S. W. Lawrence, MD
@swlawrence.bsky.social
Writer of climate fiction or cli-fi. But my work is preapocalyptic and optimistic, unlike most works in this space.
YaleClimateConnections: “Jeffrey Epstein, climate change doubter,” Note that the accompanying photo was ‘unofficially installed’ in UK back in July. Recently the U.S. House Oversight Committee released more than 20,000 documents from the Epstein estate, including thousands of his emails.
November 30, 2025 at 6:13 PM
YaleClimateConnections: “Jeffrey Epstein, climate change doubter,” Note that the accompanying photo was ‘unofficially installed’ in UK back in July. Recently the U.S. House Oversight Committee released more than 20,000 documents from the Epstein estate, including thousands of his emails.
ACEEE: “Study: New Heat Pump Type Is Lowest-Cost Decarbonization Option for Big Apartment Buildings.” Report from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) “recommends that, in most cases, building owners seeking to decarbonize should consider these heat pumps.
![Apartment building needing upgrade. Heat pumps along with mini-split + central air-to-water heat pumps, with the best choice often based on building-specific characteristics.” The window heat pump straddles the window sill, leaving most of the view outside unobstructed, plugs into a standard 120-volt outlet, uses variable-speed compressors providing consistent temperatures + reducing on/off cycling—and it is quiet.
‘The study analyzed upfront costs + operating costs over 24 yrs, finding that window heat pumps are the least expensive decarbonization option, costing an average of…$14,500 per apartment for purchase and operation…[while] central air-to-water heat pumps cost an average not quite $22,000 per apartment, + mini-split heat pumps come in at just over $25,000.’ Key in our warming world is that heat pump cooling is available during hot summers.
“About 23 M U.S. homes are in existing multifamily buildings with 5 or more units…ACEEE’s new report focused on the 36% of those apartments that are served by central heating.” For ‘decarbonization of large apartment buildings, the report calls on policymakers + regulators to expand support for energy efficiency measures like improving insulation and other building envelope upgrades.’ Accompanying policies facilitating the transition comprise ‘electric rates that encourage heat pumps based on the cost of service, additional financial incentives for electrification + efficiency measures, plus putting a price on carbon emissions to reflect the damage from fossil fuel combustion + help pay for heat pump incentives.’ Efficiency measures trump all: faster, easier, cheaper + typically permanent. This is just as cool an idea as the balcony solar I posted about recently—as long as you have 2 windows, at least 1 facing south.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:nnq2reoe4aaiyhhtsofqmdrz/bafkreiad2kvinkwvnvsebf6fmuid7emglmj24d554m6lcwlemnlbpqcdkm@jpeg)
November 29, 2025 at 8:12 PM
ACEEE: “Study: New Heat Pump Type Is Lowest-Cost Decarbonization Option for Big Apartment Buildings.” Report from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) “recommends that, in most cases, building owners seeking to decarbonize should consider these heat pumps.
CanaryMedia: “Chart: Solar and wind are meeting—and exceeding—new power demand.” In the third quarter of this yr the world added more wind + solar production [not just capacity] of electricity than the increase in demand.
![Renewables supply outstripping demand globally. According to data from energy research firm Ember, power demand rose by 603 terawatt-hours [TWh] compared to that same time period last year, while solar increased by 498 TWh + wind generation grew by 137 TWh. As a consequence scary to the fossil fuel folks, their contribution [mainly methane gas] dropped by 17 TWh.
“It’s unclear whether this flatlining marks the beginning of the end for fossil-fueled electricity or whether it’s just a pause before another surge in dirty power.” Common consensus is that the world’s appetite for electricity will expand rapidly in the coming years, as the International Energy Agency expects power demand to rise by a staggering 40% over the next decade. “The planet is warming and driving increased use of air conditioning. AI developers are building massive power-hungry data centers. Cars, homes, and factories [including steel + aluminum smelting] are being electrified.”
To actually decarbonize, ‘carbon-free energy needs to not only keep pace with electricity demand but far outrun it.’ Sadly, it’s almost not worth extrapolating to long-term forecasts about the growth of clean energy, given how inaccurate they’ve been in the past, + the IEA in particular has proven inept in this regard. Just sayin’.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:nnq2reoe4aaiyhhtsofqmdrz/bafkreidysxb6d5u7lvahys6iwed6llevdh7bvd4lvma2h7tdignhunwheq@jpeg)
November 28, 2025 at 3:50 PM
CanaryMedia: “Chart: Solar and wind are meeting—and exceeding—new power demand.” In the third quarter of this yr the world added more wind + solar production [not just capacity] of electricity than the increase in demand.
YaleClimateConnections: “U.S. dams, levees, stormwater, and wastewater systems get D to D+ grades, need almost $1 trillion in upgrades.”
