What is academic bullying, and how do you know when criticism has crossed the line into harassment? In the newest Evolution Exchange, I talk with Dr. Morteza Mahmoudi (Academic Parity Movement) and Dr. Aaron Roussell about bullying, mobbing, and doxxing. A long but 🌶️ convo! tinyurl.com/87nyfbzk

Botany friends: cool job alert. We're searching for a new Director for the UC & Jepson Herbaria here at UC Berkeley. Share with nice people. aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF05405 🌿🌺🌵

Associate/Full Professor- Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics- Integrative Biology, and Director- University of California Berkeley Herbaria

University of California, Berkeley is hiring. Apply now!

aprecruit.berkeley.edu

Report from Amnesty International: Boom in Li mining across NV is violating rights of Indigenous Peoples. The US gov is breaching international human rights standards by fast tracking new Li mines across NV without Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) www.amnesty.org/en/documents...

The Ioneer Rhyolite Ridge Project is an extinction causing project in NV. An industrial build-out, in pursuit of "energy dominance" will alter a vast & diverse landscape. We owe it to ourselves & the the next generation to save what remains and not repeat the mistakes of the past. 💔

I was roaming around the Great Basin Desert and met Oryctes nevadensis for the first time. Its a small annual tomato (Solanaceae) that lives in deep sand and has fruits that look like shiny marbles. I was mesmorized. ♥️

LAST CALL! Tomorrow, Dr. Lauren Eserman-Campbell (Atlanta Botanical Garden) will close out ASPT’s special webinar series “Taxonomy: What is it good for?” with her talk “How Taxonomists Can Shape Conservation Outcomes”. Register today: us.list-manage.com/17pJQ4x_0SH?...

Can confirm, the southern Great Basin Desert in Esmeralda and Mineral County NV looks amazing right now.

My student Chloe Novak is documenting the flora of the Amargosa River headwaters, a place threatened by mining. She spoke to @alanhalaly.bsky.social about what is at stake. Its not easy to work on the frontline of extinction. www.reviewjournal.com/news/environ...

Gold mines may give Southern Nevada town a second act

Southern Nevada could see the revival of the gold Bullfrog Mining District if federal permits go through. It may come at a cost to the Amargosa River.

reviewjournal.com

It is an honor to be featured in the latest California Native Plant Society magazine Flora! CNPS has been hugely important through various stages of my career development and I am grateful for their continued support. 💚

Desert Star: An Interview with Dr. Naomi Fraga - California Native Plant Society

Dr. Naomi Fraga steps into the spotlight to help folks understand and save the desert’s precious native plants.

cnps.org

Nice to see our friend @naomibot.bsky.social featured in an article in the CNPS Flora magazine. She's so informative and inspiring.

The mine plan calls for a 1,000-foot-deep open pit, surrounded by 2 square miles of waste rock dumps and a sulfuric acid processing plant, transforming a pristine area- home to bighorn sheep, golden eagles and hundreds of plant species — into an industrial zone

Naomi Fraga@naomibot.bsky.social · 4mo ago

The @biologicaldiversity.org appealed a federal court ruling that upheld approvals for the Rhyolite Ridge Lithium Mine in NV. Lets be clear, the mine would doom Tiehm's buckwheat to extinction, industrializing this rare plant's habitat. biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press...

The @biologicaldiversity.org appealed a federal court ruling that upheld approvals for the Rhyolite Ridge Lithium Mine in NV. Lets be clear, the mine would doom Tiehm's buckwheat to extinction, industrializing this rare plant's habitat. biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press...

I have been hiding in the desert, clamoring on rocks while taking tips from lizards on the best way to collect seeds from the Death Valley Sage. @npr.org came along for the ride and it was amazing. www.npr.org/sections/the...

A botanist searches for the seeds of the rare Death Valley Sage

For more than 15 years, botanist Naomi Fraga has been trying to collect seeds from the rare Death Valley sage, for safekeeping in a vault of native California seeds.

npr.org

Great field #botany story of the difficulties of collecting seed from endangered species. Featuring the tireless and talented @naomibot.bsky.social . Lots of field photos in the story. I'm so glad this story got some coverage. #rareplants #conservation www.npr.org/sections/the...

A botanist searches for the seeds of the rare Death Valley Sage

For more than 15 years, botanist Naomi Fraga has been trying to collect seeds from the rare Death Valley sage, for safekeeping in a vault of native California seeds.

npr.org

New Weather West update is out now! Some relief, at last, from recent record warmth and astonishing lack of Mountain West snow in the coming days as cooler/wetter pattern returns. But just how much relief should we expect? Read more:

After a long, dry, and very warm January, a cooler & wetter pattern will return to the U.S. West, with partial relief amid record-low mountain snowpack - Weather West

Record warm winter-to-date continues across most of the American West; already abysmal mountain snowpack dips to record low levels in many areas (except...higher elevations in southern Sierra!) Well, it sure has been a winter to remember thus far across the Western U.S. Astonishing, record-breaking warmth has pervaded nearly entire region (with few exceptions, though one

weatherwest.com

The California State University system spent $16.9 million last year giving ChatGPT to all students, faculty, and staff. We are asking the CSU chancellor not to renew the contract with OpenAI when it expires. Anyone can sign the petition — link below!

