Greg Pierce
@gregspierce.bsky.social
UCLA: Human Right to Water Solutions Lab, Luskin Center, Department of Urban Planning, Water Resources Group
Good story on lithium, water, and communities in the American West.
The Race for Lithium Is Becoming a Race for Water - Inside Climate News
In the arid American West, expanded mining intensifies battles in vulnerable communities over one of the region’s scarcest resources.
insideclimatenews.org
More extreme heat, drought and beach erosion could hit SoCal within two decades, a new state report finds. 🔗 vist.ly/5pjeb ✍️ Kevin Tidmarsh 📸 Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
So much going on in this story, but TL;DR Lake County doing and considering some fascinating things at the water-energy-wildfire fighting nexus www.pressdemocrat.com/2026/10/21/l...
These innovative projects keep Lake County's lights on and help fight fires
Three proposed microgrids costing hundreds of millions of dollars could keep electricity flowing for more than 24 hours. A key financial verdict is expected by next summer.
pressdemocrat.com
"Going beyond recent warnings by the International Energy Agency, our results suggest that staying below 1.5°C may require governments & companies not only to cease licensing & development of new fields & mines, but also to prematurely decommission a significant portion of those already developed"
Existing fossil fuel extraction would warm the world beyond 1.5 °C
Existing fossil fuel extraction would warm the world beyond 1.5 °C, Trout, Kelly, Muttitt, Greg, Lafleur, Dimitri, Van de Graaf, Thijs, Mendelevitch, Roman, Mei, Lan, Meinshausen, Malte
iopscience.iop.org
What happens when your water institutions are weak, infrastructure is inadequate, regulations ignored, and managers fail? People get sick: apnews.com/article/sout...
Over 500 in South Africa sickened in outbreak linked to poor water quality
Over 500 people in South Africa have fallen ill from a gastrointestinal illness linked to poor water quality in two cities.
apnews.com
So far, we’re drier than Las Vegas, which has seen 15 times our rainfall this month, San Diego with 13 times as much, and Phoenix with five.
Record dry October continues in Seattle
seattletimes.com
The new California 5th Climate Assessment Region Report for the Sierra Nevada has just been posted online! Graphically beautiful & insightful status report on current state of knowledge re: climate, water, ecosystems&working lands, built & social systems. ½ climateassessment.ca.gov/wp-content/u...
Last week, I started as a new fellow with @ucanrwater.bsky.social, where I previously spent a decade. I am grateful for the support of everyone @ucanr.edu and the Climate Science and Communications Fund. Nice to be back!
Grid batteries are safer than ever, but high-profile fires at Moss Landing and other California sites have sparked fears. Here's how clean energy groups are building trust and support for projects vital to getting cleaner, more reliable energy: californiawire.substack.com/p/what-to-sa... #energysky
What to say to Californians worried about grid batteries
Large-scale batteries are safer than ever, even after some high-profile fires. Here's how experts are rebuilding trust.
californiawire.substack.com
El Niño, extreme high tides and sea level rise: "This is what it’s going to look like every winter, in less than a generation." @rosannaxia.bsky.social www.latimes.com/environment/...
The El Niño stars are aligning in record-breaking ways. Here's how the high tides stack up
Overwhelmed by El Niño forecasts? An expert explains how a confluence of high tide cycles could peak around Thanksgiving and Christmas along coastal California.
latimes.com
I was in a room with billionaires today. In a discussion of #cawater, two of them complained about their household water bills
Another danger of climate change just dropped.
The Washington Post@washingtonpost.com · 2w agoA study of Maui survivors found high amounts of toxic metals in their bodies for as long as 18 months after the 2023 blaze. Another study found the Eaton Fire’s smoke had lead concentrations up to 250 times higher than normal.
We had a great time talking with @profsecchi.bsky.social about all things Mississippi River basin, from agriculture to conservation to economics. Listen to Water Talk wherever you get your podcasts or on our website www.watertalkpodcast.com/episodes/epi...
Mississippi Watershed Past, Present, and Futures — Water Talk
A conversation with Professor Silvia Secchi (University of Iowa) about the Mississippi River watershed, its sociohydrology, and visioning alternative futures. Released October 9, 2026.
watertalkpodcast.com
Gasoline-only cars now make up just 49% of global new vehicle sales, down from 73% in 2021: electrek.co/2026/10/05/g...
Gas cars fall below 50% of global new car sales for the first time
Gas cars made up 49% of global new car sales in the first half of 2026, down from 73% in 2021. But hybrids are taking as much share as EVs.
electrek.co
Black communities in the South are also disproportionately withheld the human right to sanitation access.
They Were Promised New Septic Tanks. Trump Called It ‘Illegal DEI.’ (Gift Article)
The Justice Department ended a deal that had helped fund a solution to the sewage crisis in rural Alabama. “Almost like we are starting all over again,” one activist said.
nytimes.com
This is mostly due to groundwater extraction btw.
Nature Portfolio@natureportfolio.nature.com · 2w agoLand is sinking in some major cities worldwide, including Mexico City, Mexico and Medan, Indonesia, according to satellite observations of 465 cities published in Nature Cities. go.nature.com/4hRSi7Z 🧪
I made a brief cameo in Smithsonian Channel's "How Did They Fix That" season 5 debut episode entitled "Afterburn," focused on the LA fires. Some day I will learn how to look into a camera correctly. www.smithsonianchannel.com/episodes/y85...
How Did They Fix That? - Afterburn | Smithsonian Channel
In Southern California, crews rebuild after the 2025 wildfires, cutting firebreaks, repairing emergency water systems, hardening roads and power lines, and building fire resistant homes before the nex...
smithsonianchannel.com
State auditor often comes in off the top rope without context but still a major concern calmatters.org/environment/...
California’s riskiest dams are closer to big cities than you think
California has never penalized a dam owner for violating safety requirements, even as 57 dams sit in poor condition.
calmatters.org
Cutting the diesel tax doesn't make the cost disappear. Who's gonna pay for road repairs? https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/the-kim-kardashian-problem-in-welfare
This willl work out well, if passed! subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2026...
POLITICO Pro: Florida water management districts could face funding loss under property tax proposal
Losing funding for the districts could threaten water quality and make coastal communities more vulnerable to flooding, House Democrats argued.
subscriber.politicopro.com
Nine Long Beach Peninsula buildings are red-tagged after Tropical Storm Rachel. 🔗 What’s next: vist.ly/5n3r9 ✍️ John Donegan | Long Beach Post 📸 Thomas R. Cordova / Long Beach Post
Looking forward to living in America City on the shores of Lake America with a view of many Mounts America in the America Range, & the America Rivers that will flow across the America Plains, dividing toward the America Oceans to the east and west and north and south www.nytimes.com/2026/09/07/u...
Trump Posts Map Suggesting New Mexico Be Renamed as ‘New America’
The suggestion, posted on social media, appeared to be the latest in the president’s efforts to alter geographic names.
nytimes.com
FACULTY JOB ALERT: @bloustein.rutgers.edu assistant professor position in climate change + planning law jobs.rutgers.edu/postings/282...