![Overtopping dam. In Michigan, May of 2020, heavy rains from a 1-in-200-year rainstorm destroyed two 96-year-old dams, the Edenville Dam and Sanford Dam, and damaged 4 other dams, causing $250 M in damage. In Minnesota, June of 2024, the 115-yr-old Rapidan Dam, which had gone through several rounds of repairs since 2002 [assessed to be in poor condition in 2023], failed, resulting in the destruction of a power station + part of a riverbank.
The 2025 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure from the American Society of Civil Engineers, or ASCE, gave America’s infrastructure an overall grade of C, up from a C- grade in its 2021 report, crediting the improvement to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law of 2021, plus federal partnerships with state + local governments + the private sector. “Concerning, given that climate change is increasingly stressing dams, levees, wastewater, + stormwater systems through heavier precipitation events.”
Sadly, the federal government shows little interest in sustaining the funding for continuing improvements. “ASCE called for investments of over $165 B for dams, more than $70 B for levees, and by 2044, $690 B for wastewater and stormwater systems…that adds up to about $1 trillion.” Apparently deferred maintenance is actually quite expensive—even or especially—for those who deny the existence of climate deterioration.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:nnq2reoe4aaiyhhtsofqmdrz/bafkreifebbhse4jo67ew3dqygwdcfkwrzszgs7s2glfban6e5gwrk3fao4@jpeg)
November 27, 2025 at 4:50 PM
YaleClimateConnections: “U.S. dams, levees, stormwater, and wastewater systems get D to D+ grades, need almost $1 trillion in upgrades.”
We do have a holiday tomorrow, so I will not post today or tomorrow. After all, some of our grandkids are coming in. But I will favor you with my favorite single-frame cartoon for Thanksgiving ever. Enjoy, see you all in a couple of days.
November 26, 2025 at 3:12 PM
We do have a holiday tomorrow, so I will not post today or tomorrow. After all, some of our grandkids are coming in. But I will favor you with my favorite single-frame cartoon for Thanksgiving ever. Enjoy, see you all in a couple of days.
ClimateCentral: "November Warming, Thanksgiving Extremes." Temperatures are rising across the U.S., with this new graphic showing local November temperature trends and Thanksgiving extremes in 247 U.S. cities.
November 25, 2025 at 2:50 PM
ClimateCentral: "November Warming, Thanksgiving Extremes." Temperatures are rising across the U.S., with this new graphic showing local November temperature trends and Thanksgiving extremes in 247 U.S. cities.
YaleClimateConnections: “What should you do during a flood? Stay out of the water.” In the U.S. an average of 88 people drown in floods annually, according to the National Weather Service. There are also risks of infectious disease, electrocution + wildlife encounters.
!["Turn Around, Don't Drown" One 2022 study found a “locked in” increase of 26.4% in U.S. flood risk by 2050,” locked-in in the sense anticipated regardless of present or future efforts to slow climate change. Common-sense logic then is “if your area floods, do what you can to avoid touching, consuming or driving into the water.” That may be impossible in situations of emergency evacuations + water rescues. “So in those cases, try to wear protective clothing like boots, gloves, and a life jacket.” In the context of dramatically altered topography, you won’t know how deep the water is, how fast it’s moving, or what kind of debris may be in it. ‘It only takes 6″ of fast-moving water to knock over an adult, 12″ inches to carry away most cars and 24″ to carry away SUVs and trucks.’ If you’ve ever tried to ford a fast stream bed you know what this feels like.
“Flooding can overwhelm sewage and septic systems and stir up pathogens in soil so that mere contact with the water can cause disease.” In addition to germs, dangerous chemicals from household, medical, + industrial sites are frequently present in flood waters, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cautions.
Next, power lines, electrical cords, and outlets can all electrify water, making it very dangerous. “If your home floods, turn off the power by switching off the main breaker in your home’s electrical panel [or an emergency disconnect if you have one outside the house], making sure that you are not standing in water when you turn the power off.
Finally, “the most common dangerous animals you might encounter during a flood are snakes, fire ants, and mammals — like rodents, raccoons, and bats — according to Maureen Frank, associate professor and extension wildlife specialist at Texas A&M AgriLife Extension.” Logically, people living near rivers + coasts are at higher risk. Welcome to the future the fossil fuel industries are bringing us.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:nnq2reoe4aaiyhhtsofqmdrz/bafkreibdl2it3newue4dn6uoharpsg5x5jqg55dyz4kb43tr557oh5nvru@jpeg)
November 24, 2025 at 5:54 PM
YaleClimateConnections: “What should you do during a flood? Stay out of the water.” In the U.S. an average of 88 people drown in floods annually, according to the National Weather Service. There are also risks of infectious disease, electrocution + wildlife encounters.
