Alec Luhn
@alecluhn.com
Environment reporter @NewScientist.com | Kavli, Schmidt & Covering Climate Now winner 🏆 | 2x Emmy nominee | non-beefeater 🐄 | icemushroom.substack.com ✉️
RIP Bob Weir. This was the last song he ever performed, Touch of Grey at the Grateful Dead’s 60th anniversary in San Francisco.
No one knew he had just been diagnosed with cancer.
Jerry Garcia was the sorcerer, & Robert Hunter was the mad poet, but Bob was the heart & soul of the Dead.
No one knew he had just been diagnosed with cancer.
Jerry Garcia was the sorcerer, & Robert Hunter was the mad poet, but Bob was the heart & soul of the Dead.
January 11, 2026 at 10:10 AM
RIP Bob Weir. This was the last song he ever performed, Touch of Grey at the Grateful Dead’s 60th anniversary in San Francisco.
No one knew he had just been diagnosed with cancer.
Jerry Garcia was the sorcerer, & Robert Hunter was the mad poet, but Bob was the heart & soul of the Dead.
No one knew he had just been diagnosed with cancer.
Jerry Garcia was the sorcerer, & Robert Hunter was the mad poet, but Bob was the heart & soul of the Dead.
The Arctic is going to suffer 1.5C of “irreversible” warming even if we reduce global temperatures to preindustrial.
Meaning continued melt of sea ice & the Greenland ice sheet, in the best case.
This is one of several Arctic stories in my latest newsletter: icemushroom.substack.com/p/december-i...
Meaning continued melt of sea ice & the Greenland ice sheet, in the best case.
This is one of several Arctic stories in my latest newsletter: icemushroom.substack.com/p/december-i...
January 6, 2026 at 9:56 AM
The Arctic is going to suffer 1.5C of “irreversible” warming even if we reduce global temperatures to preindustrial.
Meaning continued melt of sea ice & the Greenland ice sheet, in the best case.
This is one of several Arctic stories in my latest newsletter: icemushroom.substack.com/p/december-i...
Meaning continued melt of sea ice & the Greenland ice sheet, in the best case.
This is one of several Arctic stories in my latest newsletter: icemushroom.substack.com/p/december-i...
It’s one of those times when old @theonion.com headlines become newly relevant
January 3, 2026 at 6:20 PM
It’s one of those times when old @theonion.com headlines become newly relevant
Not strategic, not legal, not popular:
January 3, 2026 at 10:10 AM
Not strategic, not legal, not popular:
Under Antarctica, the 1st kite-ski expedition across the white continent doing polar science, has reached the Southern Pole of Inaccessibility.
They are dragging ground penetrating radar a total of 4000km 👏 @drheidisevestre.bsky.social www.underantarctica.com/en
They are dragging ground penetrating radar a total of 4000km 👏 @drheidisevestre.bsky.social www.underantarctica.com/en
December 14, 2025 at 11:01 PM
Under Antarctica, the 1st kite-ski expedition across the white continent doing polar science, has reached the Southern Pole of Inaccessibility.
They are dragging ground penetrating radar a total of 4000km 👏 @drheidisevestre.bsky.social www.underantarctica.com/en
They are dragging ground penetrating radar a total of 4000km 👏 @drheidisevestre.bsky.social www.underantarctica.com/en
Yesterday I was reading about how a type of PFAS (TFA) has been found in cereals in the EU, which is considering designating it toxic to reproduction.
Meanwhile in the US:
Meanwhile in the US:
December 7, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Yesterday I was reading about how a type of PFAS (TFA) has been found in cereals in the EU, which is considering designating it toxic to reproduction.
Meanwhile in the US:
Meanwhile in the US:
Critically endangered Sumatran tigers are doing better than expected in an area in Aceh patrolled by rangers.
Here a mother grooms a male cub. He was photographed 8 months later successfully living on his own.
But we still need more action against poaching. www.newscientist.com/article/2506...
Here a mother grooms a male cub. He was photographed 8 months later successfully living on his own.
But we still need more action against poaching. www.newscientist.com/article/2506...
December 4, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Critically endangered Sumatran tigers are doing better than expected in an area in Aceh patrolled by rangers.
Here a mother grooms a male cub. He was photographed 8 months later successfully living on his own.
But we still need more action against poaching. www.newscientist.com/article/2506...
Here a mother grooms a male cub. He was photographed 8 months later successfully living on his own.
But we still need more action against poaching. www.newscientist.com/article/2506...
Hard to think of a better image of how humanity is heading into climate breakdown
December 1, 2025 at 10:33 AM
Hard to think of a better image of how humanity is heading into climate breakdown
This is why COP is so maddening
November 22, 2025 at 5:27 PM
This is why COP is so maddening
Personal news 🚨: I’ve started a 10-month gig as environment news reporter at New Scientist, the most popular weekly science & tech magazine.
I'm in the office on a mobility scooter as I recover from a broken femur & frostbite on a mountain in Norway this summer—thank you for the messages of support!
