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Randy Watkins

@bluetortoise3.bsky.social
2.8K followers 1.8K following 599 posts

Lead Field Biologist on large water and power projects in the Eastern Mojave, from 1999-2010 for the Southern Nevada Water Authority. Link: www.snwa.com/infrastructure-improve…

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Reposted by Randy Watkins
Desert Research Institute @driscience.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Where does a DRI archaeologist go when they want to hit the trail? 🥾 For #PublicLandsDay, Megan Stueve shares three of her favorite hikes on public lands! Explore Nevada from wherever you are with DRI’s Virtual Outdoor Experiences: dri.edu/voe #VirtualOutdoorExperiences #DiscoverDRI
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Reposted by Randy Watkins
Grist @grist.org · 24/09/2026
Trump cut their climate jobs. This secretive network found them new ones.
dlvr.it
Trump cut their climate jobs. This secretive network found them new ones.
Climate Reserve is quietly building a lifeline for America's lost climate workforce, one job at a time.
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Reposted by Randy Watkins
Dr. Lucky Tran @luckytran.com · 24/09/2026
Joining global advocates for clean air at the UN today! ✊
Lucky at the Healthy Indoor air event at the UNAdvocates at Healthy Indoor Air in schools at the UN
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Reposted by Randy Watkins
Christy Wagner @com1ty.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
The Nation, Oct 2026 A Letter From Hell Locked in an ICE detention Center "If this could happen to us, a law-abiding family of two professors and a young boy, it could happen to anyone." www.thenation.com/article/soci...
thenation.com
One Woman’s Message From the Hell of ICE Detention
My husband, son, and I have been locked up for months—despite being permanent residents with no criminal record. It is an unendurable, unending nightmare.
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Lee West @whodat35.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
A journalist once barred from the White House says this media ban is different "Jim Acosta knows what it is like to be kicked out of the White House." | NPR www.npr.org/2026/09/22/n...
npr.org
A journalist once barred from the White House says this media ban is different
Jim Acosta has already been through a White House press-pass fight. Now, three news organizations are barred, and he says the press is showing solidarity that should have come sooner.
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Mark Hamill @markhamillofficial.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
After banning CNN, MS NOW & Politico from the White House, he installs State-Run television, just like they have in so many other countries... Sieg Heil, ya'll. #38Days 🌊
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Charlotte Clymer @charlotteclymer.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Day One of the 2026 Clinton Global Initiative — started off at the Narrative & Storytelling Working Session. Loved seeing all these great leaders gather together and exchange notes. @clintonglobal.bsky.social
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Randy Watkins @bluetortoise3.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Uh, yeah, we did that already… and they are CONTRAILS www.epa.gov/regulations-...
epa.gov
Information on Contrails from Aircraft | US EPA
Fact sheet on Contrails from Aircraft from EPA and the U.S. Air Force.
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Reposted by Randy Watkins
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility @peer.org · 17/09/2026
Under Lee Zeldin’s leadership, EPA has instituted a culture of fear, destroyed its science and environmental programs, and betrayed its mission. From defending fired EPA staff to fighting PFAS pollution in court, learn how PEER is fighting back. ow.ly/OxTt50ZNAnY
ow.ly
EPA Turns Against Its Own Mission — How We Fight Back - PEER.org
Under Administrator Lee Zeldin’s leadership, EPA has betrayed its basic mission in order to please a few select powerful industries.
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DrArchivalGenomics @ehekkala.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
🧪🌏🧬🦠😡👇🗳️
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Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Kaepernick says Trump tried to get him to the White House after publicly attacking him. “What was relayed to me was the outreach that came from Van Jones… it was immediately rejected. Again, this is after him going out publicly and trying to target me and my employment.“
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Ed Maibach @maibached.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
What goes up... 👇
open.substack.com
The Atmosphere Just Set a Water Vapor Record
More water vapor means more rocket fuel for extreme rain — so this record is not good news
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Randy Watkins @bluetortoise3.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
“The changes appear to most affect Joshua Tree National Park, which had at least 10 planned partnership agreements blocked. That park’s partnership agreements would have hired at least 16 people, helped recover areas in the park burned in wildfires.” wapo.st/4xLRrfP
wapo.st
Trump administration blocks $25 million in funding for national parks
The Interior Department did not give approval to more than 130 partnership agreements covering activities like tending to sled dogs and preventing damage to burial mounds.
