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Kirke D.A. Elsass

@kelsass.bsky.social
1.7K followers 1.3K following 401 posts

Historian; writing on cement and its role in co-creating life in the U.S. by making the environments of prisons, sidewalks, & basements; developing publicly available curriculum for Yale Environmental Humanities; love being outdoors; he/him/Dada

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Kirke D.A. Elsass @kelsass.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
My kids are often on this sidewalk with chalk, scooters, or a pogo stick. The bike lanes are how we all get to school and work. On Tuesday, someone speedily drove a minivan across the oncoming car lane and both bike lanes, through a small tree, & down the sidewalk before going back onto the street.
The splintered trunk of a small tree with its mess of a shorn top next to it in the right-of-way between a sidewalk stained with a trail of automotive fluids and a roadbed containing a two-way bike lane, two standard lanes of car traffic, and a parking lane on the far side.
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Sean Madden @seanmadd.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
We've passively allowed the creation of a concrete and asphalt urban environment that exacerbates intense heat in the summer and precipitates flooding in the rain - both certain to worsen with climate breakdown - just to avoid inconveniencing drivers.
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Yonah Freemark @yonahfreemark.com · 08/07/2026
US fully electric vehicle market share was 5.8% in June 2026, down 1.7% points compared to 2025. 78% of cars sold were fully fossil powered. www.nada.org/media/19766/...
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thicc husband and father @lukeisamazing.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
haven’t seen America this thoroughly embarrassed on the world stage since we lost that war we started with Iran like 3 weeks ago
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Dr Grace S Peng @gspeng.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
One calculation that blew my mind: When I push a pedestrian beg button to cross an arterial road w/ 40 mph spd limit. Wait of 90 sec means a car 1 mile away gets to priority to clear the intersection before I am allowed to cross the road. I am standing roadside breathing particulates
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Fietser @americanfietser.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
Cargo bike people, without effort, are addressing each and every "but what if you need to haul" question that carbrains throw at us.
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blair @blairaf.com · 29/05/2026
One of the more misogynistic takes currently trending in the AI policy space is "women use less AI than men because they have less tech literacy" Ok but have you considered that women use less AI than men because we have more tech literacy?
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
New, from me: The self-proclaimed "Most Transparent Administration in History" wants to compel all federal employees to sign Non Disclosure Agreements. The purpose is to vastly expand the culture of secrecy in government, undermining accountability. 🧵 donmoynihan.substack.com/p/trump-want...
donmoynihan.substack.com
Trump wants all federal employees to sign NDAs
A breathtaking expansion of the culture of governmental secrecy
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Taras Grescoe 🚇 @taras-grescoe.com · 21/05/2026
"Motorized vehicles create remoteness which they alone can shrink. They create distances for all, and shrink them for only a few." —Ivan Illich (happy 100th anniversary of his birth!) (photo: #Brasilia)
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the beggars out of here getter @milesklee.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
may have to update my banner
@GrapevinePolice
Yesterday, GPD and GFD were dispatched to Grapevine Lake, where a Tesla Cybertruck was stranded in the water. The driver drove into the lake to use the “Wade Mode” feature when the vehicle became disabled. The passengers abandoned the vehicle and the driver was arrested.

Photo of Cybertruck half submerged in lake
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Kirke D.A. Elsass @kelsass.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Local governments have demolished people's homes to build car-centric infrastructure. Now, during climate/health/affordability/etc. crisis, many struggle to make drivers park around the corner in the name of safe and inviting bike routes?
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Kai Ryssdal @kairyssdal.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Pretty sure you don’t need to quote ethics experts to say the $1.8bn slush fund is corrupt.
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Kirke D.A. Elsass @kelsass.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Great to meet Safe Routes for All staff from @newhavendot.bsky.social at Yale Office of Sustainability's free bike to work breakfast. Excited to follow them here and be a supportive citizen to efforts that help not only bikers but all non-drivers -- young, old, and in between!
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Tom Flood @tomflood.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Road Safety Experts Confident Asking Kids To Be Perfect So Adult Drivers Can Be Dangerous Is The Right Approach
kid walking bike across a crosswalk

