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Mark Basnage
@mbasnage.bsky.social
Climate: K-12 edu, climate career pathways, leadership, program design/implimentation/evaluation. SF/LA/PHL. Opinions my own.
Let's do some Canadian pipeline-wildfire math. The Canadian Energy Center says growing oil exports by 1.5M barrels/day **could** boost GDP by ~31B annually. Meanwhile, wildfire smoke health costs alone - just the health costs, nothing else - averaged 23B/year, past tense. And they're growing fast.
Ontario hardest hit as wildfires cost Canada billions | NOW Toronto
A new report estimates wildfire smoke has cost Canada $231 billion since 2014. See how much each province has spent.
nowtoronto.com
There's a magic formula for saving $5 trillion, adding 1 million jobs/yr, slashing 22B tons of carbon emissions &saving 278,000 lives, all in the US alone Naturally, this government wants this formula destroyed Gift link to my column for @opinion.bloomberg.com www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...
A $5 Trillion Idea to Save Energy Is Hiding in Plain Sight
While we’re waiting around for cold fusion, space mirrors, matrioshka brains or whatever other complicated world-savers the tech wizards are cooking up these days to address soaring energy demand, a s...
bloomberg.com
We're excited to share the launch of ⚡️Electrification for Health (E4H)⚡️, a new program based at the Stanford Center for Human and Planetary Health with a vision of clean air and power for all. 🔋 Read and watch more about the program: woods.stanford.edu/news/clean-a...
Justice Brown Jackson's argument for birthright citizenship is very moving. I recommend reading it in full. An excerpt with alt-text below. “The Reconstruction Amendments were an anticaste, antisubordination reset for the Nation, not a mere spot treatment for the dark stain of slavery.” — KBJ
![Still, most freed Blacks resisted the pressure to self-deport. Instead, many started organizing toward the creation of the kind of Nation the colonizationists opposed—one that guaranteed liberty and justice for all. In the decades leading up to the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment, Black Americans organized and gathered at more than 600 local and national conventions across the country. There, delegates erected the political and intellectual scaffolding for the Fourteenth Amendment and, later, for the Black Civil Rights Movement more generally.
Critically for present purposes, these visionaries already understood themselves to be American citizens. “The refrains ‘we are Americans’ and ‘we are citizens’ echoed in conferences throughout the North.” Moreover, “[b]irthright figured importantly” as “delegates frequently characterized their status as that of native-born citizens.”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ks3gpa6ftoyaq7hmf6c4qx4c/bafkreieuwdbxpjo22e7fg26a65dobwofwaytq6ilqp4cy7bcicw5fsk63a)
![The delegates argued that, as such, they had the requisite allegiance, so, at a minimum, the Federal Government owed them the duty of protection.
The famed orator Frederick Douglass was one of these delegates. Capturing the spirit of the moment, Douglass proclaimed that Chief Justice Taney—the author of the majority opinion in Dred Scott v. Sandford, 19 How. 393 (1857)—“[could] do many things, but he [could not] … change the essential nature of things.” In the absence of the artificial evils of slavery and racial subordination, Douglass explained, “the glorious birthright of our common humanity, will become the inheritance of all the inhabitants of this highly favored country.”
Do note this: The citizenship thesis of the Colored Conventions was thus not that some new status should be created and conferred on freed Blacks.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ks3gpa6ftoyaq7hmf6c4qx4c/bafkreidxenf7ggfe5sghdwpe5v7pwn3kfh4mqkxiccusnrknq7zfr7qhtm)
![It was instead that freed Blacks already had a rightful claim to citizenship because they had been born on American soil. After all, the Nation, from its founding, had “boldly proclaim[ed] that all men are born free and equal, and that consequently life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, are inherent in every individual, vested inalienably by natural birthright.” No ideal was more inherently American. Now, “rest[ing their] cause on the republican standard of the revolutionary Fathers,” freed Blacks were “knock[ing] at the doors of the constitution and demand[ing] an entrance.” And “[i]f … asked what evidence [they] bring to sustain [their] qualifications for citizenship, [they would] offer them certificates of … BIRTH and NATIVITY.” Would the Nation live up to its promise?
Such universalist appeals were a conscious choice. Yes, Black Americans had suffered a singular wrong. And yes, they had “fought and bled” for the Union, paying a steep price for their freedom. But the delegates did not rest on these laurels. Rather, they drew upon the moral and political force of the universal principles that were already core to the Nation’s identity.
