Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Ross Macfarlane

@rossmacfarlane.bsky.social

7.8K followers 1.9K following 1.8K posts

Advocate for climate action, clean energy & democracy. Likes to play outside. Director with Sierra Club Foundation and Clean Energy Transition Institute and recently Director and Vice President with Sierra Club.

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Ross Macfarlane @rossmacfarlane.bsky.social · Apr 25

I wrote a piece for Earth Week about the need to keep bringing focus to the need for climate action at this time we are all being overloaded with issues that are appropriately demanding our attention. Appreciate any thoughts and sharing with anyone you think might be interested.

Don’t Look Away: The Climate Crisis Demands Our Attention

We live in a time of crisis overload. President Trump and his team are following his advisor Steve Bannon’s strategy to “flood the zone…

medium.com

2 15 47

Ross Macfarlane @rossmacfarlane.bsky.social · 2h

News flash: Portland is definitely not a "hellhole" but it is still lovably weird

The Oregonian @oregonian.com · 3h

Things are happening at Portland's ICE facility tonight.

Read more of our protest coverage here: www.oregonlive.com/crime/2025/1...

1 10

Ross Macfarlane @rossmacfarlane.bsky.social · 10h

I'm joining the march on October 18 in Seattle to reject authoritarianism and strongman politics. Hope you find your closest event and join, too.

No Kings, No Crowns, No Thrones. We're taking back our country! #NoKings app.sosha.ai/s/a6htd3fC

Find an Event Near You

app.sosha.ai

2 5 11

Reposted by Ross Macfarlane

Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 11h

Immigrants have been awarded 40% of the Nobel Prizes won by Americans in chemistry, medicine and physics since 2000. nfap.com/research/new...

22 200 610

Ross Macfarlane @rossmacfarlane.bsky.social · 11h

💯 %. The climate crisis is a policy failure, not something that can be solved by individual actions. Putting the onus on consumers when the system is built to benefit wealthy corporate executives and investors is just the wrong place to focus. sure do what you can, but demand and vote for change

Alex Barron @alexrbarron.bsky.social · 14h

This post buries the lede: "Push for what you can't control alone. Vote for leaders who support climate-smart investments; demand action from those already in power; sign petitions; and join collective campaigns that drive change at scale."

WRI Climate @wriclimate.bsky.social · 14h

🌍 80% of people worldwide want stronger #ClimateAction.

But not all choices are equal. WRI Climate research ranks 19 ways to help the climate, showing which actions make the biggest impact.

Explore the list: bit.ly/4q0pWvC

4 14

Ross Macfarlane @rossmacfarlane.bsky.social · 14h

Sad to see @sammyroth.bsky.social leave the @latimes.com. He has been one of the top climate and energy reporters in the country. Excited to hear what he is doing next.
link.latimes.com/view/6532a80...

Los Angeles Times

link.latimes.com

1 3

Ross Macfarlane @rossmacfarlane.bsky.social · 15h

We won't back down.
www.sierraclub.org/press-releas...

Ross Macfarlane @rossmacfarlane.bsky.social · 15h

Fossil Fuel executive says the quiet part out loud: "supply leads demand. You put more supply on the market and more demand gets created".

Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 20h

Please enjoy this executive at one of America's biggest gas companies openly admitting that expanding supply leads to increased demand for fossil fuels

He is not wrong: frantic expansion of fossil fuel supply worsens climate change. Tax it, cut subsidies, wind it down

www.ft.com/content/5ba8...

Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email licensing@ft.com to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found at https://www.ft.com/tour.
https://www.ft.com/content/5ba8caec-61d3-4aa9-a877-9b200ef4b5b0

Will Jordan, chief legal and policy officer at EQT, a leading US gas producer, also thought that any glut would be temporary, and said US demand was also rising on the boom in power-hungry artificial intelligence data centres.

Recommended

Oil & Gas industry
BP’s new chair signals more asset sales and demands faster restructuring

“Supply leads demand — you put the supply on the market and demand gets created.,” he said. “Over the long term we’re very bullish.”

2 10 20

Reposted by Ross Macfarlane

Popehat Agitates And Irritates @kenwhite.bsky.social · 1d

OK. It's going to be coming out soon because of the relentless investigations of Pam Bondi and Kash Patel, so I might as well admit it before the news breaks:

I am the General Counsel of Antifa.

380 1.1K 8.8K

Ross Macfarlane @rossmacfarlane.bsky.social · 1d

I will take "things you are not supposed to say out loud" for $500, Alex.

Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 1d

From Donald Trump's Roundtable on Antifa just now —
"Antifa has been around in various iterations for almost 100 years in some instances, going back to the Weimar Republic in Germany."
— special guest Jack Posobiec

1 1 4

Reposted by Ross Macfarlane

David Roberts @volts.wtf · 1d

Combustion is the past, electricity is the future, pass it on.

11 100 530

Ross Macfarlane @rossmacfarlane.bsky.social · 1d

Trump's goons are crossing a Rubicon with lawless acts and brutality.
www.thebulwark.com/p/emergency-...

3 7

Ross Macfarlane @rossmacfarlane.bsky.social · 1d

With the Trump Admin bashing renewables and boosting fossil fuels, most folks would assume that the smart money is going into oil and gas stocks. The investment returns tell a very different story, with green funds doubling the performance of fossil funds.