Oilprice.com: “Nuclear’s Costly Comeback Meets Harsh Market Reality.” Website for yrs been a strong supporter of conservative politics + Big Oil,; interesting to see here of all places a statement about the myth of nuclear as “secure, clean, and cheap” collapsing under [purely economic] scrutiny.
![Mockup of failed NuScale SMR. “New nuclear remains slow, expensive, + deeply reliant on state support.” In the UK, “Hinkley Point C, the flagship of the country’s nuclear revival, was only made possible through a 35-year Contract for Difference guaranteeing a strike price of £92.50 per MWh (in 2012 money), roughly double the current wholesale market price, indexed to inflation, and fully guaranteed by taxpayers.” In France, the “Flamanville reactor, long touted as the EPR showpiece, is over a decade late and has quadrupled in cost to more than €13 billion.” In Finland, “Olkiluoto 3 only began commercial operations after 17 years of delays and legal disputes.” And finally, in the U.S., Georgia’s “Vogtle 3 and 4 finally came online after 15 years and around $36 billion in total costs, more than double initial projections, with ratepayers [why not shareholders + executives?] footing much of the bill through regulated recovery.” Nuclear power is inflexible, capital-intensive, non-dispatchable, baseload power, + in today’s electric grid that is disastrous. “Renewables can be deployed modularly, financed privately, and built within 18–36 months.” Utility-scale batteries [discussed yesterday], once dismissed as expensive, are now scaling at record speed, with multiple technologies sprouting like springtime daffodils. “Each incremental gigawatt [GW] of storage turns volatile wind + solar into a more stable, dispatchable asset.” In that environment, nuclear’s supposed advantage of “firm capacity” starts to look less like a virtue and more like an anchor.
Advocates often pivot to Small Nuclear Reactors [SMRs] as the savior, the “Tesla moment” for nuclear. SMRs are promoted as modular, factory-built, and inherently cheaper. “Renewable portfolios are now financeable at market rates; nuclear requires a bespoke government rescue package before they even get to the starting line.”
“Projects start with optimism + end with budget blowouts, political fallout, and consumer bailouts.”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:nnq2reoe4aaiyhhtsofqmdrz/bafkreicd4tpbcbej4phwzk6xyrpshfyg5iikg25xwnfvlttsgx6uazuq6e@jpeg)
November 23, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Oilprice.com: “Nuclear’s Costly Comeback Meets Harsh Market Reality.” Website for yrs been a strong supporter of conservative politics + Big Oil,; interesting to see here of all places a statement about the myth of nuclear as “secure, clean, and cheap” collapsing under [purely economic] scrutiny.
CanaryMedia: “Chart: Batteries are set to surge onto the US grid.” Research firm BloombergNEF projects that over next 5 yrs the U.S. will build almost 6 gigawatts [GW] of utility-scale batteries.
November 22, 2025 at 3:25 PM
CanaryMedia: “Chart: Batteries are set to surge onto the US grid.” Research firm BloombergNEF projects that over next 5 yrs the U.S. will build almost 6 gigawatts [GW] of utility-scale batteries.
Electrek: "Electricity is about to become the new base currency and China figured it out." Fred Lambert posted an insightful commentary just this morning. For most of human history, 'currency' was a direct claim on tangible, productive output.
![Chinese generation skyrocketing. "Before the abstraction of government fiat or cryptocurrency, value was stored in things that required real work and resources, bushels of grain, livestock, gold, assets with their own direct productive output: horses, and tragically, slaves." Lambert's thesis is that these were 'foundational' assets of economies, representing a direct, cognitive link between labor, resources, and stored value.
In this new all-electric, all-digital age, this fundamental link is re-emerging, but with a new 'unit of account.' Thus, "the 21st-century economy, defined by automated industry, robotics, electric transport, and now power-hungry artificial intelligence, runs on a single, non-negotiable input: electricity." The real base currency in this new paradigm, 'the ultimate representation of productive capacity,' is the kilowatt-hour (kWh). In China, industries are powered by electricity, and now, with the advent of AI, virtually everything is increasingly processed by Large Language Models [LLMs], which are ultimately powered by electricity through power-hungry data centers.
Here is my favorite quote: Electricity "is measurable, divisible, storable, and universal—all qualities that a currency needs, but unlike fiat and crypto, it’s actually directly linked to productive output. No politics. No inflation. Just physics." China is building the “mint” for this new currency at an incredible, world-changing scale, and it has retained absolute state control over its distribution. Total new electricity generation, predominantly from renewables, is staggering, says Lambert.
