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Sarah DeWeerdt

@sarahdeweerdt.bsky.social
283 followers 91 following 147 posts

Freelance science journalist covering biology, medicine, environment. Always gets the name of the dog, but may be too besotted with the dog to remember the name. Working on a family history of my local whales.

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Sarah DeWeerdt @sarahdeweerdt.bsky.social · 21h
Solar farms dampen dust pollution, improving air quality for cities downwind -- I report on this surprising fringe benefit of renewable energy development for @anthropocenemag.bsky.social: www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2026/10/sola...
anthropocenemagazine.org
Solar panels have (another) surprising side effect: Stopping dust storms in their tracks
In a first, researchers realistically calculated how solar farms in the Gobi Desert improve air quality in northern Chinese cities
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Sarah DeWeerdt @sarahdeweerdt.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Just one of many ways in which scientific discovery depends on the cryosphere. Let's keep it around.
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Sarah DeWeerdt @sarahdeweerdt.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
"When [gray] whales first foray into Puget Sound, then, they are likely some combination of intrepid and desperate." -- My love letter to the Sounders, and what they can tell us about how gray whales as a whole are adapting to climate change: www.eopugetsound.org/article/gray...
eopugetsound.org
Gray whale safe haven in Puget Sound takes on new significance amid population decline | Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
Almost 200 gray whales have washed up dead along the West Coast in 2026. A small group of gray whales who feed in Puget Sound is surprisingly central to understanding the crisis.
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Sarah DeWeerdt @sarahdeweerdt.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Absolutely tremendous work -- clear science & riveting narrative. Read it to learn lots about animals' magnetic sense, & also about how to write:
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Sarah DeWeerdt @sarahdeweerdt.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
The best part about this is that the seemingly ridiculous maneuver of using a remote-controlled helicopter to collect whale snot is now bog-standard methodology and leading to lots of great insights! 🐳🐳🚁
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Sarah DeWeerdt @sarahdeweerdt.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Thrilled to share my new feature about a plucky group of scientists investigating the effects of rising temperatures on animal nervous systems. Come for The Blob, stay for the "unflappable" bird brains!
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Sarah DeWeerdt @sarahdeweerdt.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
These photos!
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Reposted by Sarah DeWeerdt
Orca Behavior Institute @orcabehaviorinstitute.org · 03/08/2026
K-Pod returned to inland waters this morning, ending a 7 week drought with no Southern Residents in the inland waters of the Salish Sea! In case you missed it, here's a short clip off the Lime Kiln hydrophone: soundcloud.com/orcabehavior...
soundcloud.com
K-Pod on August 2, 2026
Listen to K-Pod on August 2, 2026 by Orca Behavior Institute #np on #SoundCloud
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Sarah DeWeerdt @sarahdeweerdt.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Sorry to be so obvious and basic, but #poemprompt
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Chris Baraniuk @chrisbaraniuk.com · 03/08/2026
NEW: Big new feature from me about offshore wind farms as anchors for wildlife! For example: seals swimming *into* turbine towers to, apparently, hunt fish - and scour protection at the base of turbines used by sea creatures as a dwelling place. atmos.earth/science-and-...
atmos.earth
The Sea Life Making a Home in Offshore Wind Farms | Atmos
Offshore wind farms can pose risks to birds and marine life. But their foundations also serve as artificial reefs, offering essential habit.
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Sarah DeWeerdt @sarahdeweerdt.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
!!!
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Sarah DeWeerdt @sarahdeweerdt.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
I *dare* you not to be captivated by the sound of the echolocation clicks of a foraging three-year-old killer whale.
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Sarah DeWeerdt @sarahdeweerdt.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
What do orcas get up to at night? A LOT, it turns out. Find out more in my latest piece for Salish Sea Currents magazine from @pugetsoundinstitute.org: www.eopugetsound.org/article/orca...
eopugetsound.org
Orcas by night: A rare look at the nighttime activities of endangered killer whales | Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
Killer whales are active both day and night, but most scientific research focuses on their daytime activities. A recent study looked at a small group of endangered southern residents to find out how o...
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Sarah DeWeerdt @sarahdeweerdt.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Sorry, but, do we actually know if Jimothy is a boy or a girl?
