David Kirchman
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microbe700.bsky.social
David Kirchman
@microbe700.bsky.social
34 followers 21 following 39 posts
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microbe700.bsky.social
"..this study provides strong evidence that microbial sources, such as those from wetlands, agriculture, and waste, are primarily responsible for the post-2006 methane rise.." but the microbes are being stimulated by global warming.

www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
www.pnas.org
December 17, 2025 at 3:16 PM
microbe700.bsky.social
"Air-Borne reads like a real-world thriller, filled with human ingenuity, persistence, hubris, and arrogance; with pandemics and biological weapons; and, so it seems, with every bad decision under the sun." @carlzimmer.com

inquisitivebiologist.com/2025/07/23/b...
Book review – Air-Borne: The Hidden History of the Life We Breathe
A real-world thriller of hubris, pandemics, and biological weapons, Air-Borne brilliantly tells the complex and multifaceted history of aerobiology.
inquisitivebiologist.com
July 26, 2025 at 10:43 AM
microbe700.bsky.social
This review by the Inquisitive Biologist almost convinced me to get Macfarlene's latest (loved his last book, Underland).

inquisitivebiologist.com/2025/07/04/b...
Book review – Is a River Alive?
Is a River Alive? is a hydrological odyssey into three river systems that sees Macfarlane wrestle with this question and examine its relevance to the nascent Rights of Nature movement.
inquisitivebiologist.com
July 11, 2025 at 12:11 PM
Reposted by David Kirchman
co2ley.bsky.social
💔
climate.noaa.gov NOAA Climate.gov @climate.noaa.gov · Jun 27
Our final updates have been posted to the Climate.gov website, and this will be our final post to our social media channels.
June 27, 2025 at 9:05 PM
microbe700.bsky.social
Bans on plastic bags like in Delaware work. This WaPo article is based on a report just published in Science by Delaware's Kimberly Oremus.

@kimberlyoremus.bsky.social
@washingtonpost.com, @allysonchiu.bsky.social

www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solu...
Plastic bag fees and bans help protect beaches and riverbanks, study finds
But even places with bag policies are seeing a greater prevalence of plastic bags on beaches and riverbanks.
www.washingtonpost.com
June 21, 2025 at 7:54 PM
microbe700.bsky.social
Another useful review by the Inquisitive Biologist about an interesting book.

inquisitivebiologist.com/2025/06/18/b...
Book review – Super Natural: How Life Thrives in Impossible Places
An entertaining romp through life’s outliers, Super Natural explores the extreme conditions under which some organisms not only survive, but often thrive.
inquisitivebiologist.com
June 18, 2025 at 7:44 PM
microbe700.bsky.social
"Ebb plans to use a method called electrochemical ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) to mimic the natural process of ocean alkalisation – in other words, it wants to add huge amounts of alkaline materials to ocean waters..." @climatenews.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/environment/...
A drop in the ocean: does experimental technology hold the key to saving the world’s seas?
Investment is pouring into companies promising to geoengineer a rapid change in the pH of our waters – but critics are concerned at the speed at which unproven methods are being adopted
www.theguardian.com
June 11, 2025 at 11:32 AM
microbe700.bsky.social
Ocean acidification’s “planetary boundary” was crossed about five years ago. @climatenews.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘Ticking timebomb’: sea acidity has reached critical levels, threatening entire ecosystems – study
Ocean acidification has already crossed a crucial threshold for planetary health, scientists say in unexpected finding
www.theguardian.com
June 9, 2025 at 11:55 AM
microbe700.bsky.social
Carbon Brief also reports that EV sales in emerging markets in Asia and Latin America in 2024 rose by 60%

@carbonbrief.org

www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-cle...
Analysis: Clean energy just put China’s CO2 emissions into reverse for first time - Carbon Brief
For the first time, the growth in China’s clean power generation has caused the nation’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to fall despite rapid power demand growth.
www.carbonbrief.org
May 16, 2025 at 4:17 PM
microbe700.bsky.social
"Previous research from Sweden has found men’s spending on goods causes 16% more climate-heating emissions than women’s."

@us.theguardian.com

www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Car use and meat consumption drive emissions gender gap, research suggests
The French study of 15,000 people shows men emit 26% more pollution due to eating red meat and driving more
www.theguardian.com
May 14, 2025 at 5:58 PM
microbe700.bsky.social
"Sunnier, windier days helped propel clean sources past gas and coal in March. " Probably won't last but enjoy the good news for a bit.

www.canarymedia.com/articles/cle...
Chart: In a first, clean power beat fossil fuels on US grid last month
Sunnier, windier days helped propel clean sources past gas and coal in March. It’s a milestone for the U.S. energy transition.
www.canarymedia.com
April 12, 2025 at 11:57 AM
microbe700.bsky.social
"For managed honeybees, a lack of nutrition, poor handling practices and rampant infestation by varroa mites, a type of parasite, and diseases have also taken their toll."

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
US honeybee deaths hit record high as scientists scramble to find main cause
US Department of Agriculture calls in university to help study decline as Trump administration staff cuts sting
www.theguardian.com
March 25, 2025 at 1:10 PM
microbe700.bsky.social
"Two conditions are required for cooperation to evolve. First, the benefits to the individuals involved have to outweigh the costs.... Second, there has to be a way for cheaters to be detected and excluded.."

