Rivka Fidel, PhD
@rivkafidel.bsky.social
Career track professor teaching #soil and #environmental science in Tucson, Arizona. 🌵
#biochar #biogeochemistry #soilchemistry
Unapologetic feminist scientist 👩🔬 and ally 🌈
Opinions my own
#biochar #biogeochemistry #soilchemistry
Unapologetic feminist scientist 👩🔬 and ally 🌈
Opinions my own
Pinned
Rivka Fidel, PhD
@rivkafidel.bsky.social
· Aug 29
I'm happy to share some newly published #OER from the ISU Digital Press! First up is the 2nd edition of one of our most popular books, Introduction to Soil Science! The new edition welcomes a new author, @rivkafidel.bsky.social along with several improvements & updates:
doi.org/10.31274/isu...
doi.org/10.31274/isu...
Co-authored my first textbook 📚, and it's FREE! 😁
Thank you Abbey, Amber and all of the chapter authors!
#soil #SoilScience #OER #onlinetextbook
Thank you Abbey, Amber and all of the chapter authors!
#soil #SoilScience #OER #onlinetextbook
Reposted by Rivka Fidel, PhD
Ursula is all prairie prairie prairie here but these grasses are indigenous to much of North America and there are so many more native perennial grasses that will ALSO grow these huge root systems! STOP PLANTING INVASIVE EURASIAN GRASSES stop having lawns rewild every inch of your property
There’s a famous chart from the Conservation Research Institute, which demonstrates this. GAZE UPON THESE ROOTS, YE MIGHTY AND DESPAIR.
December 7, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Ursula is all prairie prairie prairie here but these grasses are indigenous to much of North America and there are so many more native perennial grasses that will ALSO grow these huge root systems! STOP PLANTING INVASIVE EURASIAN GRASSES stop having lawns rewild every inch of your property
Reposted by Rivka Fidel, PhD
And now we know that the volume of #Arctic sea ice also dropped to a record low in October (zacklabe.com/archive-2025/).
It's been a historic fall in the #Arctic, which is already a season of rapid climate change. Not good.
It's been a historic fall in the #Arctic, which is already a season of rapid climate change. Not good.
October 2025 was the warmest October on record for the #Arctic. Arctic sea-ice extent is currently the lowest on record for late November. My newest 'climate viz of the month' summarizes some of this latest data: zacklabe.com/climate-viz-...
#ClimateChange #SciComm #OpenScience #OpenData #DataViz
#ClimateChange #SciComm #OpenScience #OpenData #DataViz
Climate Viz of the Month
October 2025 Hi everyone! Instead of designing a new special feature visualization, this next ‘climate viz of the month’ blog will focus on briefly summarizing the recent extremes in th…
zacklabe.com
December 6, 2025 at 4:35 PM
And now we know that the volume of #Arctic sea ice also dropped to a record low in October (zacklabe.com/archive-2025/).
It's been a historic fall in the #Arctic, which is already a season of rapid climate change. Not good.
It's been a historic fall in the #Arctic, which is already a season of rapid climate change. Not good.
Reposted by Rivka Fidel, PhD
Agricultural soil carbon sequestration gets a lot of attention but let’s not forget that the best way to keep carbon in soils is to stop further expansion of agriculture into natural ecosystems.
#WorldSoilDay
#WorldSoilDay
December 6, 2025 at 2:11 AM
Agricultural soil carbon sequestration gets a lot of attention but let’s not forget that the best way to keep carbon in soils is to stop further expansion of agriculture into natural ecosystems.
#WorldSoilDay
#WorldSoilDay
Reposted by Rivka Fidel, PhD
Trump has removed MLK Day and Juneteenth as national holidays for visitors to get free admission to national parks and replaced them with his own birthday.
Trump admin removes MLK Day, Juneteenth from National Parks fee-free days
In place of these days, the Trump administration has opted to celebrate more former presidents' birthdays and Trump's birthday.
www.newsweek.com
December 5, 2025 at 11:03 PM
Trump has removed MLK Day and Juneteenth as national holidays for visitors to get free admission to national parks and replaced them with his own birthday.
Reposted by Rivka Fidel, PhD
Happy World Soil Day!
This year’s theme, Healthy Soils for Healthy Cities, highlights the soils beneath our everyday lives.
Thank you to everyone helping build strong networks and share good soil science.
