Sign in

Pam McElwee

@pammcelwee.bsky.social
5.6K followers 1.9K following 457 posts

Prof of Human Ecology @Rutgers. Co-Chair, IPBES Nexus Assessment, Ecosystems chapter lead NCA5 & IPCC author. Kansas/Oxford/Yale Alum. She/her. Brunch-eater. Mom. Working at science-policy interface to find solutions to biodiversity + climate crises 🌎☀️🐢

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Pam McElwee
Climate Social Science Network @cssn.org · 23/09/2026
To join this talk or their upcoming panels visit @ruclimateenergy.bsky.social: rcei.rutgers.edu/news-events/...
rcei.rutgers.edu
Climate Week 2026 - Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute (RCEI)
Rutgers Climate Week 2026 Sept 20 - Sept 27, 2026 Climate Week Starts September 20th! Inspired by the model of New York City Climate Week, the Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute and Rutgers Office o...
001
Reposted by Pam McElwee
Climate Social Science Network @cssn.org · 23/09/2026
Happening now! Rutger's Climate Week's "The Science and Politics of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: Current Challenges in Informing Policy," featuring CSSN scholars @daniellefalzon.bsky.social @kdepryck.bsky.social and @pammcelwee.bsky.social.
102
Pam McElwee @pammcelwee.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
The NASA and USAID-supported SERVIR Hindu Kush observing program was set up to help identify and provide early-warning of hazards, just like the flooding that struck Nepal last week. It was defunded the first week of this administration in 2025. www.independent.co.uk/climate-chan...
independent.co.uk
Trump cut climate aid to Nepal – just over a year later devastating floods struck
Jeremy Konyndyk, who ran the US Agency for International Development (USAID) response to the 2015 Nepal Earthquake, has criticised the government for closing climate and disaster-focused programmes in...
062
Reposted by Pam McElwee
UN Environment Programme @unep.org · 02/09/2026
Action now can still limit the magnitude and duration of the peak and preserve the possibility of returning to or below 1.5°C through an ‘overshoot, peak, and decline’ pathway.   Explore more: tinyurl.com/4k3rdtam
tinyurl.com
UNEP: World set to cross 1.5°C global warming, but can still limit, adapt to and return from higher temperatures
Global temperature rise is set to cross 1.5°C, likely within the next few years, pushing climate risks and impacts to increasingly dangerous heights, but it is still possible to bring temperatures dow...
17846
Pam McElwee @pammcelwee.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Why environmental treaties must also address mental health www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
Why environmental treaties must also address mental health
Global conventions have mainly overlooked the psychological and social impacts of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. Here’s how to change that.
010
Pam McElwee @pammcelwee.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Amazing visual presentation in the story of what we will lose if the US Pacific monuments are opened back up to commercial fishing. These are crucial hotspots of biodiversity.
052
Pam McElwee @pammcelwee.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Nice to see this comment in Science: The bridge between science and policy: How IPBES redefined global conservation policy and its path to societal impact www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
The bridge between science and policy: How IPBES redefined global conservation policy and its path to societal impact
Global policy around climate and nature goals has evolved considerably over the last decade. Today, countries recognize that climate and biodiversity crises are profoundly interconnected, and that one...
061
Pam McElwee @pammcelwee.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Glad to see Sesame Street tackling disaster risk, but even kids can understand that much of it is driven by increasing global temperatures that humans have caused. Wish they had stressed that message #climatechange www.nytimes.com/2026/08/05/c...
nytimes.com
Climate Change Comes to Sesame Street (Gift Article)
An episode this week focuses on the dangerous effects of warming, without mentioning climate change.
093
Pam McElwee @pammcelwee.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
As the US experiences unprecedented heatwaves this summer, the government is undoing OSHA protections meant to help workers cope with these impacts www.nytimes.com/2026/08/01/c...
nytimes.com
Trump Administration Is Undoing Plans to Boost Workplace Heat Protections (Gift Article)
The Biden administration took steps to shield workers from extreme temperatures. The Trump administration is taking a gentler approach with employers.
