Mike Dettinger
@mdettinger.bsky.social
Water/environ/climate news & my own calculations when relevant, from CarsonCity (Wá∙šiw land), NV. Retired USGS & now p/t @CW3EScripps scientist
Letters by my name: PhD.UCLA F.AGU F.AAAS M.NAE; www.mdettinger.com
Letters by my name: PhD.UCLA F.AGU F.AAAS M.NAE; www.mdettinger.com
@cw3eScripps is now accepting applications for its Summer 2026 undergraduate internship program! Paid & lodging provided, to work with world class weather, water, climate scientists in La Jolla, CA!
cw3e.ucsd.edu/cw3e-interns...
cw3e.ucsd.edu/cw3e-interns...
November 26, 2025 at 12:08 AM
@cw3eScripps is now accepting applications for its Summer 2026 undergraduate internship program! Paid & lodging provided, to work with world class weather, water, climate scientists in La Jolla, CA!
cw3e.ucsd.edu/cw3e-interns...
cw3e.ucsd.edu/cw3e-interns...
Tehran is cutting water pressure 12-5 am. “If it doesn’t rain in Tehran by late November, we’ll…[formally] ration water,” Iran’s president said. “And if it still doesn’t rain, we’ll have to evacuate.” Drought & long-term sanctions have major reservoirs nr dry.
www.motherjones.com/environment/...
www.motherjones.com/environment/...
Iran's capital must relocate due to dire water situation, president insists
Tehran's troubles are a red flag for thirsty cities around the globe.
www.motherjones.com
November 23, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Tehran is cutting water pressure 12-5 am. “If it doesn’t rain in Tehran by late November, we’ll…[formally] ration water,” Iran’s president said. “And if it still doesn’t rain, we’ll have to evacuate.” Drought & long-term sanctions have major reservoirs nr dry.
www.motherjones.com/environment/...
www.motherjones.com/environment/...
Bottom line on COP: Not good…Offering no new plans to cut fossil fuels, the UN’s climate conference failed to produce a roadmap to stop global warming.
insideclimatenews.org/news/2211202...
insideclimatenews.org/news/2211202...
COP30 Backpedals on Climate Action - Inside Climate News
BELÉM, Brazil—After negotiators at COP30 retreated from meaningful climate action by failing to specifically mention the need to stop using fossil fuels in the final conference documents published Sat...
insideclimatenews.org
November 23, 2025 at 2:31 AM
Bottom line on COP: Not good…Offering no new plans to cut fossil fuels, the UN’s climate conference failed to produce a roadmap to stop global warming.
insideclimatenews.org/news/2211202...
insideclimatenews.org/news/2211202...
World population projections revisited by the Economist…worth the listen on several fronts. (Dont let the dramatic headline put you off.)
youtu.be/YFHdV7waWbc?...
youtu.be/YFHdV7waWbc?...
Why the world’s population is heading for collapse
YouTube video by The Economist
youtu.be
November 22, 2025 at 4:16 PM
World population projections revisited by the Economist…worth the listen on several fronts. (Dont let the dramatic headline put you off.)
youtu.be/YFHdV7waWbc?...
youtu.be/YFHdV7waWbc?...
After 3 decades of work by Alameda Creek Alliance (& others), chinook salmon make it 20 miles upstream from San Francisco Bay, farther than ever since the 1950s!
www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...
www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...
‘Epic’: Salmon seen far upstream in Bay Area creek for first time in 70 years
After the removal of small dams and the addition of fish ladders, salmon have been seen swimming further up a Bay Area creek than at anytime since the 1950s.
www.sfchronicle.com
November 22, 2025 at 3:49 PM
After 3 decades of work by Alameda Creek Alliance (& others), chinook salmon make it 20 miles upstream from San Francisco Bay, farther than ever since the 1950s!
www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...
www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...
Big Beautiful Bill strikes again. Some college majors will no longer be considered “professional” & so find financial options limited:
Nursing
Physician assistants
Physical therapists
Audiologists
Architects
Accountants
Educators
Social workers
www.newsweek.com/full-list-de...
Nursing
Physician assistants
Physical therapists
Audiologists
Architects
Accountants
Educators
Social workers
www.newsweek.com/full-list-de...
Full list of degrees not classed as ‘professional’ by Trump admin
Certain students may no longer receive the same loan for their studies as what counts as "professional" will determine how much they get.
www.newsweek.com
November 22, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Big Beautiful Bill strikes again. Some college majors will no longer be considered “professional” & so find financial options limited:
Nursing
Physician assistants
Physical therapists
Audiologists
Architects
Accountants
Educators
Social workers
www.newsweek.com/full-list-de...
Nursing
Physician assistants
Physical therapists
Audiologists
Architects
Accountants
Educators
Social workers
www.newsweek.com/full-list-de...
