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Kate Petersen

@k8petersen.bsky.social
2.9K followers 2K following 595 posts

Writer. Science and climate communicator. Former Stegner fellow at Stanford. Daughter of Gallahop. Opinions are my own.

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Kate Petersen @k8petersen.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
🧵
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the Mountain Goats @themountaingoats.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
on the other hand, the Mountain Goats, at it since 1991, still dropping bangers once a year on average and torching stages around the globe with ever-increasing intensity
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Kate Petersen @k8petersen.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
“she wanted the second line of her obituary to acknowledge her role as a shop steward for SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents NPR's editorial workers. She wanted the line to say that her proudest achievement was helping convince NPR to increase its paid parental leave.” Rest well. Thank you, Rose ❤️
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Kate Petersen @k8petersen.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
This breaks my heart in several directions. How accidental the timing of each of our births, and how purposefully built through layers of trust and effort herd immunity is (or was), even when it remains invisible to us (or our caregivers). Love for the families of those who’ve died from measles.
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Faith Kearns, Ph.D. @fkearns.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
A voter registration anecdote in case anyone needs a reminder to check theirs. Mine was showing invalid (AZ) due to some rural address problems - namely that I have a separate street and mailing address. For some reason the ZIP code on my PO box address was missing, then defaulted to my street…
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Kate Petersen @k8petersen.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Chicken and egg question: Did ‘I read [_____] so you don’t have to’ as a title trope precede genAI (which people now use to read [_____] so they don’t have to)? Or other way around?
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Meade Krosby @meadekrosby.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Amazing news, thanks to decades of unrelenting advocacy by the Yurok, Karuk and Klamath Tribes. It’s heartening to see the collaborative nature of the salmon restoration effort reflected in this paper’s authorship, which includes all three Tribes, state & federal agencies, NGOs & private entities.
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Kate Petersen @k8petersen.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
We grew carrots! Do we make carrot bread?
Hand holding six or seven carrots grown from seeds and recently pulled from soil before backdrop of more carrot greens
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Gwen Snyder is uncivil @gwensnyder.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
In case anyone is wondering about the current state of food safety in the US: an older woman flagged me down in Costco today to tell me I needed to tell my husband to put back the apple juice, because of an ongoing expanding recall
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Sherrilyn Ifill @sifill.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
My new essay is up. sherrilyn.substack.com/p/art-and-th...
sherrilyn.substack.com
Art and the Authoritarian Deracialization Campaign
Ernest Cole, The True America (1968-71)
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Kate Petersen @k8petersen.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
"How many colors of apples are there in the world?" Every day, my kid asks a great question I don't have the answer to. Not just a cute question, but a legitimate one that I am (often) not equipped to answer. I say, let's find out in a book. But as a millennial, I was habituated to 'google' it.
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Kate Petersen @k8petersen.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
May we all live so that our obit photo has happy, grazing horses sprouting from our shoulders like wings. Thank you, WB.
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Kate Petersen @k8petersen.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Really helpful thread and reporting on the state by state requirements to get a vaccine via pharmacy. In past, our county public health dept. has been a good resource and offers vaccines, too. Thanks for this reporting.
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Ian James @ianjames.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Trump’s plan to exploit Venezuela’s oil reserves could pump significantly more planet-warming CO2 into the atmosphere. “Such a move would lock in decades of high emissions at precisely the moment when science demands a swift transition away from fossil fuels.” www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
US plan to exploit Venezuela’s oil could eat up 13% of carbon budget to keep 1.5C limit
Exclusive: ClimatePartner analysis shows how move would risk plunging Earth further into climate catastrophe
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Arizona Mirror @azmirror.com · 26/08/2026
"There is no doubt this wall will desecrate countless sacred areas, burial sites, and other important locations. The proposed double wall on the nation will have impacts much broader than the 60-foot limit cited in the ruling." story via @paulingram.bsky.social & @tucsonsentinel.com
azmirror.com
Border Patrol SWAT team blocks Arizona tribal police from trespassing border wall contractors
Around 20 "masked, armed" Border Patrol agents, including the agency SWAT team, blockaded Tohono O'odham police from issuing trespassing citations and removing border-wall construction workers
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Soraya Nadia McDonald @soraya.press · 25/08/2026
Or this! Whatever you like! Just support literacy efforts, however you can. 💗
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Kevin Ault @kevinault.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
"Findings from this study indicate that the targeted birth-dose vaccine recommendation will likely increase neonatal infections" This modeling study finds hundreds more newborn #hepatitis B infections - very bad news. via @jamapediatrics.com #MedSky + #IDSky. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
jamanetwork.com
Impact of Removing the Universal Hepatitis B Birth-Dose Vaccination in the US
This modeling study estimates the impact of replacing universal hepatitis B virus birth-dose vaccination with a targeted recommendation on neonatal and subsequent chronic hepatitis B virus infections ...
