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Ashley Braun

@ashleybraun.bsky.social
2.7K followers 591 following 180 posts

Science + Environmental Journalist, Sr. Editor @ DeSmog, Fact-checker. Seattle, WA. ashleybraun.com

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Ashley Braun @ashleybraun.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
“People don’t have a lot of qualms about paying for their sewage treatment plants,” @greeningscience.bsky.social told me, yet urban trees and green space function as living infrastructure and need proportionate investment to deliver public health and economic benefits 👇
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Ashley Braun @ashleybraun.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
The mantra is absolutely “right tree, right place” in urban forestry circles, and you’re spot on about the importance of caring for the trees after they’re planted in order to get the benefits
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Ashley Braun @ashleybraun.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Greener cities literally have healthier, longer-lived people. Want to know how many lives America’s urban forests are saving? 🌳 🏙️ Read my latest story 👇
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Guardian US @us.theguardian.com · 15/09/2026
Energy Transfer, whose CEO is a major Trump donor, named as biggest single methane producer in new rankings
theguardian.com
US ‘super-emitters’ of planet heating methane identified by satellite analysis
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Ashley Braun @ashleybraun.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Also no shade to my other favorite editors out here 😉 @amcglashen.bsky.social
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Ashley Braun @ashleybraun.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Truly tragic
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Ashley Braun @ashleybraun.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Colin was one of my favorite editors to work with and we published so many great stories together at Hakai Magazine and bioGraphic. Someone, please hire him! Ideally, selfishly, in science/environmental news so we can work together again 💛
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Colin Schultz @colinschultz.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
My Pebble Mine coverage with @ashleybraun.bsky.social was cited in Congress. I'm pretty sure other pieces changed laws. News stories show up in the references of academic papers, and @drlauraguertin.bsky.social's students even turned some of them into a quilt. journeysofdrg.org/2024/12/15/s...
journeysofdrg.org
SciQuilt – Thank you, Hakai Magazine
I have been using Hakai Magazine articles with students in all of my courses, especially my coastal issues and oceanography courses. I am a huge fan of supporting independent journalism, especially…
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Colin Schultz @colinschultz.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
I'm really not sure how to say this, so I'm just going to say it: My contract at @biographic.bsky.social is not being renewed. As management let me know not long ago, the latest funding crisis--really, the latest in a string of funding crises--was just too much to handle.
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Rachel Santarsiero @rsanta.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Special thanks to @rebleber.bsky.social, @juliakane.bsky.social, and @ashleybraun.bsky.social who were integral in helping me disentangle extremely complex methane and greenhouse gas reporting rules for this investigation.
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Ashley Braun @ashleybraun.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
I was lucky enough to read and give a little feedback on early drafts of some sections. Roberta captures the unexpected twists and turns of the scientific process while writing beautifully and with great insights. Check out her book if you can't make the event! thirdplacebooks.com/book/9781728...
thirdplacebooks.com
Lost in Curiosity: Field Notes from Scientists' Adventures into the Unknown
The real story of science isn't a triumphant breakthrough. It's messy, mysterious, and deeply human. In Lost in Curiosity, award-winning journalist Roberta Kwok pulls back the curtain on what scientif...
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Ashley Braun @ashleybraun.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Join @robertakwok.bsky.social tonight 7pm in Seattle at Third Place Books Ravenna as she discusses her new book, Lost in Curiosity: Field Notes from Scientists' Adventures into the Unknown. It's about science's messy pursuit of understanding (and it's a delight!) thirdplacebooks.com/event/robert...
thirdplacebooks.com
Roberta Kwok presents 'Lost in Curiosity'
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Ashley Braun @ashleybraun.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
Featuring a chapter from @desmog.com’s @geoffdembicki.bsky.social on reporting strategies for investigating private and state-owned fossil fuel corporations
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Ashley Braun @ashleybraun.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
1 million species globally are threatened with extinction. #1 driver: Changes to how people use the land + ocean. "The health of ecosystems on which we and all other species depend is deteriorating more rapidly than ever." The report warned of oppo from vested interests www.ipbes.net/news/Media-R...
ipbes.net
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Ashley Braun @ashleybraun.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
"Environmental lawyers and activists said that projects are rarely blocked because of habitat restrictions." More often, they have to write "habitat conservation plans" outlining expected impacts and what steps they'll take to reduce them.