Road Safety Experts Confident Asking Kids To Be Perfect So Adult Drivers Can Be Dangerous Is The Right Approach
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Sherrilyn Ifill @sifill.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Feeling overwhelmed with all of this. LISTEN. Another Louisiana resident (Marshawn is the only name we have) testifies against the state’s racial gerrymander, speaking truth to power up and down the hearing room and predicts how this story will end. Speak your truth, fight and believe.
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The Associated Press @apnews.com · 13/05/2026
A hormonal condition affecting 1 in 8 women around the world just got a new name in hopes of improving care. It Is now called polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome instead of polycystic ovary syndrome.
bit.ly
The condition PCOS is now called PMOS. What to know about the name change and what it means for care
A hormonal condition affecting 1 in 8 women around the world just got a new name in hopes of improving care.
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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 24/04/2026
Breaking News: A U.S. soldier who helped capture Nicolás Maduro has been charged with using classified information to bet on the mission on Polymarket.
nyti.ms
Soldier Used Classified Information to Bet on Maduro’s Ouster, U.S. Says
Federal prosecutors say that Sgt. Gannon Ken Van Dyke, who was involved in planning to oust Nicolás Maduro from power in Venezuela, used the information to place bets on a prediction market.
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Shiv Ramdas Mens Rice Activist @nameshiv.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
I would submit that a gerrymander by politicians saying fuck the voters and one by voters saying fuck the politicians are two wholly different animals
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Kirke D.A. Elsass @kelsass.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Something like this?
media.tenor.com
a cartoon fox is jumping over a blue globe
ALT: a cartoon fox is jumping over a blue globe
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Tom Flood @tomflood.bsky.social · 19/04/2026
people get hella mad when you say adult drivers should be more responsible than children on our streets.
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Kirke D.A. Elsass @kelsass.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
It is insane that you have to spend money to get the money that the gov't already knows it owes you. And Republicans nipped the bud of an effective IRS free file system.
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Wendy Thurm @wendythurm.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
From new Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar's acceptance speech tonight. This is the absolute BARE MINIMUM platform for any Democrat running for President in 2028.
A series of posts from journalist Mark Chadbourn reporting on the acceptance speech of Péter Magyar after Hungarian elections:

Péter Magyar: "Our country wants to live again. It wants to be a European country again."

Mark Chadbourn• @chadbourn.bsky.social • 24m
Magyar's speech is powered. From a contact in the audience: "He's basically just asked all the puppets, all the supreme justices, all the heads of media, all the heads of the ministries to leave their jobs tomorrow and not wait to be fired."

•..
Mark Chadbourn• @chadbourn.bsky.social • 22m
He's announced that Hungary will join the European Prosecution Office so anyone in the country can be charged.

Mark Chadbourn• @chadbourn.bsky.social • 21m
Magyar: "No mercy, they will need to take responsibility for all their actions."

...
Mark Chadbourn• @chadbourn.bsky.social • 20m
Magyar says he's starting work with the EU and NATO immediately.
"The EU doesn't have to worry anymore."
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Kirke D.A. Elsass @kelsass.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
I'm so wary of lionizing individuals, esp. men. But this is so beautiful. Look how much it means to these people that he's staying grounded, accessible, and displaying genuine interest in others.
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Kirke D.A. Elsass @kelsass.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
1927 photo of figures and activities in the New Haven Gas Light Company's Home Economics Department (!!!). As they moved beyond lighting, the gas company dove into gendered domesticity in order to establish their product as a safe and clean energy source. found at New Haven Free Public Library
A set of four images with a single caption "The New Haven Gas Light Company knows from long experience that its Home Economics Department is a builder of goodwill. Upper left—Girl Scouts' class in cooking. Upper right—Mrs. Frances S. Mathis, director, Home Economics Department. Lower left—Miss Ruth McIntosh, assistant director. Lower right—Brides' Cooking class." The director and assistant director portraits are each a full body photograph of them dressed in all white and standing next to a table with cookware and ingredients. Similarly dressed women stand next to an instructional oven and range for the girl scouts class photo.
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Rick Steves @ricksteves.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
My one-hour special “Rick Steves Iran: Yesterday and Today,” which helps humanize 90 million Iranian people, is streaming free and ad-free at www.ricksteves.com/watch-iran.
ricksteves.com
Iran
Join Rick as he explores the most surprising and fascinating land he's ever visited: Iran. In a one-hour, ground-breaking travel special on public television, you'll discover the splendid monuments of...
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Urban Truth Collective @urbantruth.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
“These Machines Fight Traffic.” Our own @tomflood.bsky.social did this great ad for @thebikinglawyer.bsky.social. #UrbanTruth showing up in more and more places!
Billboard showing bikes with the message “These Machines FightTraffic.”