Green funds double performance of oil assets in Q3, defying Trump

Despite cuts, data center thirst for energy lifts renewables again

www.callawayclimateinsights.com

1 22 53

Reposted by Ross Macfarlane

Kat Abughazaleh @katmabu.bsky.social · 1d

I can’t believe I have to say this, but historically, masked men who kidnap families in the middle of the night are usually not the good guys.

890 7.8K 30K

Ross Macfarlane @rossmacfarlane.bsky.social · 1d

Again, not only more corruption but a disaster for the environment, wildlife, and native communities. @sierraclub.org
www.sierraclub.org/press-releas...

Sierra Club Statement on Trump’s Advancement of Controversial Ambler Road

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, Donald Trump signed an executive order to advance a controversial proposal backed by mining companies to construct a road across more than 200 miles of Alaska wilderness.

www.sierraclub.org

Ross Macfarlane @rossmacfarlane.bsky.social · 1d

Trump's decision to approve the Ambler mining road cutting across Alaska wilderness and critical habitat is not only an environmental disaster, it created a $70 million windfall for one of his biggest donors. @juddlegum.bsky.social @popular.info 1/

Trump approves mining road, delivers $70 million windfall to MAGA billionaire

On April 6, 2024, a procession of Range Rovers, Aston Martins, and Bentleys rolled up to the Palm Beach mansion of billionaire John Paulson. The occasion was a glitzy fundraiser for Donald Trump’s pre...

popular.info

1 7 12

Ross Macfarlane @rossmacfarlane.bsky.social · 1d

Proud to serve on the Board of the Sierra Club Foundation. Here's our annual report for last year for anyone who's interested.

static.sierraclub.org/foundation/a...

Sierra Club Foundation Annual Report

static.sierraclub.org

Ross Macfarlane @rossmacfarlane.bsky.social · 1d

Good piece from @billmckibben.bsky.social (as always) celebrating this milestone and focusing on why we need to keep pushing harder. billmckibben.substack.com/p/something-...

Something extraordinary just happened

But of course there's a but. Or two.

billmckibben.substack.com

Ross Macfarlane @rossmacfarlane.bsky.social · 1d

You hate to see it. Republicans in disarray over Government shutdown. @politico.com

www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

Trump's off-script comments cause shutdown headaches for GOP

President Donald Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune are straining to project a united front against Democrats.

www.politico.com

1 1

Ross Macfarlane @rossmacfarlane.bsky.social · 1d

"We need coal-fired power generation because wind and solar are unreliable" .... oh, wait!
@ieefa-northamerica.bsky.social
ieefa.org/resources/ne...

Newest big U.S. coal-plant offline until 2027

The newest major coal-fired power plant in the U.S. is expected to be offline until March 2027 after a major failure in April.

ieefa.org

2 4

Reposted by Ross Macfarlane

The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 2d

CNN: “An older couple making $85K/year will see their yearly insurance premiums jump from $7K to $25,000 — 30% of their income.” 😳#TrumpShutdown #TrumpHealthCareTax

This is what Dems are drawing attention to and want fixed. Now, not later.

520 7.4K 15K

Ross Macfarlane @rossmacfarlane.bsky.social · 1d

Ain't science cool? -- Nobel Prize in chemistry goes to 3 scientists who have developed unique molecular structures they liken to "Hermione's Handbag" that may be useful in capturing CO2, PFAs, water or other molecules. www.npr.org/2025/10/08/g...

Research on metal-organic frameworks gets the chemistry Nobel Prize

From capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere or sucking water out of dry desert air, the trio's new form of molecular architecture can absorb and contain gases inside metal organic frameworks.

www.npr.org

Ross Macfarlane @rossmacfarlane.bsky.social · 2d

Important analysis from @politico.com fact-checking the false claims that renewable energy is responsible for higher energy bills. Bottom line: "States that embrace renewable energy are far more likely to save money for electricity consumers than those relying on fossil fuels or nuclear power."

The government’s own data rebuts Trump’s claims about wind and solar prices

The Trump administration has targeted renewable energy for driving up electricity prices, but POLITICO’s analysis shows states that are growing their wind and solar power typically have lower power co...

www.politico.com

1 10 29

Ross Macfarlane @rossmacfarlane.bsky.social · 2d

This analysis is consistent with a recent study from @theicct.org which found that CO2 reductions alone won't solve aviation's climate problems and that contrail avoidance can be done quickly and cheaply. 2/
theicct.org/pr-greenhous...

Greenhouse gas controls alone won’t align aviation with the Paris Agreement - International Council on Clean Transportation

New ICCT study finds that short-lived climate pollutant controls could enable climate-neutral growth in aviation.

theicct.org

Ross Macfarlane @rossmacfarlane.bsky.social · 2d

Intriguing piece on cost-effective solutions for Aviation's contrail problem. Critical to cut CO2 emissions from flying, but contrails are also an important driver of global warming, with easier near-term fixes.1/ @hannahritchie.bsky.social www.sustainabilitybynumbers.com/p/eliminatin...

Eliminating contrails from flying could be incredibly cheap

Could we halve aviation's climate impact at a fraction of the cost of sustainable aviation fuels?

www.sustainabilitybynumbers.com

1 1 4

Ross Macfarlane @rossmacfarlane.bsky.social · 2d

Major milestone: global energy production from renewables surpasses coal for the first time. @ember-energy.org @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Global renewable energy generation surpasses coal for first time

Record solar expansion and steady wind growth driving world’s shift away from fossil fuels in 2025, report finds

www.theguardian.com

1 7 7