Steve Harrell
@steveharrell.bsky.social
Retired professor, unretired ethnographer, polyglot, part-time climate activist, occasional contrarian. Taiwan, China, and Whatcom County--Post mostly plants, mountains, energy transition. Occasionally political snark.
"the study results are “all over the map,”...“Some say that (dairy) doesn’t harm or help you, some say that it might harm you a little bit, and some say it’s actually very helpful.”
Back to the original Pollan: "Eat food, not too much, mostly [not all] plants.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/w...
Back to the original Pollan: "Eat food, not too much, mostly [not all] plants.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/w...
Is Full-Fat Dairy Healthier?
www.nytimes.com
November 25, 2025 at 3:22 PM
"the study results are “all over the map,”...“Some say that (dairy) doesn’t harm or help you, some say that it might harm you a little bit, and some say it’s actually very helpful.”
Back to the original Pollan: "Eat food, not too much, mostly [not all] plants.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/w...
Back to the original Pollan: "Eat food, not too much, mostly [not all] plants.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/w...
Man the politics are complicated. Extreme fossil fuel boosters and extreme climate worriers (among whom I count myself) are united in opposition to CCS.
www.eenews.net/articles/rep...
www.eenews.net/articles/rep...
Republican split widens as Texas regulator bashes CCS
A growing number of GOP elected officials question the use of carbon capture and storage for oil and gas projects.
www.eenews.net
November 25, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Man the politics are complicated. Extreme fossil fuel boosters and extreme climate worriers (among whom I count myself) are united in opposition to CCS.
www.eenews.net/articles/rep...
www.eenews.net/articles/rep...
A couple of reactions: 1) This may be an illustration of how the market rules...solar power is now so cheap that Trump can't stop it. 2) The EIA is apparently still an independent agency, or it wouldn't publish this. How long?
www.eia.gov/todayinenerg...
www.eia.gov/todayinenerg...
Natural gas use for electricity in California falls as solar generation rises - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)
www.eia.gov
November 25, 2025 at 3:12 PM
A couple of reactions: 1) This may be an illustration of how the market rules...solar power is now so cheap that Trump can't stop it. 2) The EIA is apparently still an independent agency, or it wouldn't publish this. How long?
www.eia.gov/todayinenerg...
www.eia.gov/todayinenerg...
#Bellingham #Forests 2025, Day 328
Salmonberry (Rubus parvifolium) already shows next spring’s buds among the last fall leaves.
Salmonberry (Rubus parvifolium) already shows next spring’s buds among the last fall leaves.
November 25, 2025 at 3:21 AM
#Bellingham #Forests 2025, Day 328
Salmonberry (Rubus parvifolium) already shows next spring’s buds among the last fall leaves.
Salmonberry (Rubus parvifolium) already shows next spring’s buds among the last fall leaves.
Fantastic piece about the problem behind just about every other problem in today’s world. How the Elite Behave When No One Is Watching: Inside the Epstein Emails www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/o...
Opinion | How the Elite Behave When No One Is Watching: Inside the Epstein Emails
www.nytimes.com
November 23, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Fantastic piece about the problem behind just about every other problem in today’s world. How the Elite Behave When No One Is Watching: Inside the Epstein Emails www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/o...
November 22, 2025 at 10:08 AM
November 21, 2025 at 8:58 AM
#Bellingham #Forests 2025, day 323:
In the fall, the third kingdom pops up in random places, as if it were emerging from a hidden fourth dimension.
In the fall, the third kingdom pops up in random places, as if it were emerging from a hidden fourth dimension.
November 20, 2025 at 2:05 AM
#Bellingham #Forests 2025, day 323:
In the fall, the third kingdom pops up in random places, as if it were emerging from a hidden fourth dimension.
In the fall, the third kingdom pops up in random places, as if it were emerging from a hidden fourth dimension.
#Bellingham #Forests 2025, Day 322. Ocean Spray (Holodiscus discolor) certainly is discolored on the fall, but the seeds remaining on the clusters spell F O O D to a flock of hungry bushtits.
November 19, 2025 at 1:19 PM
#Bellingham #Forests 2025, Day 322. Ocean Spray (Holodiscus discolor) certainly is discolored on the fall, but the seeds remaining on the clusters spell F O O D to a flock of hungry bushtits.
November 17, 2025 at 11:16 PM
#Bellingham #Forests 2025, Day 320 or 321, depending on where you are...