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Sarah DeWeerdt @sarahdeweerdt.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Wow!! And look -- the world is home to orcas we still don't even know about. Maybe we shouldn't give up.
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Sarah DeWeerdt @sarahdeweerdt.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Fantastic (and accurate!) words about a fantastic book!
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Sarah DeWeerdt @sarahdeweerdt.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Slow down, losers, we're saving the climate: www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2026/07/obey...
anthropocenemagazine.org
Obeying the speed limit would save 57,000 tons of carbon a day. It would cost you 54 seconds.
A study of more than 120 million trips finds that Americans' rush to save time on the road comes at an outsize environmental cost.
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Roberta Kwok @robertakwok.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
It's pub day for Lost in Curiosity -- please re-post widely! "Lively and revelatory" (Elizabeth Kolbert), "beautifully written" (Alan Lightman), "an utter delight" (Sabrina Imbler), "the kind of trip you won't want to miss" (Deborah Blum) www.robertakwok.com/book
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PBF Comics @pbfcomics.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
“What a beautiful universe, hon" says a telescope as gazes upon an aurora borealis. “It really is”, responds the telescope's partner, who it turns out is not a telescope, but a microscope. Hands full of algae, she wades waist deep in a disgusting swamp, amazed by the heavenly microscopic life all around them.
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Pacific Mammal Research @pacmam.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Check out this art installation and gray whale skeleton - it moves! www.seattletimes.com/entertainmen...
seattletimes.com
A whale washed ashore on Vashon. Now it’s a work of art and something more
As Washington grapples with gray whale mortalities, Vashon Island turns one whale’s death into a story of celebration, conservation and awe.
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Sarah DeWeerdt @sarahdeweerdt.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
ICYMI: I wrote a poem about a really big tree, which also kind of ended up being an America 250 poem(??), after going on a road trip with my family and getting inspired by a guy who was inspired by Homer. You can read it here: www.linkedin.com/posts/sarahd...
linkedin.com
Portrait of the Harris Creek Spruce The Harris Creek Spruce is found about 200 m (650 ft) down a flat, even trail from an easy-to-miss pullout along the road between Port Renfrew and Lake… | Sarah De...
Portrait of the Harris Creek Spruce The Harris Creek Spruce is found about 200 m (650 ft) down a flat, even trail from an easy-to-miss pullout along the road between Port Renfrew and Lake Cowichan on...
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Sarah DeWeerdt @sarahdeweerdt.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Policymakers often shy away from climate fixes that involve using less energy, figuring those interventions will make people's lives harder and thus be unpopular. Neither assumption is true, I report in my latest for @anthropocenemag.bsky.social: www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2026/07/the-...
anthropocenemagazine.org
The surprising upside of asking people to use less energy
New research complicates the long-held belief that climate policy is a trade-off between cost and carbon, adding a third factor: it might make daily life better, too.
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Sarah DeWeerdt @sarahdeweerdt.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
I just did this and believe me folks, if I can do it so can you.
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Kevin J. Kircher @kevinjkircher.com · 07/07/2026
For Anthropocene's Daily Science blog, @sarahdeweerdt.bsky.social covered my student Aaron Farha's new paper. Many big devices we increasingly plug into our homes (electric vehicles, solar panels, LEDs, motors on heat pumps & air conditioners) run natively on DC. Should we connect them on DC wiring?
anthropocenemagazine.org
The overlooked wiring problem in the clean-energy transition
As more households add solar panels, batteries and heat pumps, researchers at Purdue found that running them all on DC power—not the AC current from the wall—could cut energy use and emissions.
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Sarah DeWeerdt @sarahdeweerdt.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Densification isn't one-size-fits-all. A new methodology enables urban planners to pinpoint where it makes the biggest difference in reducing the length of car commutes, I report for @anthropocenemag.bsky.social: www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2026/06/the-...
anthropocenemagazine.org
The climate friendly city is a bullseye
Urban planners have been asking the wrong question. It's not how dense a city is—it's how close. The sweet spot for shorter commutes and lower emissions, for many cities, forms a ring.
