Leigh Krietsch Boerner
@leighkboerner.bsky.social
journo on enviro policy, pollution, chemicals, plastics, & other stuff for Chemical and Engineering News. Data ♡er. Recovering chemist and Wirecutter editor. Posts belong to just me and certainly not my employer, the American Chemical Society. She/her/Dr
“This crappy report that they relied on, which is completely deficient on the merits, was authored by a group of people that shouldn't even have existed.” --Joe Goffman, former assistant administrator of EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation cen.acs.org/policy/litig...
Judge rules DOE climate group illegal, but lets their science stand
The scientific community called the group’s July 2025 report ‘fundamentally incorrect.’ The EPA can use it to slash regulations anyway
cen.acs.org
please give my new colleague some love (aka reads and reposts)
Delger Erdenesanaa@edelger.bsky.social · 10mo agoMy first foray into food chemicals -- which I'm learning is a busy, busy beat right now, especially at the state level
The @cenmag.bsky.social science team was up early this morning to report on this year's #ChemNobel. Check out Prachi Patel's excellent story on the prize.
C&EN (Chemical & Engineering News)@cenmag.bsky.social · 10mo agoIt’s a material world after all. And this year’s #NobelPrize in Chemistry has been awarded to researchers who created a family of materials that could help solve some of humanity’s most critical problems. Read more: cen.acs.org/people/nobel... #ChemNobel #Chem #Chemistry #chemsky 🧪
eggshell, oyster, nail, garage: things you don't want to swallow
The New York Times@nytimes.com · 10mo agoHow did you do in Connections today? Players must select four groups of four words without making more than three mistakes. nyti.ms/4q21rOu
Six of the nine Nobel Prize winners this year work in the U.S. Three of the six were born outside the U.S., which is the pattern most years. No country has benefited more from welcoming immigrants from around the world. www.nobelprize.org
The official website of the Nobel Prize - NobelPrize.org
The Nobel Prize rewards science, humanism and peace efforts. This is one of the central concepts in the will of Alfred Nobel, and it also permeates the outreach activities that have been developed for...
nobelprize.org
COVID-19 data are limited this week due to the government shutdown, but we are not entirely without information on how the disease is spreading. Many independent dashboards as well as state and local sites continue to offer info. (1/3) thesicktimes.org/2025/10/07/n...
Denise Okafor, a biochemist at Penn State and one of C&EN's Talented 12, will be speaking at the #CENT12 Symposium on Monday, August 18 in Washington, DC. RSVP here: connect.discoveracs.org/talented-12-... Read more: cen.acs.org/biological-c...
my in-person recordings of Tuesday's announcement: Lee Zeldin's remarks youtu.be/aozqFnwPk_o Chris Wright's remarks youtu.be/WjGWoyBaNms Q&A at the end youtu.be/ItcKtov6pSM (I did record the whole event but in the interest in time and internet speed, only uploaded these sections)
Leigh Krietsch Boerner@leighkboerner.bsky.social · last yr.Yesterday at a semi-truck warehouse in the middle of nowhere Indiana, Lee Zeldin annouced that the EPA is trying to recind the regulatory basis to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. I was there. Here's my story for @cenmag.bsky.social: cen.acs.org/policy/regul...
Yesterday at a semi-truck warehouse in the middle of nowhere Indiana, Lee Zeldin annouced that the EPA is trying to recind the regulatory basis to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. I was there. Here's my story for @cenmag.bsky.social: cen.acs.org/policy/regul...
EPA rejects key finding underpinning US climate rules
Energy secretary cites new DOE report on climate change by known climate denialists to justify repeal
cen.acs.org
my take on the EPA rollback of power plant emissions rule, in @cenmag.bsky.social An interesting thing is kinda buried tho. cen.acs.org/policy/EPA-a...
