Rebecca McCarthy
@rebeccamccarthy.bsky.social
fellow @grist.org // freelance elsewhere // interviews editor at fullstopmag.bsky.social // [email protected] // rebeccamccarthy.net
Pinned
The Scramble for the Seafloor | Rebecca Egan McCarthy
Since 1779 photosynthesis has been the standard-issue explanation for the continuation of life on earth: plants absorb sunlight, which fuels their
www.nybooks.com
I wrote about the potential legal and insurance issues facing deep sea mining for @nybooks.com
www.nybooks.com/online/2025/...
www.nybooks.com/online/2025/...
December 10, 2025 at 7:10 PM
I wrote about the potential legal and insurance issues facing deep sea mining for @nybooks.com
www.nybooks.com/online/2025/...
www.nybooks.com/online/2025/...
The Scramble for the Seafloor | Rebecca Egan McCarthy
Since 1779 photosynthesis has been the standard-issue explanation for the continuation of life on earth: plants absorb sunlight, which fuels their
www.nybooks.com
December 10, 2025 at 6:34 PM
I wrote about the potential legal and insurance issues facing deep sea mining for @nybooks.com
www.nybooks.com/online/2025/...
www.nybooks.com/online/2025/...
Reposted by Rebecca McCarthy
“It’s not just that we fumbled the ball on the 1-yard line, but then [we] picked it up and ran it into the other end zone,” said @pennfuture.bsky.social President and CEO Patrick McDonnell.
Governor Shapiro Pulled Pennsylvania Out of Regional Carbon Market to Appease Republicans. Critics Say ‘He Got Rolled’ | Some Democrats and environmental advocates argue that the governor has essentially given away the store, reports @rebeccamccarthy.bsky.social for @grist.org.
Governor Shapiro Pulled Pennsylvania Out of Regional Carbon Market to Appease Republicans. Critics Say 'He Got Rolled' - Bucks County Beacon
Some Democrats and environmental advocates argue that the governor has essentially given away the store.
buckscountybeacon.com
December 2, 2025 at 9:18 PM
“It’s not just that we fumbled the ball on the 1-yard line, but then [we] picked it up and ran it into the other end zone,” said @pennfuture.bsky.social President and CEO Patrick McDonnell.
Reposted by Rebecca McCarthy
Governor Shapiro Pulled Pennsylvania Out of Regional Carbon Market to Appease Republicans. Critics Say ‘He Got Rolled’ | Some Democrats and environmental advocates argue that the governor has essentially given away the store, reports @rebeccamccarthy.bsky.social for @grist.org.
Governor Shapiro Pulled Pennsylvania Out of Regional Carbon Market to Appease Republicans. Critics Say 'He Got Rolled' - Bucks County Beacon
Some Democrats and environmental advocates argue that the governor has essentially given away the store.
buckscountybeacon.com
December 2, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Governor Shapiro Pulled Pennsylvania Out of Regional Carbon Market to Appease Republicans. Critics Say ‘He Got Rolled’ | Some Democrats and environmental advocates argue that the governor has essentially given away the store, reports @rebeccamccarthy.bsky.social for @grist.org.
Wrote about Shapiro's awkward exit from a regional climate program, in exchange for basically nothing from state Republicans
grist.org/politics/pen...
grist.org/politics/pen...
Pennsylvania bailed on a carbon market to appease Republicans
Governor Josh Shapiro pulled of the the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative in exchange for a budget. Critics say he “got rolled.”
grist.org
December 2, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Wrote about Shapiro's awkward exit from a regional climate program, in exchange for basically nothing from state Republicans
grist.org/politics/pen...
grist.org/politics/pen...
Reposted by Rebecca McCarthy
“The Trump administration’s disinterest in appointing a permanent director may bode poorly for the agency’s long-term future.”
“This is the third acting FEMA administrator within a year.”
“This is the third acting FEMA administrator within a year.”
FEMA’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year
FEMA’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year
Internal turmoil and delayed aid expose the agency's fragility under Trump.
dlvr.it
November 26, 2025 at 4:43 PM
“The Trump administration’s disinterest in appointing a permanent director may bode poorly for the agency’s long-term future.”
“This is the third acting FEMA administrator within a year.”
“This is the third acting FEMA administrator within a year.”
