@seattlebryn
Freelance science, medical + environmental writer and author of โFlush: The Remarkable Science of an Unlikely Treasure.โ PhD in microbiology; also post about misinfo, journalism, oddities, good dogs, bad puns, and Seattle. He/him โ๐ป ๐ฉ๐งช๐งซ๐ฆ ๐ฌ๐ฒ๐ณ๏ธโ๐
Floridaโs Board of Governors is made up of โpolitical appointees from the business world, from insurance executives to roofing contractors, who are dictating how professors must teach their courses and even providing state-created textbooks for doing so.โ
My new piece in @truthout.bsky.social
NEW: Here's the story of a woman deported by Kristi Noem. Legally in the United States (as a DACA recipient), she is the mother of a U.S. citizen and was working to help the homelessโbut when she went for an appointment to get a green card, she was deported.
www.thebulwark.com/p/kristi-noe...
INBOX: data from the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migrations show that in the most recent three months, every single one of the 1,651 refugees accepted into the United States were of (white) South African origin.
www.rpc.state.gov/documents/Re...
Reuters Exclusive
"U.S. military investigators believe it is likely that U.S. forces were responsible for an apparent strike on an Iranian girls' school."
"The strike would rank among the worst cases of civilian casualties in decades of U.S. conflicts in the โMiddle East."
Itโs almost like we didnโt think this through.
The US was set to lose its measles free status but an intervention by HHS has delayed the discussion until AFTER midterms and action on this as they claim they need more time to look at data
Page 2 of letter by Daniel Swain. It begins: constructive suggestions regarding how the already remarkable institutional efficiency and societal impact of NCAR could be further enhanced through increased (not decreased) federal support in the years to come. Please note: To ensure the highest level of technical rigor, this response focuses exclusively on the core atmospheric and natural hazard science topics within the authorโs primary domain of expertise; for this reason, I have omitted a response to Topic 4 (Space Weather)." NCAR weather modeling and atmospheric observing capabilities a) Management and operations of weather-related observational platforms, modeling and science as a stand-alone activity. The proposed management of weather-related research as a stand-alone activity is a scientifically regressive path that ignores the fundamental physical reality of the Earth system. Modern atmospheric science has demonstrated (largely, it is worth noting, due to groundbreaking researc
Page 3 of letter by Daniel Swain. It begins: b) Management and operations of weather-related observational platforms, modeling and science as combined with other NSF investments/facilities. The highly specialized nature of the NCAR-Wyoming Supercomputing Center (NWSC) infrastructure represents an extraordinary value proposition that cannot be replicated by combining it with more generalized NSF programs. The NWSC is not a generic high-performance computing (HPC) facility; it is a laboratory uniquely optimized for atmospheric science workflows, with a hardware and storage architecture specifically designed to handle the massive, high-bandwidth data demands of Earth system modeling. Furthermore, its model of providing an excellent, free-at-point-of-use technical support team ensures that the focus remains on the science rather than the overhead of systems administration. This centralized expertise allows individual researchers, smaller labs, and even entire universitiesโwho would otherwi
Page 4 of letter by Daniel Swain. It begins: NCAR Mesa Lab (located in Boulder, Colorado) a/b) Ownership of the NSF NCAR Mesa Lab building for public and private use. Far more than just an office building, NSF NCAR Mesa Lab is an iconic and purpose-built facility designed specifically for the study of atmospheric science. Its position at the physical interface of the Rocky Mountain foothills and the Great Plains is a deliberate reflection of its mission, serving as a visible symbolโin an iconically American settingโof the federal government's enduring commitment to science in service of society. For many in the field, including myself, the Mesa Lab holds singular importance as a focal gathering point for the global atmospheric science community. My own early career exposure to weather and Earth system modeling, in fact, occurred within these walls, and I have long felt that the facilityโs architecture and location inspire a necessary sense of awe regarding the atmosphereโs complexity a
Page 1 of letter by Daniel Swain. It begins: Dear Acting Director Stone and the NSF NCAR restructuring team: I am writing to provide a formal response to the Request for Information (RFI) regarding the proposed restructuring of the NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and its critical weather science infrastructure contained within the January 23, 2026 Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) entitled โNSF Intent to Restructure Critical Weather Infrastructure.โ I submit these comments in my professional capacity as an atmospheric research scientist within the University of California, where my research focuses on the physics and dynamics of atmospheric processes related to extreme weather events and their role in shifting natural hazard and disaster risk. My perspective is informed by a public-sector career dedicated to bridging the gap between fundamental atmospheric research and real-world application in an academic context, with a particular focus on understanding and mitigating
I just submitted my letter to NSF responding to its proposal to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). I argue that doing so would be an astonishing and avoidable misstep, and that federal support for the institution should in fact be *increased.* [1/4]
"US military investigators believe it is likely that US forces were responsible for an apparent strike on an Iranian girls' school. The strike would rank among the worst cases of civilian casualties in decades of US conflicts in the โMiddle East." www.reuters.com/world/middle...