I recognize that China is a totalitarian society where 'state-owned monoliths manage this entire system—primarily the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC).' In a world where electricity rules, cryptocurrencies are, in effect, a competing “currency” that burns the foundational asset (electricity) to create a decentralized store of value. They banned cryptocurrencies in 2021.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:nnq2reoe4aaiyhhtsofqmdrz/bafkreia27jixegzfkxrjqa4weekwf7qgmcxflk3wyswlqg6u6cxn4nbeke@jpeg)
November 21, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Electrek: "Electricity is about to become the new base currency and China figured it out." Fred Lambert posted an insightful commentary just this morning. For most of human history, 'currency' was a direct claim on tangible, productive output.
ElDiario: “Europe trials triangular floating PV—65 kW system over water delivers unexpected results.” The Dutch company SolarDuck’s floating solar “islands” bear a resemblance to tiny offshore oil rigs because they intentionally mimic that strong design.
![Floating solar array. “Each rigid triangle measures ~ 16 × 16 × 16 m [> 15 ft to a side, consists of offshore-grade aluminum that is strong, durable, lightweight, making it an ideal material for both river + offshore conditions.” Modularity is another crucial aspect, as the triangular platforms can connect like puzzle pieces in hexagonal clusters.
All 4 triangular floats were constructed at Damen Shipyards and towed upstream to their more permanent location. SolarDuck has partnered with RWE offshore to launch its Merganser [like the bird] pilot project in the Dutch North Sea, a 0.5 MWp floating solar project consisting of 6 interconnected triangular platforms. ‘The project offers an overall combined peak capacity of 65 kW—certainly not large in comparison to [expansive] solar farms—but is coupled with a 10‐kW electrolyzer that generates green hydrogen and is safely stored using a LOHC (liquid organic hydrogen carrier), whereby solar energy is converted into clean hydrogen energy, providing both solar and renewable energy storage capability.’
As for LOHCs: in principle, every unsaturated organic compound (molecules with C-C double or triple bonds) can take up hydrogen during hydrogenation. “LOHC shipping without heat recycling has a [round-trip] energy efficiency of 60–70%, depending on the dehydrogenation rate, which is equivalent to liquid hydrogen shipping.” But with heat recycling, the efficiency increases to 80–90%.
“Low maintenance by design, the platforms require minimal upkeep since rain naturally washes away grime, and the elevation above water restricts dirt, algae, and moisture damage.” A distinct aspect of the design is that the solar panels and all electrical components rest over 3 meters [~ 10 ft, like a basketball hoop] above the water surface, supported by semi-submersible cylinders…thereby preventing exposure to waves and currents and the potential for water damage and micro-cracks in the panels.”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:nnq2reoe4aaiyhhtsofqmdrz/bafkreia6chzro7d6prwriquxuwxobdaly22nyxkvgjcuvqwvzjlkndcjty@jpeg)
November 20, 2025 at 9:10 PM
ElDiario: “Europe trials triangular floating PV—65 kW system over water delivers unexpected results.” The Dutch company SolarDuck’s floating solar “islands” bear a resemblance to tiny offshore oil rigs because they intentionally mimic that strong design.
AAAS: “High-resolution climate model forecasts a wet, turbulent future.” Let me start with a story I heard yesterday. One of my writing groups meets remotely, weekly, including 2 participants who live in eastern Florida + in Barbados, about 1600 miles apart.
![Man walking in flood. Both were almost giddy in recounting stories of recent intense rain events + flooding; for example Barbados recently experienced 17″ of rain over 2 days, with 1 drowning death.
Now let’s discuss advanced climate modeling. “To simulate hundreds of years in a manageable amount of computer time, [conventional] models divide the atmosphere into the equivalent of coarse pixels, 100 kilometers across, before solving the equations of fluid dynamics for each one.” But this coarseness leads to inaccuracies in the predictions, especially when it comes to patchy phenomena such as heat waves and downpours, which are heavily influenced by what happens at a finer scale.
“A new high-resolution modeling project called MESACLIP, run at great computational expense over the past 5 years, is putting Earth’s future into sharper focus by simulating the churning of the atmosphere and ocean at a level of detail similar to the scale of weather forecasts.” Unfortunately, the project reveals heightened risks for regions like the Gulf Coast and coastal California, where extreme rainfall could occur far more often than traditionally projected. “MESACLIP divides the atmosphere into 25-km boxes and the upper layer of the ocean into a 10-km grid…running global simulations that began in 1900 and looked ahead to 2100 for multiple greenhouse gas emission scenarios.”
