Mount Rainier, Mount St Helens and Mount Adams poke above a smoky Washington sky on Wednesday morning. #WAwx

Adding to the list of things I'm done with and just blocking on social media: Shaming people for AC. With the number of states, nations and people experiencing heavy smoke right now, "just open your windows and acclimatize" is not an acceptable comment. I do not have AC. I'll probably get it soon.

I'm in this picture and I don't like it.

@cira-csu.bsky.social · yesterday

Widespread smoke and haze-filled skies remain over the Pacific Northwest as wildfires continue to burn in the region.

For a lot of this awful early fire season, western Oregon has been lucky. The worst of the smoke has stayed east of us. But our AQI has gone from 18 yesterday to 120 a few hours ago to 155 now. It's our turn in the smoke. #corvallis #oregon

Nice shot of roosting black and turkey vultures, showing the more extensive bald neck of the BLVU and especially the fancy bronzed feathers of an adult TUVU. Their species name isn't aura (golden) for nothing. Gorgeous. (Photo by wilesmiles on reddit) #birds #vultures www.reddit.com/r/BirdPhotog...

From the BirdPhotography community on Reddit: An interspecies committee of Black & Turkey Vultures.

Explore this post and more from the BirdPhotography community

reddit.com

I just replaced the filters in our air purifiers and ordered another set, in what has become a grim annual ritual. Wildfires and smoke are a natural part of life in the Northwest, but the burning of fossil fuels has made these events larger, more frequent and severe.

The Seattle Times@seattletimes.com · 2d ago

Wildfire smoke from a trifecta of catastrophic wildfires will roll in Tuesday and could cause the air quality to be unhealthy and reduce visibility.

A lot of my regular haunts around western Oregon are drying up, but there's still water trickling through Beazell Memorial Forest. It's a sound that I always come back to, when everything else feels like noise. #oregon #water

Sign the open letter to support Scientific American workers against devastating cuts and union-busting wgaea.st/sciam-letter

Take care and prepare, folks. It's here.

Capital Weather@capitalweather.com · 2mo ago

Breaking: National Weather Service declares El Nino is here and has a high chance to become very strong, ranking among the strongest on record. More info: www.capitalweather.com/weather-serv...

Scientific publishing has “make people provide their intellectual labour for free, then charge them for it” as a foundational concept, so it’s sad but not exactly surprising that they’re all in on the “steal everyone’s work and then charge for regurgitating it” machines. They were primed for it.

It may be the smallest of this administration's crimes, but I am amazed at how successfully they have dulled my interest in the World Cup. A World Cup? Hosted here? Where Scotland has qualified? I should be buzzing. And I mostly just don't care, beyond hoping against hope that no one gets shot.

We don't have to live like this, constantly waiting for the next implosion. Just like Mr. Potter bought most of Bedford Falls in the Depression, rich people always see opportunity in collapse, because they know they can survive it and buy the ruins cheap.

Erin Biba@erinbiba.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Saw Sam Altman asked if AI is a bubble that will burst and Altman said it's great when bubbles burst and it was great for tech when the internet bubble burst and how it only leaves the best of the best alive and he thinks the AI bubble bursting will be great. These guys are FUCKING DESPERATE.

War crime

The Canary@thecanaryuk.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The US hit two reservoirs in southern Iran, leaving tens of thousands without drinking water in 40 degree heat

As earlier noted, a significant West Coast heatwave will build in the coming days, persisting at least 7-10 days. A strong & at least somewhat persistent ridge will bring war-to-hot conditions West Coast wide. Heat will be most anomalous in PacNW, but will also be present in CA.

I'm minding my own business, having a difficult and emotionally draining trip home, but doing okay with all of it, considering. But that wasn't enough, so our old friend the common cold decided to join in and really put a cherry on top of this whole situation. I'm sick. I'm sad. This all sucks.

Granted, I haven't been online much lately. Busy days. But this is the worst take I've read today. The idea that an LLM can replace 3-4 years of a PhD candidate's work because it can write words faster is either stunningly corrupt or disqualifyingly stupid.

