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Reposted by Michael Parks

Tyler King @tyleraking.com · 4h

This is just so very, very illegal. And Republicans in Congress aren’t the least bit interested in controlling the purse. They’re just employees of trump org at taxpayer expense. This is a dictatorship.

Task & Purpose @taskandpurpose.com · 6h

Pentagon moves $8 billion from research to pay troops trib.al/G0HMywT

Pentagon moves $8 billion from research to pay troops

Left over R&D funds will be used to pay military members on Oct. 15, the Department of Defense said, following orders from President Trump.

trib.al

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Michael Parks @jurassicparks.bsky.social · 4h

securities fraud no longer exists

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Michael Parks @jurassicparks.bsky.social · 14h

Excellent interview.

Tom Philpott @tomphilpott.bsky.social · Jul 16

In the latest episode of Unconfined podcast, I interview veteran journalist Michael Grunwald about his new book We're Eating the Earth. I disagree with Mike on fundamental issues, but I think his provocative argument is worthy of discussion. Here's my short essay+links. clf.jhsph.edu/unconfined-p...

Land's End

clf.jhsph.edu

Michael Parks @jurassicparks.bsky.social · 14h

Another good question: are they full time roles or contractors.

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Michael Parks @jurassicparks.bsky.social · 14h

Wish I knew more. Agree with how much is going in it seems like there should be more detailed transparency.

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Michael Parks @jurassicparks.bsky.social · 14h

DC tech I'd think of as entry level tech role, and should be >100k for large companies, but I have no idea how many security guards, janitors, and so forth are included in those stats.

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Michael Parks @jurassicparks.bsky.social · 14h

Yeah, I don't know for sure, but my impression would be maybe half to 2/3rds of direct jobs are good locally-based jobs. Hiring locals I'd be skeptical just based on where DCs go.

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Michael Parks @jurassicparks.bsky.social · 14h

Have you read Tim Flannery's book on natural history of Europe? I loved the last part envisioning the future and a quote along the lines of "the Europeans are a forward-thinking people, always trying something new"

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Michael Parks @jurassicparks.bsky.social · 14h

If helpful, happened to have this at hand. It's from a 2024 paper.

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Michael Parks @jurassicparks.bsky.social · 14h

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Michael Parks @jurassicparks.bsky.social · 14h

Never saw salaries, but main job categories are on their websites and a person could back it out via linkedin etc

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Michael Parks @jurassicparks.bsky.social · 14h

Thousands for construction. Certainly some associated with things like growing energy grids. But fundamentally these are just buildings full of computers.

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Michael Parks @jurassicparks.bsky.social · 14h

I worked as a comms contractor for Google's DC / energy team. They put out economic reports that I believe were accurate, but tellingly play "indirect jobs." Long-term operations for a DC you're talking tens to hundreds. This was before the AI boom but no real material difference I'd imagine.

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Michael Parks @jurassicparks.bsky.social · 1d

Absolutely. Eff this dude.

Burrito Justice @burritojustice.bsky.social · 1d

Reposted by Michael Parks

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 2d

Picture how big the Hoover Dam is. An absolute unit. The Hoover Dam has a power capacity of 2 gigawatts (GW).

The solar farm that the Admin just cancelled could have produces 6.2 GW of power. That's more than 3 Hoover Dams.

jael holzman @jael.bsky.social · 2d

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

Esmeralda 7 Solar Project Has Been Canceled, BLM Says

It would have delivered a gargantuan 6.2 gigawatts of power.

heatmap.news

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Michael Parks @jurassicparks.bsky.social · 1d

Thank you!

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Michael Parks @jurassicparks.bsky.social · 1d

I don't know if there is anything really tying ethanol in spatially explicit terms to groundwater withdrawal across the High Plains? I'd be curious to see if it so

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Michael Parks @jurassicparks.bsky.social · 1d

Personally I'm really writing only about the Southern High Plains where we have 5 ethanol plants in an area with some pretty serious water problems. I don't think it's *the* issue with ethanol but one of them

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Michael Parks @jurassicparks.bsky.social · 1d

Or in the paper that map is from. Bit generalized but what I have

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Michael Parks @jurassicparks.bsky.social · 1d

I thought of you when I posted this actually. I agree it's over-simplified. All I can really tell across the region in my reading is that ethanol production seems to have expanded some irrigation

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Merging remote sensing data and national agricultural statistics to model change in irrigated agriculture

Over 22 million hectares (ha) of U.S. croplands are irrigated. Irrigation is an intensified agricultural land use that increases crop yields and the p…

www.sciencedirect.com

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Michael Parks @jurassicparks.bsky.social · 1d

This tweet also made me realize I wasn't following @theswinerepublic.bsky.social who pioneered these solar - ethanol comparisons on social media. Great feed for any interested.

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Michael Parks @jurassicparks.bsky.social · 1d

Viral anti-ethanol skeeters. 👍 I'll never cease to be impressed by how bad this policy is or how much of a handout to very special interests

Was myself just reading about ethanol accelerating Ogallala aquifer decline. Check this map of (water-intensive) corn

Crazy places to grow corn

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Reposted by Michael Parks

cara giaimo @cjgiaimo.bsky.social · Sep 5

my new book wherein ocean creatures give you life advice is on preorder sale for members at barnes + noble today www.barnesandnoble.com/w/leaving-th...

Leaving the Ocean Was a Mistake: Life Lessons from Sixty Sea Creatures|Hardcover

Sixty bizarre and beautiful marine creatures offer affirmations for self-confidence, serenity, and fulfillment—drawn from real-life facts about our fascinating natural world.If you sometimes wis...

www.barnesandnoble.com

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Reposted by Michael Parks

Jack Mirkinson @jackmirkinson.bsky.social · 1d

This extraordinary piece from Gaza by Ali Skaik about the ceasefire made me cry. It contains so much—joy, grief, determination, love, sorrow, hope. Very proud to run it in @thenation.com today. Please read it. www.thenation.com/article/worl...

Then my sister Huda, 21, was awakened by a phone call. Her friend told her the ceasefire would begin at 12 PM. "A ceasefire! A ceasefire!" she shouted, her voice shaking with disbelief. The whole house erupted— some of us laughed, some of us cried, and all of us dared to hope, if only for a moment. My 10-year-old brother Abedrahim jumped from his mattress and danced around the room shouting, "The genocide is over! We'll finally eat chicken!"

I walked through the ruins of Al-Rimal to find a cafe with internet so I could submit my exam. The streets were unrecognizable. Shops were flattened. Homes were piles of ash and steel.

I ran into my friend Khaled Al-Saqqa, 27, the sole survivor of his entire family. When I told him about the ceasefire, his eyes filled with tears. “Why was I left to suffer alone?!” he asked. I had no answer. I simply hugged him and whispered, “God gives you strength.”

We’ll welcome back loved ones who fled to the south—but not all will return. The IOF killed many who sought safety in so-called “safe zones.” Among them was the family of my father’s cousin Yusuf. A midnight strike on September 28, 2025, hit the apartment next to theirs as they prepared to pitch a tent. His wife Nidaa, daughter Ruaa, 18, and son Hamoud, 11, with curly yellow hair, were killed. Yusuf survived, along with his daughter Aya, 21, who suffered a broken leg and pelvis, and Aboud, 17, who remembers hearing his mother’s last breath.

We will remember the martyrs—those who died teaching, reporting, healing, mothering, surviving. We will carry their memory like fire in our hearts. And we will begin again.

The real war is now. The war of healing. Of remembering. Of refusing to forget. Of restarting. Of chasing our dreams.

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Michael Parks @jurassicparks.bsky.social · 2d

🫠

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