David Johnson

@infpwriter.bsky.social

15K followers 12K following 890 posts

USAF veteran ('72-'78) embracing reason, rational thinking, education, facts, and objective truth; insatiably curious; exploring climate science, cosmology, photography, and whatever cats dream about all day.

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Economics 35%

Engineering 16%

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David Johnson @infpwriter.bsky.social · Dec 3

"The idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that is wrong with the world." - Dr. Paul Farmer

David Johnson @infpwriter.bsky.social · 22h

“Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.” - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

David Johnson @infpwriter.bsky.social · 1d

"As infections surge again this fall, the USDA continues to urge farmers to improve biosecurity while it dismisses a significant way the virus could be spreading." - Nat Lash #virology #science @natlash.bsky.social

ProPublica @propublica.org · 1d

Early this year, bird flu ripped through 80 farms in Ohio and Indiana.

Using genetic markers, wind simulations, satellite imagery, property records and more, we found that the virus could’ve been airborne.

By @natlash.bsky.social

How ProPublica Investigated a Bird Flu Outbreak in America’s Heartland

Early this year, bird flu ripped through 80 farms in Ohio and Indiana. Using genetic markers, wind simulations, satellite imagery, property records and more, we found that the virus could’ve been airb...

www.propublica.org

Reposted by David Johnson

Saganism @sagan.bsky.social · 1d

“Science, my lad, is made up of mistakes, but they are mistakes which it is useful to make, because they lead little by little to the truth.”

― Jules Verne, A Journey to the Center of the Earth

Reposted by Wolfgang Crämer, David Johnson, David J. Galbreath , and 2 more Wolfgang Crämer, David Johnson, David J. Galbreath, Margot C. Finn, Pádua Fernandes

Michael E. Mann @michaelemann.bsky.social · 1d

We saw it with big tobacco, we saw it with the fossil fuels industry. When their own internal research showed the harm from their product, the defunded the research and attacked independent researchers coming to the very same conclusions.
#ScienceUnderSiege

Lora Kolodny @lorak.bsky.social · 1d

Meta halted internal research that purportedly showed (young) people who stopped using Facebook became less depressed and anxious, according to an unredacted legal filing released on Friday. www.cnbc.com/2025/11/23/m...

Meta halted internal research suggesting social media harm, court filing alleges

Meta is alleged to have halted internal research suggesting social media harm, according to court documents.

www.cnbc.com

Reposted by David Johnson

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse @whitehouse.senate.gov · 1d

The pile of lies is stunning.

First, no crimes at 1/6. Second, wrong to investigate. Third, unusual to get toll records of people instigators called. Fourth, wrong to suspend notice while investigation ongoing.

Cherry on top: vote yourself $500k as victim of nothing wrong.

The scandalous self-enrichment scheme in the US Senate

Once celebrated as “the world’s most deliberative body,” the U.S. Senate has sunk to new lows.  Buried in the 394-page bill to end the federal government shutdown, one provision serves as an exampl…

thehill.com

Reposted by David Johnson, Stephen D. Murphy

ProPublica @propublica.org · 1d

How ProPublica Investigated a Bird Flu Outbreak in America’s Heartland

Early this year, bird flu ripped through 80 farms in Ohio and Indiana. Using genetic markers, wind simulations, satellite imagery, property records and more, we found that the virus could’ve been airb...

www.propublica.org

David Johnson @infpwriter.bsky.social · 2d

"The Cop30 summit could be represented as a vast shrug of rich-world indifference: we neither know nor care, so why should we confront our populations with the need for change, with all the political difficulty that involves?" - George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social #climatecrisis

Carbon Brief @carbonbrief.org · 2d

Recommended read: Columnist @georgemonbiot.bsky.social wrote in the Guardian about the “vast black hole” of climate data in some parts of the world – which he says is a “gift” to climate deniers.

There’s a catastrophic black hole in our climate data – and it’s a gift to deniers | George Monbiot

Climate sceptics tell us that more people die of extreme cold than extreme heat. What’s the truth? asks Guardian columnist George Monbiot

buff.ly

Reposted by Du Toit, David Johnson

Jonathan Watts @jonathan-watts.bsky.social · 2d

Trump, war, attention deficit: five threats to climate progress that dogged Cop30

Did the talks succeed or fail? The verdict must take account of the geopolitical minefield in which they took place

Jonathan Watts in Belém

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Trump, war, absent media: five threats to climate progress that dogged Cop30

Did the talks succeed or fail? The verdict must take account of the geopolitical minefield they took place in

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by David Johnson

Carbon Brief @carbonbrief.org · 2d

There’s a catastrophic black hole in our climate data – and it’s a gift to deniers | George Monbiot

Climate sceptics tell us that more people die of extreme cold than extreme heat. What’s the truth? asks Guardian columnist George Monbiot

buff.ly

Reposted by David Johnson, Gerald Friedman, Els Torreele

Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 2d

"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little."

