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Craig Welch

@craigwelch.bsky.social

Writer tracking climate and more. Mediocre trail runner. Soccer nut. Priors: senior staff writer at National Geographic. Also: Seattle Times, Jackson Hole News. https://www.linkedin.com/in/craig-welch/

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Craig Welch@craigwelch.bsky.social · 2mo ago

MORE: "It’s become popular in AI industry circles to view this as a PR problem: to say that AI needs 'better marketing.' I reject this framing completely. People are worried about AI because they *correctly* perceive that its risks are real..."

Craig Welch@craigwelch.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Wow. MUST READ. Anthropic CEO *begging* for AI regulation: "Government should have the power to block or deter deployment of an (AI) model if it is determined, in light of 3rd-party assessment, to present unacceptable risks." What an extraordinary moment. darioamodei.com/post/policy-...

Craig Welch@craigwelch.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Last night, in a not-dissimilar situation, my now 17-year-old merely looked at me dead-eye and said, "Ya think?" Feels like she's letting the creativity slip. I should tell her that. I think she might be receptive.

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Craig Welch@craigwelch.bsky.social · 3mo ago

5 years ago this week, NatGeo published a piece about one of my strangest adventures ever: A search to find the planet's southernmost tree. Not the species. The specimen. (Luckily, it didn't require our original plan: repelling off the Cape Horn headwall above the most treacherous seas on Earth.)

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Craig Welch@craigwelch.bsky.social · 3mo ago

"If getting a good campsite becomes a race for who has the most computing power, can we really say public land is for everyone?"

Craig Welch@craigwelch.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Terrific, maddening @hhansman.bsky.social story. Bots are clicking on outdoor rec permits, so u can't, and not using them. But the contractor running the website profits off every transaction. How much? The Forest Service won't say. More journos should follow this. www.republic.land/wreck-dot-gov/

Craig Welch@craigwelch.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Terrific, maddening @hhansman.bsky.social story. Bots are clicking on outdoor rec permits, so u can't, and not using them. But the contractor running the website profits off every transaction. How much? The Forest Service won't say. More journos should follow this. www.republic.land/wreck-dot-gov/

Wreck Dot Gov

The government recreation website was supposed to make access to public lands more equitable and streamlined. Instead, it’s rife with bots and inequality, while a government contractor benefits.

republic.land

Zack Labe@zacklabe.com · 4mo ago

Friday ice update - #Arctic sea ice extent is currently the 5th lowest on record (JAXA data)... • about 350,000 km² below the 2010s mean • about 720,000 km² below the 2000s mean • about 1,220,000 km² below the 1990s mean • about 1,740,000 km² below the 1980s mean More: zacklabe.com/arctic-sea-i...

Line graph time series of 2026's daily Arctic sea ice extent compared to decadal averages from the 1980s to the 2010s. The decadal averages are shown with different colored lines with purple for the 1980s, blue for the 1990s, green for the 2000s, and white for the 2010s. Thin white lines are also shown for each year from 2000 to 2025. 2026 is shown with a thick gold line. There is a long-term decreasing trend in ice extent for every day of the year shown on this graph between March and May by looking at the decadal average line positions.
Craig Welch@craigwelch.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Love John Branch’s @nytimes.com piece, too. Jim’s description of fighting altitude on Everest was 🔥 “Even with oxygen tanks, we were sucking air. Put a pillow on your face, run around the block and try to suck oxygen through that pillow. It will give you an idea.” www.nytimes.com/2026/04/08/s...

Jim Whittaker, First American to Reach Everest’s Summit, Dies at 97

nytimes.com

Craig Welch@craigwelch.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Extraordinary obituary of one of the PNW players (along with Fred Beckey, of course, and his twin brother Lou) who put U.S. mountaineering on the map—Seattle native "Big Jim" Whittaker, the first American to summit Everest. What a life. www.cascadiadaily.com/2026/apr/08/...

Craig Welch@craigwelch.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Extraordinary obituary of one of the PNW players (along with Fred Beckey, of course, and his twin brother Lou) who put U.S. mountaineering on the map—Seattle native "Big Jim" Whittaker, the first American to summit Everest. What a life. www.cascadiadaily.com/2026/apr/08/...

