Bob Kopp
@bobkopp.net
#Climate & sea level science + policy. Rutgers University. All views my own. www.bobkopp.net
Pinned
Bob Kopp
@bobkopp.net
· May 7
There’s so much happening right now, I thought I’d put together a running thread on the dismantling of #climate and research and knowledge infrastructure in the United States 🧵
56% of Americans believe alien probably exists, and 47% — 83% of those who believe aliens exist — think they have probably visited Earth.
I want to know more — do 44% of Americans think humans are the only technological species ever to have existed in the entirety of the universe?
I want to know more — do 44% of Americans think humans are the only technological species ever to have existed in the entirety of the universe?
New polling on aliens
% of U.S. adult citizens who believe the following definitely or probably exist:
Aliens 56%
Bigfoot 28%
The Yeti 23%
The Loch Ness Monster 22%
Chupacabra 16%
today.yougov.com/health/artic...
% of U.S. adult citizens who believe the following definitely or probably exist:
Aliens 56%
Bigfoot 28%
The Yeti 23%
The Loch Ness Monster 22%
Chupacabra 16%
today.yougov.com/health/artic...
November 26, 2025 at 12:42 AM
56% of Americans believe alien probably exists, and 47% — 83% of those who believe aliens exist — think they have probably visited Earth.
I want to know more — do 44% of Americans think humans are the only technological species ever to have existed in the entirety of the universe?
I want to know more — do 44% of Americans think humans are the only technological species ever to have existed in the entirety of the universe?
Reposted by Bob Kopp
who knows the future of AI, its real world value, what it can achieve, what profits it will drive. But we can more confidently say something very weird is happening here when we look at the question of resource allocation and the very small number of individuals driving it.
The Surreal Madness of the AI Boom talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/the-s... via @TPM
The Surreal Madness of the AI Boom
TPM Reader EB emailed today to tell me something that hadn’t come...
talkingpointsmemo.com
November 25, 2025 at 9:54 PM
who knows the future of AI, its real world value, what it can achieve, what profits it will drive. But we can more confidently say something very weird is happening here when we look at the question of resource allocation and the very small number of individuals driving it.
Reposted by Bob Kopp
Look at @katharinehayhoe.com channel her apocalyptic optimist as she describes the fossil fuel swan song that we just witnessed at COP30. For the full conversation with @amywestervelt.bsky.social and me, tune into COPOut Episode 5, which airs TOMORROW!
November 23, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Look at @katharinehayhoe.com channel her apocalyptic optimist as she describes the fossil fuel swan song that we just witnessed at COP30. For the full conversation with @amywestervelt.bsky.social and me, tune into COPOut Episode 5, which airs TOMORROW!
Reposted by Bob Kopp
"Critical to the success of any presidency is the ability to implement an agenda endorsed by the American people...." This is the core justification for Trump's Schedule F rule. And it is 100% gonzo wrong. The Founders would be equally horrified and bewildered. www.govexec.com/workforce/20...
Final Schedule F regulations to describe civil service protections as ‘unconstitutional overcorrections’
OPM officials told agency HR leaders Tuesday that President Trump has Article II constitutional authority to remove tens of thousands of career federal workers in jobs over potential “resistance to po...
www.govexec.com
November 23, 2025 at 3:44 PM
"Critical to the success of any presidency is the ability to implement an agenda endorsed by the American people...." This is the core justification for Trump's Schedule F rule. And it is 100% gonzo wrong. The Founders would be equally horrified and bewildered. www.govexec.com/workforce/20...
Striking thing about this @npr.org Sunday Story on AI and higher ed is that it takes as an unchallenged assumption the idea that the primary and/or sole purpose of higher ed is to prepare students for the job market, not to be free citizens of a democracy.
Higher Education’s AI Problem : Up First from NPR
Across the country, colleges and universities are struggling to figure out how to incorporate AI into the classroom. ChatGPT debuted almost exactly three years ago. And very quickly, students began to...
www.npr.org
November 23, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Striking thing about this @npr.org Sunday Story on AI and higher ed is that it takes as an unchallenged assumption the idea that the primary and/or sole purpose of higher ed is to prepare students for the job market, not to be free citizens of a democracy.
EPA now aiming for January to finalize Endangerment Finding repeal. Looking forward to seeing how they deal with the scientific underpinnings of the repeal failing to satisfy Information Quality Act requirements.
EPA falls behind schedule for repealing endangerment finding
The rule to end most climate regulations is not expected until January, slipping from a planned December deadline.
www.eenews.net
November 23, 2025 at 12:26 AM
EPA now aiming for January to finalize Endangerment Finding repeal. Looking forward to seeing how they deal with the scientific underpinnings of the repeal failing to satisfy Information Quality Act requirements.
