My Sunday morning update on the wildfire disaster unfolding in Spokane, Washington #wildfires #drought #spokane www.forbes.com/sites/marsha...

AI may be good for some things, but: “The problem with writing with A.I. is that it’s mentally enfeebling … As it becomes ubiquitous, it undermines not only our individual ability to write but also a society’s collective ability to reason” www.nytimes.com/2026/08/04/o...

Opinion | I’m Begging You: Never Write With A.I.

It’s bad for your brain and worse for democracy.

nytimes.com

“Across the U.S., 44,004 wildfires have ignited so far this year, scorching more than 4.8 million acres…well above the 10-year-to-date averages of 34,340 fires and 3.63 million acres burned, marking the most active season at this point in the year since 2022” www.foxweather.com/weather-news...

The costs of climate change are mounting: “The plan allows for cuts of up to 3 million acre-feet a year among the states in the river’s Lower Basin — Arizona, California and Nevada. That’s nearly twice what those states have offered to conserve” apple.news/AceW4L7NPTZy...

Feds release long-awaited plan to fight Colorado River water crisis — USA TODAY

The Bureau of Reclamation released its long-awaited Colorado River drought plan, targeting Lower Basin states for cuts.

apple.news

Another clear sign that gas stoves are dangerous to our health: “Research that used a federal grant to pay for asthma patients to have their gas stoves replaced showed a dramatic fall in asthma attacks.” www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

The EPA halted a study on gas stoves and asthma. But even partial results were striking.

Research that used a federal grant to pay for asthma patients to have their gas stoves replaced showed a dramatic fall in asthma attacks. The program was cut short after President Donald Trump took of...

washingtonpost.com

Not the first, and not the last. Climate change is drying up more and more places. “It’s like a slow death, instead of an actual emergency happening right in front of your eyes where you can actually help.” www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/...

A desert town may run out of water. Others could face the same fate.

An Arizona community nearly dried up and imposed strict limits, and its crisis may be a glimpse of the West’s future.

washingtonpost.com

It’s a another year of unprecedented heat, drought, rain and flooding, wildfire and toxic smoke. How’s it all connected and what can we do to fix it? This pod boils it down for Michigan and the world. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s...

Stateside: Wednesday, July 22, 2026

Podcast Episode · Stateside On Air · July 23 · 50m

podcasts.apple.com

Take note: When it comes to climate change, "The solutions are in hand - it’s about growing the political will to do what’s right. www.thetimesherald.com/story/opinio...

Michigan health plagued by wildfires, smokes and floods | Opinion

Michiganders have been suffering from hazardous wildfire smoke, a cyclosporiasis outbreak and floods. They are not mere coincidences.

thetimesherald.com

Climate change impacts are accelerating: “It’s like hitting a climate system with a big hammer whereas in the past we hit it with little taps, So I worry that we might be underestimating how bad it will get and how soon it will get really bad.” www.michiganpublic.org/environment-...

Climate change worsens wildfire conditions in Michigan

Michigan has always had dry spells, but they have become longer and more severe. Climate scientists believe Michigan fires may soon resemble the fires that happen annually out west.

michiganpublic.org

Michigan is a relative climate haven, but... "Protecting the future of Michigan and the planet should unite us all. It’s on all of us to decide what comes next. It’s time to act like your next Pure Michigan summer depends on it, because it does." www.thetimesherald.com/story/opinio...

Michigan health plagued by wildfires, smokes and floods | Opinion

Michiganders have been suffering from hazardous wildfire smoke, a cyclosporiasis outbreak and floods. They are not mere coincidences.

thetimesherald.com

Sadly true: “As long as humans continue to burn fossil fuels, global temperatures will increase, droughts will worsen, and there will be bigger, more frequent wildfires and smoke events.” It will get worse unless we phase out fossil fuel use. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/16/w...

A Warmer World Will Be a Smokier One

Higher temperatures and drought conditions are contributing to more intense wildfires and extending the summer fire season in North America.

nytimes.com

The real cause of the wildfire smoke problem: “Because of global climate change and the warming of the planet, we're drying out vegetation much more than we did in the past, and that makes it more susceptible to fire” www.cbc.ca/news/science...

'Just stop burning fossil fuels.' Scientists stress that our smoky skies only have one true fix | CBC News

Smoky skies in Toronto have led to new scrutiny of government efforts to fight fires and manage forests. But scientists say the realistic way to tackle the smoke is fighting climate change itself.

cbc.ca

This is an important message - forest management alone can’t stop the surge in wildfire. We must halt climate change if we want to keep the increasing wildfire trend from getting worse - much worse.

Marshall Shepherd @drshepherd2013.bsky.social · 3w ago

It's not just forest management. Climate Change is a major factor. Thanks @zekehausfather.com for the illustrative graphic

Thousands flee as First Nations bear the brunt of Canada’s wildfires

Thousands flee as First Nations bear the brunt of Canada’s wildfires

Residents of one First Nations community went door to door warning neighbors before fleeing by boat. More than 900 fires continue burning across Canada.

dlvr.it

Recommended read: For Climate Home News, two researchers from the Center for International Environmental Law explored how “major emitting countries knew of climate risks decades earlier than claimed”.

