Nicolas Balcom Raleigh

US health officials are trying to delay a regional World Health Organization meeting that would confirm the loss of its measles elimination status until after the midterm elections in November.

This is a reckless, accountability-dodging move that puts politics over public health.

Color photograph of bell hooks sitting on a red couch in a warmly lit home, holding a book and smiling gently at the camera. Below the image is a red textured banner with the quote, “What we do is more important than what we say or what we say we believe.” — bell hooks.

bell hooks taught that justice is not an idea you admire. It is a practice you live.

Writer. Scholar. Cultural critic who reshaped how we understand feminism, love, power, and liberation.

Her work still confronts us today. Our actions are the truth.

Black History. Always. 🖤

#SheShed #V4V

Helsinki just went a full year without a single traffic death The capital city is Finnish’ed with car-related fatalities.

“Helsinki hasn’t registered a single traffic-related fatality in the past year…Citing data that shows the risk of pedestrian fatality is cut in half by reducing a car’s speed from 40 to 30km/hr, city officials imposed the lower limit in most of Helsinki’s residential areas and city center in 2021.”

Evidence of all systems being open ones: Even our solar system receives material (and energy) from beyond.

Photo of a roundish, cream coloured lichen growing flat on dark rock. About 80%of the lichen (all but the edges) is covered in dozens (hundreds?) of small round discs called apothecia.

Orange Rock Posy Lichen. NWT, Canada.
lichen is about 3cm in diameter.
#lichen #fungi #fungifriends

Helsinki Airport has consolidated its position as a leading European air traffic hub, and has once again been awarded the title of best airport in the 15 to 25 million passenger category at the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards 2025:
aviation.direct/en/Helsinki-...

Wangari Maathai (1940–2011), the pioneering Kenyan environmental activist, founder of the Green Belt Movement in 1977, and the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her work in sustainable development, democracy, and environmental conservation; through the movement, she empowered women to plant millions of trees to combat deforestation, soil erosion, and poverty while promoting community-led conservation across Africa. Split image, to the left is a color photograph shows her on the left, smiling warmly outdoors in a lush green setting, bending slightly; she wears a patterned brown and white dress with a matching headwrap, standing amid foliage and trees. On the right is the Green Belt Movement logo: a stylized outline of the African continent in tan with a prominent green acacia tree silhouette, accompanied by the text "the green belt movement" in green lettering above it. #environment #ClimateSky #Reforestation 🌱 🌳

Dr. Wangari Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement in 1977. #WorldNGODay

An environmental #conservation org using tree planting (51 million so far!) as an entry point to address issues like poverty, climate change & community empowerment, particularly for women/rural groups.

#WomenInSTEM #ecosky

Photo: Flying Fish Exhibits

Photo: Flying Fish Exhibits

Photo: Flying Fish Exhibits

Opening today at Kuopio Museum, "Stardust: The Universe in You" is an immersive, hands-on journey through the story of the universe—and how that story lives within us, turning vast cosmic ideas into moments that can be touched, shaped, and felt:
kuopionmuseo.fi/in-english/

A vintage sepia-toned portrait photograph of Danish seismologist Inge Lehmann taken in 1932, at around age 44. She is posed formally against a softly draped curtain backdrop, gazing directly at the camera with a calm, intelligent, and composed expression. She has short, neatly waved dark hair and wears a simple, elegant dark blouse or dress with a light-colored V-neck insert or scarf tied loosely. The photographer's signature, "Nachtwey 1932," appears in the lower right corner in a flowing script. The image captures her poised and thoughtful demeanor during the early years of her groundbreaking career in seismology, before her landmark discovery of Earth's solid inner core in 1936. #seismology

Danish seismologist Inge Lehmann fundamentally changed our understanding of the Earth's interior by discovering its solid inner core in 1936. Often referred to as 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘳𝘵 due to her incredible ability to interpret complex seismic records by hand.

She died #OTD in 1993 #WomenInSTEM

#CBDSBI6 focused on implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework—and actions to bridge data gaps, build scientific and technological capacities, and mobilize financial resources

Summary ➡️ enb.iisd.org/subsidiary-b...

#KMGBF #biodiversity @unbiodiversity.bsky.social

One NOAA tide gage is forecast to see major coastal flooding from the coming Nor'easter, during the 1 a.m. Monday high tide cycle: Lewes, DE. This would be the 8th-highest water level since records began in 1919, ~1.3' below the record set in the 1/23/16 Nor'easter, and ~0.7' below Hurricane Sandy.

Hmong grandmother detained in Texas for 2 weeks still doesn’t know why After being repeatedly visited by ICE, Thi Dua Vang and her husband, both in the U.S. legally awaiting green cards, are in hiding.

Federal agents convinced an 11-year-old boy to open the door at 7:30 a.m. and then detained this Hmong grandma for 2 weeks in Texas. She shared a cell with 20 women. What did she do wrong? She has no idea, but ICE has returned repeatedly. She's still in hiding. www.twincities.com/2026/02/15/h...

And LOL again.

A portion of the Strøget pedestrian street in Copenhagen that widens into a grand people-place.