03322
Pam McElwee @pammcelwee.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
A good reminder for all of us, especially those looking at the impending end of a more open summer workday schedule 😩https://open.substack.com/pub/theconversationus/p/how-to-get-more-nature-into-your?r=8eu8y&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
open.substack.com
How to get more nature into your 9-to-5 and why it matters for your mental health
Sometimes the best escape isn't a weekend away. It's the park just down the road.
001
Reposted by Pam McElwee
coyotebroad (Jayne Cravens) @coyotebroad.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
SpaceX rocket that exploded shortly after takeoff destroyed land & wildlife: Concrete chunks had left craters a foot deep & were strewn across tidal flats, almost four acres of state park burned, 7 bobwhite quail eggs & a collection of blue land crabs incinerated. www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
bloomberg.com
SpaceX Blast Left Officials in Disbelief Over Environmental Damage
Fish and Wildlife Service biologists expressed frustrations in emails obtained by Bloomberg.
17766399
Reposted by Pam McElwee
Alondra Nelson @alondra.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
An important and surprising discovery arriving the same week policy leaders in Washington tell us we no longer need federal investment in the biological and life sciences.
212157
Reposted by Pam McElwee
Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
Trump administration admits, in court filings, that it canceled billions in federal grants not for policy or performance reasons, but because recipients lived in blue states. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/24/b...
Months later, in court filings, federal officials indicated there was little else that had informed the final decision about which grants to cancel.

“With one exception,” a lawyer for the Energy Department conceded in a court filing this month, “the 284 terminated grants had a recipient location and/or at least one place of performance in a state that awarded its electoral votes to Kamala Harris in the 2024 election and has two Democratic-caucusing senators.”

The lawyer acknowledged that none of the grants were included in the October terminations “based on any programmatic, statutory, cost-reduction or performance-based factor.”

In contrast, the administration left untouched hundreds of additional energy grants in states that were represented by Republicans and had backed Mr. Trump in the last election, even though the Energy Department had recommended canceling them, the government confirmed in the July court filing.

The cancellations coincided with a broader White House effort at the time to pressure Democratic lawmakers to cave in a fight over funding that had shut down the government. That month, Mr. Trump had vocalized the strategy: He threatened openly to slash what he described as “Democrat agencies,” while Mr. Vought announced a series of additional spending cuts targeting other Democratic-led states.
7526191
Pam McElwee @pammcelwee.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
This action is both unjustified and entirely predictable for this administration. Every aspect of science that touches the federal government is a target www.nytimes.com/2026/07/20/c...
nytimes.com
Trump Attacks National Academies Over Climate Chapter in Judges’ Manual (Gift Article)
The president joined Republican officials who slammed the National Academies of Sciences for a chapter about climate science in an educational guide for judges.
011
Pam McElwee @pammcelwee.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
The fall elections in the US will see a lot of water/climate/food issues at stake: 🤞 voters agree www.politico.com/news/magazin...
politico.com
‘Cancer Doesn't Care What Party You Belong To’: Poisoned Water Is Turning This Rural State Bluer
Democrats see an opening in rural states for the first time in decades. In Iowa, it’s about water.
010
Pam McElwee @pammcelwee.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Great example of nexus solutions - tackling climate, food and water all at once
010
Pam McElwee @pammcelwee.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
My daughter’s Girl Scout camp in NJ just cancelled their overnight camping due to poor air quality. Our kids deserve to have fun outdoors, not be punished for grownups’ failures to tackle climate change.
0104
Pam McElwee @pammcelwee.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Gratified that my voice was just one of nearly half a million comments on the proposed OMB rule that would dramatically politicize science funding in the US. But this is just the start of the fight, not the end www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...
insidehighered.com
Legal Threats Loom Over OMB Grant-Control Rule as Comments Close
The White House’s plan to cement political appointees’ control over research and other grants received hundreds of thousands of comments. Lawsuits are likely next.
