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Jonathan Overpeck

@greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social
3.3K followers 547 following 747 posts

Environmental/Climate scientist for 35+ years; NAS Member. Samuel A. Graham Dean, @UMSEAS @UMICH. Tweets my own. Thinking grad school? Join us at @UMSEAS.

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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 2h
ICYMI: U-M SEAS just launched a fully online Certificate in Sustainability Science for working professionals. Flexible format, finish in as little as 8 months, taught by Michigan faculty. Worth a look if sustainability is part of your career path: myumi.ch/Pb389
myumi.ch
Online Certificate in Sustainability Science
Our U-M SEAS online program bridges the gap between technical science and organizational strategy—giving you the skills and knowledge needed to become a sustainability leader.100% online flexibility: ...
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
A record breaking El Niño on top of increasing sea level rise due to climate warming, all coinciding with unusual high tides. CA is about to get a taste of what will likely worsen by winter. Prepare, be careful. apple.news/AUfINX3XdRlC...
apple.news
Concern mounts over slow-moving, planetary-scale ‘Kelvin’ wave heading for California — Guardian US
The ocean phenomenon could raise sea levels by up to a foot as El Niño keeps warm water trapped along the coast
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Is worse to come? Simple answer: yes, high confidence. East coast too. apple.news/AznR3U-NyQKq...
apple.news
Rising sea destroys homes, erases beaches in California. Is worse to come? — Reuters
In Malibu, the Pacific Ocean opened a sinkhole near the home of movie star Nicolas Cage and wreaked havoc on beachfront property. Along Beach Road in the city of Dana ​Point, waves destroyed one home ...
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Looks like we have an increasingly stringent carbon tax in the price of gas and especially diesel … I’ll note that I just drove across OH and PA (and back to MI) in my EV and saved a lot of $$. Easy to find chargers now.
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Eastern Lake Erie looking pretty great today!
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
The burning of fossil fuels has pushed us across a tipping point beyond which wildfires becoming more catastrophic. The resulting surge in wildfire smoke is making American air much more polluted and toxic again. It'll keep getting worse until we phase out fossil fuels. www.vox.com/future-perfe...
vox.com
The wildfire danger we’re only just beginning to understand
Toxic smoke will soon be everyone’s problem.
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
We need to work harder..."This work shows us that all of the solutions we need are already here. We just need to scale them, as quickly and strategically as we can." drawdown.org/insights/wer...
drawdown.org
We’re going to miss the 1.5 °C climate target. Now what?
The United Nations Environment Program released a report earlier this month saying the world – which is already experiencing roughly 1.3˚C of warming – will miss the 1.5˚C climate change target set by...
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Beware carbon trickery: “The problem, again, is that the key committees overseeing the rewriting of the land-use rules are stacked with corporate representatives, with few independent scientists” www.nytimes.com/2026/09/17/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | The Latest Corporate Climate Ruse
Making deforestation look climate-friendly will encourage a lot more deforestation.
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Americans like cleaner/cheaper energy: “At least at the macro level, Republican-led and governed states are not only open to but embracing solar energy as a technology” gizmodo.com/over-70-of-n...
gizmodo.com
Over 70% of New Solar Power Is Going Up in States That Voted for Trump
Trump-supporting states are driving the solar boom even as Republican policies complicate its future.
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Good to know: have to stop wasting taxpayer $$ to prop up fossil fuels... www.canarymedia.com/articles/off...
canarymedia.com
Trump’s $4B in offshore wind buyouts spur legal blowback from states
Interior is using tax dollars to pay firms to ditch offshore wind leases and invest in fossil fuels instead. California just became the eighth state to…
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
This is troubling to say the least, and made worse by warming combined with more extreme precipitation (both increasing due to climate change) "As these bacterial explosions increase worldwide, researchers are racing to study their health impacts" cen.acs.org/biological-c...
cen.acs.org
Toxins from freshwater algae blooms can go airborne
As these bacterial explosions increase worldwide, researchers are racing to study their health impacts
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
More on the intensifying El Niño (likely will break records), links to climate change, and what it could mean going forward. Listen: www.npr.org/2026/08/30/n... And/or read another take: apnews.com/article/el-n...
npr.org
With global water temperatures hitting a record high, this year may see 'super' El Niño
Warming ocean waters are teeing up a particularly strong El Niño weather pattern.
