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Dr. Sean Peters

@siprocks.bsky.social
2.4K followers 451 following 300 posts

Visiting Assistant Professor @ Middlebury College | PRESSURE | Volcanologist 🌋| Planetary geologist 🌍 | Former ALT 🇯🇵| Writer ✍🏾 | Traveler 🧳 | Wannabe Lego enthusiast 🧱 sipeters.com

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Reposted by Dr. Sean Peters
Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
When they get back in power, Democrats need to go all-in on higher education. We need a campaign of reinvestment in public universities across the country that makes the Morrill Land-Grant Act look like nothing by comparison *and* a GI Bill of Rights-style program of tuition grants.
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Dr. Sean Peters @siprocks.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
SEPTEMBER 2026
theplanetarynovelist.com
SEPTEMBER 2026
Two weeks down, ten more to go! SONG INSPIRATION This month’s blog is inspired by Adéla’s Nicole Kidman. A NEW FALL Why is it already dark at 7 PM!? Why is my house cold in the morning!? Students have returned. Classes have begun. The contrast between a leisurely summer pace and the hectic buzz of the fall semester gave me whiplash.
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Dr. Sean Peters @siprocks.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫
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Reposted by Dr. Sean Peters
I Travel Like Sound Dog @chadstanton.blacksky.app · 19/09/2026
*thousands of people get fired and/or have their resources cut as a result of white supremacy* “People were really mean to me about my passive aggressive racism.”
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Ryan Marino, MD @ryanmarino.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
I graduated med school in 2014. I was taught-and saw-how hard melanoma was to treat, like a death sentence Since then, new treatments have made it possible for people w/ the most advanced melanoma, like Jimmy Carter, to live to 100! We are killing ourselves by letting them destroy American science
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Michele Bannister @astrokiwi.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
so very tired of living with calamity. Grief from the obliteration of futures just doesn't get less exhausting
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 13/09/2026
Ossoff: "Then there's the ex-staffer posting swastikas and Klan regalia. And the neo-Nazi with a million followers who produces neo-Nazi propaganda at Collins's house ... a man who won't take responsibility for what happens under his own roof can't be trusted with our national affairs."
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Kai Ryssdal @kairyssdal.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
So let’s do it and see what happens. Seriously.
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Tom Pepinsky @tompepinsky.com · 16/09/2026
the hardest thing for the politician-bureaucrats to understand -- but which NSF staff *absolutely do* understand and always have -- is that you actually make scientific progress by giving young people money and promising not to bother them
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Jessica Valenti @jessicavalenti.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
The EPA will test America's drinking water for abortion medication & birth control—caving to a years-long pressure campaign from anti-abortion extremists.
jessica.substack.com
BREAKING: EPA Will Test Drinking Water for Abortion Pills & Contraception
The federal agency just caved to years of anti-abortion pressure
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rahaeli @rahaeli.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
when I am god-empress of the universe it will be illegal for people to disable the ability to paste into a password field
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Prof Chris Jackson @seismatters.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Has this been discussed here? #AcademicSky #Academia #ECR #HigherEducation www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
How contemporary academic structures constrain scientific creativity and hold back early-career researchers - Nature Human Behaviour
In this Perspective, Haubrock et al. argue that today’s scientific structures constrain creativity and that strategic conformity is a rational response. They discuss how this holds back early-career r...
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Keri @keriqbaum.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
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American Astronomical Society (AAS) @aas.org · 31/08/2026
🔭 Our new policy blog post shows that the number of astronomical sciences research awards made by NSF has decreased by 57% since last year, corresponding to a 51% reduction in funding. (1/2)
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Dr. Sean Peters @siprocks.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
AUGUST 2026
theplanetarynovelist.com
AUGUST 2026
½ a month until the semester begins! SONG INSPIRATION This month’s blog is inspired by Stacks from All Sides by SKAI ISYOURGOD. END OF SUMMER I can feel each hour slipping through my fingers. Recent days have been full of meetings, research, and lesson planning. Unlike previous summers, I’ve been working full days for the past month – a result of taking much needed time off.
