David Appell
davidappell.bsky.social
David Appell
@davidappell.bsky.social
I'm a freelance science writer. I'm good friends, and maintainer, with a cool cat I named Oliver. I love to read words and I love to work with numbers too. http://www.davidappell.com
Reposted by David Appell
Kerry Emanuel: "If somebody asked me 20 years ago what's a boring profession to go into, I might have said insurance. Boy has that turned out to be wrong."

youtu.be/ZrClmskpNVY?...
The Financial Impact of Shifting Hurricanes Patterns in our Changing Climate
Rising climate risks, such as hurricanes along the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts, are putting immense pressure on insurance companies to cover escalating costs. This leaves homeowners and businesses in a precarious situation, teetering on the edge of crisis. Watch this recording of First Street’s webinar to hear from a distinguished panel of experts on hurricane and climate implications. The session will delve into the reasons behind the evolving severity of hurricane patterns, how we can effectively track and measure these changes, and how these increasing climate risks are already leading to significant financial implications for homeowners, businesses, and local economies. The video will cover: - How hurricane patterns have changed over the years and what factors contribute to this change - How to effectively forecast and model future hurricane behaviors and impacts - How increasing climate risk impacts homeowners, local economies, and has national financial implications - The steps regulators and other entities are taking to assess climate risk
youtu.be
June 14, 2024 at 6:24 PM
Consumer Price Index of coffee in US (Jan 2003=100). Up 48% in the last 5 years, up 18% during Trump2's 10 months.

fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=1Pors
100*(Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Coffee in U.S. City Average/145.3)
100*(Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Coffee in U.S. City Average/145.3)
fred.stlouisfed.org
December 28, 2025 at 12:05 AM
Reposted by David Appell
Will you see a white Christmas this year?

For most of the U.S.: Nope. 🫤

Still, here are the historical odds 🎁

(Download your city's data: www.climatecentral.org/graphic/data...)
December 23, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Reposted by David Appell
One of the most highly cited academic articles on the safety of glyphosate has been retracted, eight years after court documents revealed it was ghostwritten by Monsanto retractionwatch.com/2025/12/04/g...
Glyphosate safety article retracted eight years after Monsanto ghostwriting revealed in court
Credit: Mike Mozart/Flickr (CC BY 2.0) A review article concluding the weed killer Roundup “does not pose a health risk to humans” has been retracted eight years after documents released in a court…
retractionwatch.com
December 10, 2025 at 1:36 PM
December 10, 2025 at 4:44 AM
Reposted by David Appell
Wow. BBC journalists are now not even allowed to report the censored line from my Reith Lecture, that Trump is “the most openly corrupt president in American history.”

You can hear how carefully they’re forced to tiptoe around it. So chilling...
November 27, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Source: data via the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) Monthly Energy Review.

www.eia.gov/totalenergy/...
Total Energy Monthly Data - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)
www.eia.gov
November 26, 2025 at 3:52 AM
kW = kilowatts = thousand watts. Down 25% since 1973!
November 26, 2025 at 3:50 AM
TW = terawatts = trillion watts
November 26, 2025 at 3:49 AM
On Sunday night the NY Rangers vs Detroit Red Wings reenacted the Battle of Agincourt, because a Red Wing shot the puck into the Ranger empty net a fraction of a second after the final horn. Not an acceptable act in hockey cuture.
November 18, 2025 at 1:23 AM
Reposted by David Appell
“It is certain, in any case, that ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.”

— James Baldwin
November 17, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Monthly GISS v4 anonalies for GMST, via data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/grap...
November 17, 2025 at 7:50 PM
So far, the average global surface temperature of this decade, starting in 2021, is 1.46°C, according to GISS v4.

data source: data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/tabl...
November 17, 2025 at 7:46 PM
According to NASA GISS v4, the average temperature of Nov25 and Dec25 has to be > 1.05°C for 2025 to be the second-warmest year in their record, which starts in 1880.

That's significantly lower than the year-to-date average of 1.20°C. Average of the last two months is 1.23°C.

Src: bit.ly/43zcdSZ
November 17, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Reposted by David Appell
“The purpose of propaganda is to make one set of people forget that certain other sets of people are human.”

― Aldous Huxley
November 15, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Reposted by David Appell
60 yrs ago today (Nov 5, 1965), the 1st US government report to warn about climate change was published.
"Restoring the Quality of Our Environment" included warning of C02 build-up and sea-level rise/melting ice-caps.

allouryesterdays.info/2025/11/04/6...

1/n
November 4, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Reposted by David Appell
In a rare move, one of the monopoly electric utilities operating in Oregon is asking state regulators for permission to lower residential customer rates in 2026. The reduction, though small at less than 1%, is the result of Idaho Power’s break with coal: oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2025/11/04/a...
An Oregon utility’s break with coal brings customer savings • Oregon Capital Chronicle
While the Trump administration pursues a coal revival, a utility in Oregon is saving money by giving up on the fossil fuel.
oregoncapitalchronicle.com
November 5, 2025 at 10:23 PM
October 18, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Trump's anti-renewable insanity means about 40 GW less wind, solar & battery-generated electricity for US homes in 2030, about 24% of that year's projected household total. One-fourth!

davidappell.blogspot.com/2025/10/chin...
Chinese vs US Wind
Paul Krugman: "In his rambling speech at the United Nations, Donald Trump insisted that China isn’t making use of wind power: 'They use coal...
davidappell.blogspot.com
October 16, 2025 at 12:03 AM
If Trump is really {boo, hiss} going to shut down the Mauna Loa CO2/CH4 daily measurements and ruin the continuity of the Keeling curve, some billionaire should donate whatever is necessary to keep it going and pay the scientist to do that work (equipment+data). Maybe $250 K/yr at most?
October 15, 2025 at 7:56 PM
Reposted by David Appell
Additional ocean warmth #Imelda will encounter as a hurricane in the coming days will increase the storm's projected peak wind speed by ~10mph.

Put simply, Imelda is forecast to reach Category 2 strength; without climate change, it would only peak as a Category 1 storm.
🧵/2
September 30, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Fascism: Words to be avoided or limited in government documents according to the Trump administration:

female, females
women
victim, victims
pollution
climate science
injustice
bias, racism, trauma
race, gender
status (huh?)
disability, disabilities

plus many more.

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
September 26, 2025 at 11:27 PM
RFKJr: what percentage of kids who don’t get the MMR vaccine develop autism?
September 26, 2025 at 3:32 AM
Reposted by David Appell
September 26, 2025 at 1:59 AM