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Sarah DeWeerdt @sarahdeweerdt.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
What the heck is the "urban mine" -- and why is it key to the green transition? I explain in my latest for @anthropocenemag.bsky.social: www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2026/06/to-c...
anthropocenemagazine.org
To complete its green transition, Europe should mine its own trash
Lithium in old batteries. Cobalt in discarded electronics. The rare earths in retired wind turbines. A landmark EU-funded study finds these buried materials could supply over half of what the clean en...
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Friends Of Midway Atoll (FOMA) @friendsofmidway.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
FOMA's Art Contest! Two categories: Over 18 and Under 18 Submissions open June 15 - July 15 First, Second and People's Choice winners Up to 3 pieces of artwork per artist. Every entrant receives FREE one-year membership to FOMA. Rules, guidelines & prizes: friendsofmidway.org/foma-art-con...
Artwork submitted 2025.
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Sarah DeWeerdt @sarahdeweerdt.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
What a legacy! ❤️
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Sarah DeWeerdt @sarahdeweerdt.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
If you -- that's a specific you, not a general one -- replace your gasoline car with an EV, how much of a difference will it make for the climate? For your wallet? Researchers now have answers, I report for @anthropocenemag.bsky.social: www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2026/05/a-la...
anthropocenemagazine.org
A landmark MIT study debunks persistent myths about electric vehicles
Think EVs don't make sense in cold climates, or that a dirty power grid cancels out the benefits? Researchers find the opposite is true—and that EVs cost no more to own than a comparable gas car almos...
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Sarah DeWeerdt @sarahdeweerdt.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
In the long run we are all dead, and plastics are all microplastics -- for @anthropocenemag.bsky.social I report on a new sustainability metric that aims to capture the consequences of that latter fact: www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2026/05/your...
anthropocenemagazine.org
Your carbon footprint is only half the story
A pioneering study introduces a parallel metric, the plastic particle footprint — and uses it to rerank kettles, bottles, crates, and T-shirts. The winners aren't who you'd expect.
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Kai Kupferschmidt @kakape.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
The contrast between the number of media requests I got when rich people on a cruise were facing a deadly, but contained outbreak versus now that some of the poorest people in the world are facing a deadly and devastating epidemic is just so so stark and it just really annoys the hell out of me.
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Sarah DeWeerdt @sarahdeweerdt.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Oh hey look -- they're already doing defensive rewilding in the Baltics. (h/t @sejorg.bsky.social): www.nytimes.com/2026/05/13/c...
nytimes.com
They’ve Got a Plan to Combat Global Warming (and Also Russian Tanks)
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Sarah DeWeerdt @sarahdeweerdt.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
When does it make sense for society to invest in large-scale carbon capture to pull CO2 out of the atmosphere? Not yet, I report in my latest for @anthropocenemag.bsky.social with comments from @ykashtan.bsky.social of PSE Healthy Energy: www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2026/05/rene...
anthropocenemagazine.org
Renewables or carbon removal: which is the better climate bet right now?
In a rare head-to-head test of returns on investment, renewables bested carbon capture in almost all scenarios across the U.S. through 2050
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Sarah DeWeerdt @sarahdeweerdt.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
ICYMI: I explore the question of whether orcas get hot flashes
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BayQuest @bayquest.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
This weekend, experience a unique intersection of marine science and fine art with an exciting exhibition by our very own Acoustics Lead, Firuze Gokce! Don’t miss the chance to hear the stories behind the art! Saturday & Sunday, May 9–10, 11 AM – 6 PM. 905 4th Street, San Rafael
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Sarah DeWeerdt @sarahdeweerdt.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
Happy mother's day weekend! This seems like a perfect time to celebrate orca moms and grandmoms, who are key to the survival of their families, as I report in this piece about orca menopause: www.importantnotimportant.com/p/the-most-p...
importantnotimportant.com
The most powerful animals in the ocean need their moms
The science of orca menopause may surprise you
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Sarah DeWeerdt @sarahdeweerdt.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Whales, too, do a version of *gestures vaguely at the world*
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Sarah DeWeerdt @sarahdeweerdt.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Happening tonight!!
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Sarah DeWeerdt @sarahdeweerdt.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Emissions from delivering e-commerce packages are growing fast. But they don't have to be. I report on new research about reducing last-mile delivery emissions for @anthropocenemag.bsky.social: www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2026/05/the-...
anthropocenemagazine.org
The climate case for cooperation between package delivery rivals
A sweeping new study of Chinese e-commerce delivery suggests that the largest available climate win isn't a new technology—it's an old idea: cooperation between competitors.