In smaller letters it says “We fight for you.”
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Brick's House 🍁 @brickmahoney.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
next time the billionaires go to space i think a funny thing to do would be for us to quickly hide the planet while they're gone
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Colette Delawalla, PhD @cdelawalla.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
It's never been easy to be trans in the US...this is more true than ever today on Trans Day of Visibility. RFK Jr. et al., are actively attacking trans folks and gender affirming care. You can send a quick letter to your rep: fight2win.standupforscience.net/campaign/153... @standupforscience.net
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Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
Walz: The president said it's a bunch of radicals. You're damn right we've been radicalized. Radicalized by compassion, radicalized by decency, radicalized by due process, radicalized by democracy.
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Urban Truth Collective @urbantruth.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
“Every $1,300 New York City invested in building bike lanes in 2015 provided benefits equivalent to one additional year of life at full health over the lifetime of all city residents, according to a new economic assessment.” That’s a better return on investment than some direct health treatments…”
reuters.com
Bike lanes are a sound public health investment
Every $1,300 New York City invested in building bike lanes in 2015 provided benefits equivalent to one additional year of life at full health over the lifetime of all city residents, according to a ne...
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Kirke D.A. Elsass @kelsass.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
Reminds me of this poignant mapping project.
share.google
Gwendolyn Warren and the Detroit Geographic Expedition and Institute
Data feminism commits to challenging unequal power structures and working toward justice.
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Brian Finucane @bcfinucane.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
“Each day since the start of the war in Iran, U.S. military officials compile a video update for President Donald Trump that shows video of the biggest, most successful strikes on Iranian targets over the previous 48 hours.” War for the spectacle. www.nbcnews.com/politics/whi...
nbcnews.com
Trump gets a daily video montage briefing about the Iran war
The montage, which typically runs for about two minutes, has raised concerns among some of the president’s allies that he may not be receiving the complete picture of the war.
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Kirke D.A. Elsass @kelsass.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
Pretty solid evidence that Republicans should stop blocking the proposals that fund TSA but not ICE.
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L.A. TACO @lataco.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
Travelers in the U.S. have been flooding us with messages concerned about ICE at airports, questioning or mistaking other agencies for ICE. Here is a quick guide. 🧵 By @eltragon.bsky.social
LA
TACO NEWS
Photo by Sen. Sasha Renee Perez

