whoismitch
@whoismitch0.bsky.social
Ecologist, ISA Certified Arborist, Prescription Pruning and Tree Risk Assessment Qualified.
Wildlife/native habitat consultant
Native plant / plants-for-birds / host plant obsessive.
Restoring ecological functionality to rural, MS Hill Country
Wildlife/native habitat consultant
Native plant / plants-for-birds / host plant obsessive.
Restoring ecological functionality to rural, MS Hill Country
Reposted by whoismitch
On average, Christmas Day was 15.4F above the 1991-2020 normal. Seems warm. Seems bad.
December 26, 2025 at 3:56 PM
On average, Christmas Day was 15.4F above the 1991-2020 normal. Seems warm. Seems bad.
Reposted by whoismitch
🚨🔥 Warmest Christmas on record for the Contiguous U.S.! The average high of 57.9F and the average low of 36.6F each broke the Christmas record by a full 3F. 🔥🚨
December 26, 2025 at 3:39 PM
🚨🔥 Warmest Christmas on record for the Contiguous U.S.! The average high of 57.9F and the average low of 36.6F each broke the Christmas record by a full 3F. 🔥🚨
Reposted by whoismitch
A state-funded survey across California has uncovered hundreds of fungi new to science, part of a first-of-its-kind biodiversity effort.
Often overlooked, fungi support plant growth and store carbon — knowledge that could guide conservation and forest restoration as wildfires intensify.
Often overlooked, fungi support plant growth and store carbon — knowledge that could guide conservation and forest restoration as wildfires intensify.
Statewide survey aims to put California’s fungi on the conservation map
Getting to The Cedars, an ecological preserve in California’s Sonoma county, is a slog. Multiple rivers and creeks must be crossed, and it can be tough going on an often storm-destroyed road. But…
news.mongabay.com
December 25, 2025 at 10:21 PM
A state-funded survey across California has uncovered hundreds of fungi new to science, part of a first-of-its-kind biodiversity effort.
Often overlooked, fungi support plant growth and store carbon — knowledge that could guide conservation and forest restoration as wildfires intensify.
Often overlooked, fungi support plant growth and store carbon — knowledge that could guide conservation and forest restoration as wildfires intensify.
Reposted by whoismitch
“This year, renewables surpassed coal as a source of electricity worldwide, and solar and wind energy grew fast enough to cover the entire increase in global electricity use from January to June, according to energy think tank Ember” www.science.org/content/arti...
Science’s 2025 Breakthrough of the Year: The unstoppable rise of renewable energy
Clean energy infrastructure is being deployed with unmatched scale and speed—and China is leading the way
www.science.org
December 26, 2025 at 1:29 AM
“This year, renewables surpassed coal as a source of electricity worldwide, and solar and wind energy grew fast enough to cover the entire increase in global electricity use from January to June, according to energy think tank Ember” www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by whoismitch
Compounding risks of climate change: the authors "assess European birds’ historical exposure to multiple extreme events and identify where and how the risk of compound events will change under different emissions scenarios". doi.org/10.1111/con4...
Spoiler alert: compounding increases risk ☹️
Spoiler alert: compounding increases risk ☹️
Compounding Impacts of Extreme Climate Events on European Birds Under Climate Change
When multiple simultaneous or successive extreme climatic events occur, compound impacts can follow, where the effects of one event worsen the impacts of another. Surprisingly, the risks that these c...
doi.org
December 15, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Compounding risks of climate change: the authors "assess European birds’ historical exposure to multiple extreme events and identify where and how the risk of compound events will change under different emissions scenarios". doi.org/10.1111/con4...