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Ashley Braun @ashleybraun.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
"Those supporting the change included industries affected by habitat restrictions. Oil and gas trade groups including the American Petroleum Institute wrote that harm must involve a direct injury to a particular animal." More on API www.desmog.com/american-pet...
desmog.com
American Petroleum Institute
American Petroleum Institute (API) Background Based in Washington DC, the American Petroleum Institute (API) is the largest trade association for the oil and gas industry, representing over 600 corpor...
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Ashley Braun @ashleybraun.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
“Threatened and endangered species are entirely dependent on healthy habitats,” wrote Bruce Kreft, chief of the conservation and communications division of the North Dakota Game and Fish Department. The proposed change, he said, “would have dire consequences.”
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Ashley Braun @ashleybraun.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
"The change could open the door for fossil fuel companies, agricultural interests, land developers and others to disturb or destroy the habitats of vulnerable species." "Among those asking the administration to reconsider were state wildlife agencies in some Republican-governed states."
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Ashley Braun @ashleybraun.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
"Under the rule, destroying an endangered species’ nest or habitat would no longer be considered illegal." www.seattletimes.com/nation-world...
seattletimes.com
Trump administration sharply cuts protections for endangered species
By adjusting the meaning of "harm," the Trump administration could in effect open the habitats of imperiled animals to farming, drilling, mining and more.
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Ashley Braun @ashleybraun.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Former Exxon lawyer Robert Levy joins the DOJ division that dubs itself ‘the nation’s largest environmental law firm.' In reaction, a Koch lawyer says: "You will be missed in our circles" in Levy's now-deleted LinkedIn announcement. @desmog.com's latest www.desmog.com/2026/07/10/e...
desmog.com
Exxon’s Robert Levy Is Joining the DOJ Division That Dubs Itself 'the Nation’s Largest Environmental Law Firm'
The longtime Big Oil attorney has major ties to conservative legal groups.
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Ashley Braun @ashleybraun.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Our next story following up on @joefassler.bsky.social’s reporting that Colorado gave these same oil companies a $1 billion pass on financial assurance for oil and gas cleanup
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Ashley Braun @ashleybraun.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
This is today! I'll be in conversation with @michaelemann.bsky.social about the climate denier playbook and where we go from here. Still a few spots, join us! 👇
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Ashley Braun @ashleybraun.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Couldn't agree more! Come join our discussion of fossil fuels and fascism, the evolution of climate denial, and solutions to the polluted information ecosystem next Wednesday. Sign up for the July 8 virtual party 👇
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Ashley Braun @ashleybraun.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
This is tomorrow, June 30 (not June 23, d’oh). Come hang and talk patient advocacy, pollution in the Anthropocene, and moving from rage to action at Third Place Books in Ravenna. Can’t wait to co-host this discussion with the amazing @lodrinkswater.bsky.social!
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bioGraphic @biographic.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Shrimp Shell Slurry to the Rescue? A new, multistep chemical process can turn bits of organic waste into “carbon-negative” fuel, food, and construction material. by @ashleybraun.bsky.social www.biographic.com/shrimp-shell...
biographic.com
Shrimp Shell Slurry to the Rescue? - bioGraphic
A new, multistep chemical process can turn bits of organic waste into “carbon-negative” fuel, food, and construction material.
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Ashley Braun @ashleybraun.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
My latest for @biographic.bsky.social: transforming biomass trash into green hydrogen and carbon gold
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Ashley Braun @ashleybraun.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Even the climate deniers didn’t expect this level of climate hushing www.desmog.com/2026/03/04/c...
desmog.com
Climate Deniers Expected More Resistance to Trump’s Fossil Fuel Blitz
‘I’ve never seen anything like this,” longtime denier Marc Morano said recently of climate action advocates going ‘silent’ on the issue.
