Susan Cosier
@susancosier.bsky.social
Science and environmental journalist based in Chicago. Words in Science, Scientific American, WSJ, New York Times for Kids, National Geographic, etc. https://susancosier.com/, susancosier.22 on Signal
The Trump administration vowed to keep wind energy projects from moving forward, pulled funds, issued stop-work orders, paid companies to give up leases, and halted approvals. And yet, there’s more electricity than ever coming from the wind. My latest for @nrdc.org. www.nrdc.org/stories/offs...
Offshore Wind Can Power the Future (If We Just Let It)
Despite Trump administration policies to block renewable energy development, there’s more electricity coming from the wind than ever.
nrdc.org
Wild rice, or manoomin, has rights; it has personhood. Yet it suffers from development, contamination, and climate change. Groups are working together to identify and restore the plant and are seeing results. My latest for @insideclimatenews.org. insideclimatenews.org/news/0806202...
Wild Rice Faces Numerous Threats—and Has Determined Protectors - Inside Climate News
Groups work to identify, save and reseed areas to help the culturally significant resource thrive as climate change portends more strains.
insideclimatenews.org
Aquanauts, divers who spend days underwater, experience awe akin to that of astronauts looking at Earth from space. And that feeling? It connects us to the world. www.scientificamerican.com/article/aqua...
Aquanauts experience awe-inspiring ‘underview effect’
Like astronauts’ “overview effect,” a dramatic feeling of awe takes hold on extended seafloor stays
scientificamerican.com
Last week the @biographic.bsky.social team learned that, owing to an ongoing deficit, the California Academy of Sciences will no longer provide us with financial support. We're reaching out to foundations that support environmental journalism. We've got plans, we just need some help!
⚛️🔭 Hey physics/astronomy science communicators: apply to come to @perimeterinstitute.ca for a workshop in October on how to engage the public in science! Anyone can apply, working in any kind of scicomm (video, audio, text, live performance, whatever it is you do). Check the link for more details!
Scicomm Collider 2026
The Scicomm Collider workshop will bring together a group of the most innovative science communicators helping to connect the public with topics in physics and astronomy for a three-day workshop aimed...
events.perimeterinstitute.ca
This should be the biggest weather and climate news on your radar today. You can send an email today to say why dismantling NCAR is a bad idea for everyone: NSF_NCAR@nsf.gov
Trump Administration Readies Plans to Dismantle Renowned Science Lab
nytimes.com
🚨Internship opportunity!🚨 Now accepting applications for Scientific American summer/fall graphics internship: springernature.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Spring... Apply by March 26. Please feel free to share, especially within the 📊 dataviz community.
Graphics Intern
Job Title: Graphics Intern Location: New York Application Deadline: March 26th, 2026. About Springer Nature Springer Nature is one of the leading publishers of research in the world. We publish the la...
springernature.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com
I’m speaking today at the @spspnews.bsky.social’s annual convention at Chicago’s McCormick Place. Come if you’re free! #SPSP2026
Michigan's coal-fired J.H. Campbell power plant was scheduled to shut down. Then came the first emergency order from the Department of Energy forcing it to stay open. More followed--and not just in Michigan. My latest for NRDC. www.nrdc.org/stories/forc...
Forcing Michigan’s Coal Plant to Stay Open Was Just the Beginning
The Trump administration’s so-called emergency orders to keep burning dirty coal comes at a huge cost to ratepayers across the country.
nrdc.org
This cartoon of his lives rent free in my brain.
Guardian Australia@australia.theguardian.com · 6mo agoJon Kudelka, much-loved Australian political cartoonist, dies aged 53
Just a few weeks ago, the administration cancelled all remaining department of energy grid resilience projects in Puerto Rico. All of them. www.latitudemedia.com/news/the-end...
The end of DOE’s grid work in Puerto Rico
The Trump administration has canceled all eight of the remaining awards devoted to distributed energy on the island.
latitudemedia.com
I understand the frustration people have with a wide range of folks in media, but want to encourage us all to move away from casually criticizing "the media" as a monolith. Criticize specific behaviors and, please, praise and amplify the good stuff. Democracy needs public interest journalism!
I don't say this often but: I'm so proud to be a climate and environment reporter. We cover an issue that is vitally important to humanity and the natural world. 14 of my climate colleagues at the Post were laid off today and I'm devastated. www.climatecoloredgoggles.com/p/washington...
Breaking: Washington Post gutting its climate team
Clean energy dies in darkness. Courtesy of Jeff Bezos.
climatecoloredgoggles.com
Hawaiian monk seals are more rare than pandas.
Hawaiian monk seal seen soaking up sunshine in Waikiki
A Hawaiian monk seal was seen soaking up the sun in Waikiki on Saturday.
hawaiinewsnow.com
A judge recently ordered a pause on a reduction-in-force (RIF) plan that would further deplete the Department of the Interior workforce, so I'm reposting my story on what we stand to lose.
Susan Cosier@susancosier.bsky.social · 10mo agoUSGS scientists tell us about the effects of invasive species & climate change. Yet their fate, like many other federal employees who work in science & the environment, is unknown. My latest for @nrdc.org. Thank you to @meadekrosby.bsky.social, John Organ, Ed Arnett, and others for speaking with me.
