Sophie Gilbert
@sophielgilbert.bsky.social
Scientist working to better value and incorporate nature into our decisions. Climate, Biodiversity, Equity, let's do this! Biodiversity lead at Vibrant Planet, Affiliate faculty at U. Idaho.
Reposted by Sophie Gilbert
I was just listening to this and chortling and punching the air with glee, getting me MANY strange looks as I walked to the grocery store. Electrification is exciting, people! I'm not sorry!
Ember’s @kingsmillbond.bsky.social joins @volts.wtf to discuss how the #ElectrotechRevolution is unstoppable ⚡
🎧 Listen here:
https://www.volts.wtf/p/clean-electrification-is-inevitable
🎧 Listen here:
https://www.volts.wtf/p/clean-electrification-is-inevitable
Clean electrification is inevitable
Kingsmill Bond explains why the global march of electrotech has moved beyond the reach of US political interference.
www.volts.wtf
November 25, 2025 at 12:30 AM
I was just listening to this and chortling and punching the air with glee, getting me MANY strange looks as I walked to the grocery store. Electrification is exciting, people! I'm not sorry!
You love to see it!
First Solar just opened a $1.1 billion integrated solar PV manufacturing plant in Louisiana capable of producing 3.5 gigawatts of panels each year. The plant will employ >700 people electrek.co/2025/11/21/f... 🔌💡
First Solar opens a Louisiana factory that’s 11 Superdomes big
First Solar opens a massive $1.1 billion solar factory in Louisiana, adding 3.5 GW of new US capacity and more than 800 well-paid jobs.
electrek.co
November 22, 2025 at 8:28 PM
You love to see it!
Reposted by Sophie Gilbert
It’s widely known (and, I think, pretty uncontroversial) that learning requires effort — specifically, if you don’t have to work at getting the knowledge, it won’t stick.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Relying on ChatGPT to teach you about a topic leaves you with shallower knowledge than Googling and reading about it, according to new research that compared what more than 10,000 people knew after using one method or the other.
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
November 21, 2025 at 12:49 PM
It’s widely known (and, I think, pretty uncontroversial) that learning requires effort — specifically, if you don’t have to work at getting the knowledge, it won’t stick.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Going to show this to my 5-year-old as evidence for brushing his teeth better
November 20, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Going to show this to my 5-year-old as evidence for brushing his teeth better
The mommy-and-me baby earwig update I did not know I needed. But I did.
#Bugsky 🐙🌿 Who wants another baby earwig update? Everyone? Thought so. The babies are now two days old and slightly darker than when they hatched. Mama is guarding them and will stay on the job until their second molt. Btw, in the earlier post, the newly-hatched babies only had--
November 20, 2025 at 8:18 PM
The mommy-and-me baby earwig update I did not know I needed. But I did.
“For some reason, I didn’t expect this many of them to kiss.”
So many species kiss- apes, bugs, fish, you name it. Really interesting work on the evolution of kissing by @matildabrindle.bsky.social and co-authors.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/19/s...
So many species kiss- apes, bugs, fish, you name it. Really interesting work on the evolution of kissing by @matildabrindle.bsky.social and co-authors.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/19/s...
Kissing Has Existed for at Least 16 Million Years, Scientists Say
www.nytimes.com
November 20, 2025 at 8:11 PM
“For some reason, I didn’t expect this many of them to kiss.”
So many species kiss- apes, bugs, fish, you name it. Really interesting work on the evolution of kissing by @matildabrindle.bsky.social and co-authors.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/19/s...
So many species kiss- apes, bugs, fish, you name it. Really interesting work on the evolution of kissing by @matildabrindle.bsky.social and co-authors.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/19/s...
I was just watching The Day After Tomorrow with a geologist and a geophysicist (they were fact-checking it so they could teach it the next day in an undergrad class), and their conclusions were... none of it's wrong, just happens too fast in the movie compared to how long it would really take. 🫣
The latest research confirms AMOC weakening together with a tipping point that is getting closer and closer. Governments are starting to notice with Iceland the first to declare it a national security threat.
drtomharris.substack.com/p/amoc-weake...
#climatechange #amoc #adaptation #tippingpoint
drtomharris.substack.com/p/amoc-weake...