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Randy Watkins @bluetortoise3.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
On Sept 11, 2001, my work for the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) as an Authorized Biologist overseeing construction of new facilities at Lake Mead changed. It was reclassified as critical water infrastructure and a potential terrorist target. Still is. www.nevadaappeal.com/news/2026/se...
nevadaappeal.com
Terrorists strike on American soil
On an early September morning on the East Coast, 19 Arab hijackers commandeered four passenger jets and then crashed two into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, another into the Pentagon and t...
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Tom Nichols @radiofreetom.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
I promise to be different! I promise to be unique! I promise not to repeat things other people say! Trump's vow was....weird. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
theatlantic.com
Trump’s Weird Loyalty Pledge
In a night of wild emotions and odd ideas, one moment stood out.
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James Talarico @jamestalarico.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
This is the interview Trump’s FCC doesn’t want you to see. We’re not just going up against the most corrupt politician in Texas. We’re going up against this entire corrupt system.
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Randy Watkins @bluetortoise3.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
I am an Authorized Biologist (A.B.), meaning I am authorized by the USFWS to handle threatened and endangered species; in particular the Mojave desert tortoise. This subadult (< 8 inches in length) was trying to get into a construction area, so I physically blocked her from getting past me. 🌎
A sub adult Mojave desert tortoise, meaning it is less than 8 inches in length, this one is ~ 5 inches, so its age is probably ~5 to 8 years old. An adult takes 15 to 20 years to reach maturity of at least ~8 inches in length in the wild.I had to physically block this subadult Mojave desert tortoise from wandering into a construction site.
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Randy Watkins @bluetortoise3.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
I‘m back at the NV Energy Greenlink West project. Greenlink West will be a 525 kV line that spans ~ 350 miles from Las Vegas to Yerington, Nevada, and will connect solar fields and other green energy projects being constructed throughout Nevada to the grid. www.nvenergy.com/cleanenergy/...
Two crew men are suspended under a helicopter as they place spacers in the transmission line cables.A crewman stands on the outside, landing gear of the helicopter to help with placing the transmission line cables.
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Randy Watkins @bluetortoise3.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
“This will remove protections for virtually all streams in the West and other arid parts of the country,” Jim Murphy said in an email, noting that few, if any, streams flow every day in the Southwest, where a mega drought has persisted for more than two decades. 🌍 lasvegassun.com/news/2026/se...
lasvegassun.com
Trump administration moves to drop protections for more wetlands
The Trump administration on Friday took another step toward stripping federal protections from millions of acres of wetlands, which help filter drinking water for many communities and provide critical...
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Randy Watkins @bluetortoise3.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
I've worked in the BCCE many times. The proposed Townsite Data Center in the Eldorado Valley is located directly adjacent to the Boulder City Conservation Easement (BCCE) and sits within designated Mojave desert tortoise habitat. 🌎 www.ktnv.com/news/environ... nevadacurrent.com/briefs/devel...)
ktnv.com
Environmental groups file federal appeal against data center planned just outside Boulder City
The appeal filed by The Center for Biological Diversity and Sierra Club asks the Interior Board of Land Appeals to halt the project immediately through a stay order while the case proceeds.
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Lyn Heideman @heidelyn.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Judges rule! The Interior Board of Land Appeals, an appellate body in the US DoI, put a temporary stay on the BLM's approval of an 80-acre data center on public lands near Boulder City, NV. The board sided with the city, @sierraclub.org, and @biologicaldiversity.org, which argued that the BLM...