Reposted by Rebecca McCarthy
Receive up to a $5,000 grant for a climate or environmental reporting project in rural communities. Open to both newsrooms and freelancers. Apply by Dec. 3 https://grist.org/updates/grist-opens-applications-for-new-rural-reporting-grants-on-climate-and-environmental-justice/
grist.org
December 1, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Receive up to a $5,000 grant for a climate or environmental reporting project in rural communities. Open to both newsrooms and freelancers. Apply by Dec. 3 https://grist.org/updates/grist-opens-applications-for-new-rural-reporting-grants-on-climate-and-environmental-justice/
Reposted by Rebecca McCarthy
It's Giving Tuesday
December 2, 2025 at 1:58 PM
It's Giving Tuesday
Reposted by Rebecca McCarthy
the Forever Chemicals administration
“There are some really big loopholes in here to get chemicals through. If you’ve got some friend at the DoD or the Department of Commerce, all you have to do is get that person to send a letter saying, ‘This is a qualifying project.’ There’s no proof involved.” #AI #datacenters #foreverchemicals
The Trump Administration’s Data Center Push Could Open the Door for New Forever Chemicals
The EPA is prioritizing review of new chemicals to be used in data centers. Experts say this could lead to the fast approval of new types of forever chemicals—with limited oversight.
www.wired.com
December 1, 2025 at 3:40 PM
the Forever Chemicals administration
Reposted by Rebecca McCarthy
NYC pledged to raise the bayside shoreline in Edgemere, Queens, after the community was devastated by Hurricane Sandy. The project was planned, funded — and then dropped.
We spoke to residents still living with the risks: “They’re fortifying Manhattan. So where’s the investment for us?”
We spoke to residents still living with the risks: “They’re fortifying Manhattan. So where’s the investment for us?”
Inside New York City's Forgotten Coast
The working class community of Edgemere is among New York City's most flood prone neighborhoods but a decade after officials promised to cut flood risks in the long neglected neighborhood, critics…
www.youtube.com
November 21, 2025 at 9:02 PM
NYC pledged to raise the bayside shoreline in Edgemere, Queens, after the community was devastated by Hurricane Sandy. The project was planned, funded — and then dropped.
We spoke to residents still living with the risks: “They’re fortifying Manhattan. So where’s the investment for us?”
We spoke to residents still living with the risks: “They’re fortifying Manhattan. So where’s the investment for us?”
Reposted by Rebecca McCarthy
Join us for one final meal at Hell Gate's Eric Adams Table of Success. As the Eric Adams era reaches its conclusion, we're gathering everyone who's made it to the bitter end.
You can make your haters your waiters, but you can't escape…The Last Supper.
tableofsuccess.hellgatenyc.com
You can make your haters your waiters, but you can't escape…The Last Supper.
tableofsuccess.hellgatenyc.com
November 17, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Join us for one final meal at Hell Gate's Eric Adams Table of Success. As the Eric Adams era reaches its conclusion, we're gathering everyone who's made it to the bitter end.
You can make your haters your waiters, but you can't escape…The Last Supper.
tableofsuccess.hellgatenyc.com
You can make your haters your waiters, but you can't escape…The Last Supper.
tableofsuccess.hellgatenyc.com
Reposted by Rebecca McCarthy
Stephen A. Smith and other ESPNers partner with obscenely scuzzy mobile casino: defector.com/stephen-a-sm...
Stephen A. Smith And Other ESPNers Partner With Obscenely Scuzzy Mobile Casino | Defector
Earlier this summer, ESPN made the confounding and ultimately disastrous choice to build its NBA Finals broadcasts around the stentorian yowling of Stephen A. Smith, a man who neither knows ball nor…
defector.com
November 7, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Stephen A. Smith and other ESPNers partner with obscenely scuzzy mobile casino: defector.com/stephen-a-sm...
Reposted by Rebecca McCarthy
In New York, a pipeline proposal that just won’t die.
Why some think a “lurid political shakedown” by President Trump will get a pipeline built off Rockaway Beach.
grist.org/politics/new...
#NY #NewYork #Oil #Gas #Politics
Why some think a “lurid political shakedown” by President Trump will get a pipeline built off Rockaway Beach.
grist.org/politics/new...
#NY #NewYork #Oil #Gas #Politics
In New York, a pipeline proposal that just won’t die
Why some think a “lurid political shakedown” by President Trump will get a pipeline built off Rockaway Beach.
grist.org
October 28, 2025 at 10:36 AM
Reposted by Rebecca McCarthy
October 28, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Reposted by Rebecca McCarthy
Contamination incidents, work outages and declining infrastructure have plagued the site, but the lab remains the linchpin in an effort to modernize the nation’s nuclear weapons, shares The New York Times Local Investigations Fellowship.
buff.ly/OmZQS20
buff.ly/OmZQS20
Nuclear arms race tests aging Los Alamos lab - High Country News
Contamination incidents, work outages and declining infrastructure have plagued the site, but the lab remains the linchpin in an effort to modernize the nation’s nuclear weapons.