Reposted by Bob Kopp
America putting most of its eggs in the generative AI basket, China going hard into green tech. When history looks back on this period, someone is going to look awfully stupid.
November 22, 2025 at 7:18 PM
America putting most of its eggs in the generative AI basket, China going hard into green tech. When history looks back on this period, someone is going to look awfully stupid.
Reposted by Bob Kopp
After two weeks of #COP30 negotiations, countries agreed to BEGIN DISCUSSIONS on fossil fuel phase out. And as the article says, "they achieved this incremental progress only in the teeth of implacable opposition from oil-producing countries."
THIS is the problem with requiring unanimous decisions.
THIS is the problem with requiring unanimous decisions.
End of fossil fuel era inches closer as Cop30 deal agreed after bitter standoff
Wealthy countries agree to triple funds for countries to tackle climate impacts, but deforestation and critical minerals blocked from final deal
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 6:52 PM
After two weeks of #COP30 negotiations, countries agreed to BEGIN DISCUSSIONS on fossil fuel phase out. And as the article says, "they achieved this incremental progress only in the teeth of implacable opposition from oil-producing countries."
THIS is the problem with requiring unanimous decisions.
THIS is the problem with requiring unanimous decisions.
Reposted by Bob Kopp
Mohamed Adow, director of Power Shift Africa, said: “With an increasingly fractured geopolitical backdrop, Cop30 gave us some baby steps in the right direction, but considering the scale of the climate crisis, it has failed to rise to the occasion."
Cop30 deal agreed after bitter standoff:
Wealthy countries agree to triple funds for countries to tackle climate impacts, but deforestation and critical minerals blocked from final deal
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Wealthy countries agree to triple funds for countries to tackle climate impacts, but deforestation and critical minerals blocked from final deal
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
November 22, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Mohamed Adow, director of Power Shift Africa, said: “With an increasingly fractured geopolitical backdrop, Cop30 gave us some baby steps in the right direction, but considering the scale of the climate crisis, it has failed to rise to the occasion."
Reposted by Bob Kopp
“COP30 was supposed to be the COP of truth and implementation. Unless nations reckon with the ugly truths revealed here, there will be major repercussions for multilateral climate agreements and more importantly, for the lives of communities who are on the frontlines of the climate crisis.”
#COP30
#COP30
COP30 Barely Delivers, Rich Nations Continue to Force Inequitable Climate Outcomes
COP30 barely delivers on adaptation, climate finance, fossil fuel phaseout, but important just transition progress made
www.ucs.org
November 22, 2025 at 5:46 PM
“COP30 was supposed to be the COP of truth and implementation. Unless nations reckon with the ugly truths revealed here, there will be major repercussions for multilateral climate agreements and more importantly, for the lives of communities who are on the frontlines of the climate crisis.”
#COP30
#COP30
Reposted by Bob Kopp
👇 Read more in our statement 👇
www.ciel.org/news/cop30-f...
www.ciel.org/news/cop30-f...
COP30: Climate Talks Flounder, Countries Look Beyond UNFCCC to Phase Out Fossil Fuels - Center for International Environmental Law
The climate talks COP30 concluded today in the Amazon with an empty deal that does not halt deforestation, implement a fossil fuel phaseout, or deliver climate finance at scale
www.ciel.org
November 22, 2025 at 5:48 PM
👇 Read more in our statement 👇
www.ciel.org/news/cop30-f...
www.ciel.org/news/cop30-f...
This old column by @raskin.house.gov needs to be at the heart of reconstructing constitutional government after this current regime passes
Perspective | Congress isn’t just a co-equal branch. We’re first among equals.
There’s a reason the House and Senate were set out right after the words “We the People.”
wapo.st
November 22, 2025 at 3:26 PM
This old column by @raskin.house.gov needs to be at the heart of reconstructing constitutional government after this current regime passes
Reposted by Bob Kopp
So, below is EU President von der Leyen saying that the EU is "not fighting fossil fuels, only emissions."
And here is the Saudi envoy to COP30 saying exactly the same thing.
I'm telling you: climate politics are unified around the lie that we can keep fossil fuels & still deal w climate anyway.
And here is the Saudi envoy to COP30 saying exactly the same thing.
I'm telling you: climate politics are unified around the lie that we can keep fossil fuels & still deal w climate anyway.
November 21, 2025 at 10:19 PM
So, below is EU President von der Leyen saying that the EU is "not fighting fossil fuels, only emissions."
