Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · 7d

Every year or so, the guys from the tire shop behind our place change the mural on the side of their building. This new one isn’t quite finished but it’s a banger so far.

Mural on the wall of tire shop with surfer, Muni bus, Bart train & classic car.

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Reposted by Paul Selmants

Dr. Crystal A. Kolden @pyrogeog.bsky.social · 9d

Published today: our new paper showing a 44-year trend of increasing global wildfire disasters (fatalities and economic losses) due to climate change-induced extreme weather. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Climate-linked escalation of societally disastrous wildfires

Climate change and land mismanagement are creating increasingly fire-prone built and natural environments. However, despite worsening fire seasons, evidence is lacking globally for trends in socially ...

www.science.org

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Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · 9d

And white billionaires, don’t let them off the hook.

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Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · 21d

The giant blimp hangar at Moffett Field got a new skin, now it looks like something from David Lynch’s Dune movie.

Giant gray blimp hangar under a cloudy sky.

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Reposted by Paul Selmants

Abigail Swann, PhD @ecoclimatelab.bsky.social · 26d

Maybe the land carbon sink is weaker than we thought. Big implications: "A lower-than-expected land carbon sink would also imply that the land biosphere may be closer to transitioning from a net carbon sink to a net source than current models predict" Randerson et al. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

The weak land carbon sink hypothesis

Satellite-derived time series of vegetation carbon do not support a strong Northern Hemisphere net land carbon sink.

www.science.org

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Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · 29d

Some well deserved publicity for a new kind of newsroom. Congrats @laurawenus.bsky.social, @noaharroyo.bsky.social & @daphnem.bsky.social!

News Relay Network @newsrelaynetwork.bsky.social · Sep 10

We're honored to be featured by Amalie Nash and @inmaorg.bsky.social !!

International News Media Association (INMA) @inmaorg.bsky.social · Sep 10

In her latest blog, INMA Newsroom Transformation Initiative Lead Amalie Nash shares insights from @laurawenus.bsky.social about a planned pilot newsroom @newsrelaynetwork.bsky.social will roll out next month in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighbourhood. www.inma.org/blogs/newsro...

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Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · Sep 9

Srsly, I thought I could just substitute |> for %>% in my existing code but, nope.

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Reposted by Paul Selmants

Belinda Medlyn @bmedlyn.bsky.social · Sep 9

Postdoctoral position in Forest Monitoring available. Know your way around spatial datasets? Join us to help monitor changes in Australia's precious forest estate! @westsyduhie.bsky.social
jobs.smartrecruiters.com/WesternSydne...

Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Forest Monitoring

Company Description: Western Sydney University is a modern, forward-thinking, research-led institution at the heart of Australia’s fastest-growing and most economically significant region. With 11 cam...

jobs.smartrecruiters.com

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Reposted by Paul Selmants

Sky YB @drsrbayer.bsky.social · Sep 8

Hi everyone! I am looking for any #scientists (including grad students, post docs) that’d be willing to be interviewed about their research by my #SciComm students in October. Here is the form to fill out if interested! Our time zone is Alaska, FYI. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

BIOL 311 Sci Comm Fall 2025 - Interview Sign up!

Please fill out this form to be interviewed as part of BIOL 311's students project for the second half of the semester. One form per one participant is preferred, so if you have post-docs or graduate ...

docs.google.com

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Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · Sep 5

Local climate nerds! Claim your god damn award, you deserve it.

Lissa Harris🐀 @lissaharris.bsky.social · Sep 5

bros if you do a climate nerd good thing in your town I’ll make you a god damn award

holler at me

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Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · Sep 2

OK, these budget cuts have gotten ridiculous.

Tiny (but cute!) EV with “NASA Fire Dept” decal and two household-size fire extinguishers in the back.

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Reposted by Paul Selmants

Andrew Sanchez Meador @bi0m3trics.bsky.social · Aug 31

Just out: A new geodatabase of fuel treatments across federal lands—published in Scientific Data.

Whether you’re mapping change or assessing risk, TWIG shows when and where treatments happened.

Grateful to be part of a team!

Paper - www.nature.com/articles/s41...
TWIG - reshapewildfire.org/twig

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Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · Aug 28

Yup, full support here. SF has been in dire need and we finally got 33 of them this year.

