Howard Lee
@hlee.bsky.social
Geologist and Science Writer: If you want to see what climate change can do to the planet just look at Earth's past!
https://h-lee.com/
https://h-lee.com/
Pinned
Howard Lee
@hlee.bsky.social
· Aug 11
How old is the earliest trace of life on Earth?
A recent conference sees doubts raised about the age of the oldest signs of life.
arstechnica.com
My latest article 👇 gets into how hard it is to date stuff in some of the oldest rocks on the planet, and why it matters ⚒️🧪
arstechnica.com/science/2025...
arstechnica.com/science/2025...
Reposted by Howard Lee
An ICE employee, held “to the highest standards of integrity and professionalism” drunk drove into this Vermont barn last night:
vtdigger.org/2025/11/25/f...
vtdigger.org/2025/11/25/f...
November 26, 2025 at 12:48 AM
An ICE employee, held “to the highest standards of integrity and professionalism” drunk drove into this Vermont barn last night:
vtdigger.org/2025/11/25/f...
vtdigger.org/2025/11/25/f...
🧪⚒️
Scientists: have you been the target of an online harassment campaign, doxxing, or weaponized FOIA requests? I'd like to talk to you about steps you had to take to protect your digital security for an upcoming Nature story. (You can be anonymous if necessary.)
RTs appreciated.
RTs appreciated.
November 26, 2025 at 3:39 AM
🧪⚒️
⚒️
Tried taking a core in a grove of trees in a state park (with permission!). Hit something hard, ran an auger down and pulled up rotting boards and electrical wires. It was at least three feet of construction debris, maybe a building pushed into its basement, no clue on the surface it was there.
November 26, 2025 at 3:38 AM
⚒️
White House advisor Steve Witkoff advised Russia on how to present its "peace plan" to Trump - @lemonde.fr
EN DIRECT, guerre en Ukraine : le conseiller de la Maison Blanche Steve Witkoff a conseillé la Russie sur la manière de présenter son « plan de paix » à Trump
EN DIRECT, guerre en Ukraine : le conseiller de la Maison Blanche Steve Witkoff a conseillé la Russie sur la manière de présenter son « plan de paix » à Trump
L’émissaire spécial a eu un entretien téléphonique, le 14 octobre, avec Iouri Ouchakov, le conseiller du Kremlin pour la politique étrangère, selon un enregistrement consulté par Bloomberg, qui en produit la transcription. Ensemble, ils ont élaboré un plan pour l’Ukraine et suggéré que Vladimir Poutine en discute directement avec le président américain.
www.lemonde.fr
November 26, 2025 at 12:16 AM
White House advisor Steve Witkoff advised Russia on how to present its "peace plan" to Trump - @lemonde.fr
Reposted by Howard Lee
Voting is necessary, but not sufficient on its own.
We need to support fighters, not folders, in every race at every level. Taking down fascism & oligarchy requires mutual aid, mass mobilization, direct action (ie anti-ICE patrols), targeted pillar disruption *and* voting. Keep fighting back
We need to support fighters, not folders, in every race at every level. Taking down fascism & oligarchy requires mutual aid, mass mobilization, direct action (ie anti-ICE patrols), targeted pillar disruption *and* voting. Keep fighting back
“Just vote blue in 2026” won’t save us from American fascism. Both parties have been drifting to the right for years. Democrats and Republicans have aligned themselves with corporatocracy and oligarchy, respectively.
November 25, 2025 at 10:26 PM
Voting is necessary, but not sufficient on its own.
We need to support fighters, not folders, in every race at every level. Taking down fascism & oligarchy requires mutual aid, mass mobilization, direct action (ie anti-ICE patrols), targeted pillar disruption *and* voting. Keep fighting back
We need to support fighters, not folders, in every race at every level. Taking down fascism & oligarchy requires mutual aid, mass mobilization, direct action (ie anti-ICE patrols), targeted pillar disruption *and* voting. Keep fighting back
Reposted by Howard Lee
I really wish we'd stop calling them climate "skeptics" or "vaccine skeptics", if you jump off a cliff we don't call you a "gravity skeptic"
November 25, 2025 at 8:18 PM
I really wish we'd stop calling them climate "skeptics" or "vaccine skeptics", if you jump off a cliff we don't call you a "gravity skeptic"
Republican administration can't abide Scout values of:
Trustworthy,
Loyal,
Helpful,
Friendly,
Courteous,
Kind,
Obedient,
Cheerful,
Thrifty,
Brave,
Clean,
and Reverent
⚜️
www.npr.org/2025/11/25/n...
Trustworthy,
Loyal,
Helpful,
Friendly,
Courteous,
Kind,
Obedient,
Cheerful,
Thrifty,
Brave,
Clean,
and Reverent
⚜️
www.npr.org/2025/11/25/n...