000
Reposted by Pam McElwee
James Goodwin @jamesgoodwin.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
It is extremely unusual for *any* regulatory proposal to receive this many comments. But for one that is this technical is simply unheard of. If the point of this exercise was to hide a massive power grab in the arcane garb of administrative law, it failed. Spectacularly.
09037
Pam McElwee @pammcelwee.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
You've got less than 1.5 hours to submit a comment to OMB opposing their "Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance" (OMB-2026-0034) that would devastate the US research enterprise with political decision-making. I just submitted my comment - don't delay if you still need to do yours!!
Screenshot of OMB webpage indicating successful submission of a comment
031
Pam McElwee @pammcelwee.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Join us in just under 2 hours for a webinar on how to review currently open @ipbes.net biodiversity assessments. This is particularly targeted at US experts but all are welcome to join. Co-sponsored by @agu.org and the Ecological Society of America. Registration link: agu.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
agu.zoom.us
Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Webinar on Reviewing and Comment Process for IPBES Assessments. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.
This webinar will help scholars understand how to serve as an Expert Reviewer for upcoming assessments of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). The external re...
010
Pam McElwee @pammcelwee.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
WTAF? Anyone one who works in biodiversity conversation knows that habitat destruction/land and sea use change is the #1 driver of biodiversity loss globally. See every @ipbes.net report, ever.
092
Pam McElwee @pammcelwee.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Climate change and upstream dams are often blamed for the rapid water and land changes in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. But local sand mining is playing an important negative role as well, and can be much more easily tackled through better regulation: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Counterfactual modeling isolates sand mining impacts, revealing it as a key driver of Mekong Delta destabilization
Sand mining drives ~25 to 30% of total channel erosion and ~16 to 30% of salinity increase in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta.
032
Reposted by Pam McElwee
Katharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com · 09/07/2026
It is not headed by a “climate critic“. It is headed by someone who is unqualified in this area, who cannot offer valid critiques but instead shares debunked claims, and who regularly attacks climate scientists. Like me.
politico.com
The administration has a new climate change office. It’s headed by a climate critic.
The office that produces the National Climate Assessment has been reconstituted, after the administration gutted it last year.
431146346
Pam McElwee @pammcelwee.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
USGCRP being revived- but put in the hands of someone who has never published on climate and who runs a political blog 😡
083
Reposted by Pam McElwee
David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
This heat wave brought to you by ExxonMobil and Chevron.
nytimes.com
Without Climate Change, U.S. Heat Wave Called ‘Virtually Impossible’
2740471351
Pam McElwee @pammcelwee.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
What is happening at NIH is a test case for all grants if the new OMB rule goes through - political interference, wasted money, and stalled science 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
Inside the new political screening that’s stalling NIH grants
Mandatory reviews by top health officials and checks for 235 disfavoured terms have left hundreds of vetted grant applications in administrative limbo.
011
Reposted by Pam McElwee
Charlotte Garden @charlottegarden.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Irony is dead.
Extreme Heat: Improving governance and strengthening action around the world - cancelled
Date: 24 June 2026, 9:30 am - 12:00 pm Venue: LSE Shaw Library, Houghton St, Old Building, London, WC2A 2AE
We regret that this event has been cancelled due to the red extreme heat warning issued by the UK Met Office.
71116326
Pam McElwee @pammcelwee.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
The right of citizens to monitor and sue polluters is engrained in US env laws, but current DOJ wants to block people from exercising the right, particularly with regard to enforcing pollution laws around data centers. This is a hugely important case watershednewsletter.substack.com/p/the-laws-s...
watershednewsletter.substack.com
The Laws Still Exist, the Consequences Don’t: America’s Vanishing Environmental Enforcement
The Trump administration has stepped back from suing polluters and is now claiming the right to block citizens from doing so too.