California Faculty Association@cfaunited.bsky.social · 6mo ago

The CSU/OpenAI contract is set to expire June 30, 2026. Sign this petition: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/cancel-chatgpt-edu-invest-in-humans/ for the CSU NOT to renew the contract and to use the savings to protect jobs at CSU campuses facing layoffs.

The Eureka Dunes are home to several rare plants some of which occur no where else in the world. Park biologists documented damage to five rare plants including the federally listed Eurkea Valley Dune Grass (Swallenia alexandrae) listed due to impacts from OHV.

Ryan J Hollister@phaneritic.bsky.social · 6mo ago

To add to the sand discourse, I’d like to say a hearty Fuck You to this asshole who illegally drove FIVE MILES ACROSS the EUREKA DUNES in Death Valley wilderness. I hope they’re identified and brought to justice soon. www.sfgate.com/national-par...

Wildflower watch 2026 continues and all eyes on Death Valley, world renowned wildflower hotspot 👀. It was a pleasure to speak w/ @alanhalaly.bsky.social as I conducted reconnaissance w/ the supreme defender of wildflowers 💚 @bitterwaterblue.bsky.social. www.reviewjournal.com/news/environ...

Death Valley could be weeks away from a wildflower bloom. Here’s what to know

At the 10-year anniversary of the 2016 “superbloom” that carpeted the desert floor in flowers, observers may have success in locating wildflowers once again.

reviewjournal.com

We just had the warmest November and December on record and simultaneously experienced a series of drought quenching storms, but everyone still wants to know, will California have another super bloom? www.latimes.com/lifestyle/st...

This Agave ‘blue flame’ bloomed in my yard last year, but I have been remiss to remove the decaying plant. The stalk is still technically green so it’s not actually dead right? I think the bird agrees.

We are hiring at California Botanic Garden! The Restoration Intern will have the opportunity to work on a variety of projects involving out-planting, seed collection, plant propagation and monitoring. This is a full time temp position (6 months) that can be extended. Please share! lnkd.in/gaNuNGxA

Join me Fri Dec 12 @ 2pm PT for a for a presentation with Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West. I'll be discussing how "Mining for the Renewable Energy Transition Threatens Endemic Plant Diversity". Zoom info in the link dornsife.usc.edu/icw/upcoming/

A beautiful documentary on the work of @criordor.bsky.social on a mission to document the microbes in salt flats of the Atacama Desert, Chile. Life invisible, but essential to a hauntingly beautiful ecosystem under threat from the worlds demand for lithium. www.grainmedia.co.uk/work/life-in...

Life Invisible — Grain Media

Professor Cristina Dorador is on an urgent mission. She’s leading an expedition deep into the stunning landscape of the world’s highest and driest desert, the Atacama in Chile. Her goal is to find new...

grainmedia.co.uk

Con mucha alegría comparto el micro documental "Life invisible" (Vida invisible) que habla de la importancia de preservar los salares para salvar la vida de las personas a través de la búsqueda de nuevos antibióticos. Que lo disfruten 😊🎥🦩🦠🩷 www.theguardian.com/film/ng-inte...

Life Invisible: the fight against superbugs starts in the driest place on Earth – documentary

Cristina Dorador is on an urgent mission in the world’s highest desert, the Atacama in Chile. As the rise of drug-resistant superbugs kills millions per year, Cristina has made it her mission to uncov...

theguardian.com

📣 The latest issue of the journal published by The International Compositae Alliance (TICA) is out! Check it out at: www.compositae.org/capitulum_04...

It’s hard to believe, it's already been three weeks since I married my love and #Teambuckwheat co-conspirator @bitterwaterblue.bsky.social in a beautiful ceremony in the Amargosa River Basin. 💕

A fossil-fueled surge in U.S. data center growth to serve the #ArtificialIntelligence boom threatens to sabotage the country’s already faltering climate goals, according to our recent report: Data Crunch. Get the full report ➡️ bit.ly/4hvYguI

The more I hike this road the more and more I want to proselytize for chaparral love ❤️ I am pretty sure this California towhee sitting on a San Gabriel scrub oak is feeling it with me.

I overheard someone say the thing they didn’t like about living in CA was the lack of “seasons”. I didn’t want to be rude, but I wanted to say that maybe haven’t been paying close enough attention. Go outside, touch some grass & maybe a buckwheat. I’ll forgive you if you don’t touch the poison oak.🍂

Finally! 🤩 Our position piece: Against the Uncritical Adoption of 'AI' Technologies in Academia: doi.org/10.5281/zeno... We unpick the tech industry’s marketing, hype, & harm; and we argue for safeguarding higher education, critical thinking, expertise, academic freedom, & scientific integrity. 1/n