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Kristen McConnell

@kristenmc.bsky.social
612 followers 322 following 21 posts

Climate convenor and nature super fan. Swimmer. Art and music devotee. Mama. Feminist. LBJ stan. Austin, TX

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Reposted by Kristen McConnell
Evan Sutton @evansutton.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
This money is absolutely meaningless to Elon Musk, but it has the potential to completely rewrite your future. He's spent over $36 million in about 4 weeks, and he's adding millions a day. All to corrupt our government to push his agenda. Let your friends know what's up.
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Sammy Roth @sammyroth.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Intriguing new study by @schneidermayers.bsky.social finds New Yorker short stories rarely feature climate change — about as often as mass-market films, believe it or not. There's no censorship, no climate hushing. Wrote about what might be going on: www.climatecoloredgoggles.com/p/new-yorker...
climatecoloredgoggles.com
Even the New Yorker has lost the plot
The climate silence is coming from inside the house.
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Katharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com · 21/09/2026
When we stop talking about climate change like it’s a political issue and start talking about it as a shared challenge that we all need to work together to solve, that’s when we’ll finally be able to start talking about saving ourselves. That is our conclusion here!
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Jennifer Harris @jwharris.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
This is like a 180 for him — polling must be absolute dogsh*t for him.
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Team Talarico @teamtalaricohq.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
James Talarico: Tarrant County, the largest swing county in the state of Texas, is closing 92 polling locations. They’ve suspended a million voter registrations in our state. To anyone in Texas watching this — I’m urging you to check your voter registration online and make a plan to vote early.
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Sammy Roth @sammyroth.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
I've read a lot of great environmental journalism, and this story by @jherrerx.bsky.social is one of the very best. On the literal war being fought over the Rio Grande, and the surprising connection to the (not yet) literal war on the Colorado: www.texasmonthly.com/interactive/...
texasmonthly.com
Millions Depend on the Rio Grande for Water. Some Could Run Out as Early as Next Year.
The Colorado River crisis has been in the headlines this year, but our diminishing border river is in an even more severe state of collapse. This is the story of a water crisis without precedent in Am...
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Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 11/09/2026
Worth reading by @janeaflegal.bsky.social and @pavan.bsky.social. To solve climate change, we need a lot more clean energy and transmission lines connecting clean energy to communities. If it takes 18 years to build a transmission line, we won't have a clean grid in time. www.wsj.com/opinion/dems...
wsj.com
Opinion | Dems Should Permit Trump a Win
If they’re serious about climate change, a permitting-reform deal today would pay dividends the next time they’re in power.
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Dr. Jonathan Foley @globalecoguy.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Climate scientist here. 👋 We are NOT fucked. BUT we are behind where we should be. The good news is that we have the solutions we need to stop climate change. We just need to get busy deploying them! And here’s the proof. Almost 120 solutions, with more coming. drawdown.org/explorer
drawdown.org
Drawdown Explorer™
We know what we need to do: stop climate change as quickly as possible. Now, with the Drawdown Explorer, we know how to do it.
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Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Texas is delaying the release of the state’s maternal mortality statistics until after the midterms. www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/tex...
houstonchronicle.com
Texas' first post-Roe look at maternal deaths won't be ready by midterms
Democrats say the timing is suspicious, given the Dec. 1 deadline is after Gov. Greg Abbott and other Republicans who supported the state’s abortion ban are up for reelection.
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Texas Freedom to Read Project @txfreedomread.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Pull up a chair! 2 weeks ago TX Lt. Governor Dan Patrick held a “press conference”(campaign stunt) w/TX book banning activist Bonnie Wallace. They shared a list of 2,198 “filthy, dirty, pornographic,” books Dan falsely claimed “are in all of our schools.” and “violate SB 13.” /1
Still shot of serial TX book challenger, Bonnie Wallace, and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick at Patrick’s recent press conference
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Frank Strong @frankstrong.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
OMG THIS
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Samantha Harris @labellaharris.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Trevor Noah's book, Born A Crime, is on here from New Braunfels. Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park is on here from Brazosport. Pilot Point pulled The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. This spreadsheet is insane.
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Kristen McConnell @kristenmc.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
Happy birthday, America. 250 yrs of growing pains, with some sharp ones keeping us up at night these days. But at 250 years old, we are marked by so many wonderful people and communities, so many beautiful places, so many inspiring creations. May our best years be yet to come.