Spoiler alert: compounding increases risk ☹️
Spoiler alert: compounding increases risk ☹️
Reposted by whoismitch
The Green Book Project catalogues this history of segregation in public accommodations, documenting local businesses that defied the norm of racial segregation. Explore the papers, methods, download data, and share your story 3/3 greenbookproject.osu.edu #GreenBookProject #CommunityMap
#EconSky
#EconSky
December 5, 2025 at 2:34 PM
The Green Book Project catalogues this history of segregation in public accommodations, documenting local businesses that defied the norm of racial segregation. Explore the papers, methods, download data, and share your story 3/3 greenbookproject.osu.edu #GreenBookProject #CommunityMap
#EconSky
#EconSky
Reposted by whoismitch
Segregation in public accommodations was the major venue for protests during the Civil Rights Movement. Economists have not spent much time considering how discrimination in public accommodations affected economic activity. This is now a major focus of my work. 2/3 www.nber.org/system/files...
www.nber.org
December 5, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Segregation in public accommodations was the major venue for protests during the Civil Rights Movement. Economists have not spent much time considering how discrimination in public accommodations affected economic activity. This is now a major focus of my work. 2/3 www.nber.org/system/files...
Reposted by whoismitch
70 years ago today, the Montgomery Bus Boycott began. Days after Rosa Parks was arrested on December 1, 1955 for violating the ordinance requiring Black residents of Montgomery to accept second class treatment, the Black community organized and boycotted the city’s buses for over one year. 1/3
December 5, 2025 at 2:34 PM
70 years ago today, the Montgomery Bus Boycott began. Days after Rosa Parks was arrested on December 1, 1955 for violating the ordinance requiring Black residents of Montgomery to accept second class treatment, the Black community organized and boycotted the city’s buses for over one year. 1/3
Reposted by whoismitch
Close to 1 full goddamn gigawatt of gas (open-cycle, so the most inefficient kind) for the "Project Jupiter" site in New Mexico.
This whole article is a stunning illustration of how data centres are incentivising new fossil infrastructure:
eastdaley.com/daley-note/p...
This whole article is a stunning illustration of how data centres are incentivising new fossil infrastructure:
eastdaley.com/daley-note/p...
November 28, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Close to 1 full goddamn gigawatt of gas (open-cycle, so the most inefficient kind) for the "Project Jupiter" site in New Mexico.
This whole article is a stunning illustration of how data centres are incentivising new fossil infrastructure:
eastdaley.com/daley-note/p...
This whole article is a stunning illustration of how data centres are incentivising new fossil infrastructure:
eastdaley.com/daley-note/p...
Reposted by whoismitch
Archeologists in Wisconsin found an ancient canoe that is over 5,000 years old!! The discovery was in a canoe “parking lot” along a popular waterway and trail system.
Wisconsin archaeologists identify 16 ancient canoes in a prehistoric lake 'parking lot'
Archaeologists have identified more than a dozen ancient canoes that Indigenous people apparently left behind in a prehistoric parking lot along a Wisconsin lakeshore.
apnews.com
November 26, 2025 at 1:36 AM
Archeologists in Wisconsin found an ancient canoe that is over 5,000 years old!! The discovery was in a canoe “parking lot” along a popular waterway and trail system.
Reposted by whoismitch
You know what, I'm just gonna re-up this post
November 24, 2025 at 3:04 PM
You know what, I'm just gonna re-up this post
Reposted by whoismitch
Amid a deepening ecological crisis and acute water shortage, Tehran can no longer remain the capital of Iran, the country’s president has said. www.scientificamerican.com/article/iran...
Iran’s Capital Is Moving. The Reason Is an Ecological Catastrophe
The decision to move Iran’s capital is partly driven by climate change, but experts say decades of human error and action are also to blame
www.scientificamerican.com
November 23, 2025 at 2:42 AM
Amid a deepening ecological crisis and acute water shortage, Tehran can no longer remain the capital of Iran, the country’s president has said. www.scientificamerican.com/article/iran...
Reposted by whoismitch
We spent a year investigating billionaires for @washingtonpost.com.
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
November 21, 2025 at 2:56 PM
We spent a year investigating billionaires for @washingtonpost.com.
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
Reposted by whoismitch
According to the 2025 Freedom on the Net report, global internet freedom declined for the 15th consecutive year. Of 72 countries assessed, conditions deteriorated in 28, while 17 registered overall gains. The US was among the countries that experienced the most significant declines.