Explore SSA’s WSD events:
www.soilscienceaustralia.org.au/events
#WorldSoilDay
This year’s theme, Healthy Soils for Healthy Cities, highlights the soils beneath our everyday lives.
Thank you to everyone helping build strong networks and share good soil science.
Explore SSA’s WSD events:
www.soilscienceaustralia.org.au/events
#WorldSoilDay
December 4, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Happy World Soil Day!
This year’s theme, Healthy Soils for Healthy Cities, highlights the soils beneath our everyday lives.
Thank you to everyone helping build strong networks and share good soil science.
Explore SSA’s WSD events:
www.soilscienceaustralia.org.au/events
#WorldSoilDay
This year’s theme, Healthy Soils for Healthy Cities, highlights the soils beneath our everyday lives.
Thank you to everyone helping build strong networks and share good soil science.
Explore SSA’s WSD events:
www.soilscienceaustralia.org.au/events
#WorldSoilDay
Reposted by Rivka Fidel, PhD
WOW! @katharinehayhoe.com gave an amazing keynote at the Calgary Climate Symposium last November. Totally inspirational. Check it out.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Pis...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Pis...
Keynote: Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, Global Chief Scientist of Nature United
YouTube video by City of Calgary
www.youtube.com
December 4, 2025 at 2:45 AM
WOW! @katharinehayhoe.com gave an amazing keynote at the Calgary Climate Symposium last November. Totally inspirational. Check it out.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Pis...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Pis...
Reposted by Rivka Fidel, PhD
interesting tidbit I learned from Dr. Joey Blankenship… soil health indicators are all based on East coast ecosystems … there are NO soil health indicators for arid & semi arid ecosystems despite 60% (and growing) of the worlds food production occurs in arid ecosystems
December 3, 2025 at 11:02 PM
interesting tidbit I learned from Dr. Joey Blankenship… soil health indicators are all based on East coast ecosystems … there are NO soil health indicators for arid & semi arid ecosystems despite 60% (and growing) of the worlds food production occurs in arid ecosystems
Reposted by Rivka Fidel, PhD
Happy to be down in Yuma for this workshop on soil health in arid ecosystems! Did you know that Yuma produces 95% of winter fruits and vegetables? You can thank Yuma for your thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.
December 3, 2025 at 10:58 PM
Happy to be down in Yuma for this workshop on soil health in arid ecosystems! Did you know that Yuma produces 95% of winter fruits and vegetables? You can thank Yuma for your thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.
The #soil didn't lie, it reacted with and obscured the dead stuff per usual #soilscience #archaeology #archaeochemistry #soilchemistry
Mediterranean soils can distort ancient plant oil residues, causing decades of olive oil identifications to be wrong. New experiments show how soil chemistry reshapes archaeological interpretations. #Archaeochemistry #Archaeology #Mediterranean #Science www.anthropology.net/p/when-soil-...
When Soil Lies: How Mediterranean Chemistry Distorted Decades of Ancient Olive Oil Claims
New experimental work shows that archaeologists have been misreading the molecular fingerprints of ancient oils for years, reshaping how we understand food, trade, and daily life
www.anthropology.net
December 2, 2025 at 3:00 AM
The #soil didn't lie, it reacted with and obscured the dead stuff per usual #soilscience #archaeology #archaeochemistry #soilchemistry
Reposted by Rivka Fidel, PhD
The first thing we always did when we were looking for a house in Iowa City was to look at the floodplain maps - at the time Zillow did not provide this info. Not having this as readily accessible will make harder for people who do not know how/where to look for this info to make informed decisions.
Realtors know that, in many parts of the country, if you educate people about climate risk, the housing market will collapse.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/30/c...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/30/c...
Zillow Removes Climate Risk Scores From Home Listings
www.nytimes.com
December 1, 2025 at 4:22 AM
The first thing we always did when we were looking for a house in Iowa City was to look at the floodplain maps - at the time Zillow did not provide this info. Not having this as readily accessible will make harder for people who do not know how/where to look for this info to make informed decisions.
Reposted by Rivka Fidel, PhD
A little pet peeve. It’s not exactly that tropical rainforests have “gone from being allies in the fight against climate breakdown to being part of the problem.” Forests lose carbon when people cut them (or via fire) and gain carbon when trees grow. It’s that the losing is outweighing the gaining.