Pacific Ninebark (Physocarpus capitatus) leaves turn a strange pale shade of lemon-lime before they fall.
Pacific Ninebark (Physocarpus capitatus) leaves turn a strange pale shade of lemon-lime before they fall.
November 16, 2025 at 11:45 PM
#Bellingham #Forests 2025, Day 320 or 321, depending on where you are...
Pacific Ninebark (Physocarpus capitatus) leaves turn a strange pale shade of lemon-lime before they fall.
Pacific Ninebark (Physocarpus capitatus) leaves turn a strange pale shade of lemon-lime before they fall.
#Bellingham #Forests 2025, Day 319 or 320, depending on where you are. We often overlook it, but Hazel (Corylus) is another native tree/shrub that turns fall color.
November 16, 2025 at 12:49 PM
#Bellingham #Forests 2025, Day 319 or 320, depending on where you are. We often overlook it, but Hazel (Corylus) is another native tree/shrub that turns fall color.
Reposted by Steve Harrell
Dreary if badly needed November rain has set in here in the #PacificNorthwest. It has its charms, but does kinda squelch hiking and gardening (for me, anyhow). Here's a reminder that summer is just around the corner😊 🌱 #wildlife #habitat #gardening
November 14, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Dreary if badly needed November rain has set in here in the #PacificNorthwest. It has its charms, but does kinda squelch hiking and gardening (for me, anyhow). Here's a reminder that summer is just around the corner😊 🌱 #wildlife #habitat #gardening
Reposted by Steve Harrell
Did you know corals time their spawning perfectly with a particular moon phase?
They wait for a few days after a full moon, in the dark of the night before spawning.
Light pollution can have huge consequences for our coral reefs, and with coastal artificial light increasing, it’s a serious issue
They wait for a few days after a full moon, in the dark of the night before spawning.
Light pollution can have huge consequences for our coral reefs, and with coastal artificial light increasing, it’s a serious issue
The Great Barrier Reef is spawning. 🪸 ✨
A phenomenon Sir David Attenborough once described as “one of the greatest of all natural spectacles,” the annual event is a dazzling display presenting hope for bigger, stronger coral reefs. 💙
Here's what spawning looks like👇
A phenomenon Sir David Attenborough once described as “one of the greatest of all natural spectacles,” the annual event is a dazzling display presenting hope for bigger, stronger coral reefs. 💙
Here's what spawning looks like👇
November 13, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Did you know corals time their spawning perfectly with a particular moon phase?
They wait for a few days after a full moon, in the dark of the night before spawning.
Light pollution can have huge consequences for our coral reefs, and with coastal artificial light increasing, it’s a serious issue
They wait for a few days after a full moon, in the dark of the night before spawning.
Light pollution can have huge consequences for our coral reefs, and with coastal artificial light increasing, it’s a serious issue
#Bellingham #Forests 2025, day 318 or 319 (Depending on where you are; I’m posting remotely from Taipei). Was going to post my own pics of this, but @bbharrell.bsky.social’s are better.
Our loaded flowering crabapple (malus 'Adirondack') today. Planted as a small sapling in 2019, and selected because #birds like its fruit. (Not all crabapples are palatable to birds. These need to be sweetened by a hard freeze.) Robins cleaned them off in Jan '24, but nobody ate them in '25. 🌱
November 14, 2025 at 10:06 PM
#Bellingham #Forests 2025, day 318 or 319 (Depending on where you are; I’m posting remotely from Taipei). Was going to post my own pics of this, but @bbharrell.bsky.social’s are better.
#Bellingham #Forests 2025, Day 317:
Red currant (Ribes sanguineum) has one of the shortest dormant periods of any deciduous shrub or tree around here. Leaves still hanging on, and they'll be one of the first to leaf and flower in the spring.
Red currant (Ribes sanguineum) has one of the shortest dormant periods of any deciduous shrub or tree around here. Leaves still hanging on, and they'll be one of the first to leaf and flower in the spring.
November 13, 2025 at 3:57 PM
#Bellingham #Forests 2025, Day 317:
Red currant (Ribes sanguineum) has one of the shortest dormant periods of any deciduous shrub or tree around here. Leaves still hanging on, and they'll be one of the first to leaf and flower in the spring.
Red currant (Ribes sanguineum) has one of the shortest dormant periods of any deciduous shrub or tree around here. Leaves still hanging on, and they'll be one of the first to leaf and flower in the spring.