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Reposted by Jonathan Overpeck
Ed Maibach @maibached.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Spot on! Candidates who stay silent about climate change—and the need to scale up affordable clean energy—risk being out of touch with voters and the livability of our communities.
sacbee.com
How can Democrats rebuild trust? By talking honestly about climate change | Opinion
“The climate crisis is edging its way into the American psyche. So why are so many Democratic leaders waging a hushing campaign?”
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
A reminder: “domestic cats kill at least 400 to 2,000 times more birds than wind turbines…Ultimately, wind farms pose a threat to only 0.05% of the total population of avians.” apple.news/AfvwOH_u_Sny...
apple.news
Wind Turbines Cause Fewer Bird Deaths Each Year Than This Common Culprit — BGR
Bird deaths are often used as an argument against wind power. Data from the U.S. and Germany shows why that argument needs more context than it gets.
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
“I think it’s another very strong piece of evidence that climate change is affecting the amplitude of ENSO variations” www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
Why are El Niños getting stronger? 1,000-year-coral record points to climate change
A reconstruction of Pacific Ocean sea surface temperatures adds to the evidence that human-caused warming is boosting El Niño events.
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Models, paleorecords (corals!) and instrumental data seem to agree that the concern is valid: "And if [El Niños are] becoming more extreme, that has some very serious implications for society, and it’s information that we should be acting on.” www.sciencemagazinedigital.org/sciencemagaz...
sciencemagazinedigital.org
Science Magazine - Coral records suggest global warming is strengthening El Niño
The vibrant biodiversity of the Galápagos Islands has helped biologists from Charles Darwin onward unlock the mysteries of evolution.
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
A consequence of the Iran war that needs to be avoided: "Consumer fuel subsidies are the worst kind of energy policy." www.sciencemagazinedigital.org/sciencemagaz...
sciencemagazinedigital.org
Science Magazine - The worst energy policy in the world
The Iran war could serve as a turning point in accelerating the global transition away from fossil fuels: Every additional day that oil and gas prices are high and future supplies are uncertain...
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Summer 2026: "The series of extreme heat waves that roasted Europe, killing thousands and fueling historic wildfires, also severely impacted the rivers that provide water to cool thermal power plants such as nuclear stations." www.canarymedia.com/articles/nuc...
canarymedia.com
How much of a threat do heat waves pose to nuclear plants?
Hot water and low river levels have hampered nuclear power in Europe this summer, forcing a reckoning over plant preparedness.
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Let’s put this new coral research to the test - will the 2026/27 El Niño be more extreme than recent strong El Niños? If so, what does the future hold? apple.news/A-h-25IGTT5G...
apple.news
Global Warming Intensifies El Niño, Galápagos Coral Fossils Show — Inside Climate News
More damaging extremes are looming, as the Pacific Ocean’s climate cauldron sets off a chain reaction of heatwaves, floods and droughts across the globe.
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
More about the science behind new El Niño research going viral in news this week. Bottomline: El Niño's and their huge costly impacts are likely getting supercharged by human-caused climate change, and will get worse until we stop burning fossil fuels. news.umich.edu/el-ninos-mor...
news.umich.edu
El Niños more intense over last 40 years than previous 1,000, according to U-M study
As an El Niño of historic proportions is taking shape in the tropical Pacific, a University of Michigan study has found that El Niño events have become nearly 40% stronger in the last 40 years than th...
