Susan Cosier

Congrats to @bittelmethis.bsky.social!

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...

🚨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.

I’m speaking today at the @spspnews.bsky.social’s annual convention at Chicago’s McCormick Place. Come if you’re free! #SPSP2026

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.

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...

This cartoon of his lives rent free in my brain.

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.

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...

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!

Breaking: Washington Post gutting its climate team Clean energy dies in darkness. Courtesy of Jeff Bezos.

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...

Hawaiian monk seal seen soaking up sunshine in Waikiki A Hawaiian monk seal was seen soaking up the sun in Waikiki on Saturday.

Hawaiian monk seals are more rare than pandas.

A Halloween parade. For kids.

DOGE’s Attacks on National Parks Let Public Lands Slip from Public Hands Laying off thousands of park service employees and BLM staff makes it a lot easier to exploit public resources for profit.

And here's my story about what's happening on public lands because of changes at the Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service. www.nrdc.org/stories/doge...

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.

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.

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...

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...

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/...

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.

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.

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.

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...

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...

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.

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.

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.

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.

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...

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. 🧪

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!

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.

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.

Do you have a link to the series? I’d love to read it.

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.

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.”

#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.

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!

Clouds of birds filled Chicago's skies one night last fall, a rare spectacle for birders. As warblers and sparrows and thrushes soared over the city, hundreds crashed into windows. Will these bird strikes continue? My Living Bird magazine story.
www.allaboutbirds.org/news/a-singl...