Global Internet Freedom Declines for 15th Consecutive Year | TechPolicy.Press
Despite funding cuts, Freedom House delivered its annual report on how countries are performing on measures of digital rights and internet freedom.
www.techpolicy.press
November 13, 2025 at 11:39 PM
According to the 2025 Freedom on the Net report, global internet freedom declined for the 15th consecutive year. Of 72 countries assessed, conditions deteriorated in 28, while 17 registered overall gains. The US was among the countries that experienced the most significant declines.
Reposted by whoismitch
The dominant narrative is that the world is rolling back climate policy. But what does the data say?
The latest Oxford Climate Policy Monitor Annual Review from the Oxford Climate Policy Hub tells three key stories.
bsg.ox.ac.uk/news/climate...
The latest Oxford Climate Policy Monitor Annual Review from the Oxford Climate Policy Hub tells three key stories.
bsg.ox.ac.uk/news/climate...
November 10, 2025 at 11:17 AM
The dominant narrative is that the world is rolling back climate policy. But what does the data say?
The latest Oxford Climate Policy Monitor Annual Review from the Oxford Climate Policy Hub tells three key stories.
bsg.ox.ac.uk/news/climate...
The latest Oxford Climate Policy Monitor Annual Review from the Oxford Climate Policy Hub tells three key stories.
bsg.ox.ac.uk/news/climate...
Reposted by whoismitch
This seems significant.
"U.S. GDP growth in the first half of 2025 was almost entirely driven by investment in data centers and information processing technology, according to Harvard economist Jason Furman."
"U.S. GDP growth in the first half of 2025 was almost entirely driven by investment in data centers and information processing technology, according to Harvard economist Jason Furman."
Without data centers, GDP growth was 0.1% in the first half of 2025, Harvard economist says | Fortune
Is a U.S. without data centers a country without GDP growth?
fortune.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:26 PM
This seems significant.
"U.S. GDP growth in the first half of 2025 was almost entirely driven by investment in data centers and information processing technology, according to Harvard economist Jason Furman."
"U.S. GDP growth in the first half of 2025 was almost entirely driven by investment in data centers and information processing technology, according to Harvard economist Jason Furman."
Reposted by whoismitch
The Uninhabitable United States
What Climate Change Will Do to America by Mid-Century
Many places may become uninhabitable. Many people may be on their own.
www.theatlantic.com
November 12, 2025 at 12:24 PM
The Uninhabitable United States
Reposted by whoismitch
BREAKING: At Pope Leo XIV’s urging, U.S. Catholic bishops just delivered the strongest rebuke of a sitting president in Church history — condemning Trump-Vance raids as “inhumane” and “dehumanizing” in a 216–5 vote.
NEW: At Pope Leo’s Urging, Bishops Issue Historic Rebuke of Trump’s Raids
Nearly all U.S. Catholic bishops united in Baltimore to denounce the Trump administration’s “inhumane” deportation campaign — a near-unanimous, unprecedented moral stand against a sitting president.
www.thelettersfromleo.com
November 13, 2025 at 3:21 AM
BREAKING: At Pope Leo XIV’s urging, U.S. Catholic bishops just delivered the strongest rebuke of a sitting president in Church history — condemning Trump-Vance raids as “inhumane” and “dehumanizing” in a 216–5 vote.
Reposted by whoismitch
An AI company estimated that producing a single page of text using their model uses about as much water as growing a small pink radish. Applied to OpenAI's ChatGPT, that calculation would make Sam Altman the equivalent of a farmer harvesting a trillion radishes, writes Henry Throp:
Artificial Intelligence, Water Consumption and the Trillion-Radish Conundrum | TechPolicy.Press
The AI sector, which uses as much water as Norway and Sweden combined, is a ticking time bomb, writes Henry Throp.