The results better match the historic records of ocean and air temperature, which many climate models have long struggled to do. “They also better capture cold tongues of upwelling water and swirling eddies in the ocean, which are thought to play an important role in modulating wind patterns…they mimic the extreme rainfall events observed today far more accurately.” After 900 days of computing time + 4500 yrs of simulation, 6 petabytes of open data will prove to be a gold mine for climate scientists everywhere. Ppetabyte 1 quadrillion (1,000,000,000,000,000) bytes, or ~ 1,000 terabytes (TB). So—keep your shoes dry.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:nnq2reoe4aaiyhhtsofqmdrz/bafkreigwiddgbsnwtb76onbdxrqvwyzgosdhquzhjkgyvpbansmgnd7hpi@jpeg)
November 19, 2025 at 2:51 PM
AAAS: “High-resolution climate model forecasts a wet, turbulent future.” Let me start with a story I heard yesterday. One of my writing groups meets remotely, weekly, including 2 participants who live in eastern Florida + in Barbados, about 1600 miles apart.
AAAS: “Research linking gut microbes to autism is deeply flawed, critics say.” Last week, the U.S.-based health nonprofit Wellcome Leap ‘opened applications for a $50 M program focused on a controversial idea.’
November 18, 2025 at 4:03 PM
AAAS: “Research linking gut microbes to autism is deeply flawed, critics say.” Last week, the U.S.-based health nonprofit Wellcome Leap ‘opened applications for a $50 M program focused on a controversial idea.’
CanaryMedia: "XGS Energy says its advanced geothermal tech is ready to scale up." Next-generation geothermal projects currently in development fall into one of three categories.
![Graphic of bottom of XGS well. First, "enhanced geothermal systems, like the ones Sage and Fervo Energy are building, involve fracturing rocks + pumping them full of water to create artificial reservoirs far below earth’s surface." In Iceland, "superheat geothermal" strives to tap into extreme resources like magma chambers to extract immense amounts heat. XGS’s approach falls into third category: zero-loss, pipe-in-pipe, closed-loop systems, which entail placing doubled up pipe into hot rock miles deep, with well casing surrounded by a proprietary "Thermal Reach Enhancement" material containing an unnamed mineral. My ears perked up. The list of the top 10 thermally conductive minerals starts with diamond, then continues with silver, copper, gold, aluminum nitride, silicon carbide, aluminum, tungsten, graphite + zinc. I'm guessing the aluminum alloy or zinc, but am open to suggestions. "XGS claims its proprietary material can increase the total amount of heat it pulls from the subsurface by 30% to 50%, allowing the company to use simpler and cheaper well designs to access hotter rocks with existing drilling technologies." Earlier this year, the startup began operating a full-scale prototype using an idled well at the Coso geothermal field in the Western Mojave Desert region of California. "For 3,000 hours, or 125 days, XGS continuously ran its closed-loop system while adjusting key variables, such as the rate at which liquid flows and the amount of heat extracted at the surface." The startup claims the prototype’s actual performance fell within 2% of its predictions, results that XGS later verified with independent engineers. "Along with the 150 MW it’s developing with Meta [once known as Facebook], the startup has lined up over 3 gigawatts of projects “mostly in the Western United States, where water sensitivity is a huge issue, and where there’s a strong demand signal from data centers and other types of clean energy consumers to build this as quickly as we can.”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:nnq2reoe4aaiyhhtsofqmdrz/bafkreifuvqayk4qzcccaqawnetwtyxucyhulwovrgz2gqobjvjfhsqvhay@jpeg)
November 17, 2025 at 4:38 PM
CanaryMedia: "XGS Energy says its advanced geothermal tech is ready to scale up." Next-generation geothermal projects currently in development fall into one of three categories.
RadiofreeEurope/RadioLiberty: “Iran’s Water Crisis Nears Point Of No Return.” Iran faces a severe water crisis due to decades of mismanagement and the worst drought in 60 yrs.
November 16, 2025 at 7:23 PM
RadiofreeEurope/RadioLiberty: “Iran’s Water Crisis Nears Point Of No Return.” Iran faces a severe water crisis due to decades of mismanagement and the worst drought in 60 yrs.
Newsweek: “US Decline In Religion Among Biggest In World.” New polling shows the U.S. has experienced one of the largest ever declines in religiosity globally over the past decade, contrasted with results from the World Poll which questioned people in 160 countries.
November 15, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Newsweek: “US Decline In Religion Among Biggest In World.” New polling shows the U.S. has experienced one of the largest ever declines in religiosity globally over the past decade, contrasted with results from the World Poll which questioned people in 160 countries.
AAAS: “Warming oceans are pushing harmful algal blooms into polar waters.” When I think of saltwater algal blooms, I usually contemplate warming tropical + subtropical waters.
![Bering Strait between 2 peninsulas. This article pushed the envelope for me, extending the reach—and danger—of these microscopic single-celled organisms up into the polar north. In July 2022, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) Ph.D. student Evie Fachon was aboard the research vessel Norseman, searching for tiny but dangerous creatures lurking off the Alaskan coast. They were “sailing through dense concentrations of a dinoflagellate at the base of the food web that produces toxins that can lead to paralytic shellfish poisoning.” By the end of the cruise, they had documented “the largest toxic bloom of A. catenella ever seen in polar waters, stretching at least 600 kilometers and triggering risk advisories about potentially unsafe marine harvests.”
