Faith Kearns, Ph.D.
@fkearns.bsky.social
Scientist and science communicator writing mostly about water, wildfire, climate, disasters, and people | author: Getting to the Heart of Science Communication | co-host: Water Talk podcast | views=mine
“Efficiency is a tool, not a social objective.” Provocative piece here about what we mean when we talk about agricultural efficiency civileats.com/2026/09/30/o...
Op-ed: Agricultural ‘Efficiency’ Is a False Promise
Democracy demands a thriving food system that supports not only our land, but our farmers and communities.
civileats.com
the latest anthropic cry abt "cruelty" & "abuse" of ai is truly stupid. i beg journalists to stop parroting amodei we wrote why dehumanisation of ai is impossible & 6+ yrs later, everything in this paper holds Robot Rights? Let’s Talk about Human Welfare Instead dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1...
Had a California equivalent to a “snow day” because of El Niño Balboa Boulevard was under water throughout most of the peninsula Long underwater Kelvin waves and the oncoming storm surge caused havoc and preventing me from getting to one of my clients homes today 🌊
“Nothing is sacred right now" www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adve...
The Border Wall Just “Decapitated” a 7,000-Year-Old Arizona Carving Created Before Stonehenge and Egypt’s Pyramids
A newly dated 272-foot rock carving in Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge was severely damaged by border contractors, exposing a growing threat to public lands, outdoor access, and sacred Indigeno...
outsideonline.com
Just watching a bunch of reels over on threads - people driving through waist deep water in southern California to evacuate coastal flooding today. Might need a bit more readiness.
Prof Ian Hall@ianhall.bsky.social · 2d ago‘Like an earthquake’: El Niño is coming for California – is the state ready? The real danger of El Niño isn’t just one extreme event. It’s how hazards connect and cascade, compounding risks and impacts. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Seeing multiple reports of notable and even locally damaging coastal flooding ongoing already in parts of coastal SoCal. This could get significantly worse this weekend due to TS Rachel.
Maxmax@maxmax.bsky.social · 2d agoCoastal flooding in Balboa and Long Beach right now. ktla.com/news/local-n...
This was a really lovely and generative conversation for me. Thanks to Faith, Mallika and Samuel for asking me great questions!
Faith Kearns, Ph.D.@fkearns.bsky.social · 2d agoWe 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...
A tropical storm watch has been issued for San Diego County. This is just the second time a tropical storm watch has been issued in California, after Tropical Storm Hilary in August 2023 www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh...?
Anthony Edwards@edwardsanthonyb.bsky.social · 3d agoConcerning model trends this evening bring (post) Tropical Storm Rachel very close to San Diego on Sunday morning. Even if Rachel makes landfall in Mexico, storm surge could push tides to top-10 record territory in San Diego. Coastal flooding and erosion will probably be damaging in some areas.
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
One thing about me is I will always buy the tote bag if it has a zipper. (And also if it supports good organizations like @skypeascientist.bsky.social)
Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D.@sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 3d agoNew Merch Alert!! Fish. The ocean's full of 'em. And protecting the ocean is a global job, so we better learn the word for fish in as many languages as we can fit on a tote bag. Support @skypeascientist.bsky.social by getting a *sturdy* tote bag with a zipper (with a zipper!!!) at SquidFacts.net
International students in the US would face a $100,000 price tag to work a science job in the country after graduation under a proposal made public yesterday by the Trump administration go.nature.com/4AWqQi8
US proposes $100,000 charge for international students to do post-graduate work
Proposed rule would choke off a crucial STEM talent pipeline, policy specialists say
go.nature.com
The last Grandmother Tree, a centuries-old cottonwood in the San Rafael Valley was cut down by Border Patrol to clear space for a new border wall after a 71-day protest. Agents arrested a dozen protesters and tore these elder trees from the Earth. For what? insideclimatenews.org/news/0510202...
Final ‘Grandmother’ Cottonwood Toppled, Protesters Arrested in Arizona - Inside Climate News
Armed Border Patrol agents raided a protest camp in Lochiel, in southeast Arizona, making way for contractors to cut down the last standing cottonwood tree Monday morning for a double border wall, aft...
insideclimatenews.org
The most significant impacts will likely be from heavy rainfall in desert portions of far southeastern CA, western AZ, and much of UT. Serious flash flash flooding is possible, depending on track, anywhere from eastern slopes of San Diego County mtns to mtns of central Utah.
Update: The remnants of Hurricane Rachel, likely as a post-tropical (perhaps still tropical) storm, now appears likely to bring significant impacts to northern Baja CA, far S. California, AZ, and UT--mainly Sunday into Monday. [Brief thread]
The “literacies“ framework is as intellectually bankrupt as polarization right now. We will keep using it because when you’ve got one hammer and the NSF social science funding has dried up everything looks like a nostalgic managerial class nail.
Anna Kornbluh@annakornbluh.bsky.social · 5d ago"To fight back, Americans need to learn the counterspy techniques of C.I.A. officers: using multiple sources to check information; testing those sources regularly for reliability; never getting complacent and trusting one source without thinking."