Shovelnose typically tip the scale at ~7 lbs, but the Rock River fish are hauled in at record weights year after year. That’s why Tucker and the Illinois research institute are studying the fish’s unusual vitality. My latest for @insideclimatenews.org. insideclimatenews.org/news/1610202...
Some Shovelnose Sturgeon in Illinois Are Huge and Researchers Are Fishing for Reasons Why - Inside Climate News
Sturgeon are among the most endangered of fish, but the shovelnose species in the Rock River is thriving. Scientists from Midwest states are studying how to manage them.
insideclimatenews.org
During a military-style raid on a building in Chicago’s South Shore, one resident heard a knock on his door. It wasn’t the feds — it was a mom and her 7-year-old daughter, pleading for help. He let them hide in his unit for the next 3 days. chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...
Neighbor shielded 7-year-old during South Shore federal raid: ‘I didn’t want them to take her’
During the Sept. 30 raid one tenant protected a terrified girl and her mom. Remnants at the complex, including a detailed map of all the units, offer clues to what authorities may have known before th...
chicago.suntimes.com
USGS scientists tell us about the effects of invasive species & climate change. Yet their fate, like many other federal employees who work in science & the environment, is unknown. My latest for @nrdc.org. Thank you to @meadekrosby.bsky.social, John Organ, Ed Arnett, and others for speaking with me.
The Attacks on Science Continue—This Time at the USGS
From sea level rise to bee populations, the agency’s wildlife and climate programs shed light on the world around us.
nrdc.org
Holy hail. This often unappreciated peril, as one researcher put it, is more damaging thanks to a warming climate, and insurance companies are noticing. My latest @insideclimatenews.org story. insideclimatenews.org/news/1208202...
As Climate Change Makes Hail More Destructive, Illinois Residents Pay the Price - Inside Climate News
Insurers are raising rates. State officials are pressing back. And scientists say that researching this “underappreciated peril” is critical.
insideclimatenews.org
The IL legislature passed a bill that would prohibit projects that bury carbon deep underground if they go through, over, or under the state's only sole source aquifer, a drinking water source for hundreds of thousands of people. My @insideclimatenews.org story. insideclimatenews.org/news/1107202...
insideclimatenews.org
Illinois provides financial incentives to entice data center developers to build in the state. Yet those centers can use millions of gallons of water each day. Where and how the water gets to those facilities is a question many municipalities now face. My latest for @insideclimatenews.org.
As Data Centers Proliferate Across Illinois, Communities Grapple with How to Supply the Necessary Water - Inside Climate News
Computing facilities require lots of water to operate, putting the burden of allocating resources on municipalities.
insideclimatenews.org
The USFWS recently listed lesser prairie-chickens under the ESA, giving landowners who protect these birds, and the habitats they depend on, a financial incentive to keep the species on their ranches. My latest for @audubon.org reveals more about how we treat the land and species that exist there.
In the Great Plains, Landowners Are Banking On the Lesser Prairie-Chicken’s Survival
The best bet to save the imperiled species may be a system that pays farmers and ranchers to protect its grassland home.
audubon.org
Entry is open for the Kovler Prize for Trust in Life Science Journalism. The award carries a $25,000 honorarium and honors a journalist who has significantly increased public awareness and understanding of the life sciences. Apply or nominate a colleague by June 6. 🧪
The Kovler Prize for Trust in Life Science Journalism | FNIH
The Kovler Prize for Trust in Life Science Journalism The FNIH is now accepting nominations for the Kovler Prize for Trust in Life Science Journalism, which includes a $25,000 honorarium. This award r...
fnih.org
TLDR: the administration wants to remove habitat loss from the definition of "harm" for endangered species, which will effectively gut the ESA. I just commented. If you're in any way interested in ecology, nature, and the protection of endangered species, you should, too. Free daily action!
Dana El Kurd@danaelkurd.bsky.social · last yr.My friend's student asks me to share: The administration is trying to destroy the Endangered Species Act from within. Public commenting is basically the only way to thwart this rule before getting to court. If you have a few minutes to comment: www.regulations.gov/commenton/FW...
The conflict between farmers and cranes has reached a crossroads in Wisconsin, where growers reported nearly $2 million in crane-induced damage to corn and other crops in 2023. Read more about the issue in my story for Audubon magazine.
Wisconsin Weighs Sandhill Crane Hunts to Protect Crops Despite a Nonlethal Option
Wildlife advocates say hunting Sandhill Cranes could hurt populations without solving the problem of crop damage. Meanwhile, a nontoxic coating for seeds offers a safer path.
audubon.org
A lab that helps to develop the soybean industry is one of the casualties of the new administration's USAID funding cuts. “It was a very important, worthwhile investment for our country," soybean farmer Annie Dee said, "and it was really making a difference.”
The Soybean Innovation Lab Is Set to Close in April After Trump Cuts - Inside Climate News
The USAID-funded facility in Illinois has tackled projects that would benefit U.S. growers while helping African farmers.
insideclimatenews.org
#intropost Hello! I'm a freelance journalist who covers stories that illustrate the human effect on the natural world from my home in Chicago. See examples of my work on my website: susancosier.com.
Susan Cosier
susancosier.com
I'm looking to connect with people laid off from the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management for a story I'm working on. If that's you, feel free to contact me via Signal @susancosier.22. Thank you!