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Helen Czerski @helenczerski.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Still thinking about this (from @ferrisjabr.bsky.social 's Becoming Earth): "a single gallon of gasoline represents 100 tonnes of ancient life, roughly equivalent to 20 adult elephants". I knew it was big, but never worked it out. A tank of petrol is a LOT of ancient life. +1 reason to electrify!
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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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Katharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com · 12/05/2026
So here’s the question for everyone – how do we fix this? How do we restore a truly global commons where ideas can be freely shared and algorithms are subject to neither ideological nor financial biases?
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Allison Gill @muellershewrote.com · 09/04/2026
If you can automatically register people for the draft, then you can automatically register people to vote. www.militarytimes.com/news/your-mi...
militarytimes.com
Automatic registration for US military draft-eligible men to begin in December
Automatic registration into Selective Service was mandated in December 2025, when President Donald Trump signed into law the fiscal year 2026 NDAA.
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Jack Stilgoe @jackstilgoe.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
Amazing to see how thin the atmosphere is from those auroras. All of our life support system, in that thin skin.
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Justin Mikulka @justinmikulka.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
"once the top line drops into the fossil range, you pay more upfront to also pay more later for LNG, etc. Nobody will do that" Exactly.
The whole report by Ember is required reading for energy investors, but this graph stood out - once the top line drops into the fossil range, you pay more upfront to also pay more later for LNG, etc. Nobody will do that.
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Meade Krosby @meadekrosby.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
How anybody can look at this image and think there are better options out there is entirely beyond me. The only planet with whales, and butterflies, and giant sequoias. Home.
Full image of Earth taken by the crew of Artemis II.

Credit: NASA/Reid Wiseman
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Kristen McConnell @kristenmc.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙
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Erin Vanderhoof @vanderhoofy.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
once more for the people in the back: changing the world is "more like caregiving than it is like war"
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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Billionaires’ % share of federal election spending in: 2008: 0.3% 2024: 19% @nytimes.com #GildedAge www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/u...
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Frank Strong @frankstrong.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
Two very specific things I love about Texas—in a truly personal way; I really mean the word “love” here—are UT and Big Bend National Park. Watching these incredible institutions get gutted by the people in power is making me incandescent with rage.
Screenshot of Texas Tribune article with the headline, “University of Texas regents approve limits on teaching ‘unnecessary controversial subjects’”Screen shot of Marfa Radio article with the headline, “Border wall plans now set to include Big Bend National Park”
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Kristen McConnell @kristenmc.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
Holy moly yall.
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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
“Freedom is not free. We have to work at it. Nurture it. Protect it. Even sacrifice for it.”
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Nicole Foy @nicolefoy.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
I’m one of the ProPublica reporters who has been documenting the aggressive tactics federal agents are using against immigrants & U.S. citizens All eyes are on Minnesota right now, but I want to tell you about Arnoldo Bazan, a 16-YO citizen in Houston who was choked by immigration agents in October
A teenage boy with dark hair and a black and gold football jersey holds his helmet, standing on the side line of a green football field
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Eric Lipton NYT @ericlipton.nytimes.com · 15/12/2025
Our NYT piece examines Hamm's determined, 15-year campaign to reshape US energy policy. Why? He wanted to extend out the life of fossil fuels to allow his family-controlled company to keep drilling. He argued this is essential to US. energy security. A free link: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/12/b...
nytimes.com
The Oilman Who Pushed Trump to Go All In on Fossil Fuels
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Kristen McConnell @kristenmc.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
FLOWER MOUND. 💀 Once again, @theonion.com absolutely nails it.
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Alex Wild @alexwild.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
UT Austin students are amazing.
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Somewhere In ATX @somewhereinatx.bsky.social · 26/10/2025
Central Texas: secure.centraltexasfoodbank.org/site/Donation2
secure.centraltexasfoodbank.org
Central Texas Food Bank - Central Texas Food Bank
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Erin Grievances @erinbartram.bsky.social · 19/10/2025
Neither Mulder nor Scully would trust/accept AI and that should be enough of a warning for all of us.
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Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 10/10/2025
Picture how big the Hoover Dam is. An absolute unit. The Hoover Dam has a power capacity of 2 gigawatts (GW). The solar farm that the Admin just cancelled could have produces 6.2 GW of power. That's more than 3 Hoover Dams.
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Meade Krosby @meadekrosby.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
National parks left open during a government shutdown under the last Trump administration experienced permanent damage - vandalized petroglyphs, chopped down Joshua trees - but they plan to keep them open once again.