#climatechange #amoc #adaptation #tippingpoint
AMOC weakening declared a national security threat
Iceland has declared the AMOC a national security threat and an existential risk in the coming decades, enabling its Government to prepare for worst-case scenarios. Should we be worried?
drtomharris.substack.com
November 19, 2025 at 8:30 PM
I was just watching The Day After Tomorrow with a geologist and a geophysicist (they were fact-checking it so they could teach it the next day in an undergrad class), and their conclusions were... none of it's wrong, just happens too fast in the movie compared to how long it would really take. 🫣
Reposted by Sophie Gilbert
Why did I only just find out that that there are water striders that live IN (ON!!) THE OPEN OCEAN? 🧪
OCEAN STRIDERS!!
OCEAN STRIDERS!!
Why did only one genus of insects, Halobates, take to the high seas?
Oceans cover over 70% of the earth’s surface and house a dizzying array of organisms, including five species of the peppercorn-sized ocean-skater Halobates, which live exclusively at the ocean surface...
journals.plos.org
November 19, 2025 at 12:24 PM
Why did I only just find out that that there are water striders that live IN (ON!!) THE OPEN OCEAN? 🧪
OCEAN STRIDERS!!
OCEAN STRIDERS!!
Reposted by Sophie Gilbert
Like it or not this technology is here to stay and if you don’t use it you’ll fall behind in your industry
November 16, 2025 at 11:49 PM
Like it or not this technology is here to stay and if you don’t use it you’ll fall behind in your industry
So there is an AI-powered NIMBY app called Objector in the UK that looks for reasons to delay a project and then auto-generates objections. But couldn't this just get turned on its head by YIMBYs to objection-proof a project?
www.objector.ai
www.objector.ai
AI-Powered Planning Objections | Check Grounds for Free & Access Toolkit – Objector.ai
Object to planning applications in the UK with Objector.ai. Check objection grounds for free & create powerful, policy-based objection letters, lobbying videos, and committee speeches in minutes.
www.objector.ai
November 11, 2025 at 10:02 PM
So there is an AI-powered NIMBY app called Objector in the UK that looks for reasons to delay a project and then auto-generates objections. But couldn't this just get turned on its head by YIMBYs to objection-proof a project?
www.objector.ai
www.objector.ai
Wow my heart is filled with loathing
If you're ever upset about the state of US land use policy, just spend 30 seconds reading anything about the UK. Automated NIMBYism!
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
AI-powered nimbyism could grind UK planning system to a halt, experts warn
Tools that help people scan applications and find grounds for objection have potential to hit government’s housebuilding plans
www.theguardian.com
November 11, 2025 at 9:56 PM
Wow my heart is filled with loathing
Reposted by Sophie Gilbert
"More extreme wildfires are headed for New Mexico, tree stress shows." 🔥 wildfiretoday.com/more-extreme...
More extreme wildfires are headed for New Mexico, tree stress shows – Wildfire Today
wildfiretoday.com
November 3, 2025 at 5:05 PM
"More extreme wildfires are headed for New Mexico, tree stress shows." 🔥 wildfiretoday.com/more-extreme...
Great op-ed response to Califorina lethally removing 4 wolves from a pack that killed 87 (!!) cows in just 6 months. We need to learn how to manage conservation success, including abundance of carnivores recovering.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/o...
Opinion | The Reality of Living With Wolves, Bears and Mountain Lions
www.nytimes.com
October 31, 2025 at 4:42 AM
Great op-ed response to Califorina lethally removing 4 wolves from a pack that killed 87 (!!) cows in just 6 months. We need to learn how to manage conservation success, including abundance of carnivores recovering.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/o...
Great thread on what role climate change played in #HurricaneMelissa, and the importance of getting the nuance in this story right.
So, I hate to be this guy, but as the director of Yale’s new program on attribution science (!?), uh, most of the commentary on Bluesky about Hurricane Melissa and climate change has been… not quite right
October 31, 2025 at 3:38 AM
Great thread on what role climate change played in #HurricaneMelissa, and the importance of getting the nuance in this story right.
I've been hearing about Rainmaker a bit recently, great article here on what's actually possible re: cloud seeding
As part of @technologyreview.com's big new package on conspiracy theories, I went long on weather modification — what's possible, what's not, what's happening and where, and why people will probably always find ways to blame weather disasters on shady forces:
Why it’s so hard to bust the weather control conspiracy theory
From effective rain-enhancing technology to a long, secretive history of trying to weaponize storms, there’s fertile ground for misinformation.
www.technologyreview.com
October 30, 2025 at 10:31 PM
I've been hearing about Rainmaker a bit recently, great article here on what's actually possible re: cloud seeding
"You can put solar panels on anything that stands still long enough"- my favorite quote from this amazing solar thread!!!