I'm in the office on a mobility scooter as I recover from a broken femur & frostbite on a mountain in Norway this summer—thank you for the messages of support!
November 13, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Personal news 🚨: I’ve started a 10-month gig as environment news reporter at New Scientist, the most popular weekly science & tech magazine.
I'm in the office on a mobility scooter as I recover from a broken femur & frostbite on a mountain in Norway this summer—thank you for the messages of support!
I'm in the office on a mobility scooter as I recover from a broken femur & frostbite on a mountain in Norway this summer—thank you for the messages of support!
40+ glaciologists just published a paper calling geoengineering to save the Arctic & Antarctic a dangerous distraction.
But other scientists argue that with ice melting we at least need to research them.
My report about a sea ice thickening experiment in Nunavut, on CBC www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...
But other scientists argue that with ice melting we at least need to research them.
My report about a sea ice thickening experiment in Nunavut, on CBC www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...
October 20, 2025 at 8:13 PM
40+ glaciologists just published a paper calling geoengineering to save the Arctic & Antarctic a dangerous distraction.
But other scientists argue that with ice melting we at least need to research them.
My report about a sea ice thickening experiment in Nunavut, on CBC www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...
But other scientists argue that with ice melting we at least need to research them.
My report about a sea ice thickening experiment in Nunavut, on CBC www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...
Trump’s EPA canceled a $20m grant to fortify the Alaska Native village of Kipnuk against flooding.
Now 121 houses in Kipnuk have been destroyed by flooding, & a total 1,800 people have been evacuated in one of the biggest airlifts in Alaska history. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Now 121 houses in Kipnuk have been destroyed by flooding, & a total 1,800 people have been evacuated in one of the biggest airlifts in Alaska history. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
October 17, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Trump’s EPA canceled a $20m grant to fortify the Alaska Native village of Kipnuk against flooding.
Now 121 houses in Kipnuk have been destroyed by flooding, & a total 1,800 people have been evacuated in one of the biggest airlifts in Alaska history. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Now 121 houses in Kipnuk have been destroyed by flooding, & a total 1,800 people have been evacuated in one of the biggest airlifts in Alaska history. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
The Aletsch glacier, the largest in Europe, has now retreated 1.4 miles.
Mountain glaciers in total lost 450 billion tonnes of ice in 2024. Not good for streams & rivers.
Great photos here: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Mountain glaciers in total lost 450 billion tonnes of ice in 2024. Not good for streams & rivers.
Great photos here: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
October 5, 2025 at 6:32 PM
The Aletsch glacier, the largest in Europe, has now retreated 1.4 miles.
Mountain glaciers in total lost 450 billion tonnes of ice in 2024. Not good for streams & rivers.
Great photos here: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Mountain glaciers in total lost 450 billion tonnes of ice in 2024. Not good for streams & rivers.
Great photos here: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
72% of Americans: “Global warming is happening”
Trump: Global warming is “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world … & I’m really good at predicting things”
Trump: Global warming is “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world … & I’m really good at predicting things”
September 23, 2025 at 6:30 PM
72% of Americans: “Global warming is happening”
Trump: Global warming is “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world … & I’m really good at predicting things”
Trump: Global warming is “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world … & I’m really good at predicting things”
Wildfire smoke now kills more Americans than car crashes—41,000 people per year.
For decades air quality has been improving, but not anymore.
It won't help that the Trump administration is loosening regulations on factory & power plant emissions. www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
For decades air quality has been improving, but not anymore.
It won't help that the Trump administration is loosening regulations on factory & power plant emissions. www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
September 19, 2025 at 8:44 AM
Wildfire smoke now kills more Americans than car crashes—41,000 people per year.
For decades air quality has been improving, but not anymore.
It won't help that the Trump administration is loosening regulations on factory & power plant emissions. www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
For decades air quality has been improving, but not anymore.
It won't help that the Trump administration is loosening regulations on factory & power plant emissions. www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
“A shutdown is an attentional event. It’s an effort to turn the diffuse crisis of Trump’s corrupting of the government into an acute crisis that the media, that the public, will actually pay attention to.” www.nytimes.com/2025/09/07/o...
September 7, 2025 at 1:32 PM
“A shutdown is an attentional event. It’s an effort to turn the diffuse crisis of Trump’s corrupting of the government into an acute crisis that the media, that the public, will actually pay attention to.” www.nytimes.com/2025/09/07/o...
AI consumes large amounts of water, 0.000085 gallons per response in the case of ChatGPT.
But eating a hamburger consumes 7 million times more water www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
But eating a hamburger consumes 7 million times more water www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
August 27, 2025 at 1:51 PM
AI consumes large amounts of water, 0.000085 gallons per response in the case of ChatGPT.