EPA aims to roll back greenhouse gas and mercury emission rules
Zeldin’s EPA argues that US power plant carbon emissions aren’t ‘significant’—recent study says total is more than most countries
cen.acs.org
Trump's 'Gold Standard Science' EO is more like 'fool's gold'. Latest from me in @cenmag.bsky.social cen.acs.org/policy/Gold-... (to steal a term from @standupforscience.bsky.social's open letter)
‘Gold Standard Science’ may lead to discarding valid research
Trump’s executive order gives political appointees power to enforce standards that scientists call unattainable
cen.acs.org
Grad students will need to start cutting their pH strips into quarters instead of into halves I guess
Science Magazine@science.org · last yr.The U.S. research community needs to learn how to thrive with less money from the federal government. That was the blunt message from Michael Kratsios, science adviser to President Donald Trump and head of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. scim.ag/4k0EIiv
The Senate #Environment and #PublicWorks Committee is interested in hearing how the #EPA 's work has helped you, a loved one, or your community. Deadline is TODAY (before the budget hearing tomorrow) docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
How has the EPA helped you?
Has the Environmental Protection Agency cleaned up a toxic area in your community? Restored clean water access to your community? Cleaned up the air you breathe? Replaced lead pipes in your town? The...
docs.google.com
ATTN #ChemSky: It's time to nominate folks for C&EN's Trailblazers 🎉 This year, we'll be featuring disabled chemists & chemical engineers, and highlighting their research and how they make their workspaces more accessible! Nominate someone here by June 4: cenm.ag/nominatetrai... #DisabledInSTEM
I'm helping lead @cenmag.bsky.social's Trailblazers 2025, and I want you 🫵 to nominate a chemist with disabilities for us to feature. Before June 4, fill out this form and recognize a chemist who inspires you: cenm.ag/nominatetrai...
Microsoft Forms
cenm.ag
any ALS researchers follow me here? or ppl know of researchers on BlueSky studying ALS? will go looking for myself, but trying the passive option first.
EPA reorg essentially dissolves its independent science arm, the Office of Research and Development (ORD). But the EPA is not answering questions about it, and ORD scientists are left scrambling and confused. My latest for @cenmag.bsky.social cen.acs.org/environment/...
Trump proposes unprecedented budget cuts for US science in next fiscal year NASA cut by 24% NIH cut by 40% EPA cut by 55% NSF cut by 56% Analysis from @maxkozlov.bsky.social @dangaristo.bsky.social @alexwitze.bsky.social and @nature.com team www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Trump proposes unprecedented budget cuts to US science
Huge reductions, if enacted, could have ‘catastrophic’ effects on US competitiveness and the scientific pipeline, critics say.
nature.com
this is why journalists tend to drink, isn't it
EPA reorg includes changes to offices of Administrator, Air and Radiation, Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP), and Water. No details on the ORD? Looking to talk to EPA scientists, esp from ORD. Please reach out l_boerner@acs.org or leigh_boerner.75 on signal. lnkd.in/gVt-iAEv
ICYMI yesterday: EPA Funding Cuts Target Disadvantaged Communities, Analysis Shows insideclimatenews.org/news/0105202...
EPA Funding Cuts Target Disadvantaged Communities, Analysis Shows - Inside Climate News
In its bid to resist a court order to unfreeze grants, the Trump administration reveals a laser focus on eliminating environmental justice aid.
insideclimatenews.org
The US Food and Drug Administration plans to work with industry to remove petroleum-based food dyes from the US food supply by the end of next year. cen.acs.org/food/food-in... 🧪
FDA eyes phaseout of petroleum-based food dyes
Plan relies on industry voluntarily eliminating artificial colors in food
cen.acs.org
Ever had to wear an ill-fitting lab coat? I have! It's a common experience that's uncomfortable at best, and dangerous at worst. Read more about lab coats and the companies rethinking their designs at @cenmag.bsky.social: cen.acs.org/safety/lab-s... #ChemSky #Science
Ill-fitting lab coats raise safety and inclusivity concerns
The protective garments are not only uncomfortable but can pose a danger to researchers
cen.acs.org
Trump's Jan EO, now a proposed OPM rule, makes federal workers who don't advance presidential policies easier to fire. My latest in @cenmag.bsky.social cen.acs.org/policy/US-ru... (edited bc apparently I can't spell)
Funding via the NSF GRFP grants dropped 56% for chemists this year, but all chemistry subfields were hit about the same. More on the gutting of the GRFP from @cenmag.bsky.social. Words by @bribarbu.bsky.social, data by me cen.acs.org/policy/resea...
NSF halves graduate fellowship awards
Students from all fields lose out on tens of millions of dollars in career-boosting funds this year
cen.acs.org