Who Is and Who Is Not ICE at U.S. Airports
By Memo Torres
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Kirke D.A. Elsass @kelsass.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
Agreed that developing this literacy at some point during high school is important. Being completely unfamiliar makes a lot of written history less accessible.
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Martin Meiske @mmeiske.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
📢CfA: 2026 Joel A. Tarr #Envirotech Article Prize! The prize recognizes innovative publications that explore new ways of thinking about the interplay between technological systems and the natural environment. Early-career scholars especially encouraged! #histtech #envhist 🗓 Deadline: July 1, 2026
envirotechhistory.org
Call for Applications: 2026 Joel A. Tarr Envirotech Article Prize – Envirotech
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Kirke D.A. Elsass @kelsass.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
Oh, I like this adjustment! Certainly it's what we should be doing if the goal is clear communication. I'm going to look for places I've used "late 1800s" and replace with approximate date range.
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Kirke D.A. Elsass @kelsass.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
Once at a grocery checkout it somehow came up that I'm a historian and immediately the cashier asked why we insist on doing that thing with century numbers. Clearly for her the practice just served to disconnect and stratify.
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Kirke D.A. Elsass @kelsass.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
I've stopped using ordinal numbers for centuries in my K-12 curriculum materials. I only do 1800s, early 1900s, etc. I can think of cases where ordinals are helpful, but I think more often they're unnecessary and potentially confusing. Am I a heretic?
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Kirke D.A. Elsass @kelsass.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
En route to ASEH Kansas City via plane-train combo. The transition in Chicago allowed me to advertise upcoming Life After Cars shows! @aseh.bsky.social @thewaroncars.bsky.social
A lightly bearded guy in sunglasses and a running hat that reads The War on Cars stands in the main waiting room of Chicago's Union Station with its soaring barrel-vaulted ceilings and travertine columns with ornately carved capitals.
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Greenhouse Center for Environmental Humanities @greenhouseuis.net · 23/03/2026
We're hiring! 🌿 The Greenhouse Center for Environmental Humanities at the University of Stavanger invites applications for a 3-year postdoc in Environmental History. See thread for more details. #envhist #envhum
jobbnorge.no
Postdoctoral Fellow in Environmental History (297163) | University of Stavanger
Job title: Postdoctoral Fellow in Environmental History (297163), Employer: University of Stavanger, Deadline: Monday, April 20, 2026
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Bryn Davidson - Lanefab @lanefab.com · 18/03/2026
"The Mansion Test" Ask your city council and planners: "is it easier to get a building permit for modest middle income housing, or for a 10,000 sf 'mansion'? " Development permit? Neighbour review? Affordability requirements? Design Guidelines? Density fees? Lanefab x HAVAN
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Kirke D.A. Elsass @kelsass.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
Super Basic AI Regulation Suggestion: Software must reject any prompt to "write like a high school student" or similar.
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Kirke D.A. Elsass @kelsass.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
I was 10 when this came out. The first I saw it was ~5 years later, one year post-9/11. People were accepting Iraq as a foregone conclusion. The NSA monologue explained US foreign policy so well that I memorized it. My high school self would be literally pulling his hair out today.
youtu.be
NSA job interview – Good Will Hunting (1997)
YouTube video by Weyland
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Kirke D.A. Elsass @kelsass.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
In lighter news, our kids have been using too much toilet paper, threatening functionality of our home's only unit. So now the roll is hidden and atop the tank my partner has placed a stack of pre-torn lengths to be used one at a time.
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Urban Truth Collective @urbantruth.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
STUDY: “Bicycle lanes reduce GHG emissions as effectively as highways create them.” “Investing in networks of protected bicycle lanes has significant potential to reduce GHG emissions, lower transport costs, prevent road fatalities, & improve quality of life for people in cities around the globe.”
forbes.com
Protected Bike Lanes Increase Safety, Save Money And Protect The Planet, New Report Finds
Investing in protected bicycle lanes has significant potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, lower transport costs, prevent road fatalities, and improve the quality of life for people in cities ...
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Joseph Rezek @rezekjoe.bsky.social · 07/03/2026
Last year, this guy (left) from DOGE used ChatGPT to find NEH grants that were too “DEI” for Trump, and canceled them, including mine, as shown by the letter I received last April (right). Huge new NYT article on the back story link below
Picture of DOGE guy Nate CavanaughScreenshot of my DOGE letter “Dr. Joseph Rezek
Dear NEH Grantee,
This letter provides notice that the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is terminating your federal grant (Grant Application No. FEL29509824) effective April 3, 2025, in accordance with the termination clause in your Grant Agreement.
Your grant no longer effectuates the agency's needs and priorities and conditions of the Grant
Agreement and is subject to termination due to several reasonable causes, as outlined in 2CFR§200.340.
For instance, NEH has reasonable cause to terminate your grant in light of the fact that the NEH is repurposing its funding allocations in a new direction in furtherance of the President's agenda. The President's February 19, 2025 executive order mandates that the NEH eliminate all non-statutorily required activities and functions. See Commencing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy, E.O. 14217 (Feb. 19, 2025). Your grant's immediate termination is necessary to safeguard the interests of the federal government, including its fiscal priorities. Any objections or appeals to this termination will be managed in strict accordance with the President's Executive Orders,
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Kirke D.A. Elsass @kelsass.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
Don't ignore the history of street muck & sewerage! These are ongoing parts of making cities walkable/wheelable. In towns like Butte, MT, there's also the c.1890 public official bent on the glory of making a world-class city -- i.e., implementing what he's learned London and Paris do.
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Kirke D.A. Elsass @kelsass.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
I find this point a bit inflated. What I've seen in 1890s US: - yes, some cyclists effectively organized & petitioned for paving; others were fine using sidewalks (often illegally) - ascendant city eng'rs pushed street paving for their own reasons both personal & civic (e.g. cleaning of horse poop)
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