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Princeton University @princeton.edu · 04/09/2026
As we bid farewell to summer, we will feel the heat from some of the hottest days again this winter due to our extensive geo-exchange system. Here's how it works: bit.ly/4i6ST7I
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Reposted by Randy Watkins
Desert Research Institute @driscience.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
DRI's Dan McEvoy was featured in Bloomberg Television where he shared his thoughts on how a record-low snowpack could be detrimental to the Colorado River and the Western U.S. Learn more and watch the video here: youtu.be/JjrW88M58jA?si=zHlfUD2h8oI… #ColoradoRiver
youtu.be
What the Colorado River Crisis Means for the American West
YouTube video by Bloomberg Television
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Randy Watkins @bluetortoise3.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Trump’s proposed changes to the National Historic Preservation Act threatens American historic sites. Driven by changes to the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, a board now dominated by Trump appointees, moving from strict conservation to rapid development. lasvegassun.com/news/2026/au...
lasvegassun.com
Federal overreach threatens Nevada's historic places
The Trump administration could fast track projects that not only jeopardize Nevada’s historic legacy at an unprecedented scale, but also pollute Nevada’s air and water and destroy entire neighborhoods...
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David Syzdek @dsyzdek.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
I got to help Joel Sartore photograph Nevada aquatic species and he sent me this thank you photo collage. He’s an amazing human documenting the amazing life on our amazing planet. He’d be happy to know that we counted 2,525 Moapa dace this week—the highest number of this endangered fish since ‘94.
A photo collage of a rectangle of nine rectangular photos of wildlife. The Center one is the bottom view of a snail. It’s a spring snail from Moapa. It’s a bottom view and you could see mostly the foot of the snail and a slightly greenish shell. All the other photos have black backgrounds. Upper left is the head of a blue tilapia , top Center is a pair of Moapa dace, top right is a Desert sucker, middle right is a trio of Moapa, White River Spring Fish, bottom Wright is a flannel mouth sucker, bottom Center is a pair of Moapa naucorid bugs, bottom left is a Virgin River chub, middle left is a short fin Molly,.  The bottom of the photo says to David, signed Joel Sartori in the middle. It says National Geographic photo ark.
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Randy Watkins @bluetortoise3.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
🌍 A study published in Communications Earth & Environment attributes roughly half of the climate-related water losses in the American West over the past decade to emissions from the world’s largest fossil fuel companies, wiping out a volume equivalent to Lake Mead 🌍 lasvegassun.com/news/2026/au...
lasvegassun.com
Study blames fossil fuel emissions for significant loss of American West's water
“People living in the western United States have been paying the price for climate-change-fueled droughts and fires with their health, livelihoods and wallets,” said Emily Williams, the study’s lead a...
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Sammy Roth @sammyroth.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Nevada has sued the Trump administration over its plan to slash Colorado River water consumption. Especially notable because Nevada's governor is a Republican. The stakes are high and the conflict is not partisan. www.latimes.com/environment/... via @ianjames.bsky.social
latimes.com
Nevada sues Trump administration over its Colorado River plan
The state of Nevada is suing to challenge the Trump administration's new plan for dealing with water shortages along the Colorado River.
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Randy Watkins @bluetortoise3.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Nevada filed a lawsuit today in U.S. District Court challenging the federal plan for the Colorado River. SNWA General Manager John Entsminger said the potential 2029 cuts are “entirely unrealistic. I think they’re fundamentally misinterpreting federal law”. 🌍 lasvegassun.com/news/2026/au...
lasvegassun.com
Nevada sues US Interior Department over planned Colorado River water cuts
Nevada filed a lawsuit today in the U.S. District Court of Nevada challenging the federal government’s operating plan for the Colorado River, arguing the state could eventually lose more than 70% of i...
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National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) @protectparks.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
TOMORROW: At events across the nation, NPCA is inviting park visitors to sign postcards thanking park staff and add their names to petitions urging Congress to fund and protect national parks. www.npca.org/articles/114...
npca.org
National Park Advocates Unite on August 25 to Show Support for Park Staff and Urge Washington to Defend America’s Legacy
To honor the 110th birthday of the National Park Service and commemorate America’s 250th, National Parks Conservation Association sends a message to Congress and the Administration
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Chris Nagano @charliesaito22.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Agree It’s definitely complicated. Some say it’s reintroducing an extirpated species, others say it an exotic “pest” Personally, I say exotic pest or native species, causing them suffering/premature-painful death is wrong www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1...
science.org
Early dispersal of domestic horses into the Great Plains and northern Rockies
Indigenous societies adopted horses of primarily Spanish origin before Europeans arrived in the Great Plains and the American West.