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Reposted by Dr. Sean Peters
Kelly @broadwaybabyto.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
I really feel like it should be bigger news that fibreglass is in IV saline bags in the US. This isn’t a situation where you might get a little sick. Fibreglass going directly into your veins will kill you. IV saline is used for almost every medical procedure. This is unconscionable:
fda.gov
Baxter Issues Voluntary Nationwide Recall for Two Lots of 0.9% Sodium Chloride Injection Due to Potential Presence of Particulate Matter
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – AUG. 25, 2026 – DEERFIELD, Ill., Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) is voluntarily recalling two lots of 0.9% Sodium Chloride Injection due to the potential presence of parti...
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Dr. Sean Peters @siprocks.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Or a 1970s field geologist 🪨 🔨
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Nick Kapur @nickkapur.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Making university faculty sit in their offices from 8 am to 5 pm every day, 5 days a week, is insane and serves no conceivable academic purpose. The fact that admins and even *staff* are exempt from this absurd requirement shows the real goal is to make tenured faculty quit.
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Douglas Natelson @nanoscaleviews.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
🧪⚛️ So, down to 1500 targeted awards, and strongly emphasizing the executive branch’s priority research areas. What happened to the Golden Age of Science idea of funding the best people, rather than specific ideas? Oh wait, that was last month. www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...
nsf.gov
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)
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Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
The politicization & illegal cancellation of federal research funding is an existential crisis for every research university in the country, especially flagship R1 publics. Again, you would think university presidents would speak up, loudly & collectively, about this. Alas. bsky.app/profile/mcop...
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Jonathan W. Gray @elmcitytree.blacksky.app · 22/08/2026
There’s a petition signed by more than one hundred academics (& counting!) in support of Nathan Cofnas—the racist who instigated the pile on that led to J. Arday’s death—because he lost his postdoc. Apparently there’s nothing a white man can do that deserves consequences.
forbetterscience.com
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Dave Vetter @davidrvetter.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
In some ways quite helpful that the racist academics are signing the "I Am A Racist Academic" pledge.
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Michelle @michelleroy78.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
The person who I was when I took these chicken wings out the freezer is not the same person I am now that I have to cook them.
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Prof Chris Jackson @seismatters.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
I'm sorry, but I don't like what Cofnas wrote here. When I was at school, I (mostly) did my homework. And that despite a few skirmishes here and there, I have a healthy respect for the law. And my family can, I guess, be considered "nuclear". Maybe I'm one of his <<0.01% who slippped through?
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Dr Abeba Birhane @abeba.blacksky.app · 19/08/2026
i don’t want “accelerated”, “increased-speed” or “fast-paced” research. in fact, am not interested in any shortcuts to mindful, intentional, and slow science
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Rebecca Williams @volcanologist.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Volcanoes are fascinating. Pictures, videos and articles of eruptions fill our social media feeds and newspapers. But can you believe what you read? Misinformation and rumours spread just as easily as facts. Misconceptions are easily created and hard to correct. @heatherkhandley.bsky.social
theconversation.com
During eruptions, misinformation can spread further than ash. How can we spot it?
From scary headlines to recycled eruption videos, new research reveals how common misconceptions can fuel misinformation about volcanoes.
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folukeifejola @folukeifejola.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
"Racism is a thief. Of breath. Of peace. Of time. Time we could spend doing other things. Laughing. Dancing. Living. Lives that will never be lived. Dreams stolen before they are fully birthed. Thief."