U.S. ready to cut support to Scouts, accusing them of attacking 'boy-friendly spaces'
Documents show the U.S. military is planning to sever all ties with the organization formerly known as the Boy Scouts.
www.npr.org
November 25, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Republican administration can't abide Scout values of:
Trustworthy,
Loyal,
Helpful,
Friendly,
Courteous,
Kind,
Obedient,
Cheerful,
Thrifty,
Brave,
Clean,
and Reverent
⚜️
www.npr.org/2025/11/25/n...
Trustworthy,
Loyal,
Helpful,
Friendly,
Courteous,
Kind,
Obedient,
Cheerful,
Thrifty,
Brave,
Clean,
and Reverent
⚜️
www.npr.org/2025/11/25/n...
Reposted by Howard Lee
November 25, 2025 at 1:05 PM
This paper raises the possibility that lichens had evolved by the late Ordovician, contemporary with earliest vascular plants 🧪⚒️
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
The rise of lichens during the colonization of terrestrial environments
Evidence reveals Spongiophyton as one of the earliest and most widespread lichens in Earth’s history.
www.science.org
November 25, 2025 at 1:22 PM
This paper raises the possibility that lichens had evolved by the late Ordovician, contemporary with earliest vascular plants 🧪⚒️
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
The self-flagellating all because they omitted a cross-fade between 2 bits of ACTUAL FOOTAGE of T's actual speech is beyond ridiculous and the "right" are using it to weaken journalism as a whole. Grow a spine BBC!
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
November 25, 2025 at 1:07 PM
The self-flagellating all because they omitted a cross-fade between 2 bits of ACTUAL FOOTAGE of T's actual speech is beyond ridiculous and the "right" are using it to weaken journalism as a whole. Grow a spine BBC!
This: "...we are embarking on—in fact, accelerating—the biggest chemistry experiment on the planet in 66 million years, and one of the fastest derangements of the carbon cycle in the age of animal life" by @peterbrannen.bsky.social 🧪⚒️
www.theatlantic.com/science/2025...
www.theatlantic.com/science/2025...
Our Almost-Apocalyptic Climate Future
By shooting for 3 degrees Celsius of warming, the world could slide toward a more cataclysmic 4 degrees.
www.theatlantic.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:00 PM
This: "...we are embarking on—in fact, accelerating—the biggest chemistry experiment on the planet in 66 million years, and one of the fastest derangements of the carbon cycle in the age of animal life" by @peterbrannen.bsky.social 🧪⚒️
www.theatlantic.com/science/2025...
www.theatlantic.com/science/2025...
"The entire financial system, including government bonds and mortgages, is premised on the idea that tomorrow will look something like today. In a world that’s 3 degrees warmer, it assuredly will not" #EconSky
www.theatlantic.com/science/2025...
www.theatlantic.com/science/2025...
Our Almost-Apocalyptic Climate Future
By shooting for 3 degrees Celsius of warming, the world could slide toward a more cataclysmic 4 degrees.
www.theatlantic.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:56 PM
"The entire financial system, including government bonds and mortgages, is premised on the idea that tomorrow will look something like today. In a world that’s 3 degrees warmer, it assuredly will not" #EconSky
www.theatlantic.com/science/2025...
www.theatlantic.com/science/2025...
Reposted by Howard Lee
Something something socialism: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/u...
$10 Billion and Counting: Trump Administration Snaps Up Stakes in Private Firms
www.nytimes.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:48 PM
Something something socialism: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/u...
"...uptake of CO2 by breccia offsets 20% of the CO2 outflux associated with volcanism during formation of the crust itself with major implications for carbon budgets." ⚒️
communities.springernature.com/posts/how-we...
communities.springernature.com/posts/how-we...
How we discovered a giant geological sponge for carbon in rocks deep below the seafloor
While drilling deep into the seafloor we recovered a thick sequence of carbonate-cemented rubble (breccia). The carbon content and estimated volume of the breccia suggests that slow-spread oceanic cru...
communities.springernature.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:49 PM
"...uptake of CO2 by breccia offsets 20% of the CO2 outflux associated with volcanism during formation of the crust itself with major implications for carbon budgets." ⚒️
communities.springernature.com/posts/how-we...
communities.springernature.com/posts/how-we...