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
As we weather the intensifying current El Niño, remember what this new science tells us: "Our results suggest that the 1982-83 and 1997-98 El Niños – two of the strongest in recent memory – may be harbingers of more extreme events to come as the planet warms. theconversation.com/galapagos-co...
theconversation.com
Galápagos corals show El Niño events are more extreme now than in past 1,000 years – here’s how my team made the discovery
Scientists went to the heart of the El Niño pattern to learn from living and fossil corals. The results show El Niño’s intensifying coincides with global warming.
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
“Many of the drought tools we rely on today were built around the assumption that climate conditions and dynamics remain relatively stable over time. That assumption no longer holds, and drought assessment must evolve accordingly" www.oklahomafarmreport.com/2026/08/24/u...
oklahomafarmreport.com
U.S. Needs New Drought Assessment Framework as Droughts Become More Severe and Unpredictable - Oklahoma Farm Report
Droughts in the United States are becoming more intense and unpredictable, and the nation needs to develop a new drought assessment framework to better understand and address them, according to a new ...
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
This is a good sign for Arizona. Fighting climate change is the most effective way to fight the state’s growing water crisis. Beware the climate deniers - water is at stake. www.canarymedia.com/articles/bat...
canarymedia.com
Arizona is having a grid battery growth spurt. Will that last?
So far this year, it has built more battery capacity than any state besides Texas. But political shifts could complicate the long-term growth trajectory.
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
The El Niño is a big deal, but climate change is a bigger worry: “We now have a new climate. Much more moisture is available for storms. El Niño is supercharging this effect at the moment, but the underlying mechanism is long term climate warming” www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2026...
washingtonpost.com
See the invisible force driving destructive floods across the United States
There have been numerous floods in the U.S. this summer, and more are predicted for the fall and winter.
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
This too is what climate change looks like - and thus the intensity of storms and extreme rain events will only worsen until we halt the burning of fossil fuels for power and transport. Horrible problem, simple solution. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/22/u...
nytimes.com
‘It’s Been Terrible’: Thousands in Indiana Remain Without Power
Gov. Mike Braun called on the local utility to “match the urgency” of Gary area residents who have had to endure an outage approaching its second week.
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Climate warming will continue to intensify as long as we burn fossil fuels for power and transport: “as bigger and hotter wildfires sweep through forests that have not evolved to survive such high-intensity blazes and a warmer climate.” www.nytimes.com/2026/08/23/c...
nytimes.com
Wildfires Are Turning Forests in the American West Into Shrubland
Towering woodlands in the West are being permanently replaced by tracts of spiky shrubs. Conditions “just aren’t normal anymore,” one researcher said.
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Unless we halt climate change, the Southewest will see increasingly hot/severe megadrought: “the system would be cut off entirely during the driest years, setting off a social and economic meltdown Arizonans shudder to even imagine” www.nytimes.com/2026/08/23/u...
nytimes.com
America’s Desert Metropolis Is on the Short List to Lose Water
Decades ago, the state won funding for a massive Colorado River project by agreeing to be first in line for cuts at a time of deep drought. The Trump administration says that time has come.
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
This is what climate change looks like: “Heat waves melt asphalt into goo. Train tracks twist. Overhead power lines sag. Concrete snaps into pieces in what are known as “blowups”” (wild video too) www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
washingtonpost.com
Why one highway exploded this summer — and why many more are at risk
Hotter summers are wreaking havoc across transportation infrastructure. One solution: Paint everything white.
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
If all the worsening wildfire and wildfire smoke is not enough to convince you, trees/forests don't like rapid warming... theconversation.com/ancient-fore...
theconversation.com
Ancient forests took 100,000 years to recover from the last global warming period similar to today – Wyoming fossils reveal what happened
Understanding what happened in these forests 56 million years ago may help humanity recognize similar thresholds before we cross them again, the lead author of a new study writes.