And here is the Saudi envoy to COP30 saying exactly the same thing.
I'm telling you: climate politics are unified around the lie that we can keep fossil fuels & still deal w climate anyway.
And here is the Saudi envoy to COP30 saying exactly the same thing.
I'm telling you: climate politics are unified around the lie that we can keep fossil fuels & still deal w climate anyway.
Reposted by Bob Kopp
The Eric Schickler essay in Larry Bartel's symposium on "What Trump Has Taught Us About Political Science" is one of the most insightful pieces I've read in 2025.
US institutions turned out to be weak, and we have to rethink conventional wisdom.
open access: academic.oup.com/psq/advance-...
US institutions turned out to be weak, and we have to rethink conventional wisdom.
open access: academic.oup.com/psq/advance-...
November 19, 2025 at 8:08 PM
The Eric Schickler essay in Larry Bartel's symposium on "What Trump Has Taught Us About Political Science" is one of the most insightful pieces I've read in 2025.
US institutions turned out to be weak, and we have to rethink conventional wisdom.
open access: academic.oup.com/psq/advance-...
US institutions turned out to be weak, and we have to rethink conventional wisdom.
open access: academic.oup.com/psq/advance-...
Reposted by Bob Kopp
See my commentary in @nytimes.com in re climatic & non-climatic factors pushing down home prices (always excellent work of @benkeys.bsky.social & P. Mulder) Amazing to see how far prices have tanked in Nola. Good News: homes w/ Fortified Roofs are holding their value. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Rising Home Insurance Premiums Are Eating Into Home Values in Disaster-Prone Areas (Gift Article)
Changes in the insurance market have started to affect home prices in the most disaster-prone areas, new research finds, pushing some homeowners’ finances to the breaking point.
www.nytimes.com
November 19, 2025 at 12:51 PM
See my commentary in @nytimes.com in re climatic & non-climatic factors pushing down home prices (always excellent work of @benkeys.bsky.social & P. Mulder) Amazing to see how far prices have tanked in Nola. Good News: homes w/ Fortified Roofs are holding their value. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Reposted by Bob Kopp
AI presents a fundamental threat to our ability to use polls to assess public opinion. Bad actors who are able to infiltrate panels can flip close election polls for less than the cost of a Starbucks coffee. Models will also infer and confirm hypotheses in experiments. Current quality checks fail
November 18, 2025 at 9:23 PM
AI presents a fundamental threat to our ability to use polls to assess public opinion. Bad actors who are able to infiltrate panels can flip close election polls for less than the cost of a Starbucks coffee. Models will also infer and confirm hypotheses in experiments. Current quality checks fail
Reposted by Bob Kopp
www.wsj.com/opinion/mont...
Another one of my colleagues weighs in on the “restructuring” of our home college. This time in the Wall Street Journal. It’s paywalled, so screenshots to follow.
Another one of my colleagues weighs in on the “restructuring” of our home college. This time in the Wall Street Journal. It’s paywalled, so screenshots to follow.
Opinion | Montclair State’s Inhumanity to the Humanities
Goodbye, English department. Hello, Institute for Complex Systems and Algorithmic Infused Societies.
www.wsj.com
November 17, 2025 at 7:53 PM
www.wsj.com/opinion/mont...
Another one of my colleagues weighs in on the “restructuring” of our home college. This time in the Wall Street Journal. It’s paywalled, so screenshots to follow.
Another one of my colleagues weighs in on the “restructuring” of our home college. This time in the Wall Street Journal. It’s paywalled, so screenshots to follow.
Reposted by Bob Kopp
"Liberals need not turn a blind eye to the failings of the professions to see clearly what side we are on in the war against them." www.liberalcurrents.com/the-war-on-p...
The War on Professionalism and Professional Competence
Incompetence and sloppiness are the self-conscious ethos of the administration.
www.liberalcurrents.com
November 17, 2025 at 2:11 PM
"Liberals need not turn a blind eye to the failings of the professions to see clearly what side we are on in the war against them." www.liberalcurrents.com/the-war-on-p...
On the one hand, this column by Eric Schmidt and Andrew Sorota is obviously right: new technology should be used to strengthen, not supplant, democracy. On the other hand, there’s clearly a lot of AI-smuggling in here, not drawing a distinction between text analysis and LLM text extrusion algos
Opinion | This Is No Way to Rule a Country
www.nytimes.com
November 16, 2025 at 2:22 PM
On the one hand, this column by Eric Schmidt and Andrew Sorota is obviously right: new technology should be used to strengthen, not supplant, democracy. On the other hand, there’s clearly a lot of AI-smuggling in here, not drawing a distinction between text analysis and LLM text extrusion algos
Reposted by Bob Kopp
The notion that someone who is in their 20's can't have experienced climate change (supposedly due to an IPCC definition) is utter crap. It's embarrassing for a supposedly serious academic to be so disingenuous.