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anceldelambert.bsky.social @anceldelambert.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
The 2015 research budget was 6 billion
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Dr. Sean Peters @siprocks.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
One of the greatest joys of academia is working with excellent students, the next generation of thinkers. Although I’m a wee behind in posting, I owe it to my collaborators and students to share our science. doi.org/10.1029/2026...
doi.org
Volcanism at Piton de la Fournaise as an Analog for Chloris Mons, Venus
Terrestrial analog comparisons can help answer key questions in Venus volcanology, especially as upcoming missions will gather new data We present a multifaceted analysis of Piton de la Fournaise...
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Glennyrodge @glennyrodge.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
The person who named sweetbreads isn't allowed to name stuff anymore.
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Dr. Sean Peters @siprocks.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
live in: 🇺🇸 born in: 🇺🇸 parents: 🇺🇸🇺🇸 grandparents: 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 great grandparents: 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 🇺🇸 (Draw what conclusions you will) been to: 🇦🇺 🇦🇹 🇧🇪 🇮🇸 🇨🇦 🇫🇮 🇫🇷 🇬🇹 🇲🇽 🇮🇹 🇯🇵 🇳🇿 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🇪🇸🇨🇭🇳🇱
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Adam Rawnsley @arawnsley.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Today, August 4, 2026, is the setting of Ray Bradbury’s short story “There Will Come Soft Rains” about a fully automated house continuing on after the family who lived there and the world around it died in a nuclear blast.
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EuropeanPowell @europeanpowell.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
The Data Centre Land Grab: How Britain Is Being Carved Up for Big Tech — Without Your Consent Across Wales, Scotland, and England, the largest peacetime infrastructure seizure of community land and energy in modern British history is accelerating. open.substack.com/pub/european...
open.substack.com
The Data Centre Land Grab: How Britain Is Being Carved Up for Big Tech — Without Your Consent
Across Wales, Scotland, and England, the largest peacetime infrastructure seizure of community land and energy in modern British history is accelerating.
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comrade @nowarbutclasswar.myatproto.social · 01/08/2026
I know it shouldn't surprise me, but I'm still amazed at how many Democrats are campaigning with promises of "working together" with fascists
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Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 30/07/2026
if you think that the trump admin is trying to help science, you're either very stupid, an asshole, or both and yes, i'm talking about everyone taking "Science: A New Golden Age" at face value it's like odysseus was on the trojan horse telling you soldiers are inside and you're like "oooh present"
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Dr. Sean Peters @siprocks.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
JULY 2026 - PART II
theplanetarynovelist.com
JULY 2026 – PART II
Somehow four weeks have evaporated into thin air. Let’s dive into the 2nd blog of the month! SONG INSPIRATION This blog is inspired by a remix to Nina Simone’s My Baby Just Cares for Me by HONNE. AMSTERDAM When traveling to a popular place, I’m wary of Paris Syndrome. Yet the hype surrounding Amsterdam, the Venice of the North, is valid.
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Brant Reeves @bireeves95.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
It’s a Fair Question….. “Why is it that it takes 900 years and 5000 impact studies to build high speed rail but a 5 minute city council meeting is all it takes to approve a massive data center?”
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Naomi Kritzer @naomikritzer.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
I'm just boggled that Americans tend to guess that 25% of the country is Jewish and 20% is Muslim. NYC, the most Jewish city in the country, is about 10% Jewish. Minneapolis is about 10% Muslim.
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Jon of The North @krauza.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Turns out that food companies were only checking their food because the government told them to, which is exactly why we need government regulations.
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Colette Delawalla, PhD @cdelawalla.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Next time someone accuses me of “making science partisan” I’m going to throw the physical NYT edition of this article at their head. These people are operating in bad faith…we have a mountain of evidence. (Gift link) www.nytimes.com/2026/07/24/b...
nytimes.com
Trump Administration Admits Canceling Grants to States That Did Not Vote for Him (Gift Article)
Federal officials said in court documents that they halted billions of dollars in funding for energy projects to states “based solely” on whether they backed President Trump in the 2024 election.
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Brett Meiselas @bmeiselas.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
lots