“The warmer it is, the faster [the cells] can potentially grow and multiply,” says Fachon, lead author of a 2024 paper describing the 2022 bloom, as they found “algal concentrations that were more than 100 times higher than the level needed to trigger public health warnings.” Fachon and colleagues suspect the 2022 bloom germinated somewhere in the Bering Sea, possibly in Russia’s Gulf of Anadyr. Their hypothesis: “As strong winds pushed nutrient-rich western Bering Sea water into warmer Alaskan waters, favorable temperature and nutrient conditions allowed the algae to expand.” Christopher Gobler, ecologist at Stony Brook University, had previously published a 2017 study showing ocean warming has expanded the range of harmful algal blooms poleward in the North Atlantic + North Pacific oceans.
“Elsewhere in the world, bloom-related warnings have mainly focused on clams and mussels, which are known to accumulate poisonous loads of toxins—but the tribes in the Bering Strait region also rely on seabirds, seals, walruses, whales.” In graphic: note Bering Strait lies between the Chukchi + Seward Peninsulas. Meandering red signal between them represents the dangerous dinoflagellate bloom. Dangerous, but also fascinating.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:nnq2reoe4aaiyhhtsofqmdrz/bafkreiall4jefvu6f25ln5bomk453iotv365cl3uqfbe4f6wgnii7mgo5a@jpeg)
November 14, 2025 at 3:41 PM
AAAS: “Warming oceans are pushing harmful algal blooms into polar waters.” When I think of saltwater algal blooms, I usually contemplate warming tropical + subtropical waters.
Could not resist this cartoon by Tom Toro this morning. Crushed for time, will just drop in this witty single panel, all the time I have. My motivation is also based on the fact that there is a revision to our heat pump taking place as I write.
November 13, 2025 at 8:50 PM
Could not resist this cartoon by Tom Toro this morning. Crushed for time, will just drop in this witty single panel, all the time I have. My motivation is also based on the fact that there is a revision to our heat pump taking place as I write.
CanaryMedia: “This startup wants to build pumped hydro storage in the ocean.” The Italian energy company SIZABLE ENERGY is testing a system using inflatable reservoirs—1 on the surface—1 other several hundred meters below on the ocean floor—shuttling hypersaline water between the two reservoirs.
![System testing in Netherlands. Near bottom of plastic piped connection between lies a hydroturbine. With excess power the turbine pumps the briny solution up to the top. Tapping the power requires letting briny water fall through turbine in reverse. Superior to pumped hydro on land , a full 80% of the energy can be reclaimed.
Colocating their storage with offshore solar or wind is a delectable mix, with sharing of the electrical export connection. In September, “the company subjected its design to a bombardment of artificial waves in the gigantic pool at the Maritime Research Institute Netherlands, which vets the durability of marine engineering.” After that success, “the team is building a 1-megawatt [MW] device, which will sport a 50-meter (164 ft) radius and occupy up to 500 meters (1,640 ft) of ocean column off the coast of Reggio Calabria.” Demonstrating high confidence, “Sizable has already secured a 10-megawatt grid connection in southern Italy for its first truly commercial development.”
The ‘torrents of the sea’ are the main challenge. “Two outer rings of plastic pipe were engineered to disrupt waves before they hit the floating reservoir…in the event that strong surf or heavy rain threatens to weigh down the reservoir, bilge pumps activate to clear out the liquid.” The company will apply to the same regulatory bodies that oversee offshore wind, but with the advantage of a much smaller footprint [+ silhouette] per megawatt.” Where the technology really shines is in the marginal cost of adding more storage duration: “less than 20 euros ($23) per kilowatt-hour, at scale…right on par with what Form Energy is targeting with its iron-air battery, an attempt at a mass-produced electrochemical battery for 100 hours of duration.” Sizable is projecting 8-24 hrs of storage or more.
“The economics improve at a larger scale: If you’ve got to install a mooring system and connect a marine cable to the grid, you might as well ship more power through it rather than less.”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:nnq2reoe4aaiyhhtsofqmdrz/bafkreigjct3eh6aevrzbfkvx3ufsyw65vlyo5p62ynam6sxdtdextwv53y@jpeg)
November 12, 2025 at 3:30 PM
CanaryMedia: “This startup wants to build pumped hydro storage in the ocean.” The Italian energy company SIZABLE ENERGY is testing a system using inflatable reservoirs—1 on the surface—1 other several hundred meters below on the ocean floor—shuttling hypersaline water between the two reservoirs.
