a bit tangential here but something i deeply love about people born in la is that we WILL tell you about the chaparral biome

Rick Caruso’s Private Fire Crew@amandasmith.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Many of you will rush to correct the LA28 visuals because LA is chaparral not desert and the colors could be drawn from things like our iconic sunsets but I am wise and see that this is LA28 acknowledging the effects of climate change.

I had a great time talking with @zialyle.bsky.social & @costasamaras.com about their new study on how climate change poses risks to U.S. drinking water. Water utilities for roughly a fifth of the U.S. population are at high risk from climate hazards. abcnews.com/US/climate-c...

How climate change is impacting drinking water in the US

Climate change is making access to drinkable water more difficult in the United States.

abcnews.com

A new proposal from the EPA would significantly reduce protections for wetlands and streams abcnews.go.com/US/epa-propo...

EPA proposes limits to Clean Water Act: What the changes mean

The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed limits to protected waters under a new interpretation of the Clean Water Act.

abcnews.go.com

I spoke with Dr. Daeyeon Lee about an accidental breakthrough in water vapor harvesting research and its potential future uses. abcnews.go.com/Internationa...

An accidental breakthrough creates water from thin air

abcnews.go.com

There’s so much happening right now, I thought I’d put together a running thread on the dismantling of #climate and research and knowledge infrastructure in the United States 🧵

More fallout from the indiscriminate NWS firings: "Effective immediately, and until further notice, the [NWS] is temporarily suspending some weather balloon launches in Albany, New York, and Gray, Maine, due to a lack of Weather Forecast Office (WFO) staffing." www.weather.gov/media/notifi...

Clearing land for cattle and cows is the single biggest driver of rainforest loss in the Amazon. This "hotel for cows" in Colombia offers a solution.

This Colombian 'hotel for cows' could help reduce deforestation in the Amazon

Clearing land for cattle and cows is the single biggest driver of rainforest loss in the Amazon. This "hotel for cows" in Colombia offers a solution.

npr.org

The Trump administration has ordered firings and buyouts at the federal agency that operates water infrastructure in California. Managers of water agencies in the Central Valley warn this could jeopardize the agency’s ability to manage dams and deliver water. www.latimes.com/environment/...

Trump administration dramatically cuts staff at water agency in California

The Trump administration is firing employees at the Bureau of Reclamation, drawing concerns from California water agencies that depend on it to deliver supplies.

latimes.com

Big court win: judge rules Exxon, Shell, Chevron, BP and others must face claims by Puerto Rican towns in a RICO case alleging the companies engaged in a coordinated, decades-long deception campaign to conceal the true dangers of fossil fuel consumption. www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...

Exxon, others should face climate claims by Puerto Rican towns, US judge says

A U.S. judge said Thursday that Exxon , Chevron , Shell and six other oil companies should face part of a lawsuit in Puerto Rico accusing them of misleading the public about climate change and conspiring to suppress clean energy alternatives.

reuters.com

New on my Substack: I talked with UNM's @jfleck.bsky.social about why Colorado River negotiations are at an impasse and what happens when the federal government becomes an unreliable partner. www.westernwaternotes.com/p/q-and-a-th...

Update: Told by sources that direct hire USAID staff are now being locked out of their accounts. Some told they’ve *maybe* been placed on administrative leave. Direct hires were some of the last remaining staff in USAID not locked out. The agency has been entirely dismantled.

Prem Thakker ツ@premthakker.bsky.social · 2y ago

🚨 Hundreds *more* USAID staff were locked out of their accounts last night, per sources, leaving aid teams picked apart. Hours later, Elon Musk (unelected) said President Trump "agreed" with his plans to shut down USAID (they don't have this authority). Musk's DOGE barred workers from HQ today.

Newsom suspends environmental laws to ease rebuilding of homes and businesses in zones destroyed by the fires www.latimes.com/california/s...

Newsom suspends landmark environmental laws to ease rebuilding in wildfire zones

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order suspending parts of the Coastal Act and the California Environmental Quality Act to aid homeowners rebuilding after losses in last week's wildfires.

latimes.com

This is not a forest. You can't just rake the leaves. It's a shrubland that used to be a lot more grassland when it was burned by the original Indigenous people and grazed during the ranching era. With climate change, increasing drought that intersects with Santa Ana winds is the recipe for fire.

No agreement was reached at U.N. plastics treaty talks last week despite nearly 100 countries supporting limits to plastic production. abcnews.go.com/Internationa...

UN plastic treaty talks fail to reach an agreement

abcnews.go.com

"It doesn’t take a lot of climate change to put the system into a very vulnerable future." My latest for the ABC News Climate and Environment blog on the Colorado River possibly reaching a point of no return. abcnews.go.com/Internationa...

Climate and environment updates: Colorado River at a tipping point over drought threat, new study finds

The climate crisis is not a distant threat; it's happening right now.

abcnews.go.com

If you thought October was unusually warm, it isn't your imagination. It was the 2nd warmest month on record. abcnews.go.com/Internationa...

October was 2nd warmest month on record, NOAA announces

abcnews.go.com

Each year, world leaders and climate advocates gather at COP, but who is not at the Conference this year? abcnews.go.com/Internationa...

As the world grapples with the climate crisis, many of its leaders are skipping this year's COP climate conference

abcnews.go.com

Biden's investment in the CTF locks in climate funding that Trump won't be able to touch abcnews.go.com/Internationa...

Biden pledges $325 million in clean tech funding for developing nations

abcnews.go.com

Week 2 of #COP29 began with a strong reminder of what is at stake for the planet abcnews.go.com/Internationa...

UN climate lead says millions of lives are at stake and delegates should 'cut the theatrics'

abcnews.go.com

I've been covering #COP29 for the last week -- catch up on the Conference at the ABC News Climate and Environment blog: abcnews.go.com/Internationa...

Global climate conference off to a challenging start

abcnews.go.com