Well, before I start drinking heavily this Friday, I point you towards this description of the plight green orgs are facing in Russia now…
I can picture this coming here if White House has its way much longer. 🥺🥃
www.dw.com/en/why-russi...
I can picture this coming here if White House has its way much longer. 🥺🥃
www.dw.com/en/why-russi...
Why Russia's environmental activists are going underground – DW – 11/21/2025
Russians still protest environmental causes. But most of the country's climate change organizations have been banned and activists have been persecuted. At the same time, Russia is setting up authorit...
www.dw.com
November 22, 2025 at 12:01 AM
Well, before I start drinking heavily this Friday, I point you towards this description of the plight green orgs are facing in Russia now…
I can picture this coming here if White House has its way much longer. 🥺🥃
www.dw.com/en/why-russi...
I can picture this coming here if White House has its way much longer. 🥺🥃
www.dw.com/en/why-russi...
11-15% of the human mortalities during the 2021 heat waves in British Columbia are attributable to the enhancement of the event by climate change.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Forecast attribution reveals enhanced heat mortality from climate change in British Columbia heatwave
Forecast attribution shows the unseen mortality extremes during British Columbia 2021 heatwave and shifts due to climate change.
www.science.org
November 21, 2025 at 5:55 PM
11-15% of the human mortalities during the 2021 heat waves in British Columbia are attributable to the enhancement of the event by climate change.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Tesla is giving Elon a new $1T/10 yrs pay package. The combined paychecks of all 3.2 million cashiers in US will ~ equal Musk’s new compensation. Musk will make $3 billion more per year than the 1.4 million elementary school teachers in the U.S. combined.
www.washingtonpost.com/technology/i...
www.washingtonpost.com/technology/i...
Elon Musk is set to make more than every U.S. elementary teacher combined
See how Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s new payment package compares with other occupations in the United States.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 21, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Tesla is giving Elon a new $1T/10 yrs pay package. The combined paychecks of all 3.2 million cashiers in US will ~ equal Musk’s new compensation. Musk will make $3 billion more per year than the 1.4 million elementary school teachers in the U.S. combined.
www.washingtonpost.com/technology/i...
www.washingtonpost.com/technology/i...
Reposted by Mike Dettinger
An interesting snippet of information...
Electricity generation from coal in India has dropped in the first 10 months of 2025, with renewables covering for all the growth in electricity use.
Noting, growth in electricity use is rather low...
More figures: robbieandrew.github.io/india/
Electricity generation from coal in India has dropped in the first 10 months of 2025, with renewables covering for all the growth in electricity use.
Noting, growth in electricity use is rather low...
More figures: robbieandrew.github.io/india/
November 20, 2025 at 11:39 AM
An interesting snippet of information...
Electricity generation from coal in India has dropped in the first 10 months of 2025, with renewables covering for all the growth in electricity use.
Noting, growth in electricity use is rather low...
More figures: robbieandrew.github.io/india/
Electricity generation from coal in India has dropped in the first 10 months of 2025, with renewables covering for all the growth in electricity use.
Noting, growth in electricity use is rather low...
More figures: robbieandrew.github.io/india/
Australian frog species richness remains stable in burnt areas after a fire, but is significantly lower in flooded areas after floods. Whats going on?
www.australiangeographic.com.au/nature-wildl...
www.australiangeographic.com.au/nature-wildl...
Frogs can fare worse in floods than bushfires - Australian Geographic
Frogs need water. But new research into how bushfires and floods impact them finds they can have too much of a good thing.
www.australiangeographic.com.au
November 20, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Australian frog species richness remains stable in burnt areas after a fire, but is significantly lower in flooded areas after floods. Whats going on?
www.australiangeographic.com.au/nature-wildl...
www.australiangeographic.com.au/nature-wildl...
Alert: California Chamber of Commerce has filed a ballot measure proposal for measure that wd adjust Calif Environmental Quality Act reviews to expedite approval of “essential” projects, incl “essential water projects,” w likely dire results for our rivers
www.headwatersonline.org/the-river-ad...
www.headwatersonline.org/the-river-ad...
Coming to a Supermarket Entrance Near You — Headwaters Magazine
The California Chamber of Commerce drops a bombshell voter initiative proposal to, in part, streamline and expedite environmental reviews of nearly any water project. If passed, the news will be bad f...
www.headwatersonline.org
November 20, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Alert: California Chamber of Commerce has filed a ballot measure proposal for measure that wd adjust Calif Environmental Quality Act reviews to expedite approval of “essential” projects, incl “essential water projects,” w likely dire results for our rivers
www.headwatersonline.org/the-river-ad...
www.headwatersonline.org/the-river-ad...
