iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Jon Levy @jonlevybu.bsky.social · 06/08/2025

Network of PurpleAir monitors captures the widespread and substantial air quality impacts from Canadian wildfires extremely well (screenshot from map.purpleair.com, taken 5 minutes ago)

Map of fine particulate matter concentrations across the US today, showing elevated levels downwind of wildfires

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Jon Levy @jonlevybu.bsky.social · 24/07/2025

Any time the Administration puts forward a policy to undermine renewable energy, they are increasing our energy bills, harming our health, and damaging our climate, all just to financially reward (and subsidize) a favored industry.

Quote from a news article - “The three cheapest electricity sources globally last year were onshore wind, solar panels, and new hydropower, according to an energy cost report by the International Renewable Energy Agency, or IRENA. Solar power now is 41 percent cheaper and wind power is 53 percent cheaper globally than the lowest-cost fossil fuel, the reports said. Fossil fuels, which are the chief cause of climate change, include coal, oil. and natural gas.”

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Jon Levy @jonlevybu.bsky.social · 21/06/2025

As the country bakes in a heat wave, it’s #ShowYourStripes day. With my younger son just graduating from elementary school, it’s sobering to compare how much hotter his world is than when I was his age. Even more sobering to think of what his kids will experience. Time for action!

Chart of temperature change in Boston from 1850 to 2024

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Jon Levy @jonlevybu.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

It’s hard to get public sympathy for Harvard losing money. But this assault is killing jobs and destroying careers, with incalculable losses of knowledge about science and health. And if this stands, any school, non-profit, or business could be at risk just for making the administration mad.

Dear Harvard Chan faculty, academic appointees, and staff:

Within the last several days, the university has received letters from most federal agencies indicating that nearly all of Harvard Chan’s active, direct federal grants have been terminated.

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Jon Levy @jonlevybu.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

The same week that the NIH director called for academic freedom and public dissemination, especially “when pursuing evidence others find inconvenient or objectionable”, they pulled funding from a major environmental health journal and moved to end research on climate and health. 🤔

NIH policies have always supported the public dissemination of research. However, academic freedom matters most in the edge cases where scientists are pursuing evidence that others find inconvenient or objectionable. By prioritizing academic freedom across the agency, we can work to restore public trust in NIH's ability to carry out its mission.

Jay Bhattacharya, M.D., Ph.D.
Director, National Institutes of Health

18 April
NIH signals end to key research on climate change and health

The Trump administration is moving to end National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding for research on how climate change harms human health, a shift scientists warn could endanger lives.

Important Update About Journal Submissions
Date 23 April 2025
Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) and the Journal of Health and Pollution (JHP) are supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, which is part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Due to recent changes in operational resources, the journals are pausing the acceptance of new manuscript submissions at this time. We are committed to communicating directly with corresponding authors who have active submissions and will provide updates as soon as possible. We appreciate your understanding and continued interest in both journals.

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Jon Levy @jonlevybu.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

One of my favorite pictures today from the #MarchforScience (borrowed from a colleague) Indirect costs include the jobs of people who make the research enterprise work, including grants administrators, custodial staff, and many others. Cut IDC = lost jobs and destroyed research infrastructure.

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Jon Levy @jonlevybu.bsky.social · 22/02/2025

Playing along and pretending Elon’s email is a good faith attempt to increase efficiency, asking for a weekly list of emailed accomplishments is classic bad personnel management. It encourages short-term and individualistic tasks over collaborative efforts that could yield long-term benefits.

Please reply to this email with approx. 5 bullets of what you accomplished last week and cc your manager.

Please do not send any classified information, links, or attachments.

Deadline is this Monday at 11:59pm EST.

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Jon Levy @jonlevybu.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

Fascinating to see these paragraphs in side-by-side articles this morning - institutions fearful of speaking out against the RFK Jr nomination, to avoid retribution, find that they are attacked nevertheless.

Some experts on vaccines who have previously spoken out against Kennedy declined to comment, saying they’d been instructed by their institutions not to comment on the Trump administration.

The National Institutes of Health, the nation’s premier funder of biomedical research, plans to immediately slash support for “indirect costs” paid to universities, medical centers, and other research grant recipients, funding the nation’s science enterprise relies on for basic operating costs.