www.hcn.org
October 28, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Contamination incidents, work outages and declining infrastructure have plagued the site, but the lab remains the linchpin in an effort to modernize the nation’s nuclear weapons, shares The New York Times Local Investigations Fellowship.
buff.ly/OmZQS20
buff.ly/OmZQS20
Reposted by Rebecca McCarthy
📚 What the Floodlight team is reading: Fossil fuel companies say they support the energy transition. But a new report shows that they own less than 2% of renewable energy projects worldwide, @rebeccamccarthy.bsky.social reports for @grist.org:
Fossil fuel companies say they support the energy transition. New numbers suggest otherwise.
A new study shows that fossil fuel companies own less than 2 percent of renewable energy projects worldwide.
grist.org
October 27, 2025 at 9:25 PM
📚 What the Floodlight team is reading: Fossil fuel companies say they support the energy transition. But a new report shows that they own less than 2% of renewable energy projects worldwide, @rebeccamccarthy.bsky.social reports for @grist.org:
Stay tuned! For an updated piece on the deep sea mining landscape coming later this month I think
In August, the Trump administration entered talks with the Cook Islands to begin underwater mining in the area. From the Archives: @rebeccamccarthy.bsky.social reports on the speculators looking to strike it rich on the seafloor.
Deep Sea Rush | Rebecca McCarthy
The question is whether Deep Sea mining, a new extractive industry on the seafloor, is an easy answer to the looming metals shortage, or an oceanic death march.
thebaffler.com
October 15, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Stay tuned! For an updated piece on the deep sea mining landscape coming later this month I think
Wrote about the drama at the country's largest grid operator and the fact that even if data centers don't cause rolling blackouts, they're still likely to blow states' emission goals to hell
grist.org/climate-ener...
grist.org/climate-ener...
As data centers upend electric grids, the largest operator in the US is facing down a revolt from state officials
A coalition of 11 governors has threatened to withdraw from grid operator PJM.
grist.org
October 15, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Wrote about the drama at the country's largest grid operator and the fact that even if data centers don't cause rolling blackouts, they're still likely to blow states' emission goals to hell
grist.org/climate-ener...
grist.org/climate-ener...
Reposted by Rebecca McCarthy
As data centers upend electric grids, the largest operator in the US is facing down a revolt from state officials #Climate
As data centers upend electric grids, the largest operator in the US is facing down a revolt from state officials
A coalition of 11 governors has threatened to withdraw from grid operator PJM.
grist.org
October 15, 2025 at 8:38 AM
As data centers upend electric grids, the largest operator in the US is facing down a revolt from state officials #Climate
Reposted by Rebecca McCarthy
In August, the Trump administration entered talks with the Cook Islands to begin underwater mining in the area. From the Archives: @rebeccamccarthy.bsky.social reports on the speculators looking to strike it rich on the seafloor.
Deep Sea Rush | Rebecca McCarthy
The question is whether Deep Sea mining, a new extractive industry on the seafloor, is an easy answer to the looming metals shortage, or an oceanic death march.
thebaffler.com
October 13, 2025 at 2:06 PM
In August, the Trump administration entered talks with the Cook Islands to begin underwater mining in the area. From the Archives: @rebeccamccarthy.bsky.social reports on the speculators looking to strike it rich on the seafloor.
Pennsylvania really wants to become a tech hub and it’s using hypothetical data centers to keep an obsolete gas plant open
grist.org/justice/nobo...
grist.org/justice/nobo...
Nobody wants this gas plant. Trump is forcing it to stay open.
The Department of Energy says Trump's 'energy emergency' and voracious data centers warrant keeping the plant outside of Philadelphia running.
grist.org
September 5, 2025 at 12:21 PM
Pennsylvania really wants to become a tech hub and it’s using hypothetical data centers to keep an obsolete gas plant open
grist.org/justice/nobo...
grist.org/justice/nobo...
Reposted by Rebecca McCarthy
The Department of Interior has such a wide-ranging set of duties that it’s sometimes referred to in Washington, D.C., as “the department of everything else". It is now also the tip of the spear in the Trump administration’s war on renewables.
How Interior is using environmental laws to suppress renewable energy - High Country News
The Trump administration is turning environmentalists’ legal playbook against them.
buff.ly
September 2, 2025 at 11:00 PM
The Department of Interior has such a wide-ranging set of duties that it’s sometimes referred to in Washington, D.C., as “the department of everything else". It is now also the tip of the spear in the Trump administration’s war on renewables.