That bears repeating: Freed Blacks did not advocate for a unique set of rules that catered only to their situation. Nor did they seek to advance their own position relative to, or at the expense and exclusion of, other marginalized groups.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ks3gpa6ftoyaq7hmf6c4qx4c/bafkreig7o5wpfpkbjt7zcvghbco4zafj6m64etq7blz7r542gh7b3gn3oa)
![Instead, those whose gatherings helped galvanize the push for full equality understood that “[a] diverse origin does not disprove a common nature, nor does it disprove a united destiny.” The firmest foundation for freedom would require an anticaste reset—“both for his sake and for ours”—and would benefit all.
During his U. S. Senate candidacy, Abraham Lincoln developed a similar vision. In the lead-up to the now-famous Lincoln-Douglas debates, Lincoln explained that the promise of liberty and equality in the Declaration of Independence “was held sacred by all, and thought to include all.” Lincoln expressly and intentionally linked the fate of Black Americans and immigrant groups (“among us perhaps half our people who are not descendants at all” of the Founders), and noted that the Nation’s future hinged on a universal definition of citizenship that excluded neither. He explained that the Declaration’s promise that “all men are created equal” was the “electric cord … that links the hearts of patriotic and liberty-loving men together,” regardless of race or descent.
The case was made. First, there was war. And then, the delegates’ (and Lincoln’s) universalist view of citizenship made its mark on the Constitution.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ks3gpa6ftoyaq7hmf6c4qx4c/bafkreigucpltb6mmwuwxswipazl56ki3v4dmsr7fx4lkmf5jncrsuvwp4a)
Climate.us is officially live! After NOAA ended Climate.gov’s day-to-day operations in 2025, former team members built Climate.us to carry that work forward. Their explanations and graphics have always stood out to me as clear, accessible, and transparent. I’m really looking forward to this reboot.
Climate.us Home
independent, nonprofit, and immune to politics
climate.us
(That’s just the edited highlights of his hymn to creativity, but this site has the full text)
Calvin and Hobbes at Martijn's - Bill Watterson
A speech Bill Watterson gave at Kenyon College, Gambier Ohio, to the 1990 graduating class.
web.mit.edu
Just finished the wonderful Prophecy by @carissaveliz.bsky.social & highly recommend it. At its core, it’s an insightful exploration of prediction’s (and therefore, AI’s) relationship to power; but it goes beyond critique.
The 2026 Calarts Producers' Show Opening is a lovely tribute to art & animation (directed by Sofia Kondrasheva & Veda Lee). Every year, Calarts school has a showcase where they select a handful of student films to be screened in a Hollywood theater. >> www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hsmu...
Listen to this. Not a penny more for this. Abolish and prosecute anyone who had anything to do with it.
Dave Vetter@davidrvetter.bsky.social · 6mo ago"A modern-day concentration camp ... People have been killed by the staff here." Irish citizen Seamus Culleton has been in ICE detention since September, despite having a valid work permit and his own business in the US.
Super Bowl viewers Sunday speculated that 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos appeared in the halftime show. In fact, he has been in hiding with his family. “He can’t sleep well at night. He wakes up three or four times a night screaming, ‘Daddy, Daddy,’” Liam's father Adrian Conejo Arias, said.
‘He’s not the same’: Father of Liam Conejo Ramos says 5-year-old continues to suffer
Some people thought they say the 5-year-old during the Super Bowl halftime show. But Liam is still in hiding with his family, after he and his father were detained and then released from a Texas deten...
mprnews.org
I made a map of 3.4 million Bluesky users - see if you can find yourself! bluesky-map.theo.io I've seen some similar projects, but IMO this seems to better capture some of the fine-grained detail
Bluesky Map
Interactive map of 3.4 million Bluesky users, visualised by their follower pattern.
bluesky-map.theo.io
When countries slide towards authoritarianism/ autocracy, what helps reverse the trend? What are the ingredients of democratic resilience and recovery? This report, "Towards a Democratic Playbook," from @perryworldhouse.bsky.social is very good. perryworldhouse.upenn.edu/app/uploads/...
perryworldhouse.upenn.edu
Pope Leo ally Cardinal Tobin of New Jersey urged Catholics to lobby to defund ICE/DHS as "lawless organization" on a Zoom call with hundreds on Sunday night. Explicitly compares the moral necessity of resistance now to resistance against fascism.🧵1/
This weekend: Register for a Binoculars to Binomials cohort and I'll send you a 16x16" print showing a 🪶 for every bird on earth, colored from Wikipedia descriptions (a $55.00 value). Learn to create expressive data viz & cultivate a mindful birding practice this spring! www.jerthorp.me/learning
NEW! Happy to share news of a scheduled virtual 'Masterclass in Data Visualisation' public training course taking place live/online over 14-16 April, 9am-1pm (UK, BST) each day. Registration open to anyone and everyone now! visualisingdata.com/2026/01/new-...