-FDR, 1937

David Johnson @infpwriter.bsky.social · 2d

"A group of around 30 natiòns had signed a letter saying they wouldn't commit to any new deal that doesn't mention fossil fuels."

"The huge hole in this deal is there is no direct reference to fossil fuels - remember the burning of oil, gas and coal is the main driver of climate change." #COP30

COP30 live: Closing plenary under way as fossil fuels left out of new deal

A conclusion is set to be made in Belém, Brazil, at the end of days of negotiations between delegations from nearly 200 countries.

www.bbc.com

Reposted by Alessandro Tagliabue, David Johnson, Paddy Hillyard

Zack Labe @zacklabe.com · 3d

Was there any coverage of the recent record warmth in both the Arctic and Antarctic? Multiple global datasets now confirm these records, and I think it's really quite striking.

Here's some very quick plots showing NOAAGlobalTempv6 data from October too. And see my earlier posts.

A line graph shows the time series of Arctic mean surface temperature anomalies for each October from 1850 through 2025. There is a long-term increasing trend and large year-to-year variability. The mean surface temperature anomaly in October 2025 was 3.78°C for this region. Anomalies are computed relative to a 1910-2000 climate baseline. All data is from NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI NOAAGlobalTemp v6.0.0 on this graphic.

A line graph shows the time series of Antarctic mean surface temperature anomalies for each October from 1850 through 2025. There is a long-term increasing trend and large year-to-year variability. The mean surface temperature anomaly in October 2025 was 1.43°C for this region. Anomalies are computed relative to a 1910-2000 climate baseline. All data is from NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI NOAAGlobalTemp v6.0.0 on this graphic.

Reposted by Michael E. Mann, Elizabeth Saunders, Mark Petticrew , and 23 more Michael E. Mann, Elizabeth Saunders, Mark Petticrew, Axel Bruns, Jesse M. Shapiro, Scott L. Greer, Ian Miles, David Johnson, Rosemary A. Joyce, Martin Paul Eve, Bruce D. Baker, Robert C. Richards, Melanie C. Green, David R. Miller, Scott A. Imberman, Michael D. McDonald, Daryl Adair, Mark Priestley, Sam Kamin, Seth Masket, Christina Pagel, Olivier Mannoni, Aviel Roshwald, David Darmofal, Peter Jacobs, Steven H. Seggie

The New York Times @nytimes.com · 3d

Breaking News: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he personally instructed the CDC to abandon its position that vaccines do not cause autism. The move underscores his determination to challenge scientific orthodoxy — in this case, that vaccines save lives — and bend the health department to his will.

RFK Jr. Says He Instructed CDC to Change Vaccines and Autism Language on Website

In an interview, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cited gaps in vaccine safety research. His critics say he is ignoring a larger point: Vaccines save lives.

nyti.ms

Reposted by Peter Thorne, David Johnson, Jared Yates Sexton

Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 4d

In a world in which people with too much power and influence desperately need to be told and to understand when they are wrong, we are suddenly all inescapably drowning in sycophancy machines.

Reposted by David Johnson

Alex Steffen @alexsteffen.bsky.social · 4d

This Atlantic piece significantly underestimates the magnitude of discontinuity around us.

It treats as futures to be avoided realities that are already unfolding now.

I suspect largely because it absolutely sucks to acknowledge we lost the Orderly Transition.

www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...

What Climate Change Will Do to America by Mid-Century

Many places may become uninhabitable. Many people may be on their own.

www.theatlantic.com

Reposted by David Johnson

Michael E. Mann @michaelemann.bsky.social · 4d

An disturbingly apt metaphor.
Via @emilypont.bsky.social:
heatmap.news/sparks/cop30...