David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · Aug 28

There’s a widespread myth that Americans hate traffic cameras. It’s simply not true.

On the contrary, researchers have consistently found that Americans broadly support using automatic enforcement to curb crashes. And for good reason: It works.

Me, in Bloomberg 🧵

Automated Traffic Enforcement Is More Popular Than You Think

Cameras that ticket drivers who run red lights and speed are effective and widely popular with city residents. So why are they banned in so many places?

www.bloomberg.com

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Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · Aug 15

My journalist friends started a newsroom! Check it out:

News Relay Network @newsrelaynetwork.bsky.social · Aug 13

Our #SF newsroom will produce high-quality coverage **driven directly by the audience.**

Rather than staff having full editorial control — that’s the norm — we’ll empower the community to determine what we report on, on an ongoing basis. ... #SanFrancisco newsrelaynetwork.org/coming-soon-...

Coming soon: A newsroom that empowers its audience

Hi! It’s so good to have you. I’d grab you a chair if I could. This is the first edition of our newsletter, which will chronicle wins, losses, and what we learn as we conduct a novel experiment in jo...

newsrelaynetwork.org

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Reposted by Paul Selmants

Matthew Hurteau @mhurteau.bsky.social · Jul 30

We have a new paper that is the result of a working group on nature-based climate solutions using forests. We identify challenges in quantifying net cooling, durability, additionality, and leakage and provide solutions and research needs for each of the challenges.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Towards more effective nature-based climate solutions in global forests - Nature

A strategy to improve the implementation of nature-based climate solutions in global forests for climate mitigation is described, comprising four key components to highlight notable science and policy...

www.nature.com

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Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · Jul 27

I do.

Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · Jul 26

Kimchi risotto. Don’t you dare judge me.

A bowl of leftover risotto with kimchi mixed in

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Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · Jul 22

Oh, for sure. “San Francisco start-up says,” is basically code for “what follows is unsubstantiated hyped up bullshit.”

Reposted by Paul Selmants

Noah Arroyo @noaharroyo.bsky.social · Jul 19

Did you know that many consider San Francisco's system of care broken?

People fall through the cracks, or only get care after they've lost their jobs or housing.

#sf, and the public, have an opportunity to transform that system for the better.

www.sfpublicpress.org/sf-has-a-cha...

SF Has a Chance to Reinvent Its Mental Health Care System - San Francisco Public Press

San Francisco, like all California counties, may have to re-imagine its behavioral health care system in response to state mandates.

www.sfpublicpress.org

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Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · Jul 18

Been kinda angry jealous at everybody posting they got @kashana.bsky.social’s book in the mail these last couple days - finally got mine today!

Book cover of “The Payback” by Kashana Cauley.

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Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · Jul 16

Also, @wired.com has been kinda killing it lately.

Tim Onion @bencollins.bsky.social · Jul 15

I'd just like to point out how weird it is that places with hundreds or even thousands of reporters — the NYT, WaPo, CBS, NBC, AP, etc. — are all getting pummeled on every major story by the dozen computerboys at Wired. To fumble the bag this consistently is, at some point, cowardice and a choice.

WIRED @wired.com · Jul 15

NEW: Metadata from the “raw” Epstein prison video shows approximately 2 minutes and 53 seconds were removed from one of two stitched-together clips. The cut starts right at the “missing minute.”

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Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · Jul 14

If @cnn.com felt like doing some real journalism they’d track how many actually leave when he wins. I’m gonna guess zero.

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Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · Jul 9

This is so needed, and you can sjgn up to participate.

PLOS Biology @plosbiology.org · Jul 9

Going beyond the article... Read about @plos.org's new initiative, funded by @moorefound.bsky.social & Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. plos.io/45XeXvx

Redefining Publishing: PLOS, supported by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation & Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is launching an important new initiative

PLOS believes in a better future where science is open to all, for all. We are redefining publishing by demonstrating that new solutions are feasible and deliver tangible benefits for the entire resea...

plos.io

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Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · Jul 4

That prof was biased toward charismatic megaflora.

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Paul Selmants @biogeocycle.net · Jul 1

This is where you can pick up your NASA bike.

A tan stucco building with a blue sign that reads NASA Bicycle Distribution Facility

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