New Course: ‘Masterclass in Data Visualisation’ (Virtual, Apr 2026) - Data Viz Excellence, Everywhere
I'm happy to announce details of a new virtual public training course, the 3-day/4-hours per day 'Masterclass in Data Visualisation' will take place live online over 14-16 April 2026.
visualisingdata.com
This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again. www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
Work to build the world we deserve is happening and that is reason not to simply despair but to figure out how to join in and contribute.
Career opportunity: Senior research coordinator for the @mannresearch.bsky.social climate research group at @upenn.edu: wd1.myworkdaysite.com/en-US/recrui...
Anyways. So you get some well meaning “hey try it out for a bit” and that means a 3 year large initiative… but everyone wants to do well and succeed! So how do you help? Constructs and measures! If you can’t change the narrative directly, build the sensors the organisation uses to understand itself
This is a total stab in the dark for my #phillies fan friends out there. Ages ago (15+ years) the Phils sold this Phanatic ornament. My brother and his family had one they loved, but lost along with everything else in the CA fires last year. I can't find one anywhere online. Anyone have any leads?
I keep seeing frustration (this is just the latest) over media only covering the horrors, not what to do about them—but they seem to miss stories about what people *are* doing. I report on that expressly because I want people to know there are people fighting back, and learn how they could, too.
Melissa Gira Grant@melissagiragrant.com · 8mo agoI cover what people *are* doing (their work is harder than mine, but my work is not easy). From the last 12 months: newrepublic.com/article/1988... newrepublic.com/article/1946... newrepublic.com/article/1917... newrepublic.com/article/1916... newrepublic.com/article/1895...
1. Cars are the biggest source of climate pollution in the country. 2. Transportation is the biggest household expense after rent/mortgage. 2. State and local gov't could cut these numbers by about 25% in five years without any federal policy. Somebody solve this for me, what should we do? 🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️
Trump Returns to Gasoline as Fuel of Choice for Cars, Gutting Biden’s Climate Policy
nytimes.com
Human brains produce new ideas every second of every day. Sit down with a tiny child and ask them to explain something they're doing and you will hear half a dozen of them. Ideas are what humans *do*. The idea is by far the easiest part of any creative process.
KJ Charles@kjcharleswriter.com · 9mo agoBut the point (there is a point) is, people fetishise the idea over the hard work of plotting and character development and research and internal consistency and just writing the fucker, because the Idea is the sparkly magic bit. And this is what makes them put value in the AI prompt.
The “U.S. Climate Collection” will synthesize critical elements of recent and emerging climate change knowledge to support future national & sub-national assessments of climate risks and solutions.🌎 🔗 Learn how to submit: buff.ly/NmA5iBQ #AGUPubs #COP30 #ClimateAction #ClimateChange @ametsoc.org
"‘In fact, what’s really surprising is that higher AI literacy brings more overconfidence...We would expect people who are AI literate to not only be a bit better at interacting with AI systems, but also at judging their performance with those systems – but this was not the case.’"
AI use makes us overestimate our cognitive performance
A study led by Aalto University reveals that when it comes to AI, specifically, LLMs, the Dunning-Kruger Effect doesn’t hold. All users show a significant inability to assess their performance a...
eurekalert.org
If you're looking for a fun gift for a bird friend or a data friend or a design friend, I just shipped out the first rolls of this wrapping paper: www.jerthorp.me/product-page... 511 bird species with holiday-themed names, feathers colored from Wikipedia descriptions!
Of A Feather: Wrapping Paper! | jerthorp
Wrap your gifts in bird-y data-y style with this one-of-a-kind wrapping paper!This paper features 511 birds whose names contain the words winter, christmas, snowy, snow, red, or green. The colors for ...
jerthorp.me