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
An global era of hot drought is deepening: "An estimated 204 million people, 56% of Western Europe's population, are forecast to experience temperatures over 5 degrees Celsius (10 degrees Fahrenheit) or more above the historic norm for this time of year" www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
reuters.com
NEWSLETTER: Europe’s deepening drought
Hello! Water shortages and drought have hit nations in Europe and Africa as temperatures continue to swelter around the world.
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Not just in developing countries btw… “By jacking up oil prices, the war has unintentionally accelerated the clean energy transition in developing countries, particularly by influencing the decisions people are making about what kind of vehicle to purchase.” www.nytimes.com/2026/08/11/c...
nytimes.com
An Electric Motorcycle Revolution
With gas prices high, people in developing countries are lining up to buy battery-powered bikes. We took a spin around Lahore, Pakistan, on a small-but-mighty one.
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Another impact of growing extreme heat = chronic pain. Worse for those living/working in rural America. theconversation.com/chronic-pain...
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
July 2026 - hottest ever recorded in US: "Long-term, human-caused climate change is making heat waves more intense, longer-lasting and more likely to occur. " It will keep warming until we stop polluting the atmosphere with heat-trapping gases. www.cnn.com/2026/08/10/c...
cnn.com
July was the hottest month in the US since records began in 1895 | CNN
July was the hottest month ever recorded in the United States, according to data released Monday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Climate change is extracting an increasing economic toll: “Collectively, abnormally high temperatures degrade economic well-being even in rich nations... state-level economic conditions in the United States deteriorated for months after a heat wave” www.nytimes.com/2026/08/11/b...
nytimes.com
In a Summer of Climate Misery, Businesses Confront the Need to Adapt
Repeated heat waves, wildfires, droughts and storms are solidifying the understanding that new investments are unavoidable.
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Reposted by Jonathan Overpeck
David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Maybe this will finally get politicians to care about climate change: “The brutally hot summer is set to cost the EU economy €180 billion this year — that’s equivalent to roughly 1 percent of GDP, which is all the growth the bloc was expected to generate in 2026, according to new analysis.”
politico.eu
Europe’s scorching summer is erasing its economic growth, says report
Dutch growth is set to be almost entirely wiped out, and France could be pushed into a contraction.
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Informality deserves more attention: Climate and labour must go hand-in-hand. An energy transition that results in carbon emissions reduction, but relies on unsafe labour practices, is not truly sustainable.” www.nature.com/articles/d44...
nature.com
The invisible workers behind the green transition
Informal miners, recyclers and waste workers help power the shift to renewable energy, yet their labour is often overlooked in sustainability debates.
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
This is what global climate change looks like: “The Bald Range wildfire was first reported on Friday evening but grew to about 50 square kilometers (19 square miles) within hours” www.cnn.com/2026/08/08/a...
cnn.com
A fast-moving wildfire forces more than 20,000 people to evacuate in western Canada | CNN
More than 20,000 people were ordered to leave their homes overnight in western Canada as a fast-moving wildfire grew rapidly and raced toward towns along British Columbia’s Okanagan Lake, destroying h...
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Reposted by Jonathan Overpeck
Marshall Shepherd @drshepherd2013.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
My Sunday morning update on the wildfire disaster unfolding in Spokane, Washington #wildfires #drought #spokane www.forbes.com/sites/marsha...
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
AI may be good for some things, but: “The problem with writing with A.I. is that it’s mentally enfeebling … As it becomes ubiquitous, it undermines not only our individual ability to write but also a society’s collective ability to reason” www.nytimes.com/2026/08/04/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | I’m Begging You: Never Write With A.I.
It’s bad for your brain and worse for democracy.
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
“Across the U.S., 44,004 wildfires have ignited so far this year, scorching more than 4.8 million acres…well above the 10-year-to-date averages of 34,340 fires and 3.63 million acres burned, marking the most active season at this point in the year since 2022” www.foxweather.com/weather-news...
