Isobel Whitcomb

The US Had a Big Battery Boom Last Year Despite Donald Trump’s unrelenting attacks on renewable energy, there’s a quiet revolution happening on US grids.

hey some rare good news: the us is installing a SHIT TON of batteries right now!

I don't ski or snowboard, but I like having water in August and not losing my home to fire, so I've been hoping for this too.

Olympic COVID restrictions are gone, but some athletes are still self-quarantining For most people, the pandemic days of masking are behind them. In certain corners of the Winter Olympics, though, things still look a lot like they did in COVID times. Some athletes are taking extreme...

As an athlete who watched multiple running friends sidelined for years after covid, developing long-covid is a major fear of mine. I don't think masking and isolating at an event that brings together people from around the world are extreme precautions.

www.npr.org/2026/02/09/n...

Journalism schools need to desperately hire more freelancers as lecturers to teach students how to make money, including gig comms work, while reporting on this side.

I've had this thought for a while, but especially as a paper of record gets decimated.

Daffodils started blooming 2 weeks ago, so I think we're heading into spring proper. (eerily early)

Here's who the Washington Post just laid off.

Data Centers Are Driving a US Gas Boom Gas projects in the US pipeline explicitly linked to data centers increased by almost 25 times over the past two years, according to new research from Global Energy Monitor.

i was actually shocked to see the numbers on new research from Global Energy Monitor on new gas projects in the US: nearly 100 gigawatts of power—enough to power tens of millions of homes—are currently in development explicitly to power data centers. At the end of 2023 that number was 4 gigawatts

Western Monarch Numbers Remain at Historic Low | Xerces Society The 29th annual Western Monarch Count revealed a historically low population for the second year in a row. Approximately 12,260 monarchs were recorded overwintering across 249 sites, the third-lowest ...

UGH
"Approximately 12,260 monarchs were recorded during the typical peak overwintering period from late Nov through early Dec 2025, when monarchs cluster together in groves of trees along California’s coast.
This is the third-lowest tally since the count began in 1997. "
xerces.org/press/wester...

It's weird how after every good thing/gain (even if we don't call it a victory) people circle up to insist we shouldn't celebrate. Celebrating is not how people give up, in my experience; believing we can't win, never win, and have no power is (with a side of joylessness).

This TikTok star sharing Australian animal stories doesn’t exist – it’s AI Blakface The ‘Bush Legend’ is bringing us short videos of an Aboriginal person teaching us about native animals. But he isn’t real.

Have you read about this abomination? theconversation.com/this-tiktok-...

Last year, on Memorial Day weekend, I got hit in the head by a soccer ball. It altered the course of the rest of my year. Naturally, I wrote about the experience, and everything I learned about the brain because of it.

slate.com/technology/2...

In Chaotic Gaza Scene, Many Killed and Wounded as Israeli Forces Open Fire The Palestinian news agency reported that Israeli tanks had fired at thousands waiting for aid. Israeli officials said Gazans were trampled and run over by aid trucks.

well if it isn't our old friend passive voice

My first time being on the other side of an interview! I recently spoke with the talented Tyler Santora about how to get what you want out of an interview. To sum up my thoughts: Read the room. Meet your source where they are, whether that's with formal professionalism or casual banter.