Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Ben Goldfarb

Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 1d

Monstrous.

"federal agents detained nearly every resident of the 130-unit building—including children and babies—placing them in zip ties and separating them by race into vans for more than two hours early Tuesday morning."

Daniel Knowles @dlknowles.bsky.social · 1d

Good reporting on the South Shore raid from South Side weekly here.

Confirms one thing I was told but didn't put in my own piece because I didn't have a second source and it seemed too insane: border agents segregated arrested residents by race

southsideweekly.com/federal-agen...

Federal Agents Storm South Shore Building, Detaining Families and Children

Families were woken by flashbangs and helicopters as hundreds of federal agents raided their homes. Days later, neighbors are still searching for the missing.

southsideweekly.com

32 720 1.5K

Ben Goldfarb @bengoldfarb.bsky.social · 18h

This is the way.

7

Reposted by Ben Goldfarb

Sarah Goodyear @sgoodyear.bsky.social · 1d

This book changed the way I see the world. HIGHLY recommend making Jeff Bezos mad as hell by ordering it through Bookshop.

Ben Goldfarb @bengoldfarb.bsky.social · 1d

Sure why not! Support indies by ordering America’s favorite #roadecology masterpiece through Bookshop and I’ll send ya a free signed bookplate (DM w/ proof of purchase and address). Bezos will be absolutely *furious.*

bookshop.org/p/books/cros...

5 14

Ben Goldfarb @bengoldfarb.bsky.social · 1d

Sure why not! Support indies by ordering America’s favorite #roadecology masterpiece through Bookshop and I’ll send ya a free signed bookplate (DM w/ proof of purchase and address). Bezos will be absolutely *furious.*

bookshop.org/p/books/cros...

1 6 30

Ben Goldfarb @bengoldfarb.bsky.social · 1d

Eighty-five percent participation in a voluntary program to slow down and thus reduce vessel noise is… actually pretty impressive? Probably much higher than the percentage of drivers who stick to the speed limit in, say, Yellowstone. #marineroadecology

www.sierraclub.org/sierra/slow-...

Slow Lanes Help Save a Dwindling Orca Population

Reducing speeds can help killer whales navigate an increasingly louder sea

www.sierraclub.org

1 13 47

Ben Goldfarb @bengoldfarb.bsky.social · 1d

What bird am I holding? Chaffee County, Colorado.

(Flew in through an open door, bumbled about the office a bit before being apprehended, and, after a few minutes of discombobulation and a sip of water, departed seemingly unharmed.)

2 7

Reposted by Ben Goldfarb

David Roberts @volts.wtf · 3d

"Government shouldn't pick winners and losers" goes out the window when they become one of the losers.

Trump launches new bid to save coal

Leaders at DOE, EPA and Interior tossed another lifeline of policy changes and funding to the coal industry.

www.eenews.net

25 88 400

Ben Goldfarb @bengoldfarb.bsky.social · 2d

"Today the consequences of excessive roadbuilding are perfectly foreseeable; it’s the wisdom that remains scarce."

For @bostonglobe.com's Wild Issue, I wrote about Trump's plan to rescind USFS's Roadless Rule, which — spoiler — is a terrible idea. #roadecology

www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/04/o...

A road runs through it - The Boston Globe

America’s wild lands are already home to vast networks of paved and dirt roads. Now the Trump administration is about to expand their reach.

www.bostonglobe.com

1 11 23

Reposted by Ben Goldfarb

Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative @y2y.bsky.social · 2d

Roadless areas are “incredibly important from an ecological standpoint,” says Leslie Weldon, former deputy chief of the US Forest Service and Y2Y board member.

But that's just the start of the impacts if the Roadless Rule is overturned. Read more in this opinion from @bengoldfarb.bsky.social

A road runs through it - The Boston Globe

America’s wild lands are already home to vast networks of paved and dirt roads. Now the Trump administration is about to expand their reach.

www.bostonglobe.com

6 18

Reposted by Ben Goldfarb

Kelli Refer @kellireef.bsky.social · 3d

“The allure of the car is so strong that it has persuaded Americans to treat forty thousand human lives as expendable each year; what chance does wildlife have?” From Crossings by @bengoldfarb.bsky.social

#WeekWithoutDriving

7 30

Reposted by Ben Goldfarb

Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 4d

This is good —the Mayor of Yellowknife NWT in Canada’s far north weighs in on “Car Bloat” (truck bloat actually) and its many big costs & consequences (thanks @davidzipper.bsky.social for heads-up). And like most who dare tell the truth about that, he’s taking flack.
www.linkedin.com/mwlite/feed/...

Screenshot of LinkedIn post from Yellowknife Mayor describing the costs and consequences of trucks having gotten so much bigger. In the link, he explains the backlash he received for his post.