AAAS: “The twisted secret behind a chameleon’s oddball eyes.” No, this is not the skull of a rabbit, but rather a chameleon. Recall that rabbits have cartilage in their ears, not bones. But chameleons have pretty unique eyes.
![Chameleon skull, with neural structures in purple. “The reptiles can cast their peepers in two different directions at once, a rare trait in the animal kingdom that gives them a nearly 360° field of vision—and a freaky visage.”
The advantage may be that they can otherwise remain motionless when in view of either predator or prey. “CT scans published today in Scientific Reports reveal the long nerves (purple) that link a chameleon’s bulging eyes to its brain are coiled like a telephone cord.” [Back when telephones had cords]. The extra slack allow lizards to store longer optical nerves than any other reptile, plus rotate their eyes in virtually any direction.
“The team observed the looped nerves in “veiled chameleons” (Chamaeleo calyptratus), a species native to the Arabian Peninsula, and two distantly related chameleons.” Suggests it’s likely the trait is shared + genetically preserved across the entire oddball reptilian family. And not just the crazy aunt in the basement.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:nnq2reoe4aaiyhhtsofqmdrz/bafkreic7izueef32j7vzoq6o3s6l5brfbsdz6l46ftwqoolassfvcenv2e@jpeg)
November 11, 2025 at 5:35 PM
AAAS: “The twisted secret behind a chameleon’s oddball eyes.” No, this is not the skull of a rabbit, but rather a chameleon. Recall that rabbits have cartilage in their ears, not bones. But chameleons have pretty unique eyes.
Okay, folks, last chance to sign up for my next local book launch event for CLOUD DRAGON. It’s happening this Saturday, the 15th of November, at Village Bookstore in Lynden, WA at 2 o’clock in the afternoon.
![Soapbox orator + Greek goddess Cassandra. [Not 7 o’clock in the evening as had been the original scheduling]. Pictured is the first slide, and I promise to explain the significance of these two figures. I will also read selected portions of four or five of the early chapters. And my wife has committed to baking some chocolate chip cookies.
Here is the link for information + tickets: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/1680961794979 Cost is $5 for entry, taken off the price of a book if you purchase one. So, as they say, come one + all if you live in the northwest corner of Washington State.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:nnq2reoe4aaiyhhtsofqmdrz/bafkreiehfhbor3ks7r5dodfkuqszqsqf2whuubgt5ytmnjl4sg6r7xntmu@jpeg)
November 10, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Okay, folks, last chance to sign up for my next local book launch event for CLOUD DRAGON. It’s happening this Saturday, the 15th of November, at Village Bookstore in Lynden, WA at 2 o’clock in the afternoon.
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. (2025) 10.1073/pnas.2510535122: “High-resolution geostationary satellite observations of free tropospheric NO2 over North America and implications for lightning emissions.”
![Lightning strike to ground. The atmosphere contains 78% nitrogen, in the form of paired “dinitrogen” molecules with a taut triple bond as tight as the cinch on a horse’s saddle. Takes lots of energy to disrupt, but when that is accomplished, the result is “free tropospheric nitrogen dioxide [FT NO2], [which] helps drive global atmospheric oxidant chemistry.
“Dang et al. used satellite observations to show that lightning dominates FT NO2 production in nonwinter seasons over North America, and that commonly used model estimates of its production contain large errors.” They also detected diurnal variations in FT NO2 The researchers applied ‘cloud-slicing’ to the Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) geostationary satellite instrument, + produced a unique high-quality FT NO2 dataset over North America including the first measurements of the diurnal cycle.
“Comparison of TEMPO FT NO2 data “with the Goddard Earth Observation System-Composition Forecasts (GEOS-CF) atmospheric chemistry model shows overall consistent magnitudes, seasonality, and diurnal variation, with a midday minimum in nonwinter seasons from photochemical loss.” Recall that nitrogen is critical in plant + thus animal physiology. Note for example how much nitrogen is in our RNA + DNA.
And there is a climate angle here as well. From multiple studies, including for example one from UC Berkeley, we know that for every 1ºC of global warming lightning strikes will increase by about 12%, which projects to a 50% increase by century’s end. You can’t really bottle this stuff, so it’s best to dodge it.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:nnq2reoe4aaiyhhtsofqmdrz/bafkreih34ld5xltlrwl2wxxa4kitwjejtwh4jggoigg5vp4smfmv2hwzqy@jpeg)
November 8, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. (2025) 10.1073/pnas.2510535122: “High-resolution geostationary satellite observations of free tropospheric NO2 over North America and implications for lightning emissions.”
