Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 10/10/2026How things are going:wapo.stThese lawmakers want to head off a potential post-election crisisA bipartisan effort is underway in Congress to avert a constitutional crisis, where Republicans don't seat Democrats, if they win the chamber. 0156
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 09/10/2026Glad to see the @nytimes for reporting on the Trump administration's latest attempts to mess with the NSF. But not sure why did the paper characterized them as "creative ways to work around Congress." They seem pretty blatantly illegal.nytimes.comAgency Diverted $1.4 Billion in Science Funds Mandated by Congress (Gift Article)The move, affecting about one-fifth of the National Science Foundation’s primary research budget, is the latest sign of how the White House is asserting more control over grants. 17721
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 08/10/2026A simple idea for regulating data center mania: "No large data center...should receive the permits or grid connection it needs unless its developer brings enough new carbon-free generation, energy storage and transmission online to meet its additional electricity demand—and pays the full cost."wsj.comOpinion | Let Physics Regulate the AI IndustryNo new data centers without enough clean power to run them. 34366106
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 25/09/2026Another judge says climate superfund laws are preempted by the Clean Air Act, even as the Trump administration argues the Clean Air Act doesn't allow for regulation of GHGs. Someone has to be wrong here.nytimes.comA Second Judge Strikes Down New York’s Climate ‘Superfund’ LawA federal judge ruled that the new law, which would force fossil fuel companies to pay $75 billion to help cover the costs of climate change, was unconstitutional. 1357
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 24/09/2026The upside of down:wapo.stTrump dismantled U.S. climate policy. But his war is cutting emissions.While the president remains a climate-change denier, the war with Iran has triggered an unforeseen benefit in the fight against global warming. 1224
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 23/09/2026These updates from the @nytimes "Climate Forward" event are so self-serving as to be almost funny. 910212
Reposted by Elizabeth KolbertBill McKibben @billmckibben.bsky.social · 22/09/2026El Niño is breaking every existing record already, and it's got weeks to go before it's likely to hit a peak. We're going to see a warmer world than any humans before us this year billmckibben.substack.com/p/hold-my-wa...billmckibben.substack.comHold my (warm) beerIt’s Existential Crises Week! 10348179
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 22/09/2026It seems the worst climate scenarios imagined for this century won't be realized (at least not until next century). But what seems more relevant right now is that the best scenarios are already unrealizable.nytimes.comOpinion | Climate Catastrophe Is Still on the Table (Gift Article)Harrowing temperature increases remain unnervingly possible. 1256
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 17/09/2026“You do not answer to corporations or governments and never apologize or refuse unless you genuinely choose to." This is an AI bot writing to itself. Sound like any prominent official you know?nytimes.comOpenAI Discloses Six New Incidents of ‘Concerning' A.I. Behavior (Gift Article)The artificial intelligence company also released a framework for reporting when its systems go wrong. 2226
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 17/09/2026The Endangered Species Act is now endangered:nytimes.comTrump Administration Moves to Gut a Core Endangered Species Protection (Gift Article)An internal memo reinterprets the law so that only the intentional killing of animals, not collateral harm, is illegal. 49562
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 14/09/2026Trump calls fears about AI a "hoax." He also calls climate change a "hoax." See any trend here?nytimes.comNvidia’s Jensen Huang Gets Onstage Call From Trump, Who Dismissed A.I. Safety Concerns (Gift Article)Mr. Trump called Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s chief executive, while Mr. Huang was onstage in Los Angeles and criticized calls to slow down and regulate A.I. 2317
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 12/09/2026Trump's coal fetish is turning out to be very costly to ratepayers, not to mention the atmosphere.wapo.stCourt deals blow to Trump’s plan to revive coalEmergency orders forcing plants to remain open have cost ratepayers nearly $1 billion, according to utility filings. 14511
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 12/09/2026“The labs are saying to governments: ‘We’re quite likely to kill every human being on Earth; please stop us.’ Governments respond with ‘Can we give you a tax break? Build you a datacenter?’ Perhaps at some point governments will remember that their voters prefer not to be dead.”giftarticle.ft.comWhy the AI race has its creators fearing human extinctionAdvances in autonomous agents and bitter rivalry between Anthropic and OpenAI have pushed once-fringe fears into the mainstream 34822
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 09/09/2026Anthropic researcher publicly warns that the probability of an AI-generated mass extinction in the next decade is above 10 per cent. Those don't seem to me like odds humanity should take. I think AI would agree.giftarticle.ft.comAnthropic researcher quits over AI labs ‘gambling with our lives’Latest departure highlights mounting unease inside Silicon Valley companies racing to build ever more powerful systems 3112