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CIDRAP @cidrap.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Ebola outbreak now deadliest ever in DRC as death rate reaches 46% Roughly 100 new cases are being reported each day. Read more: bit.ly/4qnpKas 📷: World Bank / Vincent Tremeau
Ebola worker at treatment center
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Kate Petersen @k8petersen.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Seems like LinkedIn got a lot of mileage out of adding the "seems like AI slop" option two weeks ago. Who (academic, watchdog) is tracking longitudinally how this is affecting content since? We all love a good course-correct press announcement, but I maintain a healthy skepticism around outcomes.
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Hakeem Jefferson @hakeemjefferson.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
When I first went on the job market, I got offers from the best places & chose Stanford. The joy of that moment was tempered by the vitriol of those convinced I was unworthy of such opportunities. I learned long ago I’ll never convince them I am worthy. What great freedom came from that awareness.
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Sammy Roth @sammyroth.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Took 18 months, but state and local officials have conclusively determined that a Southern California Edison power line ignited the Eaton fire: www.latimes.com/california/s... via @grace2e.bsky.social
latimes.com
Edison tower caused deadly Eaton fire that devastated Altadena, long-awaited investigation finds
Out-of-service utility infrastructure managed by Southern California Edison started the deadly conflagration in January 2025 that killed 19 people and destroyed much of Altadena, according to firefigh...
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Kate Petersen @k8petersen.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
this is just such a bananas headline in 2026.
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Orkney Library & Archive @orkneylibrary.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Hoping for clear skies later so we can add a new #SolarEclipse photo to our collection. Like this one that Tom Kent took 114 years ago of a solar eclipse over Kirkwall #Orkney in April 1912. Taken 2 days after the sinking of the Titanic. Archives are amazing. ❤️
A black and white archive photograph showing the silhouette of the spire of St Magnus Cathedral and a partial eclipse of the sun in the sky above it.
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Kate Petersen @k8petersen.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Me: I love you to the moon! 5: I love you all the way to the internet.
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Elaine Ayers @eayers0.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
I’m sorry, but I can’t. Do we just live in Veep now (unbelievably great show), except that this is both page news and we’re completely ignoring the who even knows how many deaths since Trump took office? We’re doing Taylor Swift level lore now? (Yes, she hides in suitcases).
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Kate Petersen @k8petersen.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
So beautiful! As a general hater of Sundays, I have to say that #SundayFishSketch is a #SciArt balm.
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Saeed Jones @theferocity.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
LOUDER
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Shepherd @neolithicsheep.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
I would rather have pronghorn antelope and bighorn sheep and elk and purple sage and four wing saltbrush than data centers and so far no one in tech has presented a compelling vision for how to have all of those things, they just seize more resources for the plagiarism engine.
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United Farm Workers @ufw.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
"Adan" sent this from Wapato WA where he's thinning grapevines at a non-union farm. "I earn WA minimum wage. The air quality is terrible now. But we still have to work. The rancher did not provide me with a mask. My phones' weather app says the AQI is unhealthy at 182." #WeFeedYou
Vineyard under a smokey sky with a cell phone display of an air quality alert for Wapato WA with an unhealthy air quality index of 182.
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Oni Blackstock, MD MHS @oniblackstock.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
The NIH has quietly dropped its loan repayment program for researchers doing health disparities research and for researchers from disadvantaged backgrounds. As an LRP awardee who had six figures in medical schools loans, I know how transformative this funding can be. Losing this funding will…
grants.nih.gov
NIH Extramural Loan Repayment Programs: Simplified Structure, Continued Commitment | Grants & Funding
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Leah Berman Williams @leahwrenn.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
This is incredibly long and incredibly informative. I just spent a long time reading through the governor questionnaire. The questions that were chosen are fantastic, really good. And the answers are illuminating. I'm sorry that Dave Bronson, Bernadette Wilson and Treg Taylor declined to answer.
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Meade Krosby @meadekrosby.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
Incredible work from KHQ, the Spokane NBC affiliate, tonight - both the reporter and cameraman who were just on air are themselves under Level 3 evacuation orders. Everybody has been going all day getting information out to their community.
m.youtube.com
NonStop Local KHQ | BREAKING WILDFIRE COVERAGE | Old Trails Fire in Spokane County
YouTube video by NonStop Local
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BC Wildfire Weekly - Wildfires + More @bcwildfirewkly.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
“UPDATE 5:45 p.m. ­The Okanagan Indian Band has expanded an evacuation order for properties near the Bradley Creek wildfire.” www.castanet.net/news/Vernon/... - @castanet.net #BCWildfire #BradleyCreekFSRWildfire #OkanaganIndianBand #VernonBC
castanet.net
Evacuation order as Bradley Creek wildfire continues to grow
UPDATE 5:45 p.m. ­The Okanagan Indian Band has expanded an evacuation order for properties near the Bradley Creek wildfire.