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Ashley Braun @ashleybraun.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
And who better to trace the boomerang of climate denial with than a climate scientist who has been targeted by deniers and fought back, @michaelemann.bsky.social? Looking forward to our conversation!
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Mary Stuart (she/her) @marylouisestuart.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
I can't wait to ask @naomiaklein.bsky.social about the fossil fuel-AI nexus and her forthcoming book End Times Fascism at our webinar! Register now: luma.com/snaz4qbo
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Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 24/11/2024
This is why it is such a bad thing that so many future visions of climate action rely *very* very heavily on CCS; many times bigger than what that study optimistically says is feasible or possible. Eg: here's my compilation of fossil company scenario assumptions: www.rff.org/publications...
a chart showing fossil fuel company projections way more optimsitic than real ccs dpeloyment
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Ashley Braun @ashleybraun.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
So grab a copy of the book, wherever you are and Seattleites, come to our conversation next Tuesday, June 23 at 7pm! www.thirdplacebooks.com/event/lorrai...
thirdplacebooks.com
Lorraine Boissoneault presents 'Body Weather: Notes on Chronic
"Body Weather connects the challenges of the planet to the trials of the body and dares to imagine a future where we address both with humanity. It's a singular, stunning book.” —Ed Yong, author of
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Ashley Braun @ashleybraun.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
This is a book for you too. Despite the topics, it's not a downer. She explores: Where do we take comfort, how do we move forward when forces beyond us are at play? Lorraine gracefully delves into philosophy, science, history, and social movements to help us move to power beyond paralysis.
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Ashley Braun @ashleybraun.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Have you or someone you known experienced a natural disaster, grappled w/ the dynamics of climate chaos, been dismissed by a doctor, navigated a byzantine healthcare system, searched for black + white answers, justice, relief, in a changing world clouded by shades of gray, by pain, by variability?
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Ashley Braun @ashleybraun.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
You don't have to experience disability firsthand to appreciate this book (although we're all on that path as we age, or stand one freak accident away).
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Ashley Braun @ashleybraun.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Seattle! Join the talented @lodrinkswater.bsky.social next Tuesday, June 23 at 7pm at Third Place Books in Ravenna as we discuss her beautiful and deeply personal new book, Body Weather: Notes on Chronic Illness in the Anthropocene. www.thirdplacebooks.com/event/lorrai...
thirdplacebooks.com
Lorraine Boissoneault presents 'Body Weather: Notes on Chronic
"Body Weather connects the challenges of the planet to the trials of the body and dares to imagine a future where we address both with humanity. It's a singular, stunning book.” —Ed Yong, author of
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Ashley Braun @ashleybraun.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Major new investigation reported by @joefassler.bsky.social (and edited by me) into Colorado's celebrated oil cleanup reforms. The regulator had the chance to incentivize the three largest oil companies to clean up their thousands of dead and dirty drill sites. It quietly gave them a $1 billion pass
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Michael E. Mann @michaelemann.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
By the way, this Trump post didn't happen by accident. It's a result of a carefully crafted narrative being promoted by polluters, petrostates and right wing think tanks, built on claims by professional propagandists like #RogerPielkeJr of the American Enterprise Institute:
https://www.aei.org/articles/rcp8-5-is-officially-dead/
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Ashley Braun @ashleybraun.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
Hugely consequential: lack of $ for prescribed burning, slowed pace, a full suppression strategy. “It's in defiance of all that we have learned, decades of fire ecology research, all that indigenous people have shared with us about how they stewarded the land with fire," www.npr.org/2026/05/17/n...
npr.org
New burn bans and Trump's battle with immigration and DEI are impacting forest fires
Firefighters say setting fires on purpose is one of the best  ways to protect against massive wildfires later. But the Trump administration is banning or stalling preventative burning across the U.S.
