Oh good, the air quality in Philly has gone from hazardous to merely unhealthy just in time for the *checks forecast* flood and tornado watch

Two weeks ago we had a heat index of 115; last week a series of microbursts decimated my kids’ favorite park; this week Canadian wildfire smoke is (once again) making it hard to breathe. Climate change sucks.

This is the most jaw-dropping part of Princeton/BP/Wedges paper scandal: that the scientists funded by BP said outright that their job "was to invent a future where the fossil fuel industries have not disappeared yet climate change is being forcefully addressed, and this is still our job." 1/3

I am seeing some criticism that our wedges investigation offers a revisionist history because a) CCS was an idea before wedges and b) wedges didn’t single-handedly drive its prominence policy discourse. Both of which are true, and neither of which is contradicted in the article. But!

Many people are sharing this tour de force but you should follow @themadstone.bsky.social and check out her thread for additional background. Also follow @amywestervelt.bsky.social and @katieworth.bsky.social.

Maddie Stone@themadstone.bsky.social · last mo.

I’ve spent more than a year reporting on how the fossil fuel industry has infiltrated academia over the last 30 years, shaping fundamental paradigms on how to address climate change. My first story in the new @propublica.org and @drilledmedia.bsky.social series, “Carbon Captured”, is out today.

Posted on LinkedIn by @globalecoguy.bsky.social: Actual versus projected buildout for solar power vs. carbon capture

The pernicious role of fossil fuel funding of climate research doesn't get any clearer than this: "'Wedges' would likely never have been written without BP’s funding" What $15 million upfront, $56m total, buys you...

ProPublica@propublica.org · last mo.

NEW: This is the story of how one of the most influential climate papers in history came to exist thanks to one of the companies most responsible for causing the climate crisis — and one with a financial stake in the technologies described in the paper. w/ @drilledmedia.bsky.social

Honestly, this is so soul-crushing. But amazing work by @amywestervelt.bsky.social & @themadstone.bsky.social

ProPublica@propublica.org · last mo.

NEW: This is the story of how one of the most influential climate papers in history came to exist thanks to one of the companies most responsible for causing the climate crisis — and one with a financial stake in the technologies described in the paper. w/ @drilledmedia.bsky.social

I’ve spent more than a year reporting on how the fossil fuel industry has infiltrated academia over the last 30 years, shaping fundamental paradigms on how to address climate change. My first story in the new @propublica.org and @drilledmedia.bsky.social series, “Carbon Captured”, is out today.

ProPublica@propublica.org · last mo.

NEW: This is the story of how one of the most influential climate papers in history came to exist thanks to one of the companies most responsible for causing the climate crisis — and one with a financial stake in the technologies described in the paper. w/ @drilledmedia.bsky.social

Spoiler alert: CCS will never work at the scale necessary (and assumed in many models!) to blunt the climate crisis. The great @katieworth.bsky.social has well and truly put this myth to rest (with an assist from me and @themadstone.bsky.social at @drilledmedia.bsky.social)

ProPublica@propublica.org · last mo.

NEW: For decades, oil companies have funded universities’ research into climate change “solutions” that would not require the public to stop using oil and gas. Carbon capture is one of their favored ideas. One snag: It won’t fix the climate crisis. w/ @drilledmedia.bsky.social

I’m so sick of performative parenting. Parents barking at their kids to apologize for a minor/accidental offense. Parents loudly telling their child to say thank you when they receive a compliment on their outfit. Or to “SHARE!!!” when another kid takes a fleeting interest in their toy.

climate scientists: what’s the most iconic thing related to your work you might be seen holding??

Motor on my coffee grinder gave out this morning so I went online to see if I could order a spare. Was delighted to discover a spare parts page with the exact product I need! But… They only deliver to states with right to repair laws 😡👩‍🔧

If the rest of the world replaced fossil fuels with renewables at this pace, we’d be cruising toward than 2 degrees of global warming right now…

Jan Rosenow@janrosenow.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Denmark's coal-to-wind transition is one of the most dramatic energy transformations of the past three decades. In 1990, coal provided 90% of Danish electricity. Today it is under 3%. Wind now covers roughly 60% of electricity generation. The last coal plant is scheduled to close by 2028.

Best thing I’ve gotten to do this month was interview Expanse writers Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck about how speculative biology, the politics of academia and a Bible story all shaped their latest novel, The Faith of Beasts. Check it out! www.importantnotimportant.com/p/the-expans...

‘The Expanse’ authors explain how weird biology and academic politics inspired their latest novel

A conversation with James SA Corey.

importantnotimportant.com

Any astronomers/astrophysicists out there up for a brief chat this week about Super Mario Galaxy? LMK!

Feels like not enough people appreciate the facts that millions of years ago, we shared the Earth with other species of humans or that billions of years ago, our two nearest neighboring planets had rivers, oceans and possibly life. The deep time perspective is humbling and awe-inspiring.