New research shows potential for airborne (or satellite) multispectral imagery to be used to map abundance & diversity of soil microbes—& thus soil health—over vast areas using close ties between plants & soil life.
phys.org/news/2025-11...
Why should we care?
www.euronews.com/green/2025/1...
phys.org/news/2025-11...
Why should we care?
www.euronews.com/green/2025/1...
November 20, 2025 at 3:02 PM
New research shows potential for airborne (or satellite) multispectral imagery to be used to map abundance & diversity of soil microbes—& thus soil health—over vast areas using close ties between plants & soil life.
phys.org/news/2025-11...
Why should we care?
www.euronews.com/green/2025/1...
phys.org/news/2025-11...
Why should we care?
www.euronews.com/green/2025/1...
November 18, 2025 at 11:41 PM
“China’s [current leadership re climate] is not attributable to international summits or moralistic browbeatings but to hard-boiled self-interest. Clean energy from sun & wind is the cheapest energy anywhere, & clean tech produced in mass is affordable everywhere.”
www.thenation.com/article/envi...
www.thenation.com/article/envi...
China Is Now the World’s Climate Champion
The news out of COP30 does not engender much hope, but China’s embrace of renewable energy shows that climate protection makes smart economic sense.
www.thenation.com
November 18, 2025 at 11:33 PM
“China’s [current leadership re climate] is not attributable to international summits or moralistic browbeatings but to hard-boiled self-interest. Clean energy from sun & wind is the cheapest energy anywhere, & clean tech produced in mass is affordable everywhere.”
www.thenation.com/article/envi...
www.thenation.com/article/envi...
What can the nations that recognize the threat of climate change do in face of Trump’s climate recidivism? Use his own tactics against him. The global community might agree to communal tariffs on nations that fail to reduce their emissions.
www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...
www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...
Contributor: U.S. rejection of climate science is a call to action for the rest of the world
The international community could agree to a universal tariff that would be imposed on nations that fail to cut greenhouse emissions by a specified amount.
www.latimes.com
November 18, 2025 at 3:01 PM
What can the nations that recognize the threat of climate change do in face of Trump’s climate recidivism? Use his own tactics against him. The global community might agree to communal tariffs on nations that fail to reduce their emissions.
www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...
www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...
Survey shows that a projected outcome described negatively, e.g. as “unlikely”, is interpreted as being based on less scientific evidence/consensus than when same quantitative info is framed positively, e.g. it “has a small possibility of happening.”
www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2025/11/how-...
www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2025/11/how-...
How subtle word choices can undermine a scientific climate message
Researchers found that framing uncertain events in negative terms such as “unlikely” could sow confusion about climate science
www.anthropocenemagazine.org
November 18, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Survey shows that a projected outcome described negatively, e.g. as “unlikely”, is interpreted as being based on less scientific evidence/consensus than when same quantitative info is framed positively, e.g. it “has a small possibility of happening.”
www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2025/11/how-...
www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2025/11/how-...
This enhancement is ok but as someone living in mtns I wish some developer wd put out a Maps-ish app accounting for extra give & take of power assoc’d with driving up & down mountain topography as it updates how many more miles my EV has before needing a charge.
www.thecooldown.com/green-tech/g...
www.thecooldown.com/green-tech/g...
Google Maps launches incredible feature to help solve frustrating EV driving issue: 'Clearly a step in the right direction'
Google and Electrify America have teamed up to provide electric vehicle drivers with real-time data about their charging options.
www.thecooldown.com
November 16, 2025 at 2:18 PM
This enhancement is ok but as someone living in mtns I wish some developer wd put out a Maps-ish app accounting for extra give & take of power assoc’d with driving up & down mountain topography as it updates how many more miles my EV has before needing a charge.
www.thecooldown.com/green-tech/g...
www.thecooldown.com/green-tech/g...
Reposted by Mike Dettinger
The idea of an ‘emerald necklace’ was also a central part of Melanie Winter’s vision for the watershed: creating room for the river and forming a network of parklands in the heart of L.A.
“The opportunity to do the right thing here is phenomenal,” she said last year. www.latimes.com/environment/...
“The opportunity to do the right thing here is phenomenal,” she said last year. www.latimes.com/environment/...
An L.A. River champion offers a vision for reimagining the waterway — and the city's future
Melanie Winter has long advocated for change along the L.A. River. As she undergoes cancer treatment, she remains focused on healing L.A.’s relationship to water.
www.latimes.com
November 16, 2025 at 1:30 AM
The idea of an ‘emerald necklace’ was also a central part of Melanie Winter’s vision for the watershed: creating room for the river and forming a network of parklands in the heart of L.A.
“The opportunity to do the right thing here is phenomenal,” she said last year. www.latimes.com/environment/...