54 240 900

Ben Goldfarb @bengoldfarb.bsky.social · 4d

Appreciated this paragraph on the emotions that motivate conservation, from @nijhuism.bsky.social's newsletter. Agree that love—of place, wildlife, community—is the more powerful force, especially now, when everything seems rather, well, hopeless.

conservationworks.substack.com/p/what-to-do...

2 10 41

Ben Goldfarb @bengoldfarb.bsky.social · 6d

Love this concept (intuitively obvious and profound, not yet empirically demonstrated to my knowledge): that mycorrhizal fungi distribute salmon-derived nutrients throughout forest and thus extend benefits of carcasses. Beautiful idea.

From Lynda Mapes’ THE TREES ARE SPEAKING.

3 3 29

Reposted by Ben Goldfarb

Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 7d

We are thrilled to announce that our NEW Large Language Model will be released on 11.18.25.

650 8.2K 25K

Reposted by Ben Goldfarb

🌿Forrest 𓆝 𓆟 @strayhounds.bsky.social · 7d

I finished Eagar: the surprising, secret life of beavers and why they matter by @bengoldfarb.bsky.social ! What an amazing book, one that makes you long for the soggy landscape of America before colonization. Eager was written with a true love of beavers and their place in the ecosystem, covering --

Book cover reading "eager: the surprising secret life of beavers and why they matter by Ben goldfarb, foreword by Dan flores." The cover is mostly white with a small silhouette of a beaver below the title

4 2 27

Reposted by Ben Goldfarb

Michael Parks @jurassicparks.bsky.social · 8d

What did Frank and Deborah Popper get right and wrong about the Great Plains in their famous Buffalo Commons paper?

(I have thoughts - also interviewed them recently - but curious about others)

knrc.org/Files/MtNRC/...

knrc.org

2 3 8

Ben Goldfarb @bengoldfarb.bsky.social · 8d

As much as MAGA professes to hate soy-boy beta males, Trump’s legacy will ultimately be quadrupling the domestic tofu market 🫡

Sarah Taber @sarahtaber.bsky.social · 8d

US farmers are saying they "just need temporary help, until things get better."

Here's the thing. US farm exports- which are mostly soy- CANNOT get better.

Other countries expanded their soy industries to fill China's demand.

We've walled ourselves out of the global market, folks. This is it.

1 2 22

Ben Goldfarb @bengoldfarb.bsky.social · 8d

thanks, this is cool stuff! reminiscent of all the amazing work (which i think nautilus covered recently) on the importance of older herring in guiding migration.

Ben Goldfarb @bengoldfarb.bsky.social · 8d

Interrupting the rise of authoritarianism with a request: would love to see your favorite papers/resources on life-history diversity in fishes (particularly but not exclusively salmonids). Bring me your weird spawning run timings, your unexpected anadromy, your improbable portfolio effects. Thanks!

a dolphin is jumping out of the water with a netflix logo in the background

ALT: a dolphin is jumping out of the water with a netflix logo in the background

media.tenor.com

4 9 24

Ben Goldfarb @bengoldfarb.bsky.social · 9d

Haven’t seen the trailer but, from deep in the baby cave, I’m assuming that One Battle After Another is a film about parenting an infant.

3 15

Ben Goldfarb @bengoldfarb.bsky.social · 9d

Wright, a longtime fracking exec, probably did more to kill coal than any wine-sipping coastal lib in America. He should be proud — it’s his industry’s greatest accomplishment!

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 9d

Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Fox: "We're announcing today expanded programs to help the American coal industry. We're helping it because for years it has been under assault. It was out of fashion with the chardonnay set in San Francisco, Boulder, and NYC ... coal just makes the world go round."

4 15

Reposted by Ben Goldfarb

David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 10d

5 48 240

Ben Goldfarb @bengoldfarb.bsky.social · 11d

Here in Colorado, aspen fills a number of important roles in beavers’ lives — notably, it’s a source of food, construction material, and aesthetic enhancement for autumnal pond backdrops.

1 11 58

Ben Goldfarb @bengoldfarb.bsky.social · 12d

Whoa, wildlife crossings got the Nathan Pyle treatment! Honestly, given what we know about the social lives of ungulate herds, the complexity of their spatial memories, and the importance of the lead female in dictating behavior, he’s not too far off. #roadecology

1 11 29

Reposted by Ben Goldfarb

Evan Frost @wildwoods.bsky.social · 13d

There is so much in the news cycle these days that the complete dismantling of the Forest Service -- so *our* forests can be auctioned off to Big TImber -- is unfortunately getting little air play. But if this happens, US landscapes may be almost unrecognizable in a decade, and never coming back. 🌍

Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 13d

Using an emergency declaration, Trump’s timber production executive order would ease environmental protections so as to greatly expand logging in the national forests.

A report from our friends at @highcountrynews.org:

The dismantling of the US Forest Service is imminent

The public has less than a week remaining to comment on the administration's plans.

www.motherjones.com

6 220 270