Last night, Automatic Noodle won the Octavia Butler Award!! I'm so honored and happy!!! 🤖❤️🎉 www.instagram.com/p/DUI5pCokno...

Watching Starfleet Academy yet, or planning to do so soon? Read my way-TMI explainer on the science of The Burn before you start (bonus: you get to learn how a warp drive could actually work AND how future humans solve the mystery of dark matter): www.importantnotimportant.com/p/the-burn-s...

The ‘Burn’ Science You Need to Watch Starfleet Academy

The dilithium-fueled disaster that nearly broke the Federation underpins the drama of the latest Star Trek show

importantnotimportant.com

Had a source I really needed to interview who hasn’t responded to calls or emails so this past week I drove to his house and knocked on his door an wound up talking to him for four hours. Turns out he’d just missed me emails. Never be afraid to follow up!

I had a fascinating chat with @themadstone.bsky.social about Frankenstein a few weeks ago.

Frankenstein's electrifying take on the nature of life

The creature in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was inspired by real scientific debates over whether electricity can create life.

importantnotimportant.com

I interviewed the world's first "artificial humanities" expert about how new science fiction can help us build better AI, if only we could get ourselves off narrative tropes from 2,000 years ago www.importantnotimportant.com/p/a-literary...

A literary scholar explains how ancient myths shape modern AI

With generative AI, our stories about artificial beings are coming to life. Are we telling the right ones?

importantnotimportant.com

On Earth, minerals like neodymium and gallium are becoming the currency of power. The same, apparently, is true for the Star Wars galaxy, at least according to Andor’s fabulous 2nd season. Please read my latest on why Andor is the best of Star Wars: www.importantnotimportant.com/p/andor-show...

Andor Shows the Power and Peril of High-Tech Minerals

As the quest for Ghorman “kalkite” reveals, access to minerals can make or break empires, while raining riches or curses on mining communities.

importantnotimportant.com

Exciting times ahead! Kaiju science is fascinating—did you know Godzilla's radiation reflects nuclear anxieties? 🌍💥 What real-world actions are you considering? 🪐📚 #SciFi #Kaiju

Maddie Stone@themadstone.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Big news in my little corner of the multiverse! The Science of Fiction has a new home over at @important.bsky.social! That means more posts, plus steps to translate articles on Kaiju science into real-world action. Sign up here: www.importantnotimportant.com/the-science-...

Big news in my little corner of the multiverse! The Science of Fiction has a new home over at @important.bsky.social! That means more posts, plus steps to translate articles on Kaiju science into real-world action. Sign up here: www.importantnotimportant.com/the-science-...

Important, Not Important

Because you give a sh*t. News, essays, and Action Steps so you can understand and help unfuck the world.

importantnotimportant.com

Nice piece by @emorwee.bsky.social on the former Microsoft employees demanding the company hold itself accountable for its oil contracts. Astounding that a year after I reported a similar story for @grist.org and @drilledmedia.bsky.social, MFST has no comment! heated.world/p/he-helped-...

He helped Microsoft build AI to help the climate. Then Microsoft sold it to Big Oil.

A former Microsoft product manager reveals how the tech giant is using AI to help Big Oil drill—and how he and his partner are now pushing for change.

heated.world

I'm delighted to share a new guest post from one of my favorite humans, @themadstone.bsky.social‬. Nobody thinks more clearly about the intersection of sci-fi and how it impacts the real world. Making our fossil record a better place www.importantnotimportant.com/p/making-our...

Making our fossil record a better place

A Science of Fiction debut!

importantnotimportant.com

Imagine, hundreds of millions of years from now, aliens landing on Earth and digging up the fossil remains of an ancient industrial society. What kind of story will our rock record tell? I lay out some ideas in my latest Science of Fiction piece! www.importantnotimportant.com/p/making-our...

Making our fossil record a better place

A Science of Fiction debut!

importantnotimportant.com

When your government calls for rapidly boosting domestic mineral supplies while rolling back policy support for clean energy, what does it mean on balance? That’s the existential question US battery recycling companies are asking right now. My latest for @grist: grist.org/technology/t...

Trump's second term is creating 'a limbo moment' for US battery recyclers

The president hasn't directly targeted the nascent industry, but his clean energy rollbacks could hurt it.

grist.org

Here's my SimEarth interview with James Lovelock — 10 years ago — just before he died: slate.com/technology/2...

The Legendary Scientist Who Inspired SimEarth

This year marks the 25th anniversary of SimEarth, the game that shaped my childhood and inspired me to pursue a career in weather and climate....

slate.com

Maddie Stone@themadstone.bsky.social · last yr.

Courtesy of @ericholthaus.com, the podcast also includes a cameo from the legendary astrobiologist James Lovelock, who passed away in 2022. Eric spoke with Lovelock in 2015 about his role as a scientific advisor to SimEarth, which helped spread his Gaia Hypothesis far and wide.