Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Serena Renner @serenarenner.com · Aug 20

“The question is not whether Aboriginal title can exist over fee simple lands, but whether fee simple interests can exist on Aboriginal title lands,” said [Justice] Young. “In my view, the law has evolved, and the answer...is ‘yes.’”

@zoeyunker.bsky.social @thetyee.ca

thetyee.ca/News/2025/08...

Inside Richmond’s Precedent-Setting Cowichan Tribes v. Canada Case | The Tyee

The BC Supreme Court decision affirms Aboriginal title on private lands. What’s next?

thetyee.ca

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The Tyee @thetyee.ca · Aug 7

It’s true the ocean off the Central Coast is some of the richest in the world. But stressors like overfishing and climate change are threatening its productivity and the ways of life that depend on it. @serenarenner.com reports. 🌊

Welcome to the Great Bear Sea | The Tyee

After decades of discord, Canada is working with First Nations to create marine protected areas stretching from Vancouver Island to Alaska.

thetyee.ca

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Craig Welch @craigwelch.bsky.social · Aug 4

Sea stars—26 species—have been dying by the billions from Mexico to Alaska, their arms tearing off, their bodies dissolving, w/huge consequences for the sea.

Experts finally figured out why— and gave @biographic.bsky.social exclusive access.

Can we save them? www.biographic.com/unmasking-th...

Unmasking the Sea Star Killer

After a decade of carnage, we finally know what’s devastating sea stars along North America’s West Coast. Does that mean scientists can save them?

www.biographic.com

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Knowable Magazine @knowablemag.bsky.social · Aug 4

“[The] the mist is lifting, revealing not just the lay of the land (and sea), but the benefits of working together to protect the whole ecosystem.”

👀 On our radar: Uniting to safeguard the Great Bear Sea

✍️ @serenarenner.com @biographic.bsky.social

Welcome to the Great Bear Sea

After decades of discord, Canada and First Nations are working together to build a network of marine protected areas stretching from Vancouver Island to Alaska.

www.biographic.com

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Hakai Institute @hakai.org · Aug 4

After a four-year investigation, a breakthrough study reveals the cause of sea star wasting disease (SSWD). A strain of the bacterium Vibrio pectenicida is the culprit behind the marine epidemic that has killed billions of sea stars since 2013. Read the study: 🔗https://tinyurl.com/4rcb3xpf

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Michael Wara @michaelwara.bsky.social · Jul 31

Important news in the California wildfire world.

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Newsom Seeks $18 Billion for Utilities’ Wildfire Fund as California Faces Future Blazes

California Governor Gavin Newsom is circulating a legislative proposal to shore up a state fund for utilities that’s at risk of being depleted following the deadly wildfires that struck Los Angeles Co...

www.bloomberg.com

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Michael E. Mann @michaelemann.bsky.social · Jul 30

That new usual suspects (Curry, Spencer, Christy, McKitrick, Koonin) Trump EPA climate denier report? (www.energy.gov/sites/defaul...)?

I asked chatGPT to evaluate it. It had no trouble producing a succinct and convincing refutation:

refute this: https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2025-07/DOE_Critical_Review_of_Impacts_of_GHG_Emissions_on_the_US_Climate_July_2025.pdf

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Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · Jul 28

It is an extraordinary loss of intellectual expertise that the American people invested millions in developing

Every scientist who earns a graduate degree in the US is the product of an investment by the public

This is like setting money on fire

Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · Jul 28

4,000 NASA workers are leaving through deferred resignation. "The cuts amount to an estimated 20% of NASA's workforce" www.npr.org/2025/07/26/n...

Nearly 4,000 NASA employees opt to leave agency through deferred resignation program

The employees who have chosen to leave the agency amount to about 20% of NASA's workforce.

www.npr.org

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Climate Desk @climatedesk.org · Jul 24

“The burden of proof is always on First Nations and never on the Canadian government. That’s what needs to shift.”

Welcome to the Great Bear Sea

After decades of discord, Canada and First Nations are working together to build a network of marine protected areas stretching from Vancouver Island to Alaska.

www.biographic.com

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Reposted by Serena Renner

bioGraphic @biographic.bsky.social · Jul 24

First Nations in British Columbia were instrumental in protecting the Great Bear Rainforest from logging. And given the ecological threads connecting everything from the mountaintops to the seafloor, Indigenous elders have long advocated to extend the protections of the rainforest out to sea... 🧵

Welcome to the Great Bear Sea

After decades of discord, Canada and First Nations are working together to build a network of marine protected areas stretching from Vancouver Island to Alaska.

www.biographic.com

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Serena Renner @serenarenner.com · Jul 24

It feels like we're going backward, but there are hopeful projects underway, like the MPA network off the British Columbia coast. If done right, it “could be a real, meaningful model for reconciliation” with First Nations. My latest in @biographic.bsky.social.

www.biographic.com/welcome-to-t...

Welcome to the Great Bear Sea

After decades of discord, Canada and First Nations are working together to build a network of marine protected areas stretching from Vancouver Island to Alaska.

www.biographic.com

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Reposted by Serena Renner

The Tyee @thetyee.ca · Jun 25

Wildfires are making glaciers retreat faster, but not how you might think.

Instead of the heat from the flames melting the glacier, the smoke is darkening the snow and ice. This causes the glacier surface to absorb more energy from the sun and melt faster.