Sarah T Roberts, PhD@ubiquity75.xyz · 2mo ago

I can’t.

x is a right-wing cesspool. it is not a public square and people with a conscience should abandon it.

Vikram Bath@vikrambath.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The top 2026 X accounts gives insight into the lie that X is the town square. These people are niche celebrities and their influence on X does not represent influence elsewhere. Your participation is not going to change this graph www.natesilver.net/p/social-med...

I've learned something, big or small, and intentionally or not, from just about every moment I've had with my father. This trip, I'm learning about the importance of planning for being old. We're all headed there. The more prepared you are for it, the less is left for your loved ones to handle.

A lot of things about this trip suck. Family stress. The awkward role switching of parent and child. The traffic. But the pizza. Compared to Oregon, Pennsylvania's median pizza joint is just beyond heaven. I had my first east coast slices of the trip at Carlo's in Quakertown, and they slapped.

this is a pride flag made from real nasa imagery happy pride month 🏳️‍🌈✨

Reminder: we're doing a Part 2 of this "What's a good day in science look like?" story. Do you have an interesting anecdote about a Eureka moment, unexpected collaborator, or failure that led to success? Send 'em my way! 🧪

Virginia Gewin@virginiagewin.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Scientists shared their standout days for this @nature.com feature. Thx to @nicoleackermans.com @bwjones.bsky.social @aishikghosh.bsky.social @peixotoraquel.bsky.social & others for their stories! If you have a story, please send it my way for part 2!

This week, I'm headed to the east coast to deal with some family issues, which is going to be about as fun as it sounds. But I hope I'll be able to see a few old friends along the way, and as a bonus, some east coast birds. If I owe you things, I'm still working on them. Doing my best.

In Oregon, the following refuges are facing expansion and/or opening of hunting: Bandon Marsh, Hart Mountain, Julia Butler Hansen, Lower Klamath, Malheur, Tualatin River, Upper Klamath, Wapato Lake. Check for your own local refuges in the article.

@igdilemma.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Trump administration is planning on opening up vast tracks of land, including National Wildlife Refuge land to upland bird and migratory fowl hunting. Call your representatives. #birds #nature

Freelance journalism constantly, continually, eternally gives reasons to stop doing it. Late pay, bad editors, terrible rates. After 13 years of freelancing full time, the only thing I have left to tell myself is: keep going. It’s bullshit.

NEW: A group of activists have built an awesome new tool to help immigration attorneys and the general public know when an ICE flight is headed to their area. gillianbrockell.com/habeas-fligh...

Habeas Flight Watch: New tool helps track ICE flights to your city

Activists have been quietly piloting a live map of ICE flights to help immigration attorneys with habeas filings. Now they say it's ready for everyone to use.

gillianbrockell.com

Gillian Brockell@gillianbrockell.com · 2mo ago

News incoming (good news from me for once!) …

Shoutout to everyone who choose to create in spite of everything

Peter Thiel collects backup countries because he thinks things might turn against him and his politics here. I find that extremely hopeful. Any time you're falling into despair, remember that Peter Thiel is making plans in case fascism fails here, and so should you.

The story here is where NPR is choosing to cut jobs and why. I'm a lifelong NPR listener, and I shut my radio off yesterday in the middle of a far too friendly story about raw milk. Things are changing more generally there, and it's both sad and dangerous.

Evan George@evanlgeorge.bsky.social · 2mo ago

NPR is shrinking its newsroom through layoffs and buyouts and is reducing staff dedicated to covering both climate and science. "The climate desk no longer exists separately but has been folded into the National Desk," writes Neela Banerjee, who headed the climate desk but was just laid off.

Mongabay is opening applications for the Southeast Asia Ocean Reporting Fellowship. This program is designed for early-and mid-career environmental journalists from coastal nations in the Southeast Asia region. Help us tell the stories that shape the future of our oceans. mongabay.cc/meZsN9

I see people are replacing "AI" with "cocaine" in AI booster comments, and two things: 1) Well done. Continue. 2) In defense of cocaine, for all its faults, it has actually contributed to some interesting writing in human history. If I was cocaine, I'd be offended at the comparison.