US households pay 62% more for water than they did a decade ago, study finds For-profit water corporations, federal cuts and climate crisis are ‘supercharging water rate hikes’, www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
US households pay 62% more for water than they did a decade ago, study finds
For-profit water corporations, federal cuts and climate crisis are ‘supercharging water rate hikes’, study co-author says
theguardian.com
"Drinking water costs spiked faster than inflation, grocery prices and median household income, researchers at nonprofit Food & Water Watch outlined in a first-of-its-kind report released Tuesday"
UC Agriculture & Natural Resources@ucanr.edu · 5d agoKristin Dobbin, with UC Cooperative Extension at UC Berkeley, who was not involved in the report, called the analysis “extremely important.” The finances behind drinking water are “not something we’ve had a big picture view on across the country before." insideclimatenews.org/news/0610202...
Meanwhile in France: "More than 83,000 residents are relying on emergency measures – a 30% increase since the start of the month. These measures primarily include deliveries by tanker trucks or the provision of bottled water." www.lemonde.fr/en/environme...
Persistent drought puts pressure on France's drinking water networks
Water reserves supplying distribution systems across France remain under strain due to a significant rainfall deficit.
lemonde.fr
Pretty sure this is Keyhole Arch at Pfieffer Beach in Big Sur. In the future, perhaps as early as this winter, the cliff edge he’s standing on will fall into the sea.
Carl Quintanilla@carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 7d agoCover. @vanityfair.com www.vanityfair.com/story/sam-al...
Fire is natural in many forests. But hotter, drier conditions and more intense fires can overwhelm their ability to recover, pushing some landscapes toward shrubland or other ecosystems. That’s the real concern: a changing fire regime... edition.cnn.com/2026/10/04/u...
Wildfires across the US are changing forest landscapes – and the tipping point may be on the horizon | CNN
As Monica Turner trekked across the western hills of Yellowstone National Park, the cold rain was inescapable. Even the constant movement of putting one foot in front of the other as she fought throug...
edition.cnn.com
Another wildfire survivor describes the hidden cost of neighborhoods being destroyed even if the houses are "rebuilt" as people are crushed by debt, displaced by short term rentals, etc
“'The microplastic footprint Helene left behind was pretty substantial,' said Austin Gray, a Virginia Tech biologist. 'Microplastics are depositing all over terrestrial and aquatic areas, especially after a storm event...'" news.vt.edu/content/news... 🧪
Hurricane Helene deposited nearly one-fifth of annual microplastics at one North Carolina site
Microplastics are often linked to urban areas near roads and development, but a new study shows that wind and rain carry them from the atmosphere into remote headwaters — a process intensified by majo...
news.vt.edu
Colorado Supreme Court will hear major climate change case involving devastating Marshall wildfire. Colorado case is part of a wave of climate change litigation across the country. #ClimateChange #litigation #law #suit coloradosun.com/2026/10/04/c...
Supreme Court will hear major climate change case involving devastating Marshall wildfire
Colorado case is part of a wave of climate change litigation across the U.S. The justices will hear the case that could decide the fate of similar cases.
coloradosun.com
Small Farms and Groundwater Policy. Sam Sandoval & @fkearns.bsky.social talk with Ngodoo Atume @ucanr.edu and Judith Redmond of Full Belly Farm about California's Sustainable Groundwater Management Act and its impacts on small, family farms www.watertalkpodcast.com/episodes/epi...
Small Farms and Groundwater Policy in CA — Water Talk
A conversation with Ngodoo Atume (University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program) and Judith Redmond (Full Belly Farm) about California's Sustainable Groundwater Manag...
watertalkpodcast.com
"What we found is alarming: this fast-growing Civility Industrial Complex is driven by an anti-democratic agenda to suppress organic student organizing." www.uncivilcollective.org
UNCIVIL | Exposing the Civility Industrial Complex
Billionaire funders and extremist politicians are funneling millions into campus dialogue programs and civics centers. They claim to be reducing “polarization” and promoting “pluralism,” but their rea...
uncivilcollective.org
Sea levels along the West Coast will begin to rise by up to a foot this month as a series of pulses of warm water called Kelvin waves hit the shoreline and move north, sparking concerns about beach erosion and flooding in areas already impacted by climate change and El Nino.
A pulse of warm water hitting the Pacific coast could mean erosion and flooding
Sea levels along the West Coast will begin to rise by up to a foot this month as a series of pulses of warm water called Kelvin waves hit the shoreline and move north, sparking concerns about beach erosion and flooding in areas already impacted by climate change and El Niño.
bit.ly
It wild to witness: so many of our institutions are captured by capital and power incentives that the only place we do see courage right now is among individual people*. *and a handful of grassroots organizations and independent news orgs
2000 years of managing water and controlling fire: "The Talang Tuwo inscription is a historical record dated to the year 684 C.E. and written in Old Malay. The inscription documents the creation of a green park and the treatment of ponds and dams under king Sri Jayanasa."
Mongabay@mongabay.com · last wk."If a fire breaks out here, we’re finished." As El Niño drives Indonesia's worst wildfires in years, rubber growers in South Sumatra rely on traditional fire prevention. For local farmers, preventing fire is now a matter of survival. Learn more in this story by Taufik Wijaya for #Mongabay.