@kristendejager.bsky.social reports. 🗻🔥

How Wildfires Are Speeding the Shrinking of BC’s Glaciers | The Tyee

Researchers with a new study on smoke and the ‘ice albedo effect’ are startled by the quick pace of melting.

thetyee.ca

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Hakai Institute @hakai.org · Jun 27

A study just published in Geophysical Research Letters, led by Hakai Institute scientist and UNBC professor Brian Menounos, reveals that glaciers in western Canada, the US, and Switzerland lost around 12% of their ice between 2021 and 2024. Full press release: 🔗https://tinyurl.com/439yk6vf

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Serena Renner @serenarenner.com · Jun 19

On this Juneteenth and eve of summer, I'm appreciating this poignant @earthislandjournal.bsky.social essay/book adaptation by Hannah Palmer about how the legacy of segregation in the South has meant the privatization of pools and waterways—to the detriment of all. www.earthisland.org/journal/inde...

The American South’s Missing Pools and Lakes

In America, whether we can swim — and whether we have access to water at all — is closely tied to race.

https://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/magazine/entry/the-american-souths-missing-pools-and-lakes##

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Celeste Ng @pronounced-ing.bsky.social · May 10

Keep celebrating the wins. And keep pushing for more.

AGU (American Geophysical Union) @agu.org · May 10

A victory for the federal scientific workforce! We could not stand by while this irreparable harm continues at NSF, NOAA and all our scientific agencies.

TODAY the judge granted our request to temporarily HALT the mass firings at federal agencies under Trump’s Executive Order.

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Hakai Institute @hakai.org · May 9

Congratulations to Tula Communications’ @serenarenner.com for her Best News Coverage nomination in the Canadian Digital Publishing Awards. Her finalist Hakai Magazine feature is about the historic land-back agreement between the Haida Nation and British Columbia. Full story 🔗 tinyurl.com/mpm7ndzn

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Serena Renner @serenarenner.com · May 6

Another HUGE CONGRATS to @judeisabella.bsky.social (along with photographer and videographer Kat Pyne) for TWO nominations in the DPAs for this compelling Hakai Magazine feature about how non-native pink salmon are taking over Norway.

Read the feature here: hakaimagazine.com/features/whe...

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Serena Renner @serenarenner.com · May 6

Thanks Emma!

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Serena Renner @serenarenner.com · May 6

Thanks to @canadamediaawards.bsky.social for nominating my Hakai Magazine story about last year's agreement between the @haidanation.bsky.social and British Columbia recognizing Haida title, or ownership, to the entire archipelago of Haida Gwaii.

Read it here: hakaimagazine.com/news/in-coas...

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National Media Awards Foundation @canadamediaawards.bsky.social · May 6

🌲 In Coastal British Columbia, the Haida Get Their Land Back

@biographic.bsky.social

Finalist – Best News Coverage

At the 2025 Digital Publishing Awards

Congratulations to Serena Renner and Hakai!

🔗 zurl.co/Mr3ho

#DigitalPublishingAwards #DPA25

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Jackie Snow @jackiesnow.bsky.social · Apr 29

If you read this and are so moved, purchases for @dcbookstoprisons.bsky.social are doubled now through May 5. bookshop.org/wishlists/a6...

Los Angeles Review of Books @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social · Apr 29

"What our incarcerated readers demonstrate is that true literary autonomy is about the right to seek what speaks to our individual humanity rather than institutional expectations." @jackiesnow.bsky.social on what she learned about reading from DC Books to Prisons. lareviewofbooks.org/article/read...

Reading Behind Bars, and Beyond Barriers | Los Angeles Review of Books

Jackie Snow reflects on what working for a books-to-prisons nonprofit has taught her about reading.

lareviewofbooks.org

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Serena Renner @serenarenner.com · May 1

Aw, Hakai Magazine's last feature ever—@toughcitywriter.bsky.social's amazing piece about Indigenous first responders—gets a very well-deserved nomination from the @canadamediaawards.bsky.social!

Congratulations Adrienne and @shannabaker.bsky.social (as editor)! 👏

hakaimagazine.com/features/the...

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Serena Renner @serenarenner.com · May 1

Congratulations to the talented @judeisabella.bsky.social for her @canadamediaawards.bsky.social nomination for best feature! 🎉

This entertaining Hakai Magazine story introduces you to the owl next door and asks important questions about coexistence. Read it now! hakaimagazine.com/features/the...

Jude Isabella @judeisabella.bsky.social · May 1

I am so thrilled and honoured. Much thanks to the judges for including my story. Congratulations to all the nominees, and to @evaholland.bsky.social this year's Gala host!

National Media Awards Foundation @canadamediaawards.bsky.social · May 1

🏆 Finalist | Feature Writing | #NMA25
The Owls Who Came From Away

@hakai.org Magazine & @biographic.bsky.social | By @judeisabella.bsky.social

Over the past 80 years, one of the most resilient owls has practically engulfed a continent. Not everyone is pleased.
🔗 zurl.co/oX7fQ

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Jen Howard @jenhoward.bsky.social · Apr 10

Proud of my alma mater’s president for his leadership and resolve in this crisis. He’s setting a great example.

The New York Times @nytimes.com · Apr 9

President Trump has frozen billions of dollars in federal funds in an attempt to rid higher education of what he calls its woke ideology. Our reporter spoke to the president of Princeton University, Christopher L. Eisgruber, who has vowed to fight.

Listen to "The Daily."

The University President Willing to Fight Trump

Christopher L. Eisgruber of Princeton University talks about the administration’s move to freeze billions of dollars in funding to higher education institutions.

www.nytimes.com

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Adam Keiper @adamkeiper.com · Apr 7

Elle is great on sciencey stuff, but I'm so glad she's turned her attention at last to what really matters:

Satan’s Niece @krissychula.bsky.social · Apr 6

This is high art

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