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
The costs of climate change are mounting: “The plan allows for cuts of up to 3 million acre-feet a year among the states in the river’s Lower Basin — Arizona, California and Nevada. That’s nearly twice what those states have offered to conserve” apple.news/AceW4L7NPTZy...
apple.news
Feds release long-awaited plan to fight Colorado River water crisis — USA TODAY
The Bureau of Reclamation released its long-awaited Colorado River drought plan, targeting Lower Basin states for cuts.
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Another clear sign that gas stoves are dangerous to our health: “Research that used a federal grant to pay for asthma patients to have their gas stoves replaced showed a dramatic fall in asthma attacks.” www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
washingtonpost.com
The EPA halted a study on gas stoves and asthma. But even partial results were striking.
Research that used a federal grant to pay for asthma patients to have their gas stoves replaced showed a dramatic fall in asthma attacks. The program was cut short after President Donald Trump took of...
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Not the first, and not the last. Climate change is drying up more and more places. “It’s like a slow death, instead of an actual emergency happening right in front of your eyes where you can actually help.” www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/...
washingtonpost.com
A desert town may run out of water. Others could face the same fate.
An Arizona community nearly dried up and imposed strict limits, and its crisis may be a glimpse of the West’s future.
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
It’s a another year of unprecedented heat, drought, rain and flooding, wildfire and toxic smoke. How’s it all connected and what can we do to fix it? This pod boils it down for Michigan and the world. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s...
podcasts.apple.com
Stateside: Wednesday, July 22, 2026
Podcast Episode · Stateside On Air · July 23 · 50m
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Take note: When it comes to climate change, "The solutions are in hand - it’s about growing the political will to do what’s right. www.thetimesherald.com/story/opinio...
thetimesherald.com
Michigan health plagued by wildfires, smokes and floods | Opinion
Michiganders have been suffering from hazardous wildfire smoke, a cyclosporiasis outbreak and floods. They are not mere coincidences.
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Climate change impacts are accelerating: “It’s like hitting a climate system with a big hammer whereas in the past we hit it with little taps, So I worry that we might be underestimating how bad it will get and how soon it will get really bad.” www.michiganpublic.org/environment-...
michiganpublic.org
Climate change worsens wildfire conditions in Michigan
Michigan has always had dry spells, but they have become longer and more severe. Climate scientists believe Michigan fires may soon resemble the fires that happen annually out west.
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Michigan is a relative climate haven, but... "Protecting the future of Michigan and the planet should unite us all. It’s on all of us to decide what comes next. It’s time to act like your next Pure Michigan summer depends on it, because it does." www.thetimesherald.com/story/opinio...
thetimesherald.com
Michigan health plagued by wildfires, smokes and floods | Opinion
Michiganders have been suffering from hazardous wildfire smoke, a cyclosporiasis outbreak and floods. They are not mere coincidences.
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Sadly true: “As long as humans continue to burn fossil fuels, global temperatures will increase, droughts will worsen, and there will be bigger, more frequent wildfires and smoke events.” It will get worse unless we phase out fossil fuel use. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/16/w...
nytimes.com
A Warmer World Will Be a Smokier One
Higher temperatures and drought conditions are contributing to more intense wildfires and extending the summer fire season in North America.
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
The real cause of the wildfire smoke problem: “Because of global climate change and the warming of the planet, we're drying out vegetation much more than we did in the past, and that makes it more susceptible to fire” www.cbc.ca/news/science...
cbc.ca
'Just stop burning fossil fuels.' Scientists stress that our smoky skies only have one true fix | CBC News
Smoky skies in Toronto have led to new scrutiny of government efforts to fight fires and manage forests. But scientists say the realistic way to tackle the smoke is fighting climate change itself.
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Jonathan Overpeck @greatlakespecktwo.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
This is an important message - forest management alone can’t stop the surge in wildfire. We must halt climate change if we want to keep the increasing wildfire trend from getting worse - much worse.
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