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Sarah DeWeerdt @sarahdeweerdt.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
I have so many mixed feelings about this whole episode, and not unrelatedly my unscientific analysis indicates that 65% of live-stranded whales are named Hope.
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Sarah DeWeerdt @sarahdeweerdt.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
Loved working on this story because it illustrates the interdependence of science: an innovation from one lab unexpectedly clears a roadblock that had stymied another, which then leads to advance that opens up a whole new space for others to explore. Thanks @sergiuppasca.bsky.social for sharing w me
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Sarah DeWeerdt @sarahdeweerdt.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
Researchers have come up with a provocative new national security (and climate action) strategy called "defensive rewilding," I report for @anthropocenemag.bsky.social: www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2026/04/forg...
anthropocenemagazine.org
Forget border walls. The new national defense could be a restored wetland
A team at the University of East London argues that "defensive rewilding" could stop invading armies more cheaply than concrete ever could—while doubling as a climate solution.
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Sarah DeWeerdt @sarahdeweerdt.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
Next week! A conversation at @burkemuseum.bsky.social with writers Eric Wagner and Maria Mudd Ruth and artist/curator Madison Mayfield, moderated by yours truly. Will we limn the boundaries between art and science? Will we establish once & for all who is the best alcid? Join us & find out!
burkemuseum.org
How to Tell a Seabird's Tale: The Role of the Writer and Scientific Illustrator
Join three Pacific Northwest artists — two writers and one illustrator — to learn how they distill their research on our local seabirds into engaging stories and compelling illustrations.
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Sarah DeWeerdt @sarahdeweerdt.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Researchers in Sweden built a "computational time machine" that enables better forecasting of how renewable energy will develop in the future. It says we can still limit climate change to 2 C. Even 1.5 C, while challenging, isn't impossible -- I report for @anthropocenemag.bsky.social:
anthropocenemagazine.org
An AI trained on 13,000 virtual worlds just projected our renewable energy future
It beat the International Energy Agency's forecasts—and it says 2°C is still on the table
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Reposted by Sarah DeWeerdt
Chris Baraniuk @chrisbaraniuk.com · 21/04/2026
These camera trap pictures from the Masaai Mara are absolutely, jaw-droppingly beautiful. Great story as well. blog.burrard-lucas.com/2026/04/secr...
blog.burrard-lucas.com
A Hidden Side of the Maasai Mara
For many months last year, a camera trap beside a remote river crossing in Kenya’s Maasai Mara quietly watched the forest...
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Sarah DeWeerdt @sarahdeweerdt.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
How electric vehicles could cut emissions and save energy costs for homeowners and ratepayers alike by being incorporated into "virtual power plants" -- my feature for @anthropocenemag.bsky.social's new print issue:
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Sarah DeWeerdt @sarahdeweerdt.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
Does congestion pricing work? Researchers have a new tool to make sure policies to decarbonize urban transport lead to equity, not just emissions reductions, I report for @anthropocenemag.bsky.social: www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2026/04/trac...
anthropocenemagazine.org
Tracking traffic pollution in real time could transform city climate policy
Using traffic cameras and phone data, researchers created a real-time emissions map—giving cities a powerful new tool to cut pollution faster and smarter.
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William Gibson @greatdismal.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
The Wetland Project has been my favorite alternate-reality radio experience since it began. Since it only happens once a year, you can’t become accustomed to it. Close your eyes and be washed over by the sonic reality of an isolated bog on Saturna Island!
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Clara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
Science is good. We should fund it.
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Sarah DeWeerdt @sarahdeweerdt.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
How more EVs could lead to lower gas prices, and lower energy bills even for those who can't afford fancy new EVs - my latest for @anthropocenemag.bsky.social: www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2026/04/a-kn...
anthropocenemagazine.org
A knock-on effect of the EV transition: cheaper gas prices. Yes, really.
By slashing oil demand, electric vehicle policies trigger a cascade of benefits: lower gasoline prices, cheaper home energy, and a stronger domestic energy system.
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