But eating a hamburger consumes 7 million times more water www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
But eating a hamburger consumes 7 million times more water www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
Olivia Campbell-Cavendish announced at @transpridebrighton.bsky.social that the Trans Legal Clinic has raided £70,000 to match JK Rowling’s donation to lawsuit against trans recognition
July 19, 2025 at 12:22 PM
Olivia Campbell-Cavendish announced at @transpridebrighton.bsky.social that the Trans Legal Clinic has raided £70,000 to match JK Rowling’s donation to lawsuit against trans recognition
The heat deaths due to climate change last week are crazy if you think about it.
In London, 171 were killed in 10 days.
That's far more than were killed in homicides in London in all of 2024 (102).
In London, 171 were killed in 10 days.
That's far more than were killed in homicides in London in all of 2024 (102).
July 9, 2025 at 3:42 PM
The heat deaths due to climate change last week are crazy if you think about it.
In London, 171 were killed in 10 days.
That's far more than were killed in homicides in London in all of 2024 (102).
In London, 171 were killed in 10 days.
That's far more than were killed in homicides in London in all of 2024 (102).
The breakthrough is scientists found the climate change impact not only on temperatures but also deaths.
Previous research graphed excess deaths & higher temperatures in Euro cities.
They applied this curve to real-world temperatures & those calculated for a non-warming world to find the death toll
Previous research graphed excess deaths & higher temperatures in Euro cities.
They applied this curve to real-world temperatures & those calculated for a non-warming world to find the death toll
July 9, 2025 at 3:38 PM
The breakthrough is scientists found the climate change impact not only on temperatures but also deaths.
Previous research graphed excess deaths & higher temperatures in Euro cities.
They applied this curve to real-world temperatures & those calculated for a non-warming world to find the death toll
Previous research graphed excess deaths & higher temperatures in Euro cities.
They applied this curve to real-world temperatures & those calculated for a non-warming world to find the death toll
In London, 263 people died in the heatwave, 171 of them because of climate change.
London & other European cities clearly aren't prepared for extreme heat.
While authorities are now giving more warnings, they need to improve response plans & public awareness about the danger
London & other European cities clearly aren't prepared for extreme heat.
While authorities are now giving more warnings, they need to improve response plans & public awareness about the danger
July 9, 2025 at 3:10 PM
In London, 263 people died in the heatwave, 171 of them because of climate change.
London & other European cities clearly aren't prepared for extreme heat.
While authorities are now giving more warnings, they need to improve response plans & public awareness about the danger
London & other European cities clearly aren't prepared for extreme heat.
While authorities are now giving more warnings, they need to improve response plans & public awareness about the danger
In a non-warming world, a heatwave still would have happened last week. But climate change increased the temperatures by 2-4˚C.
"Now, it’s closer to dangerous heat for more people,” especially the elderly, said Ben Clarke @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social
"Now, it’s closer to dangerous heat for more people,” especially the elderly, said Ben Clarke @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social
July 9, 2025 at 3:05 PM
In a non-warming world, a heatwave still would have happened last week. But climate change increased the temperatures by 2-4˚C.
"Now, it’s closer to dangerous heat for more people,” especially the elderly, said Ben Clarke @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social
"Now, it’s closer to dangerous heat for more people,” especially the elderly, said Ben Clarke @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social
Brahim Ait El Hajjam, 47, collapsed while pouring concrete in Bologna, one of >9 people confirmed killed by the European heatwave.
The real number is surely in the hundreds if not thousands. news.sky.com/story/bluesk...
The real number is surely in the hundreds if not thousands. news.sky.com/story/bluesk...
July 3, 2025 at 11:38 AM
Brahim Ait El Hajjam, 47, collapsed while pouring concrete in Bologna, one of >9 people confirmed killed by the European heatwave.
The real number is surely in the hundreds if not thousands. news.sky.com/story/bluesk...
The real number is surely in the hundreds if not thousands. news.sky.com/story/bluesk...
The same light trap in a Costa Rican conservation area in 1984 & 2019 illustrates the disastrous decline in insects. That loss is accelerating due to warming.
“We’re talking about nearly half the tree of life disappearing in one human lifetime.” www.theguardian.com/environment/...
“We’re talking about nearly half the tree of life disappearing in one human lifetime.” www.theguardian.com/environment/...
July 1, 2025 at 4:09 PM
The same light trap in a Costa Rican conservation area in 1984 & 2019 illustrates the disastrous decline in insects. That loss is accelerating due to warming.
“We’re talking about nearly half the tree of life disappearing in one human lifetime.” www.theguardian.com/environment/...
“We’re talking about nearly half the tree of life disappearing in one human lifetime.” www.theguardian.com/environment/...
“Why your big ugly utility bill will get bigger & uglier under President Trump’s big beautiful spending bill”—a beautifully simple explanation here of the cost rises, which will be the biggest in red states @billweircnn.bsky.social
July 1, 2025 at 12:14 PM
“Why your big ugly utility bill will get bigger & uglier under President Trump’s big beautiful spending bill”—a beautifully simple explanation here of the cost rises, which will be the biggest in red states @billweircnn.bsky.social