Africa’s forests transformed from carbon sink to carbon source, study finds
Alarming shift since 2010 means planet’s three main rainforest regions now contribute to climate breakdown
www.theguardian.com
November 28, 2025 at 2:40 PM
A little pet peeve. It’s not exactly that tropical rainforests have “gone from being allies in the fight against climate breakdown to being part of the problem.” Forests lose carbon when people cut them (or via fire) and gain carbon when trees grow. It’s that the losing is outweighing the gaining.
Introduce yourself with 5 animals you've seen in the wild:
Harpy eagle
Sloth
Gila monster
Coyote
Road runner
Harpy eagle
Sloth
Gila monster
Coyote
Road runner
Introduce yourself with 5 animals you've seen in the wild:
Lion
Giraffe
Hippopotamus
Wildebeest
African Elephant
Lion
Giraffe
Hippopotamus
Wildebeest
African Elephant
Introduce yourself with 5 animals you've seen in the wild:
Caribou
Ravens
Seals
Kea
Turkeys
Caribou
Ravens
Seals
Kea
Turkeys
November 28, 2025 at 8:35 PM
Introduce yourself with 5 animals you've seen in the wild:
Harpy eagle
Sloth
Gila monster
Coyote
Road runner
Harpy eagle
Sloth
Gila monster
Coyote
Road runner
Reposted by Rivka Fidel, PhD
And how many witches we’d be burning.
Imagine how scary it’d be if we didn’t know why global temperatures were rising.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
November 27, 2025 at 4:25 PM
And how many witches we’d be burning.
You've just died. The 6th picture in your gallery is what killed you.
...Have I died by Wordle or bad dough??
...Have I died by Wordle or bad dough??
November 27, 2025 at 3:27 AM
You've just died. The 6th picture in your gallery is what killed you.
...Have I died by Wordle or bad dough??
...Have I died by Wordle or bad dough??
Reposted by Rivka Fidel, PhD
How Oregon’s Data Center Boom Is Supercharging a Water Crisis
Amazon has come to the state’s eastern farmland, worsening a water pollution problem that’s been linked to cancer and miscarriages.
Rolling Stone reports in collaboration with @thefern.org: www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
Amazon has come to the state’s eastern farmland, worsening a water pollution problem that’s been linked to cancer and miscarriages.
Rolling Stone reports in collaboration with @thefern.org: www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
November 25, 2025 at 1:27 AM
How Oregon’s Data Center Boom Is Supercharging a Water Crisis
Amazon has come to the state’s eastern farmland, worsening a water pollution problem that’s been linked to cancer and miscarriages.
Rolling Stone reports in collaboration with @thefern.org: www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
Amazon has come to the state’s eastern farmland, worsening a water pollution problem that’s been linked to cancer and miscarriages.
Rolling Stone reports in collaboration with @thefern.org: www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
Reposted by Rivka Fidel, PhD
"$1,000 a month as part of a state program experimenting with giving homeless youths cash payments for two years with no strings attached."
"Of the 117 youths [..] who completed Oregon's two-year pilot program, 91% reported being in stable housing."
#Oregon #USA #Housing #Nonprofit
"Of the 117 youths [..] who completed Oregon's two-year pilot program, 91% reported being in stable housing."
#Oregon #USA #Housing #Nonprofit
Oregon pilot program giving cash to homeless youths sees staggering reduction in homelessness
The state program gave participants $1,000 cash payments each month for two years. At the end of the project's first phase, 91% of participants reported being in stable housing.
www.streetroots.org
November 23, 2025 at 11:10 PM
"$1,000 a month as part of a state program experimenting with giving homeless youths cash payments for two years with no strings attached."
"Of the 117 youths [..] who completed Oregon's two-year pilot program, 91% reported being in stable housing."
#Oregon #USA #Housing #Nonprofit
"Of the 117 youths [..] who completed Oregon's two-year pilot program, 91% reported being in stable housing."
#Oregon #USA #Housing #Nonprofit
Reposted by Rivka Fidel, PhD
not just here to talk up my employer, but it's the *public* universities overall. The idea of universities as leaders of state economic, cultural, and scientific development goes back to Virginia and had a huge impact on the country that Republicans currently seem to want to reverse.
the economic success of the U.S. is significantly built on the land grant universities and in particular their excellent agricultural science tradition.