COP30 Is on Fire

Flames have erupted in the “Blue Zone” at the United Nations Climate Conference in Brazil.

heatmap.news

Reposted by David Johnson

Zack Labe @zacklabe.com · 4d

Take a look at this... Remarkable "warmth" last month across both polar regions when visualizing temperature departures by latitude. The x-axis is quite stretched out here compared to my usual monthly update of this graphic.

GISTEMPv4 using their 1951-1980 baseline (data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/).

Bar graph showing zonal mean surface air temperature anomalies for the period of October 2025. All latitude bands observed above average temperature anomalies relative to 1951-1980.

David Johnson @infpwriter.bsky.social · 4d

Anyone who thinks they're above the law and breaks it at every turn must be taught, with both language and force, that the law applies to everyone. A lot of people in this regime should be doing time, not spending their time destroying democracy.

Reposted by David Johnson, Jonathan M. Gilligan

Michael E. Mann @michaelemann.bsky.social · 4d

Ignore the performative, disingenuous cries of "antisemitism" Trump & GOP have so cynically used as a political shield. Look instead at what they're actually doing: www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify swastikas, nooses as hate symbols

The military service, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security, has drafted a new policy that classifies such items “potentially divisive.”

www.washingtonpost.com

Reposted by David Johnson

Alex Steffen @alexsteffen.bsky.social · 4d

COP 30 venue catching fire and burning for hours seems a little on the nose for our current climate moment.

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

People evacuated after fire breaks out at Cop30 venue – video

Social media footage shows people running away from smoke and flames after a fire broke out at a Cop30 venue in Belem, Brazil, on Thursday

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by David Johnson

Democracy Now! @democracynow.org · 4d

The Amazon rainforest now produces more carbon emissions than it removes from the atmosphere.

The Race to Save the Amazon: Top Brazilian Scientist Says Rainforest Is at “Tipping Point”

As we broadcast from the COP30 climate summit in Belém, Brazil, we are joined by one of Brazil’s most prominent scientists, Carlos Nobre, who says the Amazon now produces more carbon emissions than it...

www.democracynow.org

Reposted by David Johnson

Saganism @sagan.bsky.social · 5d

“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.”

― Oscar Wilde

Reposted by David Johnson

Guardian Environment @environment.theguardian.com · 5d

Thousands of toxic sites across US face risk of coastal flooding

Study finds rising seas could flood facilities handling waste, sewage, and oil and gas – and coastal states most at risk

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Gavin A. Schmidt, David Johnson, Rosemary A. Joyce , and 9 more Gavin A. Schmidt, David Johnson, Rosemary A. Joyce, Lesley A. Hall, Juan Cole, Janet Murray, Silvia Secchi, R. M. Wilson, Brooke Harrington, Karen O’Leary, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò, David Darmofal

Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 5d

Can’t believe the whole country has to suffer through the return of Dickensian childhood diseases because the worst, most ignorant attention-demanders decided other people’s expertise makes them feel bad

Reposted by Lisa W. Fazio, Gavin A. Schmidt, Joshua S. Weitz , and 9 more Lisa W. Fazio, Gavin A. Schmidt, Joshua S. Weitz, David H. Kaye, David Johnson, Christian E. Weller, Raffaella Ravinetto, Robert C. Richards, Sean P. Corcoran, Jason A. Heppler, Karen O’Leary, Timothy D. McBride

Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD DSc(hon) @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social · 5d

How awful. This is outright health disinformation, lying to the American people. Not only is there massive evidence showing no link between vaccines & autism, there’s not even a plausible mechanism based on what we’ve learned about the genetics of autism, some environmental exposures in pregnancy

Sheryl Gay Stolberg @sherylnyt.bsky.social · 5d

HEADS UP: CDC website now officially asserts that vaccines may cause autism.“Studies supporting a link have been ignored by health authorities.” Also says the “vaccines do not cause autism” header remains b/c of an agreement with Cassidy.

David Johnson @infpwriter.bsky.social · 5d

"When the planet heats up beyond 1.5 degrees, the impacts don't get just slightly worse. Scientists warn that massive, self-reinforcing changes could be set off, having devastating impacts around the world.

Such changes are sometimes called climate tipping points..."

#climatechange #climatecrisis

Shooti @bambooshooti.bsky.social · 5d

#ResistanceEarth

As the Earth continues to heat up, it will trigger massive, self-reinforcing changes. Scientists say ice sheets could collapse, permafrost could melt and coral reefs could disappear. Each of these tipping points will have dramatic impacts on humanity.

www.npr.org/2025/11/19/n...