Newly discovered CO2 sink by long-lived seawater reacting with basalt rubble adds to the seafloor weathering CO2 sink. Would love to see a new mass balance calculation including this + silicate weathering/inorganic carbon+ organic carbon (weathering+burial) + all Geological carbon emissions. ⚒️
⚒️ Article: Mass wasting deposits against mid-ocean ridge faults store seawater carbon dioxide as calcium carbonate
@unisouthampton.bsky.social @ukiodp.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
@unisouthampton.bsky.social @ukiodp.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A geological carbon cycle sink hosted by ocean crust talus breccias - Nature Geoscience
Mass-wasting deposits that accumulated against mid-ocean ridge faults have high porosity in which calcium carbonate precipitated, storing seawater carbon dioxide, as revealed by cores of a 61-million-...
www.nature.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:44 PM
Newly discovered CO2 sink by long-lived seawater reacting with basalt rubble adds to the seafloor weathering CO2 sink. Would love to see a new mass balance calculation including this + silicate weathering/inorganic carbon+ organic carbon (weathering+burial) + all Geological carbon emissions. ⚒️
Reposted by Howard Lee
Reposted by Howard Lee
The Hayli Gubbi tephra has been sampled. These are photos from my sampling expedition on 24 Nov with the University of Semera from around 10 km north of Hayli Gubbi @sorcerinsar.bsky.social @alarosa.bsky.social
November 25, 2025 at 2:29 AM
The Hayli Gubbi tephra has been sampled. These are photos from my sampling expedition on 24 Nov with the University of Semera from around 10 km north of Hayli Gubbi @sorcerinsar.bsky.social @alarosa.bsky.social
They're eating the dollar.... 💸
China continues to move away from the dollar. It’s just cut its holdings of US government bonds to the lowest level in 17 years.
China's US Treasury holdings fell to $689.3 billion in October 2025, down from $700.5 billion in September.
China's US Treasury holdings fell to $689.3 billion in October 2025, down from $700.5 billion in September.
November 25, 2025 at 12:07 PM
They're eating the dollar.... 💸
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If you want to feel old, we are now further from the formation of the Kenorland Supercontinent than the formation of the Kenorland Supercontinent is from the formation of the Solar System.
November 25, 2025 at 12:05 PM
⚒️
Reposted by Howard Lee
Wow — Senators Van Hollen, Smith, Murphy, Sanders, Warren, Markey, Merkley, Heinrich have created an official internal "Fight Club."
They're challenging Schumer & Gillibrand's leadership, arguing the party is using an old, corporate-friendly playbook insufficient to take on Trump or win elections.
They're challenging Schumer & Gillibrand's leadership, arguing the party is using an old, corporate-friendly playbook insufficient to take on Trump or win elections.
Chuck Schumer Faces Pushback From a ‘Fight Club’ of Senate Democrats
www.nytimes.com
November 25, 2025 at 3:39 AM
Wow — Senators Van Hollen, Smith, Murphy, Sanders, Warren, Markey, Merkley, Heinrich have created an official internal "Fight Club."
They're challenging Schumer & Gillibrand's leadership, arguing the party is using an old, corporate-friendly playbook insufficient to take on Trump or win elections.
They're challenging Schumer & Gillibrand's leadership, arguing the party is using an old, corporate-friendly playbook insufficient to take on Trump or win elections.
Reposted by Howard Lee
Fascinating and timely work on the intrusion that preceded the #HayliGubbi eruption - this will turn out to be a very valuable example for volcanologists!
The #HayliGubbi eruption came after a period of unrest that started in June-July 2025 with a large dike intrusion in the southern sector of the Erta Ale rift. Our InSAR study will be out soon but you can have a summary at the link below. @earth-science.bsky.social #geoscience
Basaltic dike in Erta Ale triggers explosive eruption in Hayli Gubbi. Read our new paper!
www.frontiersin.org/journals/ear...
www.frontiersin.org/journals/ear...
November 25, 2025 at 7:25 AM
Fascinating and timely work on the intrusion that preceded the #HayliGubbi eruption - this will turn out to be a very valuable example for volcanologists!
Reposted by Howard Lee
One of those dazzling sunrises that you just can’t capture in a photo. It’s so much more vivid in real life!!
November 25, 2025 at 11:41 AM
One of those dazzling sunrises that you just can’t capture in a photo. It’s so much more vivid in real life!!
Reposted by Howard Lee
Might be time to activate the Grift Klaxon.
The US Space Force has awarded several sub-$9 million contracts to undisclosed companies to build early prototypes of space-based missile interceptors for Trump’s Golden Dome defence program, Bloomberg reports.
All names kept secret.
The US Space Force has awarded several sub-$9 million contracts to undisclosed companies to build early prototypes of space-based missile interceptors for Trump’s Golden Dome defence program, Bloomberg reports.
All names kept secret.
November 25, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Might be time to activate the Grift Klaxon.
The US Space Force has awarded several sub-$9 million contracts to undisclosed companies to build early prototypes of space-based missile interceptors for Trump’s Golden Dome defence program, Bloomberg reports.
All names kept secret.
The US Space Force has awarded several sub-$9 million contracts to undisclosed companies to build early prototypes of space-based missile interceptors for Trump’s Golden Dome defence program, Bloomberg reports.
All names kept secret.
Reposted by Howard Lee
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
November 25, 2025 at 9:26 AM
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1