Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Henri F. Drake

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 4d

Universities are in a tough spot. On the one hand, universities that sign away their futures for the possibility of some short-term gains deserve nothing but contempt, ridicule, and reputational destruction. There is no other hand here.

Matthew Kirschenbaum @mkirschenbaum.bsky.social · 4d

Unless I’m misreading, this short statement actually seems equivocal or at best a placeholder. It does not say they are refusing, and to the contrary seems to hold the door open.

Dear Dartmouth community.
As many of you know, Dartmouth was one of nine universities asked by the White House to give feedback by Oct. 20 on a draft of its "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education."
SHARE THIS f x»
I am deeply committed to Dartmouth's academic mission and values and will always defend our fierce independence.
You have often heard me say that higher education is not perfect and that we can do better. At the same time, we will never compromise our academic freedom and our ability to govern ourselves.
Best,
Sian Leah Beilock
President

3 11 70

Reposted by Henri F. Drake

George Matsumoto @georgeimatsumoto.bsky.social · 4d

🧪📍🌊 🦑🍎 The 2026 Hollings scholarship is now open until 1/31/26. During the U.S. Govt shutdown, the application will remain open, but staff are unavailable to answer questions or provide assistance. Learn more about the program and check out our resources for applicants: lnkd.in/eE2rfbr7

1 14 13

Reposted by Henri F. Drake

AAUP @aaup.org · 11d

Since returning to office, the Trump admin has cut lifesaving federal science programs, medical research &grants.

The AAUP and AFT launched a campaign to halt these cuts and continue the longstanding bipartisan commitment to funding scientific research that saves & improves the lives of Americans.

1 4 9

Reposted by Henri F. Drake

Science Magazine @science.org · 12d

NSF today released instructions for the next round of applicants to its Graduate Research Fellowship Program. A key group—second-year Ph.D. students—is no longer eligible, and students who are still able to apply will face an unusually narrow timeframe. https://scim.ag/3KlQkQk

‘Completely shattered.’ Changes to NSF’s graduate student fellowship spur outcry

The announcement comes months later than usual, leaving many would-be applicants stranded

www.science.org

2 110 140

Reposted by Henri F. Drake

Daniel Bolnick @danielbolnick.bsky.social · 12d

The GRFP announcement from NSF cuts out an entire cohort of 2nd year students from consideration, without warning. This is so deeply unfair that it warrants a formal protest from the scientific community. If someone wants to work with me to craft an open letter and solicit signatures, LMK.

Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · 12d

New: After a long wait, the GRFP solicitation is live! Deadlines have been extended to early November, so applicants have a bit over a month to submit. www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)

www.nsf.gov

9 86 170

Reposted by Henri F. Drake

Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · 12d

New: After a long wait, the GRFP solicitation is live! Deadlines have been extended to early November, so applicants have a bit over a month to submit. www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)

www.nsf.gov

2 110 110

Reposted by Henri F. Drake

Rebecca R Helm @rebeccarhelm.bsky.social · 14d

I get that the news cycle is packed right now, but I just heard from a colleague at the Smithsonian that this is fully a GIANT SQUID BEING EATEN BY A SPERM WHALE and it’s possibly the first ever confirmed video according to a friend at NOAA

10 YEAR OLD ME IS LOSING HER MIND (a thread 🧵)

730 10K 30K

Reposted by Henri F. Drake

AGU (American Geophysical Union) @agu.org · 13d

📢 Submissions are now open for the U.S. Climate Collection, a joint @theAGU + @ametsoc initiative.

This special collection will publish U.S.-focused climate assessment science that’s free to read, ensuring rigorous, accessible science informs decisions for years to come.

🔗 buff.ly/1tHUSLC

2 22 32

Reposted by Henri F. Drake

Rep. Dave Min @congressmin.bsky.social · 15d

In 2009, the EPA found that greenhouse gasses endanger public health, and put in place measures to protect the environment.

Now, Trump’s rolling back these protections, making us less safe, and devastating the environment.

@houseseec.bsky.social and I are demanding he restore these protections.

1 9 14

Henri F. Drake @henrifdrake.bsky.social · 15d

Trump was 24 years old in 1970. Maybe he just hasn't stayed up to date with climate science in the 55 years since...

Zeke Hausfather @hausfath.bsky.social · 15d

Its worth noting that when the first modern climate models were published in 1970 it was hardly clear that there was a warming trend; if anything there had been flat or slightly cooling global temperatures for the past three decades:

2

Reposted by Henri F. Drake

Zeke Hausfather @hausfath.bsky.social · 15d

In a UN speech today, President Trump said that "all of these [climate] predictions were wrong".

Back in 2019 I led a research effort to digitize old climate model projections and assess how well they did. Turns out they got future warming pretty spot on!

17 370 770

Reposted by Henri F. Drake

Ben Sanderson @benmsanderson.bsky.social · 17d

Sorry, but disagree with @hausfath.bsky.social here. You open Pandora's box, you ain't closing it again. We've already seen with Paris that well intentioned international agreements do not translate into physical reality and SRM governance is a much harder problem. Zero is the only safe level. /1

Zeke Hausfather @hausfath.bsky.social · 17d

I have a new @nytimes.com guest essay w/ @davidkeith.bsky.social about sunlight reflection. We note its not a solution for climate change and at best a band aid to treat systems, and suggest if its ever done it should only be to replace the cooling from air pollution today:

Opinion | A Responsible Way to Cool the Planet

A small, carefully scaled geoengineering program could compensate for the loss of cooling as we eliminate sulfur pollution.

www.nytimes.com

12 38 130

Reposted by Henri F. Drake

Bob Kopp @bobkopp.net · 17d

Would be nice to see the enthusiasm for SRM redirected toward methane abatement and urban heat island mitigation, neither of which are “magic bullets” like SRM, but both of which meaningfully complement the temporal and/or spatial scales of decarbonization benefits

3 5 22

Henri F. Drake @henrifdrake.bsky.social · 17d

💯%

Bob Kopp @bobkopp.net · 17d

Indeed they sort of go hand in hand — while many of the “tipping points” folk vehemently argue that they don’t support solar geoengineering, SRM would be a natural response strategy in a world in which there are sharp, identifiable boundaries (“tipping points”) between safety and danger.