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Meade Krosby @meadekrosby.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
The EPA move follows news the administration wants to scrap the satellites that measure carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. If you can't measure it and don't know where it's coming from, it becomes very difficult to reduce or eliminate it (or hold anybody accountable for damages). Gift link.
nytimes.com
Two Valuable Satellites Are in ‘Perfect Health.’ They May Be Scrapped.
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John Kostyack @kostyack.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
Shutting down the federal government's work on financial stability risks from climate change doesn't make those risks go away. As @alexmartin196.bsky.social says, “the inconvenient truth is that climate change is wreaking havoc and throwing property insurance markets into crisis.”
bloomberg.com
Trump Administration Scraps Oversight Groups on Climate and Financial Risk
The Financial Stability Oversight Council revoked the charters of two climate-focused committees formed under the Biden administration.
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Brad Simpson @bradleyrsimpson.bsky.social · 08/08/2025
There is just no precedent in recent world history of an advanced industrialized country sabotaging its own scientific establishment, and destroying the base of scientific knowledge necessary for basic policymaking. An avowedly, actively anti-knowledge regime.
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Sherrilyn Ifill @sifill.bsky.social · 10/08/2025
Don’t let this die. Keep elevating this.
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Maurice Carter @mauricec.bsky.social · 07/07/2025
"Ultimately, the choice is clear: we can either accept a future with increasingly severe and costly weather events or we can implement solutions at modest (or zero) cost. The rational decision seems obvious." -- Texas A&M climate scientist @andrewdessler.com www.theclimatebrink.com/p/update-on-...
theclimatebrink.com
Update on Texas flooding
climate change almost certainly played a role
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Dr. Samantha Montano @samlmontano.bsky.social · 06/07/2025
This is among the best explainer I’ve seen so far regarding the Texas floods particularly because Alan ties together the meteorology issues and the emergency management issues.
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Senator Sheldon Whitehouse @whitehouse.senate.gov · 30/06/2025
Another study backs my argument last night that Cruz and Cornyn are voting to raise electricity prices for Texans with their attack on clean energy.
txenergybuyers.com
PRESS RELEASE: Renewables and Storage Will Save Texans $115 Billion Over the Next 15 Years  - Texas Energy Buyers Alliance
Austin, Texas (February 10, 2025) — A Texas Energy Buyers Alliance (TEBA) report released today shows that if the Texas Legislature passes laws that slow or
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Joe Blanda @joeblanda.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
Texas . . . the Biggest Loser "Texans likely to have a 17% increase in electric bills, over $100 billion in lost investment, and reduced grid reliability if the House bill is adopted as is by the Senate" - Texas Energy and Power Newsletter #txlege #GOP #BigBeautifulBill #USSenate
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Angelo Villagomez @taotaotasi.bsky.social · 21/04/2025
"Let us sing as we go. May our struggles and our concern for this planet never take away the joy of our hope." -Pope Francis
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Katharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com · 21/04/2025
"This is happening at a much faster rate than ever documented in the past… we are much more likely to underestimate the impact of those changes on human society than to overestimate them." The article opens with this quote from me; and I mean every word of it. Read more:
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Texas Climate Office @climatexas.bsky.social · 19/04/2025
See the full interview with John Nielsen-Gammon in the video at the top of this story. www.kxan.com/weather/weat...
kxan.com
Funding ‘lapse’ cuts Southern Regional Climate Center at Texas A&M
KXAN Chief Meteorologist Nick Bannin interviewed the SRCC’s director and Texas’ state climatologist John Nielson-Gammon about the cuts.
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Lyndon Baines Johnson @lyndonbajohnson.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
We wanted Elon out of Austin, but not like this. -OS
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Diren Kocakuşak, Ph.D. @direnkocakusak.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
Very good article! I love this quote: "Environmental justice did not start with the federal government, nor will it end with the federal government." 19thnews.org/2025/02/envi...
19thnews.org
The environmental justice movement isn’t going anywhere — even as it faces attacks by Trump
The 19th spoke to Jalonne White-Newsome, who headed environmental justice initiatives under Biden, about the executive orders aimed at dismantling its progress.
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Kristen McConnell @kristenmc.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
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Kendra "Gloom is My Beat" Pierre-Louis @kendrawrites.com · 12/02/2025
Mr. Rogers said "look for the helpers," but his advice was for CHILDREN. If your ass is grown your role is to BE the helper. I wish I could find the person who said this originally, but it's been too long.
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