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Justine Calma

@justcalma.bsky.social
13K followers 950 following 184 posts

Senior reporter, environment & energy @theverge.com / Host of Hell or High Water: When disaster hits home, a podcast from Vox Media and Audible. justinecalma.com / Signal: @bqe210.91

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Reposted by Justine Calma
The Verge @theverge.com · 02/10/2026
Microsoft wants to make its data centers greener, with more gardens and native trees on-site. The company thinks these efforts will limit problems its facilities have caused for neighbors, like noise pollution and the loss of green space. Read more from @justcalma.bsky.social: buff.ly/lESSXTX
Verge headline: If a data center is camouflaged in the woods, will anyone hate it?
by Justine Calma

Photo collage of a data center with greenery surrounding it
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Reposted by Justine Calma
The Verge @theverge.com · 02/10/2026
Microsoft is expanding ‘biomimicry’ at its data centers as it faces more pushback from locals over construction, pollution, and noise. www.theverge.com/tech/1003681...
theverge.com
If a data center is camouflaged in the woods, will anyone hate it?
Microsoft wants its data centers to blend in with nature.
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Reposted by Justine Calma
Kylie Mohr @thatsmohrlikeit.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I've said it before and I'll say it again: WUI fires are one of the sneakiest health threats in recent history. apnews.com/article/clim...
apnews.com
Residents near Maui wildfires show elevated metals linked to impacted lung health, study says
A new study finds that metal mixtures found in smoke, ash and debris after the 2023 Maui wildfires affected human lung health.
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Justine Calma @justcalma.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Talking about AI and fossil fuels, Huang says ‘in order to save you, they’ve got to hurt you first.' Huang’s extreme level of privilege is glaring (gift link) www.theverge.com/tech/1000140...
theverge.com
Jensen Huang talks about AI and climate change like a supervillain
It’s giving Thanos energy.
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Reposted by Justine Calma
The Verge @theverge.com · 24/09/2026
With AI, he says, ‘in order to save you, they’ve got to hurt you first.‘ www.theverge.com/tech/1000140...
theverge.com
Jensen Huang talks about AI and climate change like a supervillain
It’s giving Thanos energy. 
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Reposted by Justine Calma
The Verge @theverge.com · 23/09/2026
New legislation will finally force data centers to disclose more information about how much water and electricity they use in California. www.theverge.com/policy/99941...
theverge.com
Data centers are black boxes, but California wants to change that 
You can’t manage what you don’t measure.
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The Verge @theverge.com · 21/09/2026
When @justcalma.bsky.social spoke to cybersecurity experts, they were still more worried about generative AI in the hands of bad actors than they were about rogue agents.
theverge.com
Humans, not rogue AI, are still the biggest cybersecurity risk to energy systems
Critical infrastructure was already vulnerable.
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Reposted by Justine Calma
The Verge @theverge.com · 20/09/2026
But they’re more dangerous with AI. www.theverge.com/science/9978...
theverge.com
Humans, not rogue AI, are still the biggest cybersecurity risk to energy systems
Critical infrastructure was already vulnerable.
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Reposted by Justine Calma
Covering Climate Now @coveringclimatenow.org · 17/09/2026
📣 CCNow is thrilled to announce the winners of the 2026 CCNow Journalism Awards! Our awards program honors excellent reporting on many critical dimensions of the climate story. Together, their work constitutes the leading edge of climate storytelling. ...🧵↓
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Justine Calma @justcalma.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
AI e-waste could fill enough shipping containers to circle Earth six times by 2050 www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
theverge.com
The AI data center e-waste problem is huge — and getting bigger
It’s even bigger than previously thought.
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Reposted by Justine Calma
The Verge @theverge.com · 14/09/2026
There couldn’t be a worse time for the US to stop regulating carbon pollution from power plants. www.theverge.com/news/995051/...
theverge.com
Trump throws out power plant climate pollution rules
Energy has become a flashpoint in the culture war over affordability.
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Reposted by Justine Calma
The Verge @theverge.com · 12/09/2026
The Trump administration is sacrificing Americans’ health to build data centers, former EPA officials warn. www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
theverge.com
Trump is giving data centers a pass to pollute
The EPA is “thinking first about industry’s needs.”
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Justine Calma @justcalma.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
The challenges that come with managing limited water supply from the Colorado River are only going to grow as AI demands a larger share www.theverge.com/science/9935...
theverge.com
Arizona’s lifeline for chip manufacturing is drying up
Water is about to get more expensive in America’s new silicon valley.
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Reposted by Justine Calma
The Verge @theverge.com · 26/08/2026
Students deserve access to the news that matters. That’s why students get a plan of their own. Subscribe today: buff.ly/eUwahgL
Verge promo:

Your student ID comes with a perk. 