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Jon Levy @jonlevybu.bsky.social · 01/01/2025

20 BOOKS CHALLENGE Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. #BookSky💙📚 #Books Book 20

Cover of “Terribly Strange and Wonderfully Real” by Laurie Levy

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Jon Levy @jonlevybu.bsky.social · 01/01/2025

Cover of “The Assault on Reason” by Al Gore

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Jon Levy @jonlevybu.bsky.social · 31/12/2024

Cover of “Nickel and Dimed” by Barbara Ehrenreich

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Jon Levy @jonlevybu.bsky.social · 30/12/2024

Cover of “The Art of Raising a Puppy” by the Monks of New Skete

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Jon Levy @jonlevybu.bsky.social · 28/12/2024

Cover of “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay” by Michael Chabon

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Jon Levy @jonlevybu.bsky.social · 27/12/2024

Cover of “Cityscapes of Boston: An American City Through Time” by Robert Campbell and Peter Vanderwarker

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Jon Levy @jonlevybu.bsky.social · 26/12/2024

First night of Hanukkah on Christmas Day = Latkes and kung pao chicken for dinner

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Jon Levy @jonlevybu.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

Cover of “The Mysterious Disappearance of Leon (I Mean Noel)” by Ellen Raskin

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Jon Levy @jonlevybu.bsky.social · 22/12/2024

Cover of “I Know This Much is True” by Wally Lamb

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Jon Levy @jonlevybu.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

One reason why I love being part of the EH Department @busph.bsky.social - we work hard to address important issues (like linkages between climate change and water and sanitation, link below) but also have fun (like departmental walking and bowling, with trophies). www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

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Jon Levy @jonlevybu.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

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Jon Levy @jonlevybu.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

Cover of “Envisioning Information” by Edward Tufte

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Jon Levy @jonlevybu.bsky.social · 19/12/2024

Cover of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time” by Mark Haddon

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Jon Levy @jonlevybu.bsky.social · 17/12/2024

Cover of “A Hope in the Unseen” by Ron Suskind

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Jon Levy @jonlevybu.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

Cover of “Time Travel and Other Mathematical Bewilderments” by Martin Gardner

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Jon Levy @jonlevybu.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

Cover of “The Chocolate War” by Robert Cormier

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Jon Levy @jonlevybu.bsky.social · 14/12/2024

Cover of “The Tao of Pooh” by Benjamin Hoff

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Jon Levy @jonlevybu.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

Cover of “Mapping Boston” by Alex Krieger et al.

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Jon Levy @jonlevybu.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

Cover of “Knuffle Bunny Free” by Mo Willems

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Jon Levy @jonlevybu.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

Cover of “Reclaiming Public Housing: A Half Century of Struggle in Three Public Neighborhoods” by Lawrence Vale

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Jon Levy @jonlevybu.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

Cover of the book “Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women” by Susan Faludi

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Jon Levy @jonlevybu.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

The Sky Was Falling by Dr. Cornelia Griggs

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Jon Levy @jonlevybu.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

We need to do a lot more than “cross our fingers and hope” that EJ programs aren’t eliminated under the new administration. We need to make the loud affirmative case that these investments will improve health and create jobs. That may not be of concern to Trump et al., but narrative matters.

Newspaper headline - “Environmental justice programs now cross their fingers and hope”

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Jon Levy @jonlevybu.bsky.social · 24/11/2024

I like this unfiltered one too - a little more chaotic but it seems to grab more content

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Jon Levy @jonlevybu.bsky.social · 24/11/2024

Ok, this is pretty cool - word cloud of my publications courtesy of scholargoggler.com Pretty accurate snapshot of my work over the years…

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Jon Levy @jonlevybu.bsky.social · 23/11/2024

1. A student dissertation defense where her family and fellow students all came out to celebrate (including t-shirts that spell out PhD)

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Jon Levy @jonlevybu.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

By way of introduction, my contribution from a few years back of 12 main types of scientific papers in environmental health #environment #publichealth

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Jon Levy @jonlevybu.bsky.social · 15/11/2024

We need bright lights during dark times. Yesterday my advisee Laura Buckley @bostonu.bsky.social successfully defended her dissertation centered on climate, health and equity. The world needs more people like her. And our amazing doc students pulled together a fun and festive celebration!

Four people with shirts spelling “PhD!” with a tv screen in the background

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