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Nevada Conservation League @nvconservation.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
☀️ Five pieces of Good Climate News, Nevada! #NevadaCEF moves forward with 115 projects and $7M invested. Home battery installs hit a record high. 207 solar projects came online in the first half of 2026, nine times the # of gas plants! What's your #GoodNews this week? 👇
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Randy Watkins @bluetortoise3.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Dr. Elizabeth Kobele @eakoebele.bsky.social: "While the document is the first time the federal government has asserted its powers to impose cuts, it doesn’t go far enough. Passing the buck comes at the expense of the larger system, though it does reduce the chances of a fight at the Supreme Court."🌏
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Great Basin Bird Observatory @greatbasinbirds.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Pinyon pines require cool, wet conditions to establish, & may only grow about an inch per year for their first 10 years. It can take another 15–25 years for a young tree to produce its first cones. Trees reach peak cone production around 100 years old and can continue producing for centuries.
mature pinyon pine covered in green cones, against a blue skyYoung pinyon
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Desert Research Institute @driscience.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
🔬🎨 Discover. Create. Be Curious. Join us Sept. 16 for From Curiosity to Creation Las Vegas! Explore seismology, archaeology, STEM & robotics—and turn your discoveries into art. 📍 DRI Las Vegas | 5:30–8pm 🎟 bit.ly/clcreationvegas #CuriosityLab
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University of Nevada Press @unvpress.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
SAVE THE DATE! On September 17, join Terri Farley for the release of her book 𝙃𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙚 𝙂𝙞𝙧𝙡: 𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙑𝙚𝙡𝙢𝙖 𝘽𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙣 𝙅𝙤𝙝𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙣 𝘽𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙙 𝙃𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙚 𝘼𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙊𝙪𝙩𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙈𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙜 𝙆𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙚𝙨𝙩. #UniversityOfNevadaPress #BookLaunch #BookRelease #Nevada #Horses
Infographic titled Save the Date! It includes the cover of Horse Girl and a headshot of Terri Farley. The text reads: Horse Girl Release Party; Thursday, September 17 at 4:30-6:30 pm; Historic Huffaker School, Bartley Ranch Regional Park, 6000 Bartley Ranch Rd., Reno, NV; Join award-winning author Terri Farley to celebrate the release of her newest book Horse Girl: How Velma Bronn Johnston Became Wild Horse Annie and Outsmarted the Mustang Killers of the West. Terri will discuss Velma's incredible life and how she fought to save the wild horses that roamed Nevada's vast deserts. Purchase your copy of Horse Girl and have it signed by the author. Light refreshments will follow the presentation. It also includes the University of Nevada Press logo and the website unpress.nevada.edu
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Randy Watkins @bluetortoise3.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
A new Geosphere report about two caves in S. Nevada, King Solomon’s Cave and Morning Star Cave, discusses the speleogenesis of the spectacular crystal formations (stalagmites and stalactites), some of the largest in the world. pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geospher... www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0DV...
youtube.com
Giant crystals the size of cars?! King Solomon's Cave, Nevada, USA
YouTube video by Adventure Travel Channel
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Desert Research Institute @driscience.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
We are at the 30th annual #TahoeSummit today connecting with the community about the science helping protect #LakeTahoe. Stop by our booth to learn about: 🔬 Microplastics with Rachel Kozloski 🌲 Drought with Joe Ammatelli 🌿 Ecosystems with Amy Langston Visit bit.ly/dritahoe2026 for more!
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Randy Watkins @bluetortoise3.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
Thirst Foundation nonprofit CEO runner Mina Guli is running the 1,800-mile span of the Colorado River, from the headwaters in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains to the Colorado River Delta outside of Mexicali Mexico, to raise awareness for the rapidly shrinking river. 🌎 www.reviewjournal.com/news/environ...
reviewjournal.com
It ‘broke my heart’: Runner says conditions along Colorado River worse than thought
Mina Guli is well into her roughly 1,800-mile run along the length of the Colorado River, which she started in June to raise awareness of the issues facing the river system that serves as a lifelin...