One of the most successful pedestrian streets in the world, the Strøget in Copenhagen, was filled with cars until a 2 year pedestrianization pilot project in 1962. The opposition argued “no cars means no business,” but the street has been a massive retail success, the city’s busiest shopping street.

Happy 10-year anniversary to the first detection of a gravity wave. May we detect many many more in the years to come!

Finns treasure friendship on Valentine’s Day - thisisFINLAND In Finland, friendship is what’s celebrated on Valentine’s Day. People give gifts and cards to their best friends; it’s not just for romantic partners.

Hyvää Ystävänpäivää !!! Happy Friend's Day !!!

While the rest of the world is celebrating love, Finland has its own unique interpretation of Valentine's Day, celebrated in Finland as Ystävänpäivä, Friend's Day, celebrating friendship as much as romance:
finland.fi/life-society...

There is No Scientific Justification to Revoke the Endangerment Finding The U.S. EPA's decision to repeal the Endangerment Finding will limit the government's ability to regulate emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.

As I say here, there is no scientific justification to revoke the engagement finding. In fact, over the last 15+ yrs, the evidence of how climate change affects our health has only grown. Higher risk of allergies, dementia, fertility, heart disease, and death: that’s what’s on the line. @nature.org

WATCH: Trump, EPA's Zeldin announce end of scientific basis for U.S. action on climate change The Trump administration on Thursday revoked a scientific finding that long has been the central basis for U.S. action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change, the most aggressiv...

Today, the Trump administration repealed the endangerment finding: the ruling that served as the basis for limits on tailpipe emissions and power plant rules. Without it, we’ll be less safe, less healthy and less able to fight climate change—all so the fossil fuel industry can make even more money.

Just enjoyed a lively FEN Exchange about Anticipation as theory and Foresight as practice. Great attendance and conversations were had by all. (FEN = Foresight Europe Network).

@nobelprize.org - Happy to see you here on BlueSky. Looking forward to your active role sharing Nobel Prize news and information about great contributors to science, art and the general welfare of all humanity here!

Black-and-white vintage portrait photograph of Edith Clarke (1883–1959), the pioneering American electrical engineer, inventor of the Clarke Calculator (a graphical tool for solving power transmission problems), and the first woman to earn a master's degree in electrical engineering from MIT. She is shown in a close-up head-and-shoulders view against a dark, neutral background, gazing directly at the camera with a composed, intelligent expression. Clarke has distinctive curly hair neatly styled, and she wears thin, round pince-nez glasses perched on her nose with a thin bridge and side arms. She is dressed in a formal dark blouse or jacket. The classic early-to-mid-20th-century studio portrait style conveys her trailblazing role in electrical engineering and power systems innovation. #EdithClarke #WomenInEngineering #ElectricalEngineering #ClarkeCalculator #InventorsHallOfFame #MIT #MITAlum #PowerSystems

Edith Clarke, the first professional female electrical engineer in the US, was born #OTD in 1883.

+ Invented the Clarke calculator to solve electric power transmission problems faster
+ First woman to earn an MS in electrical engineering (EE) at MIT, 1919
+ First woman EE professor, US #WomenInSTEM

Human Rights matter. This is an unjust policy direction. Everyone deserves dignity and self-determination, even us immigrants to Europe.

Today we celebrate the scientists, researchers, and changemakers advancing soil health and sustainable food systems around the world - highlighting the importance of cross-disciplinary collaboration in shaping equitable, climate-resilient land and food systems.

#WomenInScience | @cifor-icraf.org

Today we are celebrating the 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗚𝗶𝗿𝗹𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, a day to honour the achievements of women & girls worldwide in science, technology, and innovation.

Read our impact case study & how UNU‑IIGH is contributing to inclusive digital health architectures🔗 go.unu.edu/7SLkq

On this day that supports inclusive futures for women and girls in science, let's not forget all the women that were sidelined, ignored, or forced out of science because they:
- had children
- prioritised family/caring
- did science differently
- questioned boundaries & norms
- fought the patriarchy

👩‍🔬 This #WomenInScienceDay highlights the importance of inclusive participation across AI, Social Sciences, STEM & Finance 🌍 Science Europe and its members are already taking action: our 2024 Practical Guide helps strengthen diversity in research 👉 bit.ly/4rGQcLo

#BridgingTheGap #InclusiveFuture

Over the past two months, immigration agents have shot three people, killing two; racially profiled people, asking them to produce proof of legal residency; detained legal immigrants and shipped them across state lines, including young children; caused numerous car crashes; deployed chemical irritants on public school property; smashed the car windows of observers and arrested them before releasing them without charges; and threatened journalists who were filming them from a distance in a public space, among other high-profile incidents.

Highlighting this important contextual paragraph, lest anyone attempt sweep away the harms caused to human rights, human dignity, state sovereignty, and the USA’s founding principle of rule by and for the people.

Delegates at #IPBES12 adopted the Business and Biodiversity Assessment (and its Summary for Policymakers), which addresses the impact and dependence of #business on #biodiversity

Summary ➡️ enb.iisd.org/intergovernm...

#KMGBF #biodiversityloss