Scott Dance
@byscottdance.com
Writing about the ways climate change is reshaping our lives for The New York Times. Send news tips and recipes to @ssdance.22 on Signal.
NEW: More than half the U.S. is in drought. But few places are dealing with the kind of crisis facing Corpus Christi, Tex., which could see water demand outstrip supply w/in a year. One official told me: "This is actually the canary in the coal mine. 🎁: www.nytimes.com/2026/05/13/u...
A Texas City Bet Big on Industry. Now It’s Running Out of Water.
nytimes.com
In President Trump’s second term, the disaster declarations that unlock money are taking longer to get approved and getting denied more often, especially for blue states 🎁 www.nytimes.com/2026/05/01/c... from @byscottdance.com and Ashley Cai
Thin mountain snowpack quickly vanished during a record-hot March across the West. Now the region is facing a summer of drought and fire. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/08/c...
Heat Wipes Out Western Snowpack, Raising Fears of Drought, Wildfire
nytimes.com
"The deal is an extraordinary transfer of taxpayer dollars to a foreign company for the purposes of boosting the production of fossil fuels, a main driver of climate change, while throttling offshore wind power."
Trump Administration to Pay $1 Billion to Energy Giant to Cancel Wind Farms
nytimes.com
Record heat is colliding with a snow drought across the Western United States, where snowpack accounts for much of the water supply 🎁 www.nytimes.com/interactive/... w/ @byscottdance.com & @sachimulkey.bsky.social
SCOOP: A council created by Trump has recommended that FEMA should not be eliminated. Earlier this year, Trump said the agency should "go away." w/ @byscottdance.com www.nytimes.com/2025/11/19/c...
Trump Wanted to Abolish FEMA. His Own Advisers Disagree.
nytimes.com
As the Trump administration reforms FEMA, acting administrator David Richardson is out and will be replaced by Karen Evans, a political appointee with a background in cybersecurity and IT who has helped lead FEMA cost-cutting. Federal law requires FEMA head to have emergency management background.
Acting FEMA Administrator Is Out, Injecting Uncertainty at Agency in Limbo
nytimes.com
There are no Trump officials at this year's global climate conference. Instead, it was 2028 contender California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaking for the U.S. on Tuesday. And he stressed a desire to recast climate change as a “cost of living issue,” @sominisengupta.bsky.social writes from Brazil:
Newsom in the Spotlight at the Climate Conference That Trump Decided to Skip
nytimes.com
The Colorado River states missed a deadline to agree on permanent and voluntary water use cuts Tuesday. Negotiations will continue as the stakes get higher and river forecasts increasingly dire.
States That Rely on the Colorado River Miss Deadline to Agree on Cuts
nytimes.com
A @washingtonpost.com analysis of changing global precipitation patterns explains what people in Appalachia already know: The region has become a dangerous hot spot of intensifying rainfall.
Where the sky keeps bursting
A Washington Post investigation shows why one region of the United States is increasingly vulnerable to extreme rainfall and floods.
wapo.st
“Climate change has fallen into the ‘friend zone’ of voting.” @shannonosaka.bsky.social @kcrowebasspro.bsky.social report that Democrats are hardly talking about climate change anymore, focused on energy affordability instead:
Climate change is out. Energy affordability is in.
A Washington Post analysis of Democratic lawmakers’ appearances and social media posts show they are going quiet on climate.
washingtonpost.com
Climate change "doesn’t automatically mean all hurricanes will become powerful,” @bmcnoldy.bsky.social said. But it makes it more likely that an average storm will encounter factors that help it intensify. How climate change made Hurricane Melissa stronger:
Global Warming Made Hurricane Melissa More Damaging, Researchers Say
nytimes.com
Deadly rivers in the sky: How global warming is amplifying atmospheric moisture and helping to trigger catastrophic floods. Proud of my @washingtonpost.com colleagues for this one:
Deadly rivers in the sky
A new Washington Post investigation reveals where climate change has supercharged the movement of moisture through the skies.
washingtonpost.com
U.S. Forest Service staff cuts have translated to a 40% reduction in regular efforts to thin the vegetation that could fuel massive wildfires. Via @washingtonpost.com:
How Trump cuts may have hindered a key way of preventing future wildfires
U.S. Forest Service work to reduce wildfire fuel was down nearly 40 percent from where it’s been on average over the last four years, a new report shows.
washingtonpost.com
Does it taste like something is missing from your favorite chocolate bar this Halloween? It may be the chocolate.
