Tom Rooney
@tomrooney.bsky.social
Conservation professional with interests in forestry, fire management,and wildlife ecology. Author, The Vanishing Present (Univ. Chicago Press, 2008) Views are mine and not of my employer.
Reposted by Tom Rooney
Something folks can do in the coming weeks is to organize Ice Watch Training in your communities. There's an excellent resource that can help you to do this: docs.google.com/document/d/1... - Get five people together in person or virtually and get skilled up together.
Toolkit: how we dealt with Border Patrol
In November 2025, Border Patrol announced it would be coming to Charlotte, North Carolina. We only had a few days’ notice. Just like in Chicago and Los Angeles, they weren’t coming to “keep the peace....
docs.google.com
January 14, 2026 at 5:05 PM
Something folks can do in the coming weeks is to organize Ice Watch Training in your communities. There's an excellent resource that can help you to do this: docs.google.com/document/d/1... - Get five people together in person or virtually and get skilled up together.
Reposted by Tom Rooney
I’m a sexual violence researcher. And one of the main threads in abuse research is that normalization is crucial for long-term, sustainable violence. It’s the only thing that gives the appearance of legitimacy.
(Because violence is actually an illegitimate and unstable way to seek power.)
(Because violence is actually an illegitimate and unstable way to seek power.)
January 13, 2026 at 4:24 PM
I’m a sexual violence researcher. And one of the main threads in abuse research is that normalization is crucial for long-term, sustainable violence. It’s the only thing that gives the appearance of legitimacy.
(Because violence is actually an illegitimate and unstable way to seek power.)
(Because violence is actually an illegitimate and unstable way to seek power.)
Reposted by Tom Rooney
What can history teach us about what happens when a populist strongman with an idiosyncratic taste for low interest rates undermines central bank independence?
January 12, 2026 at 1:44 AM
What can history teach us about what happens when a populist strongman with an idiosyncratic taste for low interest rates undermines central bank independence?
Reposted by Tom Rooney
The scale of the protests in Iran are absolutely unbelievable. Hard to quantify, but I've seen some speculation that this uprising is more significant than the 2023 protests (themselves the largest challenge to the regime since it came into power in '79.)
(Video from @AmirMiresmaeili on Twitter)
(Video from @AmirMiresmaeili on Twitter)
January 8, 2026 at 8:27 PM
The scale of the protests in Iran are absolutely unbelievable. Hard to quantify, but I've seen some speculation that this uprising is more significant than the 2023 protests (themselves the largest challenge to the regime since it came into power in '79.)
(Video from @AmirMiresmaeili on Twitter)
(Video from @AmirMiresmaeili on Twitter)
Reposted by Tom Rooney
We've removed the paywall from this guide so everyone can access it. 👇 Stay safe.
Just days into 2026, the killing of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has sparked protests around the US.
If you’re planning to protest, here’s how to safeguard your digital security.
If you’re planning to protest, here’s how to safeguard your digital security.
How to Protest Safely in the Age of Surveillance
Law enforcement has more tools than ever to track your movements and access your communications. Here’s how to protect your privacy if you plan to protest.
www.wired.com
January 8, 2026 at 6:35 PM
We've removed the paywall from this guide so everyone can access it. 👇 Stay safe.
Reposted by Tom Rooney
I feel like I haven’t even been properly lied to about the purposes of this war
January 3, 2026 at 9:13 AM
I feel like I haven’t even been properly lied to about the purposes of this war
Reposted by Tom Rooney
Indigenous and rural communities in Ecuador’s Amazon condemned a ruling ordering Ecuador to pay $220M+ to Chevron over the historic Texaco pollution case.
Groups say it forces the public to compensate a company responsible for massive environmental harm.
Groups say it forces the public to compensate a company responsible for massive environmental harm.
‘Neither appropriate nor fair’: Ecuador ordered to pay oil giant Chevron $220m
Indigenous and rural communities in Ecuador’s Amazon have condemned an international arbitration ruling that ordered Ecuador to pay more than $220 million to U.S. oil giant Chevron. The sum is to…
news.mongabay.com
December 24, 2025 at 11:53 AM
Indigenous and rural communities in Ecuador’s Amazon condemned a ruling ordering Ecuador to pay $220M+ to Chevron over the historic Texaco pollution case.
Groups say it forces the public to compensate a company responsible for massive environmental harm.
Groups say it forces the public to compensate a company responsible for massive environmental harm.
Reposted by Tom Rooney
via The New Yorker, Ellis Rosen cartoon
December 23, 2025 at 5:31 AM
via The New Yorker, Ellis Rosen cartoon
Reposted by Tom Rooney
Per NY Times’s Michael Grynbaum on X, this is Sharyn Alfonsi’s email to her “60 Minutes” colleagues in full:
December 22, 2025 at 3:37 AM
Per NY Times’s Michael Grynbaum on X, this is Sharyn Alfonsi’s email to her “60 Minutes” colleagues in full:
Reposted by Tom Rooney
The only way to get back on track to the Paris Accords — which aims to limit global warming to 1.5 to 2.0 C — is to pull the “Emergency Brake” climate solutions.