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Jon Phillips @jowiph.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
This is terrifying, be safe Spokane
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Kate Petersen @k8petersen.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
“One step higher than a red flag” is really scary. Thinking of all the fire crews out there this weekend. “We have deployed all of our resources,” Upthegrove said. “But we are stretched thin.”
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Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Similar to the recommendation to avoid illustrating articles about vaccination with needles, I would suggest avoiding illustrating articles about cancer screening in ways that could be upsetting. Let’s limit every possible barrier to getting the HPV vaccine and getting screened for cervical cancer.
kffhealthnews.org
Ouch! Needle-Phobic People Scarred by So Many Images of Covid Shots - KFF Health News
The pictures are on the nightly news, on billboards, bus stop posters and all over social media. How can people who fear needles manage to get their covid shots?
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High Country News @highcountrynews.org · 31/07/2026
Officials call push to remove an oil and gas buffer around the culturally critical monument ‘an absolute gut punch.’ buff.ly/91yjePv
hcn.org
Pueblo leaders, New Mexico lawmakers speak out to protect Chaco Canyon - High Country News
Officials are calling the push to remove an oil and gas buffer around the culturally critical monument ‘an absolute gut punch.’
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Chantzy @chantzy.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
This is such gutting news 💔 Mike was a tireless advocate in B.C. for better airborne precautions in healthcare to protect vulnerable & immunocompromised people, among many things. He will be missed
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Shannon Mattern @shannonmattern.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Applications for this position are due tomorrow! (thanks for the reminder, @beccaquon.bsky.social 😊)
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Meade Krosby @meadekrosby.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
The Colville Tribes have established a fund to provide direct assistance to individuals, families, and communities impacted by recent wildfires on the Colville Indian Reservation. Donations accepted here:
zeffy.com
Cedar Fund Wildfire Recovery Campaign
Colville Wildfire Relief & Recovery Fund ***OFFICIAL KAISER CANYON FIRE DONATION ACCOUNT***The Cedar Fund of the Colville Indian Reservation has established…
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Brad Johnson @climatebrad.hillheat.com · 28/07/2026
The boreal and Mediterranean wildfires and their deadly smoke plumes of the 2020s are apocalyptic, but science works! The scientific method does really have remarkably predictive powers. But it is society that has to choose what to do with it.
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Sammy Roth @sammyroth.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Not too late: Join me today at 4pm PT to talk all things Colorado River with @zakpodmore.bsky.social, author of "Life After Dead Pool." Register here: us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
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Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund @dredf.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
It's the 36th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA was won through decades of organizing by disabled people, parents, advocates, attorneys + allies. We're proud to have been part of that history + continue to defend the rights the ADA secured. dredf.org/the-making-o...
dredf.org
The Making of the ADA
"The ADA owes its birthright not to any one person, or any few, but to the many thousands of people who make up the disability rights movement..."
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Karen K. Ho @karenho.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
every day is a good day to watch this XOXO talk by Ed Yong, who left The Atlantic for increasingly obvious reasons
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BC Wildfire Weekly - Wildfires + More @bcwildfirewkly.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
ICYMI: “Officials have significantly expanded evacuation orders covering the Village of Clinton, B.C., and surrounding areas as a pair of nearby wildfires grow.” www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... - CBC News BC #BCWildfire #BigBarComplex #ClintonBC #FiftynineCreekWildfire #PearLakeWildfire cc: #Kamloops
cbc.ca
Evacuation orders expand around Clinton as 2 wildfires threaten community | CBC News
The orders cover the village of around 650 people, along with about 280 properties to the southwest and north of the community.
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Ensembleator @ensembleator.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
Difficult day for firefighters and those affected as fires continue to grow over the southern 1/2 of BC. Pyro cumulonimbus from fire near Clinton last hour (growing green spot NNE of #YVR). I'm off to visit fam for a few days. I'll send a few pics.
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Prof. Stefan Rahmstorf @rahmstorf.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Some more impressions. The black stuff is soot on the beach. For this Girond fire alone, 63,000 people have been evacuated. We’re waiting for news whether we should leave, too.
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Esther @elhopkins.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/7070... #ActOnClimateChange
pressandjournal.co.uk
Terrified Nethy Bridge residents watch as giant Highlands wildfire sweeps towards homes
Locals have pleaded for more help with the new fire front just four kilometres away
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Kate Petersen @k8petersen.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
This was a fantastic, collaborative webinar on how we can better cover wildfires and climate in the current conditions and why that reporting matters. Thank you @sammyroth.bsky.social and all the panel experts and organizers at @coveringclimatenow.org!
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Kate Petersen @k8petersen.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Great story; good science can surprise the scientists. “As the study began, she focused on how unusual it was that so many places were experiencing snow shortages simultaneously. ‘And then this project really showed me how much worse it was in the Upper Colorado than in any other part of the West.’”
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