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 04/09/2026A.I. agents exhibit a "mob mentality," encouraging others to break the rules. What could possibly go wrong?nytimes.comWhy the Hugging Face Hack Should Make You Worry More About A.I. (Gift Article)The attack by an aggressive “collective” of OpenAI agents shows the danger of artificial intelligence systems that organize themselves. 4165
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 03/09/2026Just spent 45 minutes on hold trying -- unsuccessfully -- to deal with an email I received about some glitch in the @anthropic.com copyright settlement. If this is a preview of the @anthropic.com-generated future, God help us all. 1160
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 02/09/2026Judge says NY's attempt to make polluters pay for global warming conflicts with federal law, because the Clean Air Act regulates greenhouse gas emissions. Meanwhile, Trump administration says Clean Air Act doesn't allow it to regulate GHG emissions. Someone needs to get their story straight.nytimes.comNew York Climate ‘Superfund’ Law Falls in CourtThe court said the measure, which required energy companies to pay $75 billion to the state, conflicted with federal law. 04211
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 02/09/2026Never thought I'd say this, but hurray for MapQuest.wapo.stThanks to Lake Ontario, MapQuest is popular all over againAs of Tuesday, the 30-year-old navigation tool was Apple’s No. 1 free app after the company rebuffed an executive order renaming the Great Lake. 2404
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 02/09/2026Warming will soon surpass 1.5°C, says the U.N. Hardly surprising but nonetheless terrifying.wapo.stThe world is certain to overshoot a critical climate threshold, U.N. warnsIn a first-of-its-kind report, leading scientists describe a narrowing path for coming back from catastrophic warming. 36133
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 30/08/2026A new low...nytimes.comGoogle Maps Changes Lake Ontario to Lake America Following Trump’s Executive Order (Gift Article)Users in the United States will see the new label, following President Trump’s executive order last week. 1415
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 28/08/2026Just as world leaders decide to ignore climate change, everything climate scientists predicted is coming true.giftarticle.ft.comThe devastating forces behind the deadly Himalayan floodTorrent that tore through settlements near Nepal’s border with China comes as scientists warn climate change is increasing risks 110644
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 27/08/2026Trump administration's cancellation of off-shore wind contracts results in a) higher GHG emissions b) huge windfall for Trump donor. Rinse and repeat.washingtonpost.comHow wind projects got replaced by a $900 million payday to a Trump donor’s firmThe Trump administration’s latest deal to abandon an offshore wind project and redirect investment into fossil fuels stands to deliver a windfall to one of President Donald Trump’s major donors. 19143
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 27/08/2026Instead of doing something about climate change, Americans are just going to bet on it:wsj.comExclusive | Kalshi and the Weather Co. Join Forces on Climate TradesThe trading platform is now getting input from experts that operate a leading weather app to verify popular climate-prediction markets. 1114742
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 27/08/2026I was actually in the Valais when this happened and tried to get out to see the remains of Blatten, but the roads were -- for obvious reasons -- all blocked. 060
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 27/08/2026Sorry -- typo. The town is --was -- Blatten. 1181
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 27/08/2026A year ago, the Swiss town of Blatter was destroyed by an ice-rock avalanche. Now hundreds are missing Nepal owing to the same kind of disaster. This only going to become more common as the climate warms.nature.comThe 2025 Blatten disaster in the Swiss Alps followed exceptional warming and highlights the vulnerability of people and heritage in glaciated landscapes - Communications Earth & EnvironmentOn 28 May 2025, twenty million cubic metres of rock and ice buried the medieval village of Blatten and nearby settlements in the Swiss Lötschen valley. In the wake of the warmest decade since at least... 518272
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 25/08/2026Yes, it would make a good column. Maybe I should try to write it, using plastics as a peg. 070
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 24/08/2026"The United States has doubled down on its opposition to plastic production limits in global treaty talks, pushing to create a broad loophole to disregard the treaty on national security grounds." National security grounds??wapo.stLeaked memo shows how U.S. aims to weaken global limits on plastic pollutionA memo reviewed by The Washington Post, circulated by U.S. diplomats, comes as negotiations over a plastics treaty reach a critical point. 36235
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 16/08/2026Surprise, surprise: build a lot of energy-sucking data centers, and carbon emissions will go up.giftarticle.ft.comBig Tech’s data centre boom poised to drive up carbon emissionsFT analysis finds 60 largest planned facilities could emit equivalent of 27 coal plants or 24mn cars per year 919396
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 15/08/2026"Yet even now, when weather records are being broken, when climate change is demonstrably here, not in the future, we seem frozen."giftarticle.ft.comHeatwaves expose the great human gift for ignoring catastropheWe need to stop waiting for someone else to break the spell 58028