Famed mountaineer Jim Whittaker, first American atop Mount Everest, dies at 97 | Cascadia Daily News

Longtime Port Townsend resident inspired generations of alpinists, defined an active NW outdoor lifestyle

cascadiadaily.com

Brian Banks Ⓥ 🇨🇦 @brianbanks.bsky.social · 4mo ago

I posted this elsewhere yesterday: my first job in journalism was at a startup computer trade paper in 1984. I had no background in journalism or tech (I was a geographer). The guy who hired me told me to read The Soul of a New Machine, and begin learning from that. Great book, great advice.

Daniel Swain@weatherwest.bsky.social · 4mo ago

I agree. This event has been meteorologically astonishing, and its impacts will be felt long after it ends in terms of record low snowpack, sharply increased wildfire risk, and extreme low watershed runoff/streamflow into summer and beyond.

Nahel Belgherze@wxnb.bsky.social · 4mo ago

As the first reanalysis data become available, I think I can say with a fairly high degree of confidence that the March 2026 heatwave will go down as the most anomalously extreme heat event ever observed at any time of year in the southwestern U.S.

Craig Welch@craigwelch.bsky.social · 4mo ago

"There is no historical analog to this." @coyotegulch.bsky.social coyotegulch.blog/2026/03/26/t...

This is a graph of #snowpack above #LakePowell using 104 snow measuring stations. It was 9 inches of water on March 7, now 6 inches. Other dry years shown.There is no historical analog to this — Brad ...

Colorado River snowpack evolution since Oct 2025. Melt started about March 7. Down to 6Inches now from 9 inches then. There is no historical analog.

coyotegulch.blog

Kelly Hereid@kellyhereid.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Both an incredibly reported and devastatingly personal piece - kudos @craigwelch.bsky.social 🎁 link

Craig Welch@craigwelch.bsky.social · 5mo ago

In the NYT Magazine: Over 4 years, a dozen of my daughter’s current and former teammates (including my child) ruptured a combined 19 ACLs. Knee injuries have become a global crisis for teen girls. Yet we’ve known for 25 years how to reduce ACL tears. What went wrong? www.nytimes.com/2026/02/26/m...

acallan1 has as many G7 friends as POTUS@acallan1.bsky.social · 5mo ago

a great story on the devastating growth of ACL injuries which can be prevented for many through effective active warm up regimens like the FIFA11+ routine

Craig Welch@craigwelch.bsky.social · 5mo ago

In the NYT Magazine: Over 4 years, a dozen of my daughter’s current and former teammates (including my child) ruptured a combined 19 ACLs. Knee injuries have become a global crisis for teen girls. Yet we’ve known for 25 years how to reduce ACL tears. What went wrong? www.nytimes.com/2026/02/26/m...

Ken Armstrong@bykenarmstrong.bsky.social · 5mo ago

A stunning story by @craigwelch.bsky.social with an equally striking comment thread, full of people who can relate to Craig, his daughter Edie and her teammates: ▪️"My daughter has your daughter's story verbatim" ▪️"After three of my teammates tore their ACLs in a single week" ▪️"I tore my ACL twice"

Craig Welch@craigwelch.bsky.social · 5mo ago

In the NYT Magazine: Over 4 years, a dozen of my daughter’s current and former teammates (including my child) ruptured a combined 19 ACLs. Knee injuries have become a global crisis for teen girls. Yet we’ve known for 25 years how to reduce ACL tears. What went wrong? www.nytimes.com/2026/02/26/m...

Craig Welch@craigwelch.bsky.social · 5mo ago

As one expert told me, "It’s probably the biggest youth sports issue in the world right now, apart from concussions.” And we've known how to address for 25 years, yet injuries just keep rising. My new piece in this weekend's New York Times Magazine.

Mike Baker@mikebaker.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Teenage girls who play year-round soccer have a one-in-six chance of an ACL tear before finishing high school. But prevention exercises can substantially reduce the risk. by @craigwelch.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/02/26/m...

Craig Welch@craigwelch.bsky.social · 5mo ago

My labor of love and heartbreak coming Sunday in The New York Times Magazine. A hard one to write, but proud of my teen. When I asked if we should share her story, she only had one question. “Do you think it might help someone?” Here’s hoping it does

Craig Welch@craigwelch.bsky.social · 5mo ago

In the NYT Magazine: Over 4 years, a dozen of my daughter’s current and former teammates (including my child) ruptured a combined 19 ACLs. Knee injuries have become a global crisis for teen girls. Yet we’ve known for 25 years how to reduce ACL tears. What went wrong? www.nytimes.com/2026/02/26/m...