www.techpolicy.press
November 13, 2025 at 12:53 AM
An AI company estimated that producing a single page of text using their model uses about as much water as growing a small pink radish. Applied to OpenAI's ChatGPT, that calculation would make Sam Altman the equivalent of a farmer harvesting a trillion radishes, writes Henry Throp:
Reposted by whoismitch
Dry-season grazing by sheep & goats offers multiple benefits for California's oak woodlands:
🔥 Decreased fire risk
🌿 Increased native plant diversity and cover
#OpenAccess paper in Ecological Solutions and Evidence:
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
🌎🧪
🔥 Decreased fire risk
🌿 Increased native plant diversity and cover
#OpenAccess paper in Ecological Solutions and Evidence:
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
🌎🧪
Dry‐season grazing enhances native diversity in invaded oak woodlands
In invaded oak woodlands of California, grazing with small ruminants is an effective method for reducing fire risk by removing the accumulated thatch of invasive annual grasses. Grazing also benefits...
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 12, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Dry-season grazing by sheep & goats offers multiple benefits for California's oak woodlands:
🔥 Decreased fire risk
🌿 Increased native plant diversity and cover
#OpenAccess paper in Ecological Solutions and Evidence:
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
🌎🧪
🔥 Decreased fire risk
🌿 Increased native plant diversity and cover
#OpenAccess paper in Ecological Solutions and Evidence:
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
🌎🧪
Reposted by whoismitch
Reposted by whoismitch
A tool tracking billion-dollar disasters is active again after being retired by Trump administration
After months of uncertainty over its future, an online resource for tracking high-cost disasters throughout the United States has been revived by the nonprofit group Climate Central.
After months of uncertainty over its future, an online resource for tracking high-cost disasters throughout the United States has been revived by the nonprofit group Climate Central.
A tool tracking billion-dollar disasters is active again after being retired by Trump administration
After months of uncertainty over its future, an online resource for tracking high-cost disasters throughout the United States has been revived by the nonprofit group Climate Central.
mississippitoday.org
November 8, 2025 at 12:01 PM
A tool tracking billion-dollar disasters is active again after being retired by Trump administration
After months of uncertainty over its future, an online resource for tracking high-cost disasters throughout the United States has been revived by the nonprofit group Climate Central.
After months of uncertainty over its future, an online resource for tracking high-cost disasters throughout the United States has been revived by the nonprofit group Climate Central.
Reposted by whoismitch
At 15 of the 20 academies benefiting from the tax credit program, student bodies were at least 85% white…And among the 20, enrollments at five were more than 60 percentage points whiter than their communities.”
www.propublica.org/article/miss...
www.propublica.org/article/miss...
Segregation Academies in Mississippi Are Benefiting From Public Dollars, as They Did in the 1960s
ProPublica identified 20 schools in the state that likely opened as segregation academies and have received almost $10 million over the past six years from the state’s tax credit donation program.
www.propublica.org
November 7, 2025 at 2:50 AM
At 15 of the 20 academies benefiting from the tax credit program, student bodies were at least 85% white…And among the 20, enrollments at five were more than 60 percentage points whiter than their communities.”
www.propublica.org/article/miss...
www.propublica.org/article/miss...
Reposted by whoismitch
"He essentially said, 'I’m not going to hide who I am to make you comfortable.' In doing so Mamdani delivered a raciolinguistic reality check that refuses the idea that politicians of color need to translate themselves into whiteness to be viable."
educationallinguist.wordpress.com/2025/11/05/z...
educationallinguist.wordpress.com/2025/11/05/z...
Zohran Mamdani Just Gave American Politics a Raciolinguistic Reality Check
Zohran Mamdani just won the New York City mayoral race, and it’s a big deal for reasons that will no doubt be dissected for years to come. But what really stands out to me is how this moment shifts…
educationallinguist.wordpress.com
November 5, 2025 at 4:50 PM
"He essentially said, 'I’m not going to hide who I am to make you comfortable.' In doing so Mamdani delivered a raciolinguistic reality check that refuses the idea that politicians of color need to translate themselves into whiteness to be viable."
educationallinguist.wordpress.com/2025/11/05/z...
educationallinguist.wordpress.com/2025/11/05/z...