1

Henri F. Drake @henrifdrake.bsky.social · 17d

How does one of the most insightful climate scientists, Ray Pierrehumbert, who literally wrote the textbook on the topic, not have more followers?

ClimateBook @climatebook.bsky.social · 17d

Without noticing it particularly, I've found I'm now over 900 followers. Very gratifying. It would be a great Christmas present if I could get to a round 1000 by December! Meanwhile, it's been terrific to have such great engagement and dialogue. My thanks to everybody who had read and responded.

2

Reposted by Henri F. Drake

ClimateDynamics @climatedynamics.bsky.social · 20d

Top Scientists Find Growing Evidence That Greenhouse Gases Are, in Fact, a Danger www.nytimes.com/2025/09/17/c...

Top Scientists Find Growing Evidence That Greenhouse Gases Are, in Fact, a Danger

www.nytimes.com

1 1

Reposted by Henri F. Drake

ClimateBook @climatebook.bsky.social · 22d

I like Adam's work, and wish the department the best, but if I were an early career person thinking of this position, I'd have to ask myself whether given how Columbia disgraced itself by caving in to Trump, there could be any reassurance Columbia would have my back if my climate work irritated him.

Adam Sobel @adamsobel.bsky.social · 22d

We're hiring! We have an open search for an Assistant Professor in physics of the ocean and/or atmosphere in Columbia's Dept. of Earth and Environmental Sciences. Please circulate this information to good candidates, and apply yourself if you are one! Ad & link to apply: apply.interfolio.com/173819

Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio

apply.interfolio.com

1 3

Reposted by Henri F. Drake

Michael Wara @michaelwara.bsky.social · 21d

Tonight I’m going to tell you about a California bill called SB326, authored by Senator Josh Becker and cosponsored by Senators Laird and Stern. This bill is perhaps the most significant wildfire legislation to land on Governor Newsom’s desk this year. I hope he signs it.

2 6 30

Reposted by Henri F. Drake

Abigail Swann, PhD @ecoclimatelab.bsky.social · 23d

Maybe the land carbon sink is weaker than we thought. Big implications: "A lower-than-expected land carbon sink would also imply that the land biosphere may be closer to transitioning from a net carbon sink to a net source than current models predict" Randerson et al. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

The weak land carbon sink hypothesis

Satellite-derived time series of vegetation carbon do not support a strong Northern Hemisphere net land carbon sink.

www.science.org

1 27 80

Reposted by Henri F. Drake

Lyssa Freese @lfreese.bsky.social · 27d

I'm hiring a postdoc to join the Climate, Pollution, and Solutions group at UC Irvine's Earth System Science Department! Flexible start date + research on one of three tracks in climate, pollution, and solutions.

More info on the position and how to apply in the ad here: recruit.ap.uci.edu/JPF09874

Postdoctoral Scholar: Climate, Pollution, and Solutions

University of California, Irvine is hiring. Apply now!

recruit.ap.uci.edu

6 11

Reposted by Henri F. Drake

Bob Kopp @bobkopp.net · Sep 2

The Department of Energy hired five academics to raise doubts about climate change. 85+ climate experts (organized by @andrewdessler.com) reviewed their report. Our conclusion, detailed in 450 pages of analysis: it is biased, full of errors, and not fit to inform policy making.

DOEresponseSite

On July 29, 2025, the Department of Energy (DOE) published a report from its Climate Working Group (CWG). This report features prominently in the EPA's reconsideration of its 2009 Endangerment Finding...

sites.google.com

22 510 1.2K

Reposted by Henri F. Drake

Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · Aug 31

Look at this graph.

The share of national income going to the richest 10 percent was lowest (and share to lower 90 percent highest) when union membership was at its highest. As unions have weakened, inequality has widened.

This is why we must build back union power.

450 6.2K 17K

Reposted by Henri F. Drake

Carlos Moffat @carlosmoffat.com · Aug 29

🌊With the Fall semester upon us, it's time to start thinking about recruiting/applying to grad school for 2026.

If you are a marine scientist looking for a graduate student, I've created a form where you can add your name and other info:

docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Please share widely! (1/2)

Oceanography MS/PhD Positions for Fall 2026

This is an effort to collect the **contact information of potential advisors** for MS/PhD students in Oceanography. Please note that if you answer **you are agreeing to have your contact information...

docs.google.com

1 19 19

Reposted by Henri F. Drake

NASAWATCH @nasawatch.bsky.social · Aug 29

No More Unions Allowed At NASA. Happy Labor Day.
nasawatch.com/personnel-ne... #NASA @NASA

No More Unions Allowed At NASA. Happy Labor Day.

The White House has issued an Executive Order that strips the ability of NASA employees (and employees at other agencies) to organize unions.

nasawatch.com

1 15 19

Reposted by Henri F. Drake

American Meteorological Society @ametsoc.org · Aug 28

New AMS statement outlines five foundational flaws that make the Department of Energy's Climate Synthesis Report "inconsistent with scientific principles and practices."

Read the full statement: https://bit.ly/3UQRC82

The Practice and Assessment of Science: Five Foundational Flaws in the Department of Energy's 2025 Climate Report

Adopted by the Executive Committee of the AMS Council on 27 August 2025

bit.ly

5 83 130