Really important to stress that the Crown Jewels of the US higher education system were never the Ivies or elite SLACs (other countries have equivalents of these) but the well-funded, large, cheap, and excellently staffed public state university systems bringing high quality education to the masses.
November 24, 2025 at 1:38 AM
not just here to talk up my employer, but it's the *public* universities overall. The idea of universities as leaders of state economic, cultural, and scientific development goes back to Virginia and had a huge impact on the country that Republicans currently seem to want to reverse.
Reposted by Rivka Fidel, PhD
the economic success of the U.S. is significantly built on the land grant universities and in particular their excellent agricultural science tradition.
Really important to stress that the Crown Jewels of the US higher education system were never the Ivies or elite SLACs (other countries have equivalents of these) but the well-funded, large, cheap, and excellently staffed public state university systems bringing high quality education to the masses.
November 23, 2025 at 5:26 PM
the economic success of the U.S. is significantly built on the land grant universities and in particular their excellent agricultural science tradition.
Reposted by Rivka Fidel, PhD
Reposted by Rivka Fidel, PhD
We saw it with big tobacco, we saw it with the fossil fuels industry. When their own internal research showed the harm from their product, the defunded the research and attacked independent researchers coming to the very same conclusions.
#ScienceUnderSiege
#ScienceUnderSiege
Meta halted internal research that purportedly showed (young) people who stopped using Facebook became less depressed and anxious, according to an unredacted legal filing released on Friday. www.cnbc.com/2025/11/23/m...
Meta halted internal research suggesting social media harm, court filing alleges
Meta is alleged to have halted internal research suggesting social media harm, according to court documents.
www.cnbc.com
November 24, 2025 at 1:59 AM
We saw it with big tobacco, we saw it with the fossil fuels industry. When their own internal research showed the harm from their product, the defunded the research and attacked independent researchers coming to the very same conclusions.
#ScienceUnderSiege
#ScienceUnderSiege
Reposted by Rivka Fidel, PhD
Nearly every panel I spoke on this year ended with the same question: "What gives you hope?"
My friends, that question expired years ago. (If you need receipts, my book Saving Us is literally a 300-page answer.)
The real question is: How are you PRACTICING hope?
Because Greta is right ..
My friends, that question expired years ago. (If you need receipts, my book Saving Us is literally a 300-page answer.)
The real question is: How are you PRACTICING hope?
Because Greta is right ..
November 19, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Nearly every panel I spoke on this year ended with the same question: "What gives you hope?"
My friends, that question expired years ago. (If you need receipts, my book Saving Us is literally a 300-page answer.)
The real question is: How are you PRACTICING hope?
Because Greta is right ..
My friends, that question expired years ago. (If you need receipts, my book Saving Us is literally a 300-page answer.)
The real question is: How are you PRACTICING hope?
Because Greta is right ..
Reposted by Rivka Fidel, PhD
just learned we won an award for our blog post about Tom Holland and stormwater management.
remember, when you see an article about stormwater management, you repost it. i don’t make the rules.
remember, when you see an article about stormwater management, you repost it. i don’t make the rules.
What Tom Holland’s historic lip-sync showcase taught us about stormwater management
Grab your umbrella and your tights.
neorsd.medium.com
November 19, 2025 at 12:22 AM
just learned we won an award for our blog post about Tom Holland and stormwater management.
remember, when you see an article about stormwater management, you repost it. i don’t make the rules.
remember, when you see an article about stormwater management, you repost it. i don’t make the rules.
Reposted by Rivka Fidel, PhD
It is genuinely incredible to me how much evidence there is to support investing in the public good and how much animus there is to do this simple, effective thing.
November 18, 2025 at 3:00 AM
It is genuinely incredible to me how much evidence there is to support investing in the public good and how much animus there is to do this simple, effective thing.
Reposted by Rivka Fidel, PhD
Reposted by Rivka Fidel, PhD
NEW: Epstein survivors release the most powerful PSA I have ever seen.
Make this go viral so every member of the House of Representatives sees it.
Make this go viral so every member of the House of Representatives sees it.
November 16, 2025 at 11:43 PM
NEW: Epstein survivors release the most powerful PSA I have ever seen.
Make this go viral so every member of the House of Representatives sees it.
Make this go viral so every member of the House of Representatives sees it.