48. Floating solar, agrivoltaics, balcony solar: yes you can put solar panels on anything that stands still long enough. With lightweight encapsulant, you can also put them on something that moves.
The decision comes down to: will the solar panels get in the way, or get broken by normal activities?
The decision comes down to: will the solar panels get in the way, or get broken by normal activities?
October 20, 2025 at 10:25 PM
"You can put solar panels on anything that stands still long enough"- my favorite quote from this amazing solar thread!!!
My organization is hiring a new position, State Policy Manager (multi-state, not just Montana, to be clear!).
www.perc.org/careers/stat...
www.perc.org/careers/stat...
Career opportunity: State Policy Manager
PERC is hiring a State Policy Manager to shape conservation policy in favor of innovative, market-oriented solution.
www.perc.org
October 14, 2025 at 10:05 PM
My organization is hiring a new position, State Policy Manager (multi-state, not just Montana, to be clear!).
www.perc.org/careers/stat...
www.perc.org/careers/stat...
Perfect summary
New World!
~50% of global auto sales will be EV by 2030
~52% of global electricity will be renewables (43%) & nuclear (9%)
Petrostate politicos freakout, as Age of Fossil Fuels is ending.
But not fast enough to prevent major temperature rise & growing climate risks. #energysky
~50% of global auto sales will be EV by 2030
~52% of global electricity will be renewables (43%) & nuclear (9%)
Petrostate politicos freakout, as Age of Fossil Fuels is ending.
But not fast enough to prevent major temperature rise & growing climate risks. #energysky
October 14, 2025 at 2:06 AM
Perfect summary
Reposted by Sophie Gilbert
The global whaling industry experienced a boom c. 1840-1950 as technology allowed whalers to hunt the Southern Ocean around Antarctica.
Under standard models, we would have expected krill populations to have *exploded*.
Instead, they DROPPED exponentially.
Let's talk about the KRILL PARADOX.
Under standard models, we would have expected krill populations to have *exploded*.
Instead, they DROPPED exponentially.
Let's talk about the KRILL PARADOX.
October 9, 2025 at 1:03 PM
The global whaling industry experienced a boom c. 1840-1950 as technology allowed whalers to hunt the Southern Ocean around Antarctica.
Under standard models, we would have expected krill populations to have *exploded*.
Instead, they DROPPED exponentially.
Let's talk about the KRILL PARADOX.
Under standard models, we would have expected krill populations to have *exploded*.
Instead, they DROPPED exponentially.
Let's talk about the KRILL PARADOX.
It feels like the "asset theory of everything (climate)" really explains this pattern well...Europe and US have way more powerful climate-forcing asset owners flexing their power www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
October 8, 2025 at 10:17 PM
It feels like the "asset theory of everything (climate)" really explains this pattern well...Europe and US have way more powerful climate-forcing asset owners flexing their power www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
NIMBY / YIMBY / Abundance Bro
Applied ecologist / Field ecologist / Ecological modeler
October 8, 2025 at 10:12 PM
NIMBY / YIMBY / Abundance Bro
If you care about affordability, you should care about climate... and vice versa. #PoliciesOfPlenty #GreenSky #EnergySky
"The average American born in 2024 will likely face up to $500K in additional lifetime costs from climate crisis"
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
"The average American born in 2024 will likely face up to $500K in additional lifetime costs from climate crisis"
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
‘Hidden costs’ of climate emergency are worsening California’s affordability crisis – report
University of California, Berkeley, study found that those who experience severe effects will see upto a $1m in costs
www.theguardian.com
September 26, 2025 at 6:29 PM
If you care about affordability, you should care about climate... and vice versa. #PoliciesOfPlenty #GreenSky #EnergySky
"The average American born in 2024 will likely face up to $500K in additional lifetime costs from climate crisis"
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
"The average American born in 2024 will likely face up to $500K in additional lifetime costs from climate crisis"
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Very cool science 🧪 leadership role at @schmidtsciences.bsky.social for somebody working on carbon cycle stuff. Based in NYC. #GreenSky
jobs.lever.co/schmidt-enti...
jobs.lever.co/schmidt-enti...
jobs - Program Scientist
Schmidt Sciences is a nonprofit organization founded in 2024 by Eric and Wendy Schmidt that works to accelerate scientific knowledge and breakthroughs with the most promising, advanced tools to suppor...
jobs.lever.co
September 26, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Very cool science 🧪 leadership role at @schmidtsciences.bsky.social for somebody working on carbon cycle stuff. Based in NYC. #GreenSky
jobs.lever.co/schmidt-enti...
jobs.lever.co/schmidt-enti...