"No stupid rules of engagement." โ Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, March 2, 2026
"The strike would rank among the worst cases of civilian casualties in decades of U.S. conflicts in the Middle East." โ Reuters, March 5, 2026
The reason we have โstupid rules of engagementโ is to make sure we donโt bomb elementary schools.
Trump/Israel Iran war isn't just driving up energy prices, it may start destabilizing world food supplies due to fertilizer disruptions. Via Reuters
This is grotesque, anti-science, and horribly discriminatory gaslighting. We need to come to terms with the fact that the US government is *actively harming people* with pure propaganda driven by an extremist ideology that has been thoroughly debunked by science. ๐งช
Screenshot of a nasa FB post that says 3:36 4 F17 < NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Ad... โขโข. NASA - National Aeronautics and Space NASI Administration e โข Follow 3hใป Explore with us! Learn more about NASA Force, a new initiative to recruit the nation's top engineers and technologists in support of America's space program. Applications are opening soon: https:// go.nasa.gov/4|ctjOz NASA 626 41 ~ 72
Itโs weird how this doesnโt say โoops we accidentally pushed out/incentivized to leave/firedโ a lot of engineers and it turns out engineering projects need those.
Microplastics have emerged as a serious environmental and public health concern in recent years.
Policy action lags behind growing evidence of harms
www.bmj.com/content/392/...
So... A friend was supposed to give a PURELY SCIENTIFIC talk at NIH within the next couple of weeks and it was cancelled because of a "new process" where all speakers/talks have to be CLEARED BY A POLITICAL APPOINTEE.
A similar thing happened with the Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence's #climatescience chapter, which was *erased* after 27 GOP AGs claimed this extensively vetted, peer-reviewed independent science resource was biased against US energy production. insideclimatenews.org/news/0303202...
Trump Administration Is Scrubbing LGBTQ+ Questions from Federal Surveys. Here's Why It Matters
people.com/trump-admini...
Marimar Martinez says says it's "even worse" if Noem truly does not know about her shooting
"She's the leader of DHS and one of her agents attempted to kill me, a U.S. citizen on the streets of Chicago.ย It was reported in every national news outlet for months. Does she not read the newspaper?"
NEWS: Americans were told to evacuate the Middle East โ but the State Dept is not helping them do it.
We called the State hotline. First thing you hear is an automated message: "Do not rely on the U.S. government for assisted departure or evacuation."
Government Surveillance ๐ค Corporate Surveillance
๐คฆ๐ผโโ๏ธ
Vampire bats showing their teeth. CREDIT: Oasalehm via Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA
Frightening as they may appear, vampire bats are quite sweet. They even help each other reach hard-to-lick spots! (What can I say? The subject line wrote itself.) That and more of the best from @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... ๐งช ๐ฆ
Another very important benefit of renewable energy: more resilient in the face of attacks.
โA coal power station [is] a large single target that a single missile could take out,โ says Jeff Oatham of DTEK, Ukraineโs largest energy company (...) โYou would need around 40 missiles to do the equivalent amount of capacity damage at a wind farm.โ
#EnergySecurity
e360.yale.edu/features/ukr...
Oh. ๐ณ
As the laid off Middle East News Editor, I concur. Management eliminated the positions of every single staff correspondent and bureau chief in the Middle East.
You cannot talk like this about any other minority in America.
And if it was any other presidentโs adviser who said something like this about any other minority, itโd be the instant end of their presidency.
a slurring Trump in new video on American troops killed by Iran: โSadly, there will likely be more before it ends. That's the way it is. Likely be more.โ
This is so horribly sad and cruel. In the rush to disappear people, ICE basically left the familiesโ pets to fend for themselves in abandoned cars and homes.
