' into the abortion.

NEW: Cops in Texas told 404 Media in May they used Flock to find a woman who self-administered an abortion out of concern for her safety.

Documents now show police were conducting a “death investigation” and discussed whether they could charge her with a crime: www.404media.co/police-said-...

Writing for @scicommbites.bsky.social has been an amazing way to develop my science communication practice, and I strongly encourage other early career writers to apply!

CHARACTERIZING THE HAZARD OF RAINFALL-DIVERSE HURRICANE PROFILES IN THE SOUTHEAST UNITED STATES Atlantic basin hurricanes drive serious meteorological hazards for the southeast United States, including rainfall-induced freshwater flooding. The well-known Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale (SSHWS) communicates only wind hazard, creating the potential for low wind, high rainfall storms to be perceived as mild by the public due to misunderstandings of what the SSHWS communicates. Recently, researchers have emphasized the need to include rainfall hazard in hurricane warning messaging. In the interest of this goal, this research investigates the characterization of rainfall for three different Atlantic hurricanes: Hurricane Florence (2018), Hurricane Michael (2018), and Hurricane Ian (2022). Using daily gridded gauge-based rainfall data, the distribution of rainfall is quantified, visualized, and compared between each storm. Excessive Rainfall Outlooks issued in advance of each day of each hurricane are then compared with the actual extent of flash flooding, using statistical methods to verify the accuracy of each forecast. Finally, the impact of rainfall and social vulnerability on FEMA disaster declarations during high rainfall impact hurricanes is assessed. Results of this study will assist in validating hurricane rainfall hazard communications and support future work in improving how these warnings can better support citizens, governments, and other stakeholders.

My master’s thesis is finally available to view online! 🥂 Thanks to my advisor @drshepherd2013.bsky.social, my committee members, and of course, publicly-funded and freely accessible data. Peer-reviewed publication coming (hopefully) soon! openscholar.uga.edu/record/27279...

Can You Solve Math’s Knottiest Puzzles? Learn the fundamentals of the burgeoning field of knot theory while solving some puzzles along the way

Wanna dive into a delightfully nerdy corner of math? 🧵🪢⭕

Knot theory is a growing field with deep ideas and surprising connections—and in my new piece for @sciam.bsky.social, you can try it out yourself through interactive puzzles!

I had so much fun with this new format. Hope you enjoy it too!

Voting for Georgia’s Public Service Commission: Your Power Bill, Your Climate, Your Choice · Luma Georgia Tech Students Organizing for Sustainability & Energy Club, in collaboration with Grist and Southern Environmental Law Center present: Voting for…

INBOX: ​Georgia Tech Students Organizing for Sustainability (a group I was part of during college) & Energy Club, in collaboration with @grist.org and @selc.bsky.social, are hosting "Voting for Georgia’s Public Service Commission: Your Power Bill, Your Climate, Your Choice" on 10/14 at 5:30 pm:

AI Data Centers Use a Lot of Energy. You May Be Paying for It AI data centers are pushing up energy costs all over the US. On today’s Big Take podcast: an investigation into who's footing the bill.

Today, 33% of all the electricity used in Oregon is attributed to data centers.

In Virginia, it’s 37%.

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

An early version of the first US News college rankings awarded points for diversity & didn't put the usual suspects on top. So the magazine got rid of the statistician responsible & changed the algorithm to affirm the "conventional wisdom of the meritocracy."
washingtonmonthly.com/2000/09/01/p...

This little-known ‘dark roof’ lobby may be making your city hotter As cities heat up, reflective roofs could lower energy bills and help the climate. But dark roofing manufacturers are waging a quiet campaign to block new rules.

Cities are getting hotter. And there’s one simple fix on the table: reflective roofs. So why is a powerful industry fighting to stop them?

The Most Detailed Maps of H-1B Visa Holders Joining America's Top Research Institutions A new analysis by The Xylom shows for the first time just how much America’s top research institutions have grown to depend on the specialized knowledge of H-1B skilled workers — and how this…

EXCLUSIVE: A new analysis by The Xylom's @alexip718.com shows for the first time just how much America’s top research institutions have grown to depend on H-1B skilled workers — and how this delicate balance might be disrupted by U.S. President Donald Trump’s crackdown on legal immigration.