Major emitting countries knew of climate risks decades earlier than claimed

Governments have known since at least the 1960s that fossil fuel use was warming the planet. They kept quiet to avoid responsibility.

buff.ly

This is just the start if we don’t halt climate change: “On average 24,100 people died each year in the Lower 48 states between 2006 and 2020 due to long-term exposure to tiny particles from wildfire smoke” stop complaining about Canadians and get to work. apnews.com/article/wild...

Wildfire smoke kills tens of thousands of people a year. Here's how it attacks the body

Wildfire smoke, which is increasing in the Northern Hemisphere as the climate warms, attacks nearly every system in the body.

apnews.com

Lots of folks are asking what the health risks of wildfire smoke are, and they are significant. Here's a summary: www.msn.com/en-us/weathe...

Today's headlines aren't separate stories. Wildfires. Smoke. Cyclospora. Line 5. They're reminders that the health of our environment shapes the health of our communities. Clean air. Safe food. Fresh water. The science is clear. The solutions exist. Now we need the will to act.

This is what human-caused climate change looks like - look at all the uncontrolled wildfires in Canada. www.cbsnews.com/news/wildfir...

When we say the burning of fossil fuels is cooking the planet figuratively and literally, we mean it. Heatwaves, extreme rainfall/flooding, megadrought, and unprecedented wildfire are all being made more and more dangerous by the burning of fossil fuels. apple.news/AHuKzb51mQ26...

Dangerous wildfire smoke continues with air quality alerts in at least 17 states — ABC News

Detroit and Minneapolis rank among the top major cities for poor air quality.

apple.news

The two largest reservoirs in the U.S. now have less water in them than all the way back to 1957 when the Glen Canyon Dam was being constructed behind what would become Lake Powell. The Southwest Megadrought is getting scary folks. qanr.usu.edu/coloradorive...

A helpful piece on Michigan's permitting of large renewable energy projects, & the new law designed to speed things up, + help local communities be at the table too. MI has an ambitious climate action plan, & recent flood events are one good reason. www.interlochenpublicradio.org/ipr-news/202...

How the state’s law on big renewable energy projects shifts local control in northern Michigan

Three years after Public Act 233 passed, municipalities are still grappling with their options for large renewable energy projects as the state seeks to transition to cleaner energy sources.

interlochenpublicradio.org

Folks in Salt Lake City take note: “When winds sweep over the exposed lakebed, they pick up the parched sediment, producing harmful dust storms.” Don’t let your lake dry up… apple.news/AdDuT_tNnTre...

All climate scientists think global warming is happening. At the same time, "Americans who think global warming is happening outnumber those who think it is not by a ratio of more than 4 to 1 (68% versus 16%)." Hard to miss the impacts these days. climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications...

Climate Change in the American Mind: Beliefs & Attitudes, Spring 2026

This report is based on findings from a nationally representative survey – Climate Change in the American Mind – conducted jointly by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and the George Ma...

climatecommunication.yale.edu

Reducing over-fertilization of farm fields has multiple benefits. E.g.: "When fields get too much fertilizer, nature’s once-vibrant microbe communities can lose species and fade. That matters to farmers right now." Could help reduce algal blooms in waterways too. theconversation.com/fertilizers-...

Fertilizers carry a hidden cost for soil’s crucial microbes – using less as prices rise might pay off for farms in unexpected ways

Too much fertilizer disrupts the hidden world of soil-dwelling microbes that were sustaining healthy crops long before synthetic fertilizer was invented.

theconversation.com

This is a scary fact: "The rise in observed temperatures in France has outpaced projections made by climate models, with June maximum temperatures more in line with what was expected for the 2070s." It's going to get worse. www.carbonbrief.org/guest-post-f...

Guest post: France’s June heatwave caused more than 2,700 heat-related deaths - Carbon Brief

In a new analysis, we estimate that the extreme conditions caused more than 2,700 heat-related deaths in France.

carbonbrief.org

Like the US and Europe, China has an escalating and costly climate disaster problem. Their typhoon (same as hurricanes) risks are growing more significant, ditto for heat waves, more intense rainfall/flooding, droughts and sea level rise. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

China Reports 10 Dead After Rain and Storms Batter Provinces

China’s President Xi Jinping urged “all-out” disaster prevention and relief efforts after deadly storms hit parts of the country, with a strong typhoon expected to bring more extreme weather to the ea...

bloomberg.com

"Europe is increasingly paying the costs of a hotter world it has failed to prepare for." In the UD, we also need to work harder to stop climate change from costing more & more, but where we also need to invest in adaptation to reduce costs - both lives & $$. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

Record wildfires in Europe show failure to adapt carries a mounting cost

Scientists call for better land management alongside reduction in greenhouse gases causing the crisis

theguardian.com

Droughts are becoming more frequent, longer, and more severe. Flash droughts are intensifying faster. How do we improve drought assessment to foster greater resiliency? New NAS consensus study/report: www.nationalacademies.org/news/u-s-nee...

U.S. Needs New Drought Assessment Framework as Droughts Become More Severe and Unpredictable

As droughts in the United States become more frequent and longer-lasting, new assessment tools are needed. A new National Academies report examines how the field of drought assessment can better accou...

nationalacademies.org

“This is the time for local… county… and state government to start to prepare for a significant likelihood of much higher than average sea levels, more disruptive coastal flooding and potentially record-breaking coastal water levels” www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2026...

The Pacific Ocean is running a fever. Why that’s an ominous sign.

A marine heat wave covering an area eight times the size of the United States could soon fuel serious storms and extreme heat.

washingtonpost.com