Students get unlimited access for just $10/year
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Reposted by Justine Calma
Alondra Nelson @alondra.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Researchers across the country are turning to side hustles to fund their work. Behind the cuts sits a bigger shift: whether American science can still sustain durable research capacity. @lindseydcameron.bsky.social and I examine the stakes in a new piece @science.org: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
The wrong platform for science
Daniel Blumstein recently sat in a Colorado meadow waiting for yellow-bellied marmots to appear, as the ecologist and evolutionary biologist had done many times before, the New York Times reported. Bu...
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The Verge @theverge.com · 01/09/2026
Cook nudged Apple in a more sustainable direction, but the company may struggle to stay on that path. www.theverge.com/tech/987550/...
theverge.com
Tim Cook did alright by the environment — but AI could upend his climate legacy
He leaves “against a dark backdrop.”
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Reposted by Justine Calma
Floodlight @floodlightnews.org · 27/08/2026
NEW: Thermal drone footage shows the Microsoft-backed DataOne AI data center in Vineland, NJ is running dozens of gas generators. None of them have permits. A Floodlight visual investigation with @us.theguardian.com:
floodlightnews.org
One of East Coast’s largest data centers accused of ‘violating federal law’
Thermal drone footage shows DataOne — the Microsoft-backed AI data center in Vineland — is powering its operations with dozens of unpermitted generators
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Justine Calma @justcalma.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
An obscure rule change could make it harder to fight data centers www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
theverge.com
Trump’s EPA wants to let data centers hide their air pollution
“Nobody knows what’s happening until the bulldozers are out there.”
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Reposted by Justine Calma
The Verge @theverge.com · 27/08/2026
Climate change has led to at least one additional month of heat stress for 43 percent of all kids in the 0-9 age group — 560 million little ones. That’s nearly triple the number of people aged 60-69 exposed to the same amount of climate-induced heat stress. Read more from @justcalma.bsky.social:
theverge.com
Being a mom is hard — the heat is making it harder.
Being a kid in the summertime isn’t what it used to be.
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Reposted by Justine Calma
Andrew J. Hawkins @andyjayhawk.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
@justcalma.bsky.social is back from parental leave with a dire but important account of what it's like raising kids in a warming world www.theverge.com/news/985225/...
theverge.com
Being a mom is hard — the heat is making it harder.
Being a kid in the summertime isn’t what it used to be.
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Justine Calma @justcalma.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Kids are growing up with an extra month of heat stress thanks to climate change. I just wrote my first story since coming back from maternity leave, and I couldn't help but vent www.theverge.com/news/985225/...
theverge.com
Being a mom is hard — the heat is making it harder.
Being a kid in the summertime isn’t what it used to be.
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Reposted by Justine Calma
The Verge @theverge.com · 22/07/2026
While the average American has yet to see the kinds of big leaps forward that are being promised by the AI industry, they’re increasingly likely to see the costs of a new AI data center moving next door. Read more from @justcalma.bsky.social:
theverge.com
Who’s afraid of the big, bad GPU?
From gaming to AI, GPUs can make a big mess for the planet.
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Reposted by Justine Calma
Sean Hollister @seanhollister.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
In awe of the visualizations AND perspective in @justcalma.bsky.social's mega report: "Who's afraid of the big, bad GPU?" www.theverge.com/cs/features/...
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Justine Calma @justcalma.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Our art team killed it on this one!
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Reposted by Justine Calma
The Verge @theverge.com · 21/07/2026
Do potential AI-driven advances in weather forecasting or wildlife conservation justify the environmental footprint of a data center? And what about the GPUs in a gaming PC or iPhone — do they deserve just as much scrutiny? Read more from @justcalma.bsky.social: www.theverge.com/cs/features/...
Verge headline: Who's afraid of the big, bad GPU?
by Justine Calma