0910
Reposted by Pam McElwee
Erin Sikorsky @erinsikorsky.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
El Niño is officially here — NOAA puts the odds of a record-strength event at 63% this winter. It lands as the Iran war strains food + energy systems. New survey of global security experts on what’s most at risk 🧵 (1/x) councilonstrategicrisks.org/2026/06/12/c...
councilonstrategicrisks.org
CCS Survey: Food Insecurity Top Security Threat from Historic El Niño, Experts Say - The Council on Strategic Risks
A new global survey of climate security experts conducted by the Center for Climate and Security has identified food insecurity as the top national security risk at the intersection of El Niño, the Ir...
1199
Pam McElwee @pammcelwee.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
www.politico.com/news/2026/06...
politico.com
Inside the campaign to discredit a key climate science report
An emerging field of research that can measure how much climate change has worsened individual disasters is under attack by friends of the fossil fuel industry. Billions of dollars are at stake.
023
Reposted by Pam McElwee
Heidi B. Hammel @hbhammel.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
The Planetary Society built an interactive side-by-side "track changes" comparison for the proposed OMB rules. They show exactly what the current rules say versus what the proposed rules would change, section by section, across all *399* affected provisions. dashboards.planetary.org/rules-change/ 🧪🔭
dashboards.planetary.org
Federal Grant Rule Comparison
016386
Reposted by Pam McElwee
Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 06/06/2026
The plan from the government to use politics to pick winners in R&D affects way more than just science. I talked about the way it affects environmental research, and how it would stop our understanding of how vulnerable communities are affected by pollution: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
bloomberg.com
White House Plan to Vet Grants Puts Climate Science in Jeopardy
The Trump administration’s proposal to tighten political control over federal grants would hinder research, experts say.
13617
Pam McElwee @pammcelwee.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Easy to miss this in all the other bad news for climate and science this week. Can't even report on GHGs in the US, let alone regulate them apparently. apnews.com/article/sec-...
apnews.com
SEC moves to repeal rule that requires companies to report greenhouse gas emissions and climate risk
In the latest action to undo Biden-era regulations on climate change, the Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed repealing a rule that requires some public companies to report their greenhous...
063
Reposted by Pam McElwee
Daniel Aldrich @danielaldrich.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Environmental damage: global data centers used 448 trillion watt-hours of electricity, more than all but 10 countries of the world apnews.com/article/ai-d...
apnews.com
UN calculates nation-sized environmental footprints for AI and data centers
According to a United Nations University report, the environmental footprint of data centers already rivals some of the world’s largest countries.
011
Reposted by Pam McElwee
Bob Berwyn @bberwyn.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Scientists live-streaming for 50 hours to highlight the importance of science to society and warning that cutting funds for research has dangerous consequences: www.youtube.com/@wclivestrea...
youtube.com
YouTube
Share your videos with friends, family, and the world
064
Pam McElwee @pammcelwee.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
If this OMB rule goes through, it is not hyperbole to say that US scientific research on climate change (of which the federal government has been largest funder) will come to a screeching halt. Political appointees will be able to cancel ANY grant on disfavored topics www.nytimes.com/2026/06/02/u...
nytimes.com
White House Seeks to Impose Political Test on Billions in Federal Grants
0105
Pam McElwee @pammcelwee.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Rutgers has played a key role in the OOI since inception-horrible to see such a fundamental monitoring system being demolished for no reason. Perhaps Congress might like to weigh in on the waste of money if we tear down something we already built? www.nytimes.com/2026/06/01/c...
nytimes.com
Trump Administration to Dismantle Ocean Monitoring System
11712
Pam McElwee @pammcelwee.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Biodiversity chapter of Fifth National Climate Assessment that I led noted North Atlantic Right Whales as key species already vulnerable & further endangered by #climatechange Glad to see so many working on saving these amazing creatures- another example of why we need federal investment in science!
nytimes.com
Could New Tech Help Save Some Very Rare Whales?