CanaryMedia: “Puerto Rico’s energy future: distributed solar or centralized grid?” This article was published 3Nov, but unfortunately not updated after Hurricane Melissa on 21Oct. Pu
November 7, 2025 at 6:17 PM
CanaryMedia: “Puerto Rico’s energy future: distributed solar or centralized grid?” This article was published 3Nov, but unfortunately not updated after Hurricane Melissa on 21Oct. Pu
Offshorewind.biz: “Wind Turbine Installation to Start Soon on 2.6 GW US Offshore Project.” Pessimism about wind farms under the current administration should be leavened with rationally-based hope.
![U.S.-built offshore wind turbine installation vessel. “All monopiles + almost 1/2 of the transition pieces (TPs) have been installed at Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project site, with wind turbine installation expected to start this month + project anticipated to produce first power beginning of next year.”
Portion of the exciting context is the offshore wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) Charybdis arrived at Portsmouth Port in September. “According to the latest information released by Dominion Energy, vessel is expected to be cleared to load and install turbines in November.” The CVOW developer also noted there are no time-of-year or time-of-day restrictions on installations. Gotta say this mammoth task must be harder to accomplish in the dark, no matter how much lighting is set up, but I am no engineer.
“In its third-quarter results, Dominion Energy, which owns both the 2.6 GW offshore wind project and the wind turbine installation vessel, said all 176 monopiles have been installed, with 63 transition pieces also in place, as well as the jacket foundation for the second of the project’s three offshore substations.” This offshore wind farm is 66% completed + remains on track to achieve first power production in the first quarter of next year + full commissioning by the end of 2026. “CVOW will feature 176 Siemens Gamesa 14 MW wind turbines…once in operation, it will become the biggest US offshore wind farm…and one of the biggest in the world today.”
Another site proceeding apace is Revolution Wind, which will provide 702 MW of power to Rhode Island with 304 MW + Connecticut with 400 MW [perhaps they should check their math at this point]. They are proud of the fact they will be supporting > 2,000 direct jobs across construction, manufacturing, shipbuilding + operations, which includes > 1,000 union construction jobs. And I am proud to commend them on their perseverance in the face of headwinds from the White House, only 2/3 of which is still intact.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:nnq2reoe4aaiyhhtsofqmdrz/bafkreibyshn2lpdrmhdwm7lobsktqmkj6ka34d5lsagszgl3x4374kqora@jpeg)
November 6, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Offshorewind.biz: “Wind Turbine Installation to Start Soon on 2.6 GW US Offshore Project.” Pessimism about wind farms under the current administration should be leavened with rationally-based hope.
AAAS: “Antarctic glacier shows fastest retreat in modern history.” The Hektoria Glacier is a small river of ice that slips into the sea near the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, which aligns with Tierra del Fuego of South America.
![Part of Antarctic glacier calving into ocean. “In 2022, something ‘shocking’ happened—as over 16 months, it retreated by 25 km—losing a whopping 8 km in just 2 of those months—fastest glacial retreat in the modern record. “After a forensic analysis, researchers say they have identified worrisome mechanisms behind it: a combination of glacial earthquakes and a swath of thinned ice popping afloat and breaking apart.”
Able to use “satellite with images of surface depressions—a marker of thin, floating ice with cracks underneath.” Larsen-B broke up spectacularly in 2002, undamming Hektoria.Simultaneously, Hektoria’s ice was stretching + thinning out across flat bedrock underlying it, forming an “ice plain.”
Imagine here a thin layer of ice on a puddle, breaking apart when you step on it. Storms sent large waves crashing into its margin in 2022+ Hektoria’s first 12 km of floating ice broke up into icebergs, in a process called “buoyancy-driven calving.” More damage followed when the force of the breakup flipped some of the icebergs “toes out,” momentarily + loudly reversing their momentum into glacier behind them. Collisions generated glacial earthquakes that were detected by a network of seismographs. And with the shock waves reverberating through the mass of ice, the remaining part of the ice plain broke free.
“The one-two punch of flotation and quakes was enough to account for Hektoria’s 8 kilometers of retreat over 2 months, a pace that’s an order of magnitude [base 10] faster than any in the modern record.” The researchers wonder “whether the same kind of catastrophic calving could occur at the much larger Thwaites Glacier, which is sometimes called the Doomsday Glacier because its retreat could unleash more than 3 meters of global sea level rise.” This could takes centuries of course, but this study is “telling us that those worst-case scenarios are maybe not as implausible as some people might have thought.” Sort of thing that keeps climate scientists up at nite.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:nnq2reoe4aaiyhhtsofqmdrz/bafkreieenvsjoq4sdvvncqmiwsyzspqo3hhpzdkrbgvjbuuqoyszpgwl7q@jpeg)
November 5, 2025 at 3:39 PM
AAAS: “Antarctic glacier shows fastest retreat in modern history.” The Hektoria Glacier is a small river of ice that slips into the sea near the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, which aligns with Tierra del Fuego of South America.