@oxfordunipress.bsky.social

inquisitivebiologist.com/2025/03/23/b...
Book review – Selfish Genes to Social Beings: A Cooperative History of Life
Selfish Genes to Social Beings relies on a potent combination of human-interest stories, wit, and ingenious metaphors to convince you that cooperation is an important component driving evolution.
inquisitivebiologist.com
March 23, 2025 at 2:03 PM
microbe700.bsky.social
Not all good news, but "..renewables generate 47% of the EU’s electricity in 2024. Coupled with the continent’s nuclear plants... carbon-free generators made 71% of Europe’s electricity last year, while fossil fuels produced 29%."
@canarymedia.com

www.canarymedia.com/articles/cle...
Three years into the Ukraine war, is Europe’s energy system cleaner?
In response to the invasion, Europe mostly ditched Russian fossil fuels and built a cleaner grid. But wholesale decarbonization has proven elusive.
www.canarymedia.com
March 22, 2025 at 1:53 PM
microbe700.bsky.social
This absorbing essay combines history, geology, politics and current environmental science to explore the nutrient pollution carried by the Red River from several US states to Lake Winnipeg and eventually the Arctic.

@theswinerepublic.bsky.social

Seeing Red open.substack.com/pub/riverrac...
Seeing Red
And...what do Abe Lincoln and walleye fishing have in common?
open.substack.com
March 18, 2025 at 1:46 PM
microbe700.bsky.social
"An unprecedented streak of ocean heat since 2023 led some scientists to think that this part of Earth’s system has fundamentally changed in a way that it cannot be reversed on a human timescale."

@washingtonpost.com @kashapatel.bsky.social

www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
Global sea level rose higher than expected last year. Here’s why.
The rate of global sea level rise follows a trend of rapidly increasing rates over the past 30 years.
www.washingtonpost.com
March 14, 2025 at 8:52 PM
microbe700.bsky.social
Recent PNAS study concluded that microplastics are causing "a reduction in photosynthesis of 7 to 12 percent worldwide in plants and algae." As if there weren't enough reasons to reduce especially single-use plastic.

@shannonosaka.bsky.social

www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
How microplastics could be affecting our food supply
It’s a new sign of how the tiny plastic particles are affecting the natural world.
www.washingtonpost.com
March 13, 2025 at 8:04 PM
microbe700.bsky.social
First on the list for avoiding microplastics: drink tap water, not bottled water. "Researchers have found that an average liter of bottled water contains about 240,000 plastic particles.." #plastic @washingtonpost.com

www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solu...
How to eat and drink fewer microplastics
Scientists are finding microplastics throughout the human body. Here are some simple strategies to reduce your exposure.
www.washingtonpost.com
March 6, 2025 at 12:45 AM
microbe700.bsky.social
"The new data revealed a striking spike in marine lead pollution about 2,150 years ago. That’s around the time when... what is now Greece [was] being incorporated into the Roman Republic.." #lead #pollution @eos.org @elisecutts.bsky.social

eos.org/articles/anc...
Ancient Greeks and Romans Laced the Aegean with Lead - Eos
Lead pollution in and around the Aegean Sea dates back to the Bronze Age and shows a strong spike associated with Roman expansion.
eos.org
March 5, 2025 at 2:02 PM
microbe700.bsky.social
"GMOs are likely fine for adults to consume, especially if you minimize ultra-processed foods... For pregnant women and young children, it would be very reasonable to minimize consuming GMOs and ultra-processed foods whenever possible." @washingtonpost.com

www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/202...
Column | Are GMOs bad for your health? Here’s what the science says.
There’s nothing inherently unsafe about genetically modified foods. It’s the potential herbicide exposure that should give you pause.
www.washingtonpost.com
March 4, 2025 at 8:46 PM
microbe700.bsky.social
If not for plants, atmospheric carbon dioxide would be about 30% higher, so any reduction in their carbon consumption is really bad news for the climate. We'll see if this finding is confirmed by others. @theguardian.com

www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
Plants losing appetite for carbon dioxide amid effects of warming climate
Earth’s plants and soils reached peak carbon dioxide sequestration in 2008 but proportion absorbed has been declining since, study finds
www.theguardian.com
February 26, 2025 at 12:57 PM
Reposted by David Kirchman
natureportfolio.nature.com
A study in Nature finds that, since 2000, glaciers have lost between 2% and 39% of their ice regionally and about 5% globally. https://go.nature.com/3Qz4Tj7 🧪
This is figure 1, which shows global glacier mass changes from 2000 to 2023.
February 21, 2025 at 5:37 PM
microbe700.bsky.social
A great piece about (mostly) new agricultural practices that not only save farmers money but help save the planet.

@danamilbank.bsky.social

www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Opinion | After 10,000 years, let’s bury the plow
No-till farming reduces need for fertilizers and pesticides, and promotes soil health and biodiversity.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 21, 2025 at 8:06 PM
microbe700.bsky.social
The Inquisitive Biologist here reviews the second of two recent biographies of Alexander Humboldt. Inquisitive Biologist always has great reviews of books covering ecology, evolution, and many other biological sciences. @princetonupress.bsky.social

inquisitivebiologist.com/2025/02/11/b...
Book review – Alexander von Humboldt: A Concise Biography
This admirably concise biography offers a factual and nuanced picture of Humboldt’s life and work, and critically interrogates previous portrayals.
inquisitivebiologist.com
February 17, 2025 at 1:15 PM