Justine Calma
@justcalma.bsky.social
Senior reporter, environment & energy @theverge.com / Host of Hell or High Water: When disaster hits home, a podcast from Vox Media and Audible. justinecalma.com / Signal: @bqe210.91
While the average American has yet to see the kinds of big leaps forward that are being promised by the AI industry, they’re increasingly likely to see the costs of a new AI data center moving next door. Read more from @justcalma.bsky.social:
Who’s afraid of the big, bad GPU?
From gaming to AI, GPUs can make a big mess for the planet.
theverge.com
In awe of the visualizations AND perspective in @justcalma.bsky.social's mega report: "Who's afraid of the big, bad GPU?" www.theverge.com/cs/features/...
Do potential AI-driven advances in weather forecasting or wildlife conservation justify the environmental footprint of a data center? And what about the GPUs in a gaming PC or iPhone — do they deserve just as much scrutiny? Read more from @justcalma.bsky.social: www.theverge.com/cs/features/...
Reminded each time I step out with my newborn into record-breaking heat how much harder climate change makes it to be a mom
How the spiraling Iran conflict could affect data centers and electricity costs
How the spiraling Iran conflict could affect data centers and electricity costs
“There’s only so much that US energy dominance can do to shield US consumers.”
buff.ly
Long-lasting conflict could play into Donald Trump’s plans to “drill, baby, drill” — but that doesn’t necessarily protect Americans from higher energy prices www.theverge.com/science/8885...
What Trump’s war on Iran means for the US energy crunch
Affordability could become an even bigger flashpoint.
theverge.com
What Trump’s war on Iran means for the US energy crunch
What Trump’s war on Iran means for the US energy crunch
Affordability could become an even bigger flashpoint.
buff.ly
Great piece from @seanhollister.bsky.social and @justcalma.bsky.social on whether you need a robot trashcan that turns soft plastics into plastic bricks... that you ship off to Indiana to get "recycled"
Investigating the 61-pound machine that eats plastic and spits out bricks
Like WALL-E, it turns trash into bricks.
theverge.com
The Israeli military has committed more targeted killings of journalists than any other government’s military since CPJ began documentation in 1992. The deliberate targeting and killing of a journalist by any military constitutes a war crime. cpj.org?p=553549
Record 129 press members killed in 2025; Israel responsible for 2/3 of deaths - Committee to Protect Journalists
Key findings Introduction At a time when armed conflict has reached historic levels around the world, journalist killings also reached an all-time high primarily due to the actions of one government:…
cpj.org
Scoop: The Climate Prediction Center is being folded into other agencies overseen by the National Weather Service The change follows moves by the Trump administration to dismantle climate science programs By @weathersullivan.bsky.social & @laurenthal.bsky.social www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
US Climate Forecaster to Be Absorbed in Weather Agency Reshuffle
The US climate forecasting service will be absorbed into other federal departments as part of a re-organization announced to staff Thursday.
bloomberg.com
Trump is making coal plants even dirtier as AI demands more energy
Trump is making coal plants even dirtier as AI demands more energy
This is the worst time to make electricity dirtier.
buff.ly
📣 Submissions are now OPEN for the 2026 CCNow Journalism Awards! 🔔
Louisiana has built back time and again from storm after storm, but now community members and advocates want assurances that Meta's data center won’t add to the costs www.theverge.com/science/8765...
How an ‘icepocalypse’ raises more questions about Meta’s biggest data center project
“We can’t imagine the changes that are coming.”
theverge.com
Those power lines signified a lot in bad bunny’s halftime show, gonna cite the official bad bunny x climate correspondent @angelymercado.bsky.social gizmodo.com/bad-bunny-el...
In 'El Apagón,' Bad Bunny Tackles Gentrification and Power Outages
The Puerto Rican musician balances the pride and anger of Puerto Ricans in his new album, Un Verano Sin Ti .
gizmodo.com
🚨 CPJ strongly condemns the arrests of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort for their reporting on a protest in Minnesota, arrests which mark a serious escalation of attacks on the press in the United States. Read more: cpj.org/2026/01/cpj-...
"School bus drivers should not need special training on what they should do if ICE shows up at a stop. Parents should not need to explain the routine presence of masked agents wearing military fatigues and carrying guns." Read more from @scottmeslow.bsky.social: www.theverge.com/policy/87072...
It’s a new heyday for gas thanks to data centers
It’s a new heyday for gas thanks to data centers
The US is now developing more gas power than China.
buff.ly
It’s too early to say how data centers affected power grids during #Fern, with impacts varying by region. Still - this week’s cold snap is a key stress test as U.S. grids face a shifting energy landscape and a changing climate. (via @justcalma.bsky.social / @theverge.com)
The Verge@theverge.com · 6mo agoThe winter storm tested power grids straining to accommodate AI data centers
The winter storm tested power grids straining to accommodate AI data centers
The winter storm tested power grids straining to accommodate AI data centers
Electricity costs spiked.
buff.ly
"Forcing someone who owns an e-bike without a throttle that can’t go faster than 20mph to register their bike with the DMV, acquire a license, and buy insurance ... will absolutely harm efforts to encourage more sustainable transportation" -@andyjayhawk.bsky.social www.theverge.com/column/86621...
The great e-bike crackdown has begun
New Jersey just approved a wildly out-of-step new law that restricts all e-bikes, regardless of speed or power capabilities. Will other states follow?
theverge.com
I wrote about my childhood friend Alexi Pretti. Please read it and share it and remember him as a human being. @theverge.com
I grew up with Alex Pretti
The kind-hearted ICU nurse shot by ICE agents was my childhood best friend.
theverge.com
"I didn’t realize, in the hours before his name was released to the public, that the man millions of people had seen lying facedown on the pavement from multiple angles of eyewitness video was my childhood best friend." Read more from @kristenradtke.bsky.social: www.theverge.com/policy/86856...
“The speed, the scope and the severity of the attacks on science are beyond anything we’ve ever seen,” says @gretchentg.bsky.social. My @nature.com story on the human toll of the 2nd Trump presidency. Thx to @dochfroehlich.bsky.social, @briannosek.bsky.social, @katharinehayhoe.com & others.
‘Shattered’: US scientists speak out about how Trump policies disrupted their careers
Researchers lay bare the human toll of lay-offs, funding cuts and attacks on science one year after the president’s return to the White House.
nature.com
Another year, another round of layoffs at Vox Media. In solidarity with our laid-off colleagues, here is our full statement:
Wildfires are becoming too big a threat for any single homeowner, neighborhood, or even firefighting squad to just play defense. The fight is now collective and starts from the ground up, when homes are built. Read more from @justcalma.bsky.social: www.theverge.com/features/861...
RFK Jr.’s new food pyramid could be a disaster for the environment — if Americans actually pay any attention to it
RFK Jr.’s new food pyramid could be a disaster for the environment — if Americans actually pay any attention to it
Beef tallow is making a comeback, along with carbon emissions.
buff.ly
"Trump wants Venezuela’s oil, Greenland’s minerals, and above all — control." Uprooter @justcalma.bsky.social for @theverge.com www.theverge.com/report/85797...
America’s new era of energy imperialism is about more than oil
“Make the resources in your country available to us on our terms or you are subject to invasion.”
theverge.com
even if you’re not directly in Trump’s crosshairs, people around the world will grapple with the political and environmental ripple effects of whatever global game of chicken he plays next. www.theverge.com/report/85797...
America’s new era of energy imperialism is about more than oil
“Make the resources in your country available to us on our terms or you are subject to invasion.”
theverge.com