#Bellingham #Forests 2025, Day 316:
Autumn forest on Galbraith Mountain, from Samish Hill, with Kulshan (Mt. Baker) peeking in the distance.
Autumn forest on Galbraith Mountain, from Samish Hill, with Kulshan (Mt. Baker) peeking in the distance.
November 12, 2025 at 7:33 PM
#Bellingham #Forests 2025, Day 316:
Autumn forest on Galbraith Mountain, from Samish Hill, with Kulshan (Mt. Baker) peeking in the distance.
Autumn forest on Galbraith Mountain, from Samish Hill, with Kulshan (Mt. Baker) peeking in the distance.
Something to ponder:
"What I fear is that people will come to think of language as only what machines can translate, forgetting everything outside that frame. If technology promises to end the language barrier, we should ask: What else will it erase?"
www.theatlantic.com/books/2025/1...
"What I fear is that people will come to think of language as only what machines can translate, forgetting everything outside that frame. If technology promises to end the language barrier, we should ask: What else will it erase?"
www.theatlantic.com/books/2025/1...
The Costs of Instant Translation
AI might soon rob us of the thrill and challenge of cross-cultural conversation.
www.theatlantic.com
November 12, 2025 at 6:05 AM
Something to ponder:
"What I fear is that people will come to think of language as only what machines can translate, forgetting everything outside that frame. If technology promises to end the language barrier, we should ask: What else will it erase?"
www.theatlantic.com/books/2025/1...
"What I fear is that people will come to think of language as only what machines can translate, forgetting everything outside that frame. If technology promises to end the language barrier, we should ask: What else will it erase?"
www.theatlantic.com/books/2025/1...
#Bellingham #Forests 2025, Day 315:
Forest paths get slick with maple leaves this time of year. By spring, they'll pretty much be soil:
Forest paths get slick with maple leaves this time of year. By spring, they'll pretty much be soil:
November 11, 2025 at 11:55 PM
#Bellingham #Forests 2025, Day 315:
Forest paths get slick with maple leaves this time of year. By spring, they'll pretty much be soil:
Forest paths get slick with maple leaves this time of year. By spring, they'll pretty much be soil:
November 10, 2025 at 3:49 PM
#Bellingham #Forests 2025, Day 313:
Last glory of Japanese maple Seiryu 青龍 as leaves start to drop. Last chance to ask why it isn't 紅龍。
Last glory of Japanese maple Seiryu 青龍 as leaves start to drop. Last chance to ask why it isn't 紅龍。
November 9, 2025 at 5:04 PM
#Bellingham #Forests 2025, Day 313:
Last glory of Japanese maple Seiryu 青龍 as leaves start to drop. Last chance to ask why it isn't 紅龍。
Last glory of Japanese maple Seiryu 青龍 as leaves start to drop. Last chance to ask why it isn't 紅龍。
#Bellingham #Forests 2025, Day 312:
Bellingham's urban forests with Canadian Coast Range mountains in the background.
Bellingham's urban forests with Canadian Coast Range mountains in the background.
November 8, 2025 at 6:30 PM
#Bellingham #Forests 2025, Day 312:
Bellingham's urban forests with Canadian Coast Range mountains in the background.
Bellingham's urban forests with Canadian Coast Range mountains in the background.
#Bellingham #Forests 2025, Day 310
Our Japanese Maple Seiryu 青龍 At the height of its glory (a few days ago)
Our Japanese Maple Seiryu 青龍 At the height of its glory (a few days ago)
November 7, 2025 at 7:20 PM
#Bellingham #Forests 2025, Day 310
Our Japanese Maple Seiryu 青龍 At the height of its glory (a few days ago)
Our Japanese Maple Seiryu 青龍 At the height of its glory (a few days ago)
#Bellingham #Forests 2025, Day 309:
Fall is the season of the Third Kingdom. This delicate "snowball" was growing on the sawed-off end of a downed tree that had fallen across a trail.
Fall is the season of the Third Kingdom. This delicate "snowball" was growing on the sawed-off end of a downed tree that had fallen across a trail.
November 6, 2025 at 3:05 PM
#Bellingham #Forests 2025, Day 309:
Fall is the season of the Third Kingdom. This delicate "snowball" was growing on the sawed-off end of a downed tree that had fallen across a trail.
Fall is the season of the Third Kingdom. This delicate "snowball" was growing on the sawed-off end of a downed tree that had fallen across a trail.