Tom Buckley

US domestic corn use from 1980 to 2022. See if you can spot when the Renewable Fuels Standard was established in 2005. Source: USDA NASS.

US transportation energy sources, 2022. Gasoline more than half. Biofuels 6%. Source: EIA.

Today the US uses about 30-40% of our corn supply and 40-50% of our soybean oil supply to produce biofuels that account for…

…about 6% of our total transportation fuel.

Lots of land & food/feed, small amount of energy.

Solar is 100x more efficient per acre at producing energy.

End of 🧵 for now.

"The only ones who need to be worried right now is the Iranians who think they're gonna live"

-Pete Hegseth, Very Normal Guy

Perhaps academia’s greatest contribution to AI safety is bureaucracy. Good luck conquering the world when every step requires a printed form, a stamp, and a posted original.

Let’s talk about Graham Platner’s Big Lie, finally. In 2009, at the height of the Gulf War, the Marines barred him from active duty. Platner claims it was his forearm tattoos. But his one forbidden tattoo was the Nazi symbol on his chest. He knew - and he left the Marines rather than give it up. 1/

python vs R?
base R vs tidyverse?
framework X vs Y?

unless you're getting paid, use the one that brings you the most joy.

life's too short to keep on writing code that you neither enjoy nor get paid for.

#rstats

The physics of reliability: Why gas peakers alone can’t save the modern grid Most outages don’t start as a multihour energy shortage; they start as a frequency crisis. If you only have gas, you’re trying to stop a bullet with a shield that takes 10 minutes to lift, writes Arun...

We need to be building a grid for the 21st century. Mechanical gas peaker plants, which requires ~10 minutes to respond to a grid crisis, cannot complete with electronic, grid-scale battery energy storage which responds almost instantly. 🧪🔌💡☀️💨💧🔋 www.utilitydive.com/news/the-phy...

I'm an atheistic Buddhist, and I have a significantly better understanding of Western civilization and more fully appreciate its values than Pete Hegseth, whose basic character is a rejection of everything worthwhile about the civilizations of the West.

You know thriller is a millennial, because our gen z kids know better than to come at gen x unprepared.

It's always time for this anti-fascist moment from Casablanca.

Trump Says 'I Guess' Americans Should Worry About Iran Retaliating on U.S. Soil: 'Like I Said, Some People Will Die' In an interview with 'Time,' President Donald Trump acknowledged the possibility that Iran retaliates with attacks on U.S. soil, saying, 'We think about it all the time. We plan for it'

Trump on terrorist attacks in America: “Like I said, some people will die. When you go to war, some people will die."

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 author’s 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 universities—who 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 symbol—in an iconically American setting—of 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 facility’s architecture and location inspire a necessary sense of awe regarding the atmosphere’s 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 “NSF Intent to Restructure Critical Weather Infrastructure.” 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]

I will miss Kristi Noem's inimitable constitutional insights, as when, asked by Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H. at a Senate hearing to define "habeas corpus," she replied, "Habeas corpus is a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country."

“We’ll Smash the Fucking Window Out and Drag Him Out” We’ve documented nearly 50 incidents of immigration officers shattering car windows to make arrests — a tactic experts say was rarely used before Trump took office. ICE claims its officers use a “mini...

Last year, we documented nearly 50 incidents of immigration officers shattering car windows to make arrests — a tactic experts say was rarely used before Trump took office.

ICE claims its officers use a “minimum amount of force.” You can judge for yourself.

(Published July 2025)

Late winter in California

Quietly, calmly and forensically, BBC just dismantled the Trump communications shitshow on Iran.

No hyperbole, just laying out an unprecedented military, diplomatic and reputational shambles.

Worth a watch.

(🎥 BBC News/BBC Verify)

Daisy has seen better days

For all the but how can we afford space exploration folks…this means we’ve already spent more on this war that started last week than Cassini cost in the 26 years it took to build, launch, and operate it.

Dem leadership should be out there screaming this to the rafters, a thousand times a day, but of course they won't.

Cover of The Lancet, 28 February 2026 issue. The quote: “The destruction that Kennedy has wrought in 1 year might take generations to repair, and there is little hope for US health and science while he remains at the helm.”

On the cover of The Lancet:
Editorial — “Robert F Kennedy Jr: 1 year of failure”

Read the latest issue: spkl.io/63327Aa31W

47 years is the *opposite* of imminent (which means "something that will happen soon"). These people are so stupid.

Huge slap in the face to democracy. Democratic Colorado governor, @colorado.gov, just publicly signaled clemency to Tina peters, convicted of election interference. If election crimes have no consequences, why would the next denier stop?

Full breakdown: youtube.com/watch?v=lTSCC_9-FpY

WHY DO ALL THESE HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES WANT TO BE CONNECTED TO THE BLOODY INTERNET? Our landlady installed light switches that don't work properly unless you use them in conjunction with an app. I don't want a fucking app for light switches. I just want to switch a light on and off, using a switch.

Scientific American has updated the figure, now grouped into swimmers, fliers, walkers/runners, and vehicles. A person on a bicycle remains the most efficient way to travel, compared to all forms of biological locomotion and mechanical transport.

www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-hu...

When someone says „Scientists do not want you to know“ you can dismiss everything from there on. Scientists want you to know. They are desperate that you know. They can’t shut up about what they found out and want you to know.

We could have used these missiles to protect Ukraine. We chose not to. @anneapplebaum on the "To the Contrary" podcast.

Private research that is useful for moving knowledge forward but not projected to be quite profitable enough never sees the light of day.

Then others, perhaps multiple other private or academic labs, will have to redo that research to gain that knowledge. That is the opposite of efficiency. (4/4)

Will you offer beer martinis?

Holy shit. These people shouldn’t be near sharp cutlery, let alone seats of power.

Mullin: “This is war.”

Raju: “You concede this is war?”

Mullin: “We haven’t declared war.”

Reporter: “You just said it’s a war.”

Mullin: *stammer

Hey it’s me!
Thanks @aobp.bsky.social for being a great home for excellent papers and also for thoughtful editors!

Green AoB PLANTS “Meet the Editor” flyer featuring Associate Editor Juliana Medeiros (Holden Arboretum, USA). The graphic highlights her research focus on plant anatomical and physiological acclimation to abiotic environments, her commitment to rigorous and inclusive science, advice for publishing (“build your paper around a strong central finding”), her favorite plants (rhododendrons and coffee), and her interests outside science, including assemblage art and caring for houseplants and aquariums. A circular photo shows her working in a lab under red light.

🌿Great journals are shaped by thoughtful editors.

Juliana Medeiros @heyrhododendron.bsky.social brings a passion for rigorous science, inclusive editing, and strong scientific storytelling to AoB PLANTS.

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