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Ashley Braun @ashleybraun.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
And the North Fork Mono Tribe working in and near the Sierra National Forest (their ancestral homelands) www.biographic.com/fire-for-wat...
biographic.com
Fire for Water - bioGraphic
To combat the growing risk of catastrophic wildfires and to bring more water back onto the landscape, a tribe in California is helping to reshape fire management policy in the West.
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Ashley Braun @ashleybraun.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
Here’s a great example of the Karuk Tribe in Northern California, from @murphywoodhouse.bsky.social www.boisestatepublicradio.org/environment/...
boisestatepublicradio.org
With reforms in place, California’s Karuk Tribe works to reestablish cultural burning as 'common practice'
For millennia, Indigenous peoples have intentionally set fires to care for the land. Colonization and fire exclusion largely put an end to those practices, though the tradition endured. Now, Californi...
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Ashley Braun @ashleybraun.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
This 👉🏼 “content creators and marketing firms are increasingly compensated to promote candidates or points of view and where there are few requirements for disclosure. The paid advocacy exists outside the realm of traditional lobbying and campaigning, reaching younger, more online audiences.”
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Ashley Braun @ashleybraun.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
Let’s be clear: this story cites *four wells* in the R&D phase for conversion; 2M need plugging and cleanup. “The concept is relatively new and largely untested, though scientists and startups are working to change that.” Abandoned oil + gas wells are a huge problem needing more attention though!
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Ashley Braun @ashleybraun.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
Yes, tribal folks I spoke with told me that this knowledge of fire is “sleeping” and that they’re working to reawaken it. Removal to reservations, boarding schools, etc caused a lot of fear and disruption of even having this knowledge
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Michael E. Mann @michaelemann.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
"Heartland Institute Podcast Questions Whether All Americans ‘Should Have the Right to Vote’" by Rei Takver for @desmog.com: www.desmog.com/2026/05/05/h...
desmog.com
Heartland Institute Podcast Questions Whether All Americans ‘Should Have the Right to Vote’
A couple days later, the Trump-linked group hosted EPA chief — and potential attorney general — Lee Zeldin at a Washington, D.C. event.
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Emily Pontecorvo @emilypont.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
Story to come, but here's some interesting tidbits I learned in reporting on Microsoft's potential pullback to its target of 24/7 carbon-free energy by 2030. 🧵 1. Microsoft set the goal in 2021, but unlike Google, has never publicly reported on progress toward it.
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Ashley Braun @ashleybraun.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
Truly! It’s not for lack of talent. At this point, I know we’ve all had some personal experience with an outlet we’ve written for closing at some point.
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Brooke Jarvis @brookejarvis.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
It is so hard to watch the journalism crisis hit your favorite publications. We need way more nature/biodiversity reporting, not less!
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Ashley Braun @ashleybraun.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
This is awful news. The erosion of support for thoughtful independent journalism dedicated to covering biodiversity and conservation means more time spent scrambling for resources and less time doing the essential work of reporting, writing, editing, photography—understanding and connection
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Ashley Braun @ashleybraun.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Great reporting from @jamesctobias.bsky.social + Julia Kane for Public Domain on the way Harold Hamm's Continental crafted a "roadmap" that paved the way for speedier drilling in Wyoming & skirted using an environmental review tangled up in court www.publicdomain.media/p/emails-sho...
publicdomain.media
Emails Show How Interior Dept Delivered New Drilling Permits for Burgum's Billionaire Ally
Oil and gas giant Continental Resources wanted the Bureau of Land Management to sign off on new wells in Wyoming, despite a court injunction there. The agency obliged.
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Murphy Woodhouse @murphywoodhouse.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
The U.S. Wildland Fire Service is the big new thing in wildfire. To understand its significance, I spoke with its inaugural chief Brian Fennessy, as well as a number of thoughtful critics and supporters. Here’s my best effort to string it all together. www.boisestatepublicradio.org/politics-gov...
boisestatepublicradio.org
As potentially significant season kicks off, the U.S. Wildland Fire Service’s first chief shares priorities
“Suppression is always going to be there,” Chief Brian Fennessy told the Mountain West News Bureau. “But we're not going to suppress our way out of this situation.”
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