Towards the top of the list is curbing methane emissions as quickly as possible.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Towards the top of the list is curbing methane emissions as quickly as possible.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
This is another ‘ozone layer’ moment. Now, we must urgently target methane | Mia Mottley
The oil and gas industry must be legally bound to cut methane emissions. With climate tipping points approaching, time is running out, says the prime minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley
www.theguardian.com
December 19, 2025 at 2:43 AM
The only way to get back on track to the Paris Accords — which aims to limit global warming to 1.5 to 2.0 C — is to pull the “Emergency Brake” climate solutions.
Towards the top of the list is curbing methane emissions as quickly as possible.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Towards the top of the list is curbing methane emissions as quickly as possible.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Tom Rooney
Some perspectives from our community on what NCAR means to weather and climate researchers:
"NCAR is quite literally our global mothership" @katharinehayhoe.com
"I came to the US over 10 years ago for a postdoc at NCAR. It changed my life..." @climateflavors.bsky.social
#SaveNCAR
"NCAR is quite literally our global mothership" @katharinehayhoe.com
"I came to the US over 10 years ago for a postdoc at NCAR. It changed my life..." @climateflavors.bsky.social
#SaveNCAR
December 17, 2025 at 11:52 PM
Some perspectives from our community on what NCAR means to weather and climate researchers:
"NCAR is quite literally our global mothership" @katharinehayhoe.com
"I came to the US over 10 years ago for a postdoc at NCAR. It changed my life..." @climateflavors.bsky.social
#SaveNCAR
"NCAR is quite literally our global mothership" @katharinehayhoe.com
"I came to the US over 10 years ago for a postdoc at NCAR. It changed my life..." @climateflavors.bsky.social
#SaveNCAR
Some autumn smoky gold is good for the soul.
October 23, 2025 at 10:43 PM
Some autumn smoky gold is good for the soul.
Reposted by Tom Rooney
this rocks. when indiana edu killed the student newspaper, Purdue stepped up, printed the forbidden issue, drove it to Bloomington and stocked the boxes.
October 18, 2025 at 6:27 PM
this rocks. when indiana edu killed the student newspaper, Purdue stepped up, printed the forbidden issue, drove it to Bloomington and stocked the boxes.
Reposted by Tom Rooney
Of the many problems with this phenomenally stupid argument is that "good information" has been available to anyone who wants to access it for a solid 25 years now, and we are getting collectively dumber at finding, understanding, critiquing, and communicating info and arguments.
AI can't fix that/
AI can't fix that/
Wow. Just wow.
"Students pay premium prices for information that AI now delivers instantly and for free. A business student can ask ChatGPT to explain supply chain optimization or generate market analysis in seconds. The traditional lecture-and-test model faces its Blockbuster moment."
"Students pay premium prices for information that AI now delivers instantly and for free. A business student can ask ChatGPT to explain supply chain optimization or generate market analysis in seconds. The traditional lecture-and-test model faces its Blockbuster moment."
When Knowledge is Free, What are Professors For?
Higher Education Must Stop Competing with AI on Information and Start Teaching What Machines Can’t Do
www.forbes.com
October 16, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Of the many problems with this phenomenally stupid argument is that "good information" has been available to anyone who wants to access it for a solid 25 years now, and we are getting collectively dumber at finding, understanding, critiquing, and communicating info and arguments.
AI can't fix that/
AI can't fix that/
Reposted by Tom Rooney
One great aspect of iconic inflatable costumes (aside from how they instantly undermine propaganda about war zones) is that it's useless to arrest the person wearing one. Cuffing a frog would make law enforcement look pathetic. And carting one off just guarantees that more will show up the next day.
October 11, 2025 at 7:39 PM
One great aspect of iconic inflatable costumes (aside from how they instantly undermine propaganda about war zones) is that it's useless to arrest the person wearing one. Cuffing a frog would make law enforcement look pathetic. And carting one off just guarantees that more will show up the next day.
Reposted by Tom Rooney
Vertical rows are the agrivoltaic winner!
“The vertical panels produce slightly less electricity—but with higher value, as generation peaks coincide with morning and late afternoon demand…The crops don't seem to mind the presence of solar panels and they like the wind protection they provide.”
“The vertical panels produce slightly less electricity—but with higher value, as generation peaks coincide with morning and late afternoon demand…The crops don't seem to mind the presence of solar panels and they like the wind protection they provide.”
