Eric Booth

Tonight, I was looking at water.noaa.gov to see where the US is flooding. My 11-year old pointed to the ongoing major flooding in North Dakota, and I said "Oh, that's Devils Lake. It's always flooding there." They asked "Why?" and a rabbit hole yawned before me.

Data centers: an emerging threat to freshwater biodiversity in the United States This study lays the foundation for future research to quantify data center (DC) impacts on freshwater biodiversity in the US. The proliferation of DCs…

On the thermal water pollution front (both from direct evap cooling and indirect thermoelectric water use), this new study may be useful: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Important commentary here regarding water use of data centers.
Data Centers Water Footprint: The Need for More Transparency - Privette - 2026 - AGU Advances - Wiley Online Library agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

The Colorado River Crisis is Here States fail to reach a deal; Lake Powell Deadpool appears imminent

Federal officials now project that Lake Powell will "most probably" drop below power pool level — meaning Glen Canyon Dam will no longer be able to generate hydropower — before the end of this year: www.landdesk.org/p/the-colora... via @landdesk.bsky.social

Big Tech Says Generative AI Will Save the Planet. It Doesn't Offer Much Proof A new report finds that of 154 specific claims about how AI will benefit the climate, just a quarter cited academic research. A third included no evidence at all.

when big tech companies say that AI will save the planet, what kinds of AI are they actually talking about — and what's their proof? i took a look at some great new research from @ketanjoshi.co and talked to other experts about how a lot of this talk is probably bullshit:

The Power of Perennial Agriculture Agroecologist and professor Liz Carlisle discusses her latest book, a collection of guest essays that makes the case for more diverse crops.

The Power of Perennial Agriculture
Agroecologist and professor Liz Carlisle discusses her latest book, a collection of guest essays that makes the case for more diverse crops on our farms and on our plates. civileats.com/2026/02/18/t...

As a Colorado River deadline passes, reservoirs keep declining Seven states have missed a federal deadline to reach a water deal on the Colorado River. They remain divided how to cut water use.

As a Colorado River deadline passes, reservoirs keep declining

Thanks, Joe!

Fixing Streams: A Biophysical Perspective on the Spatial Fix and Dam Decommissioning in the Driftless Area The theory of the spatial fix has been increasingly invoked in socioecological contexts to investigate capitalism’s attempts to overcome its interlocking social and ecological crises through spatia...

I'm really grateful to have been part of this paper led by former MS student Sydney Widell that tells the story of & interrogates what is arguably the largest watershed-wide dam decommissioning effort led by the federal gov following major flooding and breaches in 2018. w/ @creekthinker.bsky.social

Fixing Streams: A Biophysical Perspective on the Spatial Fix and Dam Decommissioning in the Driftless Area The theory of the spatial fix has been increasingly invoked in socioecological contexts to investigate capitalism’s attempts to overcome its interlocking social and ecological crises through spatia...

I'm really grateful to have been part of this paper led by former MS student Sydney Widell that tells the story of & interrogates what is arguably the largest watershed-wide dam decommissioning effort led by the federal gov following major flooding and breaches in 2018. w/ @creekthinker.bsky.social

When the university meets the grassroots: participatory action research and just transitions in agriculture - Agriculture and Human Values Agriculture and Human Values - Confronting the deep-rooted social inequities and environmental harm in animal agriculture research demands approaches that link Just Transitions (JT) with...

Important new article led by @anafochesatto.bsky.social : When the university meets the grassroots: participatory action
research and just transitions in agriculture doi.org/10.1007/s104...

When the university meets the grassroots: participatory action research and just transitions in agriculture - Agriculture and Human Values Agriculture and Human Values - Confronting the deep-rooted social inequities and environmental harm in animal agriculture research demands approaches that link Just Transitions (JT) with...

Important new article led by @anafochesatto.bsky.social : When the university meets the grassroots: participatory action
research and just transitions in agriculture doi.org/10.1007/s104...

“Hand wave”? I believe the point Adam (and I) are trying to make is that empirical evidence doesn’t back up yield increases as a necessary or sufficient condition to decrease deforestation.

A situated proposal for a grounded approach to socio-hydrology Socio-hydrology, a range of attempts to better account for ‘the social’ in hydrological processes, has made significant progress during the Panta Rhei…

Fully support this: "We maintain that cultivating situated engagement, with researchers from different disciplines becoming part of and explicitly involved in the water problems they are jointly studying and aspire to help solve, is one promising approach to advance socio-hydrology."

Another example - from just today - of excellent and essential climate and weather research from @ncar-ucar.bsky.social with clear impacts on flood-prone communities
doi.org/10.1038/s432... #NCAR

Hanging in there! Absolutely, that would be great 👍

Really beautiful, Andrew! Thanks for sharing.

Another example - from just today - of excellent and essential climate and weather research from @ncar-ucar.bsky.social with clear impacts on flood-prone communities
doi.org/10.1038/s432... #NCAR

Purdue to students: Come and be an AI meat widget! There are emerging best practices for meeting the challenge of AI in education. What Purdue is doing is the opposite.

Purdue's "plan" to have AI competencies, including "projects" for assessment in place by Fall of 2026 is absurd, impossible, and counterproductive. We have good models for addressing the challenge and this ain't it. www.insidehighered.com/opinion/colu...

@wisconet.bsky.social

It's available to watch online through the UW-Madison library search.library.wisc.edu/catalog/9910...

Algie Shivers and Round Barns of Vernon County — BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin

This is also an excellent synopsis: www.bipocbirdingclub.org/algie-shiver...

Thanks for sharing this, Joe. Great find! I've been fascinated by the history of Cheyenne Valley ever since I started reading about it 5 years ago or so. Have you seen the Round Barns of Vernon County documentary? www.roundbarnfilm.art

Zillow’s climate risk reversal looks like a setback. It’s really a wake‑up call. When private models sow confusion, it’s a flashing warning sign that Washington needs to fix federal flood maps,

Zillow’s climate score rollback is a wake-up call: build open, future‑conditions federal flood maps -- gold‑standard, trustworthy data for building codes, mortgages, and our future. Column today: open.substack.com/pub/susanpcr...

I'd love to be added. Thanks!

HESS Opinions: Reflecting and acting on the social aspects of modeling Abstract. Hydrological models are generally acknowledged as subjective and uncertain, yet they are often still perceived as neutral, meaning they are seen as not taking sides. This notion of neutralit...

Always appreciate introspection from the hydrologic modeling community. Reflecting and acting on the social aspects of modeling doi.org/10.5194/hess...

The NWS Chicago area forecast discussion is WILD

Super excited to hear this!!

Insurers plan for extreme events that could crater their solvency. Shouldn’t all levels of government do the same? What if a storm like Melissa hit the northeast US?

Insurers plan for 1-in-200-year storms. Why don’t governments?

If a Melissa-level hurricane hit the Northeast, would we be ready? New column looks at climate whiplash, risk, and what real preparedness means.

open.substack.com/pub/susanpcr...