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Emily Gardner @emfurd.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
When I first reported on this, a law professor told me he was heartened by the fact that the National Academy of Sciences retained the chapter because the association has a role as a scientific authority that the FJC does not. Alas
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Morgan Sjogren @morgansjogren.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Christian Science Monitor took the time to interview locals about the reductions to Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
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Emily Gardner @emfurd.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Shout out to @zcolman.bsky.social for breaking this bad news and to @zacklabe.com for speaking on this as one of the authors of the report.
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Scott MacFarlane @macfarlanenews.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Rep. Jarred Huffman (D-CA), the ranking member of House Natural Resources Committee, said the findings of our exclusive report on Trump's reallotment of National Park Service funds to the White House grounds were "eye-opening" and "appalling" ====>
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Randy Watkins @bluetortoise3.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Rabbit hemorrhagic disease affects wild and domestic rabbits, hares and pikas. It's now endemic in NV and the Las Vegas area. Data from pet rabbits shows a fatality rate of 80-90%, and likely also for wild rabbits, said Dr. Nate LaHue, state wildlife veterinarian. 🌎 lasvegassun.com/news/2026/au...
lasvegassun.com
Deadly rabbit virus now endemic in Nevada and found in Clark County
A highly fatal and contagious disease affecting rabbits has the potential to cause severe cascading effects on the ecosystem, Nevada wildlife officials say.
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Randy Watkins @bluetortoise3.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
The Ramones were popular w/ students, and many college stations had their music in regular rotation. I used to hang out at KUNV, the radio station on the UNLV campus, and I would help w/ music programming. The Ramones playing this benefit concert for KUNV was one of the best shows I‘ve ever seen.
The Ramones play benefit concert for KUNV radio at the UNLV campus December 7, 1984.
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PBS News @pbsnews.org · 08/08/2026
Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the United States, has plummeted to its lowest water level since it was filled some 90 years ago, another sign of the crisis plaguing the Colorado River system. to.pbs.org/4zaPI52
to.pbs.org
Lake Mead hits historic low water level as Colorado River struggles
The record follows a winter that produced the worst snowpack on record in the Colorado River Basin.
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Randy Watkins @bluetortoise3.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Ursula's father, Alfred Kroeber, basically founded the entire discipline of Cultural Anthropology. His work with Ishi, the last of the indigenous Yahi people of California, is still mandatory reading. Ursula used those experiences to create something new in her books. www.sapiens.org/culture/ursu...
sapiens.org
How Ursula Le Guin’s Writing Was Shaped by Anthropology
A connection can be made between the iconic writer’s science fiction and her father’s groundbreaking work in anthropology.
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Ursula K. Le Guin @ursulakleguin.com · 05/08/2026
In March of 2011, Ursula wrote a colorfully titled blog post about colorful language: "I remember when swearing, though tame by modern standards, was quite varied and often highly characteristic." On this week's episode of In Your Spare Time, author @vajra.me reads "Would You Please Fucking Stop?"
inyoursparetime.libsyn.com
In Your Spare Time: From the Blog of Ursula K. Le Guin: Vajra Chandrasekera reads "Would You Please F—ing Stop?"
Vajra Chandrasekera reads post 17, "Would You Please F—ing Stop?"&nbsp; You can read Ursula's original post, from March of 2011, here: Vajra's website is &nbsp;
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Randy Watkins @bluetortoise3.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Nevada has four official national monuments: Basin and Range National Monument, Gold Butte National Monument,Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, and the most recent Avi Kwa Ame National Monument. Full letter here 👇 🧵 🌎 www.nevadaconservationleague.org/nevada-leade...
nevadaconservationleague.org
Nevada Leaders Condemn Trump Executive Order Slashing Protections for Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments – Nevada Conservation League
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Great Basin Bird Observatory @greatbasinbirds.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Whatcha doing out there?! Celebrating International Owl Awareness Day, of course! #BurrowingOwl #birds
Burrowing Owl perched on fence against blue sky
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🦋Dr. Natalia🕊🌻🪬 @solnatamd.medsky.social · 04/08/2026
Politicians are back to building political strategy on COVID. Here we go again — 2020. And it's triggering frontline healthcare workers to post photos of themselves from back then — in masks, in plastic gowns, in trash bags.
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