Double harvest: Vertical solar panels and crops thrive side by side
Imagine a field where solar panels and crops coexist—with no trade-off. It sounds like science fiction, but that's precisely what researchers from Aarhus University have now documented in a full-scale...
techxplore.com
September 22, 2025 at 11:47 AM
Vertical rows are the agrivoltaic winner!
“The vertical panels produce slightly less electricity—but with higher value, as generation peaks coincide with morning and late afternoon demand…The crops don't seem to mind the presence of solar panels and they like the wind protection they provide.”
“The vertical panels produce slightly less electricity—but with higher value, as generation peaks coincide with morning and late afternoon demand…The crops don't seem to mind the presence of solar panels and they like the wind protection they provide.”
Reposted by Tom Rooney
We're witnessing the most aggressive, fanatical crackdown on free speech in my lifetime. The speed and breadth of government censorship and private sector and nonprofit capitulation has been astonishing. As has the lack of urgency/silence from people who've long claimed to care about this stuff.
September 15, 2025 at 12:30 PM
We're witnessing the most aggressive, fanatical crackdown on free speech in my lifetime. The speed and breadth of government censorship and private sector and nonprofit capitulation has been astonishing. As has the lack of urgency/silence from people who've long claimed to care about this stuff.
Reposted by Tom Rooney
I am SO EXCITED about this!
Many folks want to take personal action on climate change, but many resources treat people like monoliths.
Enter SHIFT -- a collaboration between Dr. Kim Nicholas and Project Drawdown -- that tailors advice for YOU, using your climate superpowers.
jointheshift.earth
Many folks want to take personal action on climate change, but many resources treat people like monoliths.
Enter SHIFT -- a collaboration between Dr. Kim Nicholas and Project Drawdown -- that tailors advice for YOU, using your climate superpowers.
jointheshift.earth
SHIFT
jointheshift.earth
September 9, 2025 at 4:50 PM
I am SO EXCITED about this!
Many folks want to take personal action on climate change, but many resources treat people like monoliths.
Enter SHIFT -- a collaboration between Dr. Kim Nicholas and Project Drawdown -- that tailors advice for YOU, using your climate superpowers.
jointheshift.earth
Many folks want to take personal action on climate change, but many resources treat people like monoliths.
Enter SHIFT -- a collaboration between Dr. Kim Nicholas and Project Drawdown -- that tailors advice for YOU, using your climate superpowers.
jointheshift.earth
I got my Moderna mRNA COVID-19 vaccine today. It is the first time I've gotten a vaccine partially out of spite.
September 9, 2025 at 3:41 PM
I got my Moderna mRNA COVID-19 vaccine today. It is the first time I've gotten a vaccine partially out of spite.
Reposted by Tom Rooney
Wildland fire veterans are seething at a claim made by federal officials that two crews raided by immigration agents at the scene of a wildfire in Washington state were “NOT firefighters.” ohiocapitaljournal.com/2025/09/08/r...
Wildfire veterans furious at DHS claim that raided crews were not firefighters • Ohio Capital Journal
Wildland fire veterans are seething at a claim made by federal officials that two crews raided by immigration agents at the scene of a wildfire in Washington state were “NOT firefighters.”
ohiocapitaljournal.com
September 8, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Wildland fire veterans are seething at a claim made by federal officials that two crews raided by immigration agents at the scene of a wildfire in Washington state were “NOT firefighters.” ohiocapitaljournal.com/2025/09/08/r...
On one hand, we're investing $8+ billion a year in longevity research. On the other hand... www.wired.com/story/your-b...
Extreme Heat Makes Your Body Age Faster
A study reveals that extreme heat accelerates biological aging even more than smoking or drinking.
www.wired.com
September 5, 2025 at 11:29 AM
On one hand, we're investing $8+ billion a year in longevity research. On the other hand... www.wired.com/story/your-b...
Coming soon to a hospital near you...surgeons being snatched mid-surgery. www.firerescue1.com/police/feder...
Federal agents detain crews, arrest firefighters battling Wash. wildfire
Reasons for the arrests remain unclear after federal agents detained members of a private contractor crew during an ID check during the Bear Gulch Fire
www.firerescue1.com
August 28, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Coming soon to a hospital near you...surgeons being snatched mid-surgery. www.firerescue1.com/police/feder...
Reminder that bog restoration is not just good for nature and good for climate. They make good fences when your neighbor to the east wants to invade your country. Time for a green Maginot Line. www.politico.eu/article/russ...
From Kyiv to the Suwałki Gap, bogs return as Europe’s defensive shield
Restoring the EU’s drained bogs would stop both Russian tanks and planet-warming pollution.
www.politico.eu
August 27, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Reminder that bog restoration is not just good for nature and good for climate. They make good fences when your neighbor to the east wants to invade your country. Time for a green Maginot Line. www.politico.eu/article/russ...