020
Pam McElwee @pammcelwee.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
Calling all scientists! If you are interested in action against the proposed OMB rule that would politicize all federal science grants, please join the Stand up for Science call this week! events.standupforscience.net/stand-up-for...
events.standupforscience.net
Emergency Science Meeting by Stand Up for Science
OMB’s latest proposed rule, “Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance,” would place political ideologues over scientific experts in federal research funding decisions. Say goodbye to cancer treatme...
0139
Reposted by Pam McElwee
LaurelJStandley.bsky.social 🌳🌎 @laureljstandley.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
"Knowledge, once learned, cannot be taken away," Federal funds may completely disappear… but "it's not going to take away the truth, and we have that knowledge now, and we will continue on our path to protect what's out there." www.npr.org/2026/05/18/n... Via @katharinehayhoe.com ‘s newsletter.
npr.org
Montana tribes combine traditional knowledge and Western science in climate plan
The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes are moving forward with their climate plan despite the loss of state support and federal funding.
19438
Reposted by Pam McElwee
Alex Wild @alexwild.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
tl,dr; Scientists no longer allowed to use federal funding to publish, attend meetings, or talk to the public. They cannot collaborate internationally. Grants can be cancelled for any reason, at any time, political appointees have a final say over what gets funded, and who gets funded.
17144972554
Reposted by Pam McElwee
Jake Wright @bcnjake.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
Once again: German universities were the envy of the world before the Nazis rose to power and took an ideological wrecking ball to the entire enterprise. If you want to know how long it took for German universities to recover… they haven’t.
4965572358
Reposted by Pam McElwee
David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
This is one of the most insane things I’ve seen from this regime. Please read this excellent summary and comment in the federal registry. 🧪🌊
10276115
Reposted by Pam McElwee
Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
“Food is going to become less affordable.” Economists warn El Niño and the Iran war haven’t yet fully hit US food prices, which were already rising www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
bloomberg.com
Americans Are About to Pay Even More at the Grocery Store
As Americans confront a surge in prices at the pump, another inflation wave is headed for the grocery store.
11251121
Pam McElwee @pammcelwee.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
On this Memorial Day, as we remember our military sacrifices, here's a way nature can potentially help prevent conflicts: in Europe, peatland restoration on borderlands provides a defense against Russian tanks www.nytimes.com/2026/05/13/c...
nytimes.com
They’ve Got a Plan to Combat Global Warming (and Also Russian Tanks)
150
Pam McElwee @pammcelwee.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
WTH? The political interference with science to no clear aim other than chaos continues....
020
Reposted by Pam McElwee
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Network (BES-Net) @besnet.world · 20/05/2026
🌿 The challenge is big, but we are not starting from zero. The evidence is here. The tools exist. The next step is action to support stronger action for biodiversity, climate, food, water, health and sustainable development. 🔊 Hear from @pammcelwee.bsky.social at the #BESPINtrialogue in Skopje. ⬇️
033
Pam McElwee @pammcelwee.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
Massive fuel tanker 🔥 in central NJ this am sent black smoke over sport fields where our local kids had season championships for lacrosse and softball 😡😷😡 Remind me when the last time a solar panel or wind turbine sent pollution and caused injuries like this? www.mycentraljersey.com/story/news/l...
mycentraljersey.com
Route 287 tanker fire in Edison leaves 4 hurt, major closures
Fuel tanker fire on Route 287 near Edison injures 4, closes major roads and disrupts traffic across the area.
050
Pam McElwee @pammcelwee.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Climate change always intersects with other drivers - here, deforestation plus climate change creates greater and earlier risks for tipping points in the Amazon system www.nytimes.com/2026/05/06/c...
nytimes.com
New Study Shows Risks of Amazon Deforestation. And Rewards of Protection.
042