Lauren Rosenthal

Three Big Questions Facing FEMA With Kristi Noem Out The Department of Homeland Security oversees the nation’s main disaster response agency, which has undergone turmoil under Noem.

With Noem on the way out, here are questions disaster experts have shared with me & @laurenthal.bsky.social @bloomberg.com: what happens to the FEMA Review Council? Will there finally be an officially nominated FEMA head? And what happens to the 100k policy?

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

As Iran Crisis Upends Oil and Gas, Clean Energy Gets Complicated Higher fossil fuel prices could make green alternatives more attractive, but harder to deploy.

NEW: Here's what the crisis in the Middle East and turmoil in energy markets mean for renewable energy and the clean transition

Story w @akshatrathi.bsky.social @sharonchenhm.bsky.social via @bloomberg.com
FREE read:

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

NWS starts down reorganization road - Climate Prediction Center to be merged into other NWS centers Thursday may have been the hottest winter day on record in the US, and I try to sort out some of the records

NWS is starting to roll out plans for a significant reorganization, and (per reporting by @laurenthal.bsky.social) the first aspect to be publicly acknowledged is the disbanding of the Climate Prediction Center and merging it into other NWS entities. tinyurl.com/47vpe3pa

Will climate change bring more major hurricane landfalls to the U.S.? » Yale Climate Connections A deep dive on the latest hurricane science.

My comprehensive look at the future of major hurricane landfalls for the continental U.S. There is no long-term trend in major hurricane landfalls, but with more majors now prowling the Atlantic, a shift in steering currents could change that.

Deep Freeze and Drought Are Fueling a Massive Florida Wildfire An area larger than Manhattan is on fire near the Everglades, sending plumes of smoke swirling across southern Florida.

First ice, then fire: A big blaze at the edge of Florida's Everglades ecosystem has its roots in a recent deep-freeze event, compounded by extensive drought. Gift link 🔗 www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

US Climate Forecaster to Be Absorbed in Weather Agency Reshuffle The US climate forecasting service will be absorbed into other federal departments as part of a re-organization announced to staff Thursday.

Scoop: The Climate Prediction Center is being folded into other agencies overseen by the National Weather Service

The change follows moves by the Trump administration to dismantle climate science programs

By @weathersullivan.bsky.social & @laurenthal.bsky.social

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Cleaning Up Potomac River Sewer Spill Could Take Months The federal government is now playing a bigger role in river restoration after Trump criticized the local response.

While emergency repairs to DC Water's broken sewer line could be completed by mid-March, there’s *no timeline* for how long it will take to clean up the environmental damage caused by the spill.

My latest @bloomberg.com (gift link): www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

AI Lost Out to Traditional Models in Forecasting NYC's Blizzard Two days before New York's biggest snowstorm in a decade began, forecasters were still unsure how much snow would fall. One traditional US model had consistently predicted a major hit, while newer art...

Why wasn't AI more helpful in predicting this week's giant snowstorm for New York and much of the Northeast? As one scientist put it, "there’s no perfect model yet -- that's the problem." Gift link 🔗

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

noted

New York Faces Heavy Snow From Nor’easter Blowing in Sunday A late-weekend storm could blanket parts of the Eastern Seaboard with snow, with more than half a foot possible in New York and several inches across southern New England through Monday.

People in NY/NJ/CT: Depending on how you feel about snow, I come bearing...news (gift link) www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Trump Eases Mercury Rules for Power Plants in Bid to Boost Coal The Environmental Protection Agency rolled back limits on mercury and other toxic air pollutants for coal- and oil-fired plants.

Another day, another rollback. The EPA on Friday rolled back rules limiting mercury & other toxic air pollution from power plants, the latest in a series of moves by Trump designed to boost the nation’s shrinking coal sector.

Story @bloomberg.com, gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

According to EPA, costs start at "hundreds of billions of dollars on the low end" and could go much, much higher. Read @zhirji.bsky.social's smart story for free:

Trump's EPA Rollbacks Will Reverberate for 'Decades' The agency’s planned repeal of a cornerstone of US climate rules is part of an aggressive deregulatory agenda whose effects on the environment will outlast the president.

Trump is shrinking the EPA more quickly & aggressively than ever before, culminating in this week's move to rescind the crucial "endangerment finding" underpinning key regulations of planet-warming pollution.

Here's what it all means (a gift link @bloomberg.com): www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

If you're wondering what to expect after the EPA repeals its endangerment finding (or not sure what the endangerment finding is!) @zhirji.bsky.social + @jendlouhy.bsky.social are here to help

Trump’s EPA to Scrap Landmark Emissions Policy in Major Rollback The US Environmental Protection Agency plans this week to repeal a policy that provides the legal foundation for a raft of rules regulating greenhouse gas emissions, marking President Donald Trump’s m...

From late last night: The EPA plans this week to repeal a policy that provides the legal foundation for a raft of rules regulating greenhouse gas emissions, marking Trump’s most consequential retreat from the fight against climate change.