"AEI Fellow Roger Pielke Jr.’s Talk at Cornell Climate Impact Speaker Series Sparks Controversy" by Andrea Kim for the #CornellSun: www.cornellsun.com/article/2025...
AEI Fellow Roger Pielke Jr.’s Talk at Cornell Climate Impact Speaker Series Sparks Controversy
Roger Pielke Jr. spoke at Cornell Atkinson’s Climate Impact Series on Wednesday, eliciting concerns from members of the scientific community due to his ties to the American Enterprise Institute and it...
www.cornellsun.com
November 15, 2025 at 5:33 PM
The notion that someone who is in their 20's can't have experienced climate change (supposedly due to an IPCC definition) is utter crap. It's embarrassing for a supposedly serious academic to be so disingenuous.
Reposted by Bob Kopp
Now that the Sept and Oct data are (belatedly) in, it looks like 2025 will be the second warmest year in the record (~80% probability). The last three years are in a class of their own.
November 15, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Now that the Sept and Oct data are (belatedly) in, it looks like 2025 will be the second warmest year in the record (~80% probability). The last three years are in a class of their own.
Reposted by Bob Kopp
Episode 3 airs on MONDAY! In it, I talk with @pammcelwee.bsky.social and @laurengifford.bsky.social about the future of carbon governance given the disenfranchisement that developing countries and NGOs are experiencing in the COP process. Stay tuned for clips this weekend!
November 15, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Episode 3 airs on MONDAY! In it, I talk with @pammcelwee.bsky.social and @laurengifford.bsky.social about the future of carbon governance given the disenfranchisement that developing countries and NGOs are experiencing in the COP process. Stay tuned for clips this weekend!
Reposted by Bob Kopp
WE WON. I am *begging* you to take note of who did this. *Not* UCLA admin—they’re still scuttling around behind closed doors, attempting to appease—but FACULTY AND STAFF, led by AAUP.
BREAKING: In AAUP et al v. Trump (wall-to-wall union lawsuit challenging the administration’s unlawful use of TItle VI to reshape the University of California system), the faculty and staff of the UC system WON!!!
We were granted our preliminary injunction! @aaup.org
We were granted our preliminary injunction! @aaup.org
November 15, 2025 at 12:01 AM
WE WON. I am *begging* you to take note of who did this. *Not* UCLA admin—they’re still scuttling around behind closed doors, attempting to appease—but FACULTY AND STAFF, led by AAUP.
Reposted by Bob Kopp
Struck this morning by how the win wasn’t from the UC system itself pushing back—it was its worker power through *unions* and aligned groups like @aaup.org defending UC interests, even though admin itself wasn’t.
There’s some kind of lesson here
There’s some kind of lesson here
One reason why elite schools (Columbia, Brown, Cornell) caving to Trump’s illegal impoundment and extortion is so galling — a betrayal, really — is that they would have won had they fought. By giving up, they guaranteed every other school will have to fight harder.
Judge bars Trump from immediately cutting funding to the University of California | CNN Politics
The Trump administration cannot immediately cut federal funding to the University of California or issue fines against the school system over claims it allows antisemitism or other forms of discrimina...
www.cnn.com
November 15, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Struck this morning by how the win wasn’t from the UC system itself pushing back—it was its worker power through *unions* and aligned groups like @aaup.org defending UC interests, even though admin itself wasn’t.
There’s some kind of lesson here
There’s some kind of lesson here
Reposted by Bob Kopp
I still don’t get why HUD isn’t just moving to Randolph. Playing agency Tetris & moving NSF to Randolph so HUD can move to the NSF building, which was purpose-built for NSF and [wanders off to do more productive things like shake fist at clouds & finish dressing a 12 foot skeleton like a turkey]
The U.S. National Science Foundation will relocate to the Randolph Building at 401 Dulany Street in early 2026.
NSF to move to Carlyle Innovation Campus after HUD displacement
Agency will co-locate with USPTO at Randolph Building in early 2026
open.substack.com
November 14, 2025 at 7:57 PM
I still don’t get why HUD isn’t just moving to Randolph. Playing agency Tetris & moving NSF to Randolph so HUD can move to the NSF building, which was purpose-built for NSF and [wanders off to do more productive things like shake fist at clouds & finish dressing a 12 foot skeleton like a turkey]