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Isobel Whitcomb

@isobel-whitcomb.bsky.social
1.5K followers 74 following 4 posts

Award-winning journalist and fact-checker writing about ecology, adaptation, and health in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Read my work in Slate, Sierra, SciAm, Atmos and more. 📍Portland, OR

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Reposted by Isobel Whitcomb
s. e. smith @sesmith.lol · 22/03/2026
Squeezed by data centers' relentless demand for electricity, a Nevada energy company just said it's going to stop supplying energy to Tahoe. The city has a year to figure out how to meet 75% of its energy needs without it.
calmatters.org
Lake Tahoe isn’t sure where it’s power will come from after the next ski season
The area’s longtime power supplier, NV Energy, will cut off the region next year. It has said data centers are driving “unprecedented” demand.
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Reposted by Isobel Whitcomb
Julia Angwin @juliaangwin.com · 11/03/2026
I'm suing Grammarly over its paid AI feature that presented editing suggestions as if they came from me - and many other writers and journalists - without consent. State law requires consent before someone's name can be used for commercial purposes. www.wired.com/story/gramma...
wired.com
Grammarly Is Facing a Class Action Lawsuit Over Its AI ‘Expert Review’ Feature
The feature, which Grammarly shut down Wednesday, presented editing suggestions as if they came from established authors and academics—without their consent.
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Reposted by Isobel Whitcomb
molly taft @mollytaft.com · 23/02/2026
hey some rare good news: the us is installing a SHIT TON of batteries right now!
wired.com
The US Had a Big Battery Boom Last Year
Despite Donald Trump’s unrelenting attacks on renewable energy, there’s a quiet revolution happening on US grids.
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Reposted by Isobel Whitcomb
Ian Rose @ianrosewrites.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
I don't ski or snowboard, but I like having water in August and not losing my home to fire, so I've been hoping for this too.
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Isobel Whitcomb @isobel-whitcomb.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
As an athlete who watched multiple running friends sidelined for years after covid, developing long-covid is a major fear of mine. I don't think masking and isolating at an event that brings together people from around the world are extreme precautions. www.npr.org/2026/02/09/n...
npr.org
Olympic COVID restrictions are gone, but some athletes are still self-quarantining
For most people, the pandemic days of masking are behind them. In certain corners of the Winter Olympics, though, things still look a lot like they did in COVID times. Some athletes are taking extreme...
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Reposted by Isobel Whitcomb
Julia Métraux @juliametraux.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
Journalism schools need to desperately hire more freelancers as lecturers to teach students how to make money, including gig comms work, while reporting on this side. I've had this thought for a while, but especially as a paper of record gets decimated.
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Reposted by Isobel Whitcomb
Drew Harwell @drewharwell.com · 04/02/2026
Here's who the Washington Post just laid off.
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molly taft @mollytaft.com · 29/01/2026
i was actually shocked to see the numbers on new research from Global Energy Monitor on new gas projects in the US: nearly 100 gigawatts of power—enough to power tens of millions of homes—are currently in development explicitly to power data centers. At the end of 2023 that number was 4 gigawatts
wired.com
Data Centers Are Driving a US Gas Boom
Gas projects in the US pipeline explicitly linked to data centers increased by almost 25 times over the past two years, according to new research from Global Energy Monitor.
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Reposted by Isobel Whitcomb
Jason Dove Mark @jasondovemark.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
UGH "Approximately 12,260 monarchs were recorded during the typical peak overwintering period from late Nov through early Dec 2025, when monarchs cluster together in groves of trees along California’s coast. This is the third-lowest tally since the count began in 1997. " xerces.org/press/wester...
xerces.org
Western Monarch Numbers Remain at Historic Low | Xerces Society
The 29th annual Western Monarch Count revealed a historically low population for the second year in a row. Approximately 12,260 monarchs were recorded overwintering across 249 sites, the third-lowest ...
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Reposted by Isobel Whitcomb
Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
It's weird how after every good thing/gain (even if we don't call it a victory) people circle up to insist we shouldn't celebrate. Celebrating is not how people give up, in my experience; believing we can't win, never win, and have no power is (with a side of joylessness).
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Reposted by Isobel Whitcomb
DebLookingForANewHome @heymum3.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
Have you read about this abomination? theconversation.com/this-tiktok-...
theconversation.com
This TikTok star sharing Australian animal stories doesn’t exist – it’s AI Blakface
The ‘Bush Legend’ is bringing us short videos of an Aboriginal person teaching us about native animals. But he isn’t real.
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Isobel Whitcomb @isobel-whitcomb.bsky.social · 18/03/2024
Last year, on Memorial Day weekend, I got hit in the head by a soccer ball. It altered the course of the rest of my year. Naturally, I wrote about the experience, and everything I learned about the brain because of it. slate.com/technology/2...
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Reposted by Isobel Whitcomb
Jack Mirkinson @jackmirkinson.bsky.social · 29/02/2024
well if it isn't our old friend passive voice
In Chaotic Gaza Scene, Many Killed and Wounded as Israeli Forces Open Fire
The Palestinian news agency reported that Israeli tanks had fired at thousands waiting for aid. Israeli officials said Gazans were trampled and run over by aid trucks.
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Isobel Whitcomb @isobel-whitcomb.bsky.social · 26/02/2024
My first time being on the other side of an interview! I recently spoke with the talented Tyler Santora about how to get what you want out of an interview. To sum up my thoughts: Read the room. Meet your source where they are, whether that's with formal professionalism or casual banter.
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