Gift link @bloomberg.com: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Compared with the 1st year of previous admins, including Trump’s 1st term, the current admin has taken fewer polluters to court & settled fewer existing court cases, per a new review of federal court records by the nonprofit EIP.

Story @bloomberg.com w/gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Reminder: While record cold maximum and minimum temperatures are forecast across much of the U.S., the number of warm records nationally far outpaced cold records in 2025, part of a decades-long trend.

Weather ≠ climate

FEMA Halts Terminations as Massive Storm About to Hit US The Federal Emergency Management Agency has halted planned terminations of some temporary disaster relief workers just as a major winter storm moves across the country, according to people familiar wi...

As a massive winter storm bears down on the US, FEMA is pausing plans to "offboard" disaster relief workers. From @zhirji.bsky.social + @gregorykorte.com (gift link) www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

NYC Braces for Winter Storm to Bring Nearly a Foot of Snow New York City is poised to get pummeled with nearly a foot of snow this weekend, a test for new Mayor Zohran Mamdani, as a massive weather system lands on the region threatening power outages, airline...

Up to 10 inches (!) of snow forecast for NYC this weekend as a big old winter storm sweeps half the country. Get ready for snow plows and travel delays (gift link): www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

A chart back to 1970 showing the global average temperate rise, which matches the warming effects of CO₂, methane and other warming gases, until an anomalous heat spike after 2023.

Heat and greenhouse gas pollution rise in lock-step — until 2023, when the thermostat goes bonkers.

🎁🔗 The 2025 climate numbers are in.
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

EPA Will No Longer Consider Value of Human Health Benefits in Setting Air Pollution Rules The agency is abandoning a longstanding policy to calculate the monetary savings in avoided deaths and disease from cutting certain pollutants.

The EPA will no longer calculate the monetary value of saving human lives, among other health impacts, when setting new clean air rules. It quietly debuted this new approach in a version of a new final rule for power plant emissions published online last week.

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

One Year After LA Fires, Recovery Is a Battleground The price tag for the costliest blazes in US history is still climbing and disputes over who will pay are escalating.

A year after the LA wildfires, the price tag for the costliest blazes in US history is still climbing. Who pays is uncertain.

Our story on how risk and damage have spread beyond burned neighborhoods and the fight to limit losses and shift liability: www.bloomberg.com/features/202...

My Costly Race to Prepare for California’s Next Inferno Wildfire prep demands expensive upgrades and relandscaped backyards. The question is whether any one homeowner can succeed on their own.

New: My essay on living in the beautiful but sure-to-burn Berkeley Hills and how denial in the face of certain catastrophe remains deeply embedded in the California psyche. But the LA fires are forcing a reckoning over how we pursue the California Dream. Free link.
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Update: As it turns out, the meeting is not currently happening

bsky.app/profile/did:...

Cajun Navy groups may raise a few million dollars in a good year, collectively. As President Trump weighs major changes to FEMA - like shutting it down - some leaders say they wouldn't be able to replace it. Or simply aren't interested.

As one put it: "We don't want to end up sucking like them."

The Cajun Navy Is Shaping Trump's Vision for US Disaster Relief While the Trump administration rethinks federal disaster relief, Republicans have praised how Cajun Navy groups have responded to major storms.

The Cajun Navy started after Katrina as volunteer boaters conducted rescues on the fly. Despite legal trouble, scandals and infighting, it's still going. And some leaders say they've been advising Trump officials on FEMA + the US disaster system. Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

A DHS spokesperson said workers who publicly signed the Katrina Declaration "were wrongly and without authorization reinstated by bureaucrats acting outside their authority."

As one whistleblower lawyer put it: "I've never seen a retraction on a retraction like this."

Story w/ @zhirji.bsky.social

FEMA Puts Whistleblowers on Leave Shortly After Reinstating Them Days after reinstating a group of Federal Emergency Management Agency employees who raised concerns about the government’s disaster preparedness, federal officials have placed those whistleblowers bac...

In a reversal from this morning, FEMA puts whistleblowers back on leave after reinstating them

Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

FEMA Orders Staff Back After Probe of Whistleblower Letter Ends The Federal Emergency Management Agency has ordered a group of employees to return to work after placing them on leave in August — and later dismissing one — for publicly raising concerns about the ag...

New this AM: FEMA has ordered a group of employees to return to work after placing them on leave in August — and later dismissing one — for publicly raising concerns about the agency’s disaster-response capabilities.

Story w/@laurenthal.bsky.social, gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

NYC’s Lander Recommends Dropping $42 Billion BlackRock Mandate New York City Comptroller Brad Lander is urging three of the city’s pension funds to drop BlackRock Inc. because of “inadequate” climate plans, the latest move to penalize investment firms for failing...

Landmark move: New York City's comptroller @bradlander.bsky.social, with hundreds of billions under his control, recommends dropping investment giant Blackrock because they won't reckon with climate change.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...