The psychology behind police killings of unarmed Black men Racial stereotyping to blame when people see weapons that aren’t there, study shows

Trying something new! As I continue to pursue freelance opportunities, I’ll be using my Medium presence to write about science news. Give me a follow if you’d like to keep up! aninjusticemag.com/the-psycholo...

Mario Guevara

If you were concerned about Kimmel, here's another for you…

Journalist Mario Guevara has been detained for 100+ days, ironically arrested as he reported on a "No Kings" protest.

The Trump-Vance admin just issued an order of final removal, to send him to El Salvador—where he fled from 21 years ago.

Hundreds of Alligator Alcatraz detainees drop off the grid after leaving site As of the end of August, the whereabouts of two-thirds of more than 1,800 men detained at Alligator Alcatraz during the month of July could not be determined by the Miami Herald.

More than 1800 detainees are missing after the closure of Alligator Alcatraz. Their families and lawyers can’t find them and they’ve vanished from the ICE database. Feels like this should be a much bigger story www.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...

Can metaphor make environmental issues easier to understand? - SciCommBites A light bulb moment for evaluating metaphors in science communication.

In my latest post for @scicommbites.bsky.social, I look at a recent study that investigates whether metaphors can make environmental communications easier to understand. TLDR: it's less straightforward than you might think! scicommbites.org/can-metaphor...

Looking for a sign? Study says interpretive signs at U.S. National Parks have low readability This paper presents the first known study that analyzed the language content of interpretive signs of U.S. national parks. It has identified, among other takeaways, an apparent need to increase the re...

One of my recent articles for @scicommbites.bsky.social was republished in @civicscimedia.bsky.social! Have you ever thought about the readability of informative signs in national parks? civicsciencemedia.org/looking-for-...

Science journalism fans: I made a starter pack of
@aaasmassmedia.bsky.social fellows from 2015 to 2025.

I did this by hand, so if you notice someone missing or mistakenly added, please shoot me a DM or comment.

I'll keep it updated as new fellows are announced!

🧪 #scicomm #journalism

I have the most experience covering environmental subjects, but I’ve also been trying to expand out to areas like health! Nice to meet you too!

👋 recent AAAS fellow and current freelancer here!

"Positive Depictions" Of Trans People Banned In Alabama State Libraries Proposal The code change that has been proposed does not ban negative depictions of transgender people, however. Public comment is open until October 14.

The Nazis did this with material written by and discussing Jews.

www.erininthemorning.com/p/positive-d...

Let's get clickbait out of local news.

We are a group of Idaho and Washington journalists, and our publishing company, McClatchy, wants the ability to punish us for not meeting arbitrary story quotas.

THREAD

Protesters repaint crosswalk near Pulse while FDOT paints over more roadways State and city officials are disputing which roadways violate FDOT rules.

WESH-TV - Protesters in Orlando have repainted the Pulse Memorial crosswalk after Florida state-directed crews removed the rainbow stripes that honor the 49 lives lost during the 2016 massacre.

And that's a wrap on the 2025 #MassMediaFellows and #MMF50th! 🎉 The last 10 weeks have flown by and the fellows will soon be taking flight after spending two days back in DC with panels and presentations on what could be next for them with their newly gained #SciComm skills!

This insect is teaching Timberline High students about Boise ecosystems. Here’s how Dragonflies are teaching researchers and students about Boise’s ecosystem and unlocking the larger mysteries of the insects’ behavior.

Dragonflies are a surprisingly complex and diverse insect order and can tell us a lot about the health of an ecosystem. I followed students and experts along on a Boise field project to learn how. 👇https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/community/boise/article309880140.html

Thunderstorms in Boise could disrupt Fourth of July plans, elevate fire risk Isolated storms are possible throughout the day and could bring rain and lightning, the National Weather Service said.

Isolated storms are possible throughout the day and could bring rain and lightning, the National Weather Service said.

it sucks that apple is so much better for transit when google is so much better for almost everything else with maps

A short write-up I published today!

Longest day is coming, Boise, and it will be cool. When will it get dark? With cooler temperatures set for the long days ahead this weekend, Boise residents can plan to take full advantage of the summer solstice.

The first article I wrote for my @aaasmassmedia.bsky.social fellowship with @idahostatesman.com is up! Excited for the rest of the summer 🧡 www.idahostatesman.com/news/weather...

Wow, Boise’s crowds are huge!

The #MMF50th fellows have completed orientation and we're thrilled to watch as they use their learned #SciComm skills to write the news!