“The opportunity to do the right thing here is phenomenal,” she said last year. www.latimes.com/environment/...
This elk-hide chart at the Field Museum in Chicago is a unique portrayal of the stars among Indigenous works in North America.
www.earth.com/news/ancient...
www.earth.com/news/ancient...
Ancient star chart that maps North American skies continues to baffle scientists
An ancient Skiri Pawnee star map on elk skin reopens the debate about its true function and challenges Western interpretations.
www.earth.com
November 15, 2025 at 2:24 PM
This elk-hide chart at the Field Museum in Chicago is a unique portrayal of the stars among Indigenous works in North America.
www.earth.com/news/ancient...
www.earth.com/news/ancient...
@Quantamagazine article on mixing changes in deep temperate lakes and some ecological impacts (e.g. deoxygenation), today. Why? Sudeep Chandra documented stratification increases (less mixing) in 84% of 189 lakes globally. Some lakes stopped mixing altogether.
www.quantamagazine.org/mixing-is-th...
www.quantamagazine.org/mixing-is-th...
November 14, 2025 at 4:59 PM
@Quantamagazine article on mixing changes in deep temperate lakes and some ecological impacts (e.g. deoxygenation), today. Why? Sudeep Chandra documented stratification increases (less mixing) in 84% of 189 lakes globally. Some lakes stopped mixing altogether.
www.quantamagazine.org/mixing-is-th...
www.quantamagazine.org/mixing-is-th...
Damn good and readable summary of the dismantling of US capacity of recognize and react to the next pandemic, in Science today.
AS DANIEL DEFOE wrote in 1722, it is “the common Temper of Mankind” to “forget the Deliverance [from plague], when the Danger is past.”
www.science.org/content/arti...
AS DANIEL DEFOE wrote in 1722, it is “the common Temper of Mankind” to “forget the Deliverance [from plague], when the Danger is past.”
www.science.org/content/arti...
November 14, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Damn good and readable summary of the dismantling of US capacity of recognize and react to the next pandemic, in Science today.
AS DANIEL DEFOE wrote in 1722, it is “the common Temper of Mankind” to “forget the Deliverance [from plague], when the Danger is past.”
www.science.org/content/arti...
AS DANIEL DEFOE wrote in 1722, it is “the common Temper of Mankind” to “forget the Deliverance [from plague], when the Danger is past.”
www.science.org/content/arti...
Study of ~23K human-wildlife conflict reports in California (2017-2023) shows prolonged precip drought is associated with increased overall conflict occurrences across taxa and is especially associated with increased conflict w/carnivore species.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
November 14, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Study of ~23K human-wildlife conflict reports in California (2017-2023) shows prolonged precip drought is associated with increased overall conflict occurrences across taxa and is especially associated with increased conflict w/carnivore species.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
This yr's Atmospheric River Reconn Program (led by @CW3EScripps & Corps of Engineers) will be Northern Hemisphere in reach, w/"normal" complement of flights & in situ obs spanning NPacific/Western NAmerica, joined by missions from Ireland, Labrador & far NW Territory!
cw3e.ucsd.edu/cw3e-hosts-t...
cw3e.ucsd.edu/cw3e-hosts-t...
November 13, 2025 at 6:51 PM
This yr's Atmospheric River Reconn Program (led by @CW3EScripps & Corps of Engineers) will be Northern Hemisphere in reach, w/"normal" complement of flights & in situ obs spanning NPacific/Western NAmerica, joined by missions from Ireland, Labrador & far NW Territory!
cw3e.ucsd.edu/cw3e-hosts-t...
cw3e.ucsd.edu/cw3e-hosts-t...
Having “fixed” (in the “spayed” sense) our modern health system, apparently RFK Jr has still other targets in mind.
I’m not a proponent of cloud seeding, but the thought of RFK and DC politicians deciding to involve themselves is just nightmare material.
www.notus.org/climate-envi...
I’m not a proponent of cloud seeding, but the thought of RFK and DC politicians deciding to involve themselves is just nightmare material.
www.notus.org/climate-envi...
RFK Jr. Is Taking Aim at Weather Modification. States Like Utah Say They Need It.
Weather modification practices like cloud seeding have become a target of conspiracy theories and political attacks. A different story is playing out in the American West.
www.notus.org
November 13, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Having “fixed” (in the “spayed” sense) our modern health system, apparently RFK Jr has still other targets in mind.
I’m not a proponent of cloud seeding, but the thought of RFK and DC politicians deciding to involve themselves is just nightmare material.
www.notus.org/climate-envi...
I’m not a proponent of cloud seeding, but the thought of RFK and DC politicians deciding to involve themselves is just nightmare material.
www.notus.org/climate-envi...