Steve Harrell
@steveharrell.bsky.social
1.8K followers 1.3K following 1.5K posts
Retired professor, unretired ethnographer, polyglot, part-time climate activist, occasional contrarian. Taiwan, China, and Whatcom County--Post mostly plants, mountains, energy transition. Occasionally political snark.
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
steveharrell.bsky.social
#Bellingham #Forests 2025, Day 282:
At this time of year, the forest floors get carpets, whether of maple or cedar.
steveharrell.bsky.social
#Bellingham #Forests 2025, Day 281: Fall rushes.
steveharrell.bsky.social
#Bellingham #Forests 2025, Day 280:

After the first fall rains, Amanita muscaria (fly agaric) appeared near the Samish Crest Trail:
steveharrell.bsky.social
Populus. The price of non-over-autocorrection is eternal vigilance.
steveharrell.bsky.social
#Belllingham #Forests 2025, Day 279:

A denizen:
steveharrell.bsky.social
#Bellingham #Forests 2025, Day 278:

Reflected lakeshore forest on a calm early fall day.
steveharrell.bsky.social
#Bellinghak #Forests 2025, Day 277:
Peekaboo Lake Padden
steveharrell.bsky.social
#Bellingham #Forests 2025, Day 276:

Signs of early fall. Bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum) is starting to carpet the forest floor with its namesake discards.
steveharrell.bsky.social
#Bellingham #Forestss 2025, Day 275.

Pileated woodpeckers (Dryocopus pileatus) usually peck dead trees. But these appear (from their rectangular-ish) shape to be pileated holes in a live western redcedar (Thuya plicata), which the tree has since healed over.
steveharrell.bsky.social
"Award recipients have 30 days to appeal a termination decision. Some of the projects included in this announcement have already begun that process." Good for some of the award recipients. Any chance? Nah, probably not.
steveharrell.bsky.social
Now that I subscribe to McKibben's newsletter, chances are I'll be reposting it here pretty often. Apologies to others who already get it elsewhere. But the ecumenicism of the headline and the picture is noteworthy.

billmckibben.substack.com/p/a-differen...
A different kind of leader gives a different kind of speech
An afternoon with the Pope
billmckibben.substack.com
steveharrell.bsky.social
Worth watching from Pope Bob/Leo. I, a decidedly non-Catholic, was greatly impressed a decade ago by Pope Francisco's "Laudato Si"

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/30/c...
Near a Garden Where Popes Go to Pray, Leo Plans to Speak on Climate
www.nytimes.com
steveharrell.bsky.social
#Bellingham #Forests 2025, Day 274:

Black Cottonwood (Populous trichocarpa) in its autumn "colors" on a bright day after a rain.
steveharrell.bsky.social
Hardly had to change anything to parody them, since they were already self-parodies. Still, she nailed it. Opening:

PLEASE DROP EVERYTHING YOU ARE DOING TO READ THIS EMAIL AT ATTENTION. THIS IS NOT SPAM AND I AM EXTREMELY SOBER! YOU ARE TOO FAT TO FIGHT WARS!

www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...
If the Urgent Trump-Hegseth Address to the Military Had Been an Email
THIS IS NOT SPAM.
www.theatlantic.com
Reposted by Steve Harrell
greenbalance.bsky.social
🌳 Schatten ist Leben.
Ob Mensch oder Tier – in der Hitze schenkt jeder Baum ein Stück Überleben.
Lasst uns mehr pflanzen, damit Zukunft möglich bleibt. 🌍💚

#GreenBalance #Bäume #Klimaschutz
steveharrell.bsky.social
Big, log-lived, spiny canaries:
"Saguaros, like most desert species, are incredibly resilient, able to withstand years of drought and extreme temperatures. But climate change is pushing even them to their limits, and often past it."
mailchi.mp/insideclimat...
steveharrell.bsky.social
#Bellingham #Forests 2025, Day 273:
One more vine maple. This one overhanging Whatcom Creek:
steveharrell.bsky.social
This is insane. There's a weakening economic case to be made for fossil gas, and a strong political corruption one to be made for petroleum, but coal??? Expensive and toxic, with a tiny political constituency.

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/29/c...
‘Mine, Baby, Mine’: Trump Officials Offer $625 Million to Rescue Coal
www.nytimes.com
steveharrell.bsky.social
#Bellingham #Forests 2025, Day 272:

Looks like it's going to be maples for a while. Who could resist? These in Whatcom Falls Park yesterday:
steveharrell.bsky.social
Better to use it as an adult beverage. In moderation, of course.