What’s Missing From Your Favorite Chocolate Bar? It May Be Chocolate.
nytimes.com
Since the start of the summer, “Gulf of America” has been losing what little popularity it had as the "Gulf of Mexico" is still in use almost everywhere. www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/nine... via @niemanlab.org
Nine months later, that body of water down south is still the “Gulf of Mexico” to news outlets
Since the start of summer, "Gulf of America" has been losing what little popularity it had in newsrooms.
niemanlab.org
“It is not hyperbole to say that western Jamaica experienced something near to the worst tropical cyclone impacts our planet can produce.” @wxmanms1.bsky.social on Melissa and the warning it brings:
Opinion | In 40 Years of Forecasting, I’ve Never Seen a Hurricane Like Melissa
nytimes.com
After staff cuts earlier this year, some veteran NOAA hurricane researchers are working on a volunteer basis to help collect data from Melissa and other storms. “With the losses, we have a very young remaining staff and not a lot of experience flying in hurricanes."
Volunteers Step In to Help Understaffed NOAA Track Hurricane Melissa
nytimes.com
MacKenzie Scott is giving $60 million to a nonprofit focused on disaster recovery in marginalized and overlooked communities. It follows recent investments she made in HBCUs and preservation of Black history, and counters the Trump administration's pullback from DEI and changes to disaster aid.
MacKenzie Scott Backs Disaster Recovery in Marginalized Communities
nytimes.com
NOAA isn't tracking billion-dollar disasters anymore. But the cost of such catastrophes continues to escalate, according to a revived disaster database from @climatecentral.org:
NOAA Isn’t Tracking Disaster Damages Anymore. These Scientists Are.
nytimes.com
North Carolina counties that spent millions on Hurricane Helene recovery are still waiting for FEMA disaster aid that they thought would have been paid out by now. Via @washingtonpost.com:
N.C. counties that busted budgets after Helene still waiting for FEMA to pay them back
A year after Hurricane Helene, FEMA hasn’t reimbursed millions of dollars spent on cleanup and recovery, upending local budgets and hindering reconstruction.
washingtonpost.com
Early retirement withdrawals for hardship have tripled since 2020, as disasters strike and insurance fails — leaving workers on their own in old age.
Climate Disasters Are Destroying Black Retirements and the American Dream
Early retirement withdrawals for hardship have tripled since 2020, as disasters strike and insurance fails — leaving workers on their own in old age.
capitalbnews.org
Millions of taxpayer dollars go toward restoring Chesapeake Bay beaches to their natural marshy state and cleaning the water. Signs on those shorelines also read: "RESIDENTS ONLY." Important story by @alexmann.bsky.social @leeosanderlin.bsky.social @adampwillis.bsky.social @thebaltimorebanner.com:
The hidden cost of saving the Chesapeake Bay: millions for private waterfronts
Virtually all of the Chesapeake Bay’s shoreline is privately owned, which means taxpayer-funded waterfront improvements go to properties with limited public access.
thebanner.com
Under President Biden, the Federal Reserve and FDIC began pushing big banks to account for climate risks. The rules have now been eliminated. Reported w/ @stacycowley.bsky.social:
Fed Rescinds Mandate That Banks Plan for Climate Risks
nytimes.com
Three months after the deadly floods in Texas Hill Country, FEMA disaster aid applications are moving slowly and being denied at elevated rates, @texastribune.org reports:
FEMA denied or didn’t advance most Kerr County flood requests
Advocates are questioning why so many applicants from the flood-ravaged county have not received federal disaster help. Nonprofits are trying to fill in the gaps.
texastribune.org
Absorb, fortify and retreat: Here's a look at what New York City is doing, and must do, to adapt to the rising threats of tidal flooding, intense rainfall and storm surge.
What New York Can Do to Survive Flooding
Adaptation is a matter of survival, and the city may have to throw every solution available at a worsening situation.
nytimes.com
President Trump has said he wants to eventually shift the burden of disaster relief and recovery onto states. It’s already happening. Communities across the country are adjusting as FEMA slows down disaster reimbursements and cuts back programs that help them prepare for emergencies.
How FEMA Is Pushing Communities to Fend for Themselves
nytimes.com
Before catastrophic floods swept through the Alaska Native village of Kipnuk on Sunday, the EPA canceled a $20 million grant intended to protect the community from extreme flooding. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/14/c...
Before Alaska Flooding, E.P.A. Canceled $20 Million Flood Protection Grant
nytimes.com
Emergency crews rescued dozens of people in western Alaska on Sunday as flooding from the remnants of Typhoon Halong battered remote coastal communities and tore houses off their foundations, officials said.
Dozens Rescued in Remote Alaskan Villages in Storm That Swept Away Homes
The Coast Guard and the Alaska National Guard were conducting search-and-rescue operations in two villages along the Bering Sea on Sunday.
nyti.ms