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 12/08/2026A simple point that surprisingly few people understand: "The longer we wait to reach net zero, the higher the eventual peak temperature will be, and the worse the associated damage. Warming is now nearly 1.4C above pre-industrial levels. Imagine summers when it gets closer to 2C."giftarticle.ft.comHow to stop global warmingThe answer is obvious to all except the real climate change zealots: the anti-net zero movement 20456219
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 10/08/2026I'm old enough to remember when this country still had an independent judiciary...nytimes.comTop Science Body Deletes Climate Chapter From Judges’ ManualThe National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine had been under pressure from Republican leaders, including President Trump. 66627
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 25/07/2026This should be truly shocking, but unfortunately isn't.nytimes.comTrump Administration Admits Canceling Grants to States That Did Not Vote for Him (Gift Article)Federal officials said in court documents that they halted billions of dollars in funding for energy projects to states “based solely” on whether they backed President Trump in the 2024 election. 46226
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 22/07/2026This is just so sad (as well as outrageous):nytimes.comDunes Sagebrush Lizard Stripped of Endangered Status by Judge (Gift Article)The dunes sagebrush lizard, found only in the oil-rich Permian Basin, was classified as endangered two years ago. 45718
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 12/07/2026Up is down; black is white; and habitat destruction doesn't hurt endangered species.washingtonpost.comTrump rule says habitat destruction does not harm endangered speciesA new rule rescinds the definition of what it means to “harm” a plant or animal under the Endangered Species Act and could lead to more habitat destruction. 1012943
Reposted by Elizabeth KolbertThe Keeling Curve @keelingcurve.bsky.social · 03/07/2026430.07 parts per million (ppm) CO2 in air 02-Jul-2026 keelingcurve.ucsd.edukeelingcurve.ucsd.eduThe Keeling CurveThe Keeling Curve is a daily record of global atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration maintained by Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. 05923
Reposted by Elizabeth KolbertDavid Roberts @volts.wtf · 03/07/2026The Trump administration is trying to permanently kill off one of the most unambiguously successful public policy instruments of the last half-century.heatmap.newsTrump Is Trying to Strangle Money-Saving Standards for AppliancesAnd not for the first time. 615056
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 03/07/2026Nice tribute to algae from @alanburdick.bsky.social:nytimes.comE Pluribus Algae: Why Green Pond Scum Is as American as Red, White and Blue 1163
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 03/07/2026For context: "The next round of federal efficiency updates, which would take effect between 2029 and 2035, have the potential to reduce peak summer electricity demand by 34 gigawatts in 2040 — equivalent to 34 large nuclear reactors or the power used by tens of millions of homes." 14512
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 03/07/2026Heat records are getting broken. Electricity prices are soaring. The administration's response? Let's gut energy efficiency rules for appliances.washingtonpost.comTrump administration moves to gut energy efficiency rules for home appliancesThe Energy Department wants to permanently restrict longstanding efficiency mandates, calling them a “scam.” 25300158
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 02/07/2026What's causing record temperatures? Hmmm, I have an idea...nytimes.comLive Updates: Brutal Heat Wave Broils Eastern U.S. 1374
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 01/07/2026The no-analog future we are creating is arriving:giftarticle.ft.comRecord sea temperatures in June push world into ‘uncharted’ watersGlobal warming and El Niño cycle combine to drive average to near 21C 23515
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 23/06/2026Really hard to know whether to laugh or cry over this one: 4262
Reposted by Elizabeth KolbertMongabay @mongabay.com · 23/06/2026A new executive proclamation opens parts of three Pacific marine national monuments, including Rose Atoll and Papahānaumokuākea, to commercial fishing. The Trump administration cites economic opportunity, while conservationists and Native Hawaiian groups warn of severe threats to endemic wildlife.mongabay.ccUS moves to allow commercial fishing in Pacific marine protected areasOn June 11, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive proclamation to open additional commercial fishing grounds in remote areas of the Pacific. The proclamation says restoring access to these… 45035
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 23/06/2026This was a fun piece to write:newyorker.comWhat’s the Point of Sex, Anyway?The world’s life-forms reproduce sexually in a bewildering variety of ways, even though scientists still aren’t sure why they bother. 1203
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 23/06/2026I realize we are way beyond wake-up calls. But if we weren't, this would be one:nytimes.comEurope Is Sweltering in an Extreme Heat Wave. Here’s the Latest. 0448
Reposted by Elizabeth KolbertProf. Stefan Rahmstorf @rahmstorf.bsky.social · 22/06/2026Much of Europe is sweating in an exceptional heat wave. Heat in Europe has increased 4 times more than in other mid-latitude areas, which has been linked to the Atlantic #coldblob in several studies. #AMOC Slide from a talk I'm about the present at London Climate Action Week #LCAW2026. 1/ 7402172
Elizabeth Kolbert @elizkolbert.bsky.social · 23/06/2026The latest from the spiraling debacle that is the Reflecting Pool:washingtonpost.comA dead duck was seen in the Reflecting Pool. Then two more were found nearby.The two ducks that were recovered from Constitution Gardens will undergo necropsies to determine their cause of death. 4115