Illustration of a giant graphics card sitting on top of a carved out landmass of water and vegetation
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Justine Calma @justcalma.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
Reminded each time I step out with my newborn into record-breaking heat how much harder climate change makes it to be a mom
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Reposted by Justine Calma
The Verge @theverge.com · 10/03/2026
How the spiraling Iran conflict could affect data centers and electricity costs
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How the spiraling Iran conflict could affect data centers and electricity costs
“There’s only so much that US energy dominance can do to shield US consumers.” 
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Justine Calma @justcalma.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
Long-lasting conflict could play into Donald Trump’s plans to “drill, baby, drill” — but that doesn’t necessarily protect Americans from higher energy prices www.theverge.com/science/8885...
theverge.com
What Trump’s war on Iran means for the US energy crunch
Affordability could become an even bigger flashpoint.
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Reposted by Justine Calma
The Verge @theverge.com · 03/03/2026
What Trump’s war on Iran means for the US energy crunch
buff.ly
What Trump’s war on Iran means for the US energy crunch
Affordability could become an even bigger flashpoint.
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Reposted by Justine Calma
Marina Galperina @mfortki.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
Great piece from @seanhollister.bsky.social and @justcalma.bsky.social on whether you need a robot trashcan that turns soft plastics into plastic bricks... that you ship off to Indiana to get "recycled"
theverge.com
Investigating the 61-pound machine that eats plastic and spits out bricks
Like WALL-E, it turns trash into bricks.
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Reposted by Justine Calma
Committee to Protect Journalists @pressfreedom.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
The Israeli military has committed more targeted killings of journalists than any other government’s military since CPJ began documentation in 1992. The deliberate targeting and killing of a journalist by any military constitutes a war crime. cpj.org?p=553549
cpj.org
Record 129 press members killed in 2025; Israel responsible for 2/3 of deaths - Committee to Protect Journalists
Key findings Introduction At a time when armed conflict has reached historic levels around the world, journalist killings also reached an all-time high primarily due to the actions of one government:…
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Reposted by Justine Calma
Brian Eckhouse @brianreports.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
Scoop: The Climate Prediction Center is being folded into other agencies overseen by the National Weather Service The change follows moves by the Trump administration to dismantle climate science programs By @weathersullivan.bsky.social & @laurenthal.bsky.social www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
bloomberg.com
US Climate Forecaster to Be Absorbed in Weather Agency Reshuffle
The US climate forecasting service will be absorbed into other federal departments as part of a re-organization announced to staff Thursday.
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Reposted by Justine Calma
The Verge @theverge.com · 20/02/2026
Trump is making coal plants even dirtier as AI demands more energy
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Trump is making coal plants even dirtier as AI demands more energy
This is the worst time to make electricity dirtier.
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Reposted by Justine Calma
Covering Climate Now @coveringclimatenow.org · 12/02/2026
📣 Submissions are now OPEN for the 2026 CCNow Journalism Awards! 🔔
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Justine Calma @justcalma.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
Louisiana has built back time and again from storm after storm, but now community members and advocates want assurances that Meta's data center won’t add to the costs www.theverge.com/science/8765...
theverge.com
How an ‘icepocalypse’ raises more questions about Meta’s biggest data center project
“We can’t imagine the changes that are coming.”
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Reposted by Justine Calma
Siri Chilukuri @siric.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
Those power lines signified a lot in bad bunny’s halftime show, gonna cite the official bad bunny x climate correspondent @angelymercado.bsky.social gizmodo.com/bad-bunny-el...
gizmodo.com
In 'El Apagón,' Bad Bunny Tackles Gentrification and Power Outages
The Puerto Rican musician balances the pride and anger of Puerto Ricans in his new album, Un Verano Sin Ti .
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Reposted by Justine Calma
Committee to Protect Journalists @pressfreedom.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
🚨 CPJ strongly condemns the arrests of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort for their reporting on a protest in Minnesota, arrests which mark a serious escalation of attacks on the press in the United States. Read more: cpj.org/2026/01/cpj-...
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Reposted by Justine Calma
The Verge @theverge.com · 30/01/2026
"School bus drivers should not need special training on what they should do if ICE shows up at a stop. Parents should not need to explain the routine presence of masked agents wearing military fatigues and carrying guns." Read more from @scottmeslow.bsky.social: www.theverge.com/policy/87072...
Verge headline: Parenting in ICE-occupied Minneapolis
by Scott Meslow

Photo illustration depicts a pink silhoutte of a parent holding a child's hand, set against a backdrop of ICE and Border Patrol agents
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Reposted by Justine Calma
The Verge @theverge.com · 29/01/2026
It’s a new heyday for gas thanks to data centers
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It’s a new heyday for gas thanks to data centers
The US is now developing more gas power than China. 
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Justine Calma @justcalma.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Thanks for sharing!
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Reposted by Justine Calma
Ashanti Washington ⚡️ @byashanti.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
It’s too early to say how data centers affected power grids during #Fern, with impacts varying by region. Still - this week’s cold snap is a key stress test as U.S. grids face a shifting energy landscape and a changing climate. (via @justcalma.bsky.social / @theverge.com)
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Reposted by Justine Calma
The Verge @theverge.com · 27/01/2026
The winter storm tested power grids straining to accommodate AI data centers
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The winter storm tested power grids straining to accommodate AI data centers
Electricity costs spiked.
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Justine Calma @justcalma.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
^from @andyjayhawk.bsky.social
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Justine Calma @justcalma.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
"Forcing someone who owns an e-bike without a throttle that can’t go faster than 20mph to register their bike with the DMV, acquire a license, and buy insurance ... will absolutely harm efforts to encourage more sustainable transportation" -@andyjayhawk.bsky.social www.theverge.com/column/86621...
theverge.com
The great e-bike crackdown has begun
New Jersey just approved a wildly out-of-step new law that restricts all e-bikes, regardless of speed or power capabilities. Will other states follow?
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Reposted by Justine Calma
Kristen Radtke @kristenradtke.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
I wrote about my childhood friend Alexi Pretti. Please read it and share it and remember him as a human being. @theverge.com
theverge.com
I grew up with Alex Pretti
The kind-hearted ICU nurse shot by ICE agents was my childhood best friend.
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Reposted by Justine Calma
The Verge @theverge.com · 27/01/2026
"I didn’t realize, in the hours before his name was released to the public, that the man millions of people had seen lying facedown on the pavement from multiple angles of eyewitness video was my childhood best friend." Read more from @kristenradtke.bsky.social: www.theverge.com/policy/86856...
Verge headline: I grew up with Alex Pretti
by Kristen Radtke

Photo: An old picture of a boy and a girl at a birthday party
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Steven Tender @steventender.com · 20/01/2026
Excellent reporting and another reason why I subscribe to @theverge.com
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Virginia Gewin @virginiagewin.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
“The speed, the scope and the severity of the attacks on science are beyond anything we’ve ever seen,” says @gretchentg.bsky.social. My @nature.com story on the human toll of the 2nd Trump presidency. Thx to @dochfroehlich.bsky.social, @briannosek.bsky.social, @katharinehayhoe.com & others.
nature.com
‘Shattered’: US scientists speak out about how Trump policies disrupted their careers
Researchers lay bare the human toll of lay-offs, funding cuts and attacks on science one year after the president’s return to the White House.
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Reposted by Justine Calma
Vox Media Union @voxmediaunion.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
Another year, another round of layoffs at Vox Media. In solidarity with our laid-off colleagues, here is our full statement:
Today, Friday, January 16, 2026, the Vox Media Union received news from management about more layoffs at the company: three in-unit workers from PopSugar, two from The Verge, and three from Eater — not including a number of out-of-unit employees — some of whom were on parental and other types of company-approved leave. 

Beyond this, the company announced that it will no longer have a centralized Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI+) team, redistributing that work across the People team and leadership, and keeping Employee Resource Groups as simply Slack spaces without formal lead roles or any standalone budgets. 

There is almost no further room to be shocked at these developments, as the company has laid off workers at an average of once per quarter in the last year, but we continue to be disgusted by the fact that leadership seems to have developed no real learning or commitment to workforce sustainability and retention. Those at the top remain safe in their positions while mercilessly cutting off those who work day in and day out (and then some) to make sure that essential, business-critical work is done. 

Our indispensable colleagues are now in extra vulnerable positions, having to navigate workplace bureaucracy alongside a volatile job market and relentless threats to the integrity of journalism as a whole. This union is proud to have rallied in multiple rounds of contract bargaining to ensure more equitable worker rights and protections in the face of management incompetence. As always, we, along with our Guild reps, will continue to demand that members are treated fairly in the aftermath of layoffs.

Details on how you can support laid-off workers at Vox Media will be forthcoming. Please follow the Vox Media Union on Instagram (@voxmediaunion) and Bluesky (@voxunion.bsky.social). Solidarity forever. 

The Vox Media Union Committees 
Writers Guild of America East, AFL-CIO
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Reposted by Justine Calma
The Verge @theverge.com · 16/01/2026
Wildfires are becoming too big a threat for any single homeowner, neighborhood, or even firefighting squad to just play defense. The fight is now collective and starts from the ground up, when homes are built. Read more from @justcalma.bsky.social: www.theverge.com/features/861...
Verge headline: How to fireproof a city
by Justine Calma

Photo shows an aerial view of two neighboring towns divided by a road. The right side has houses full of green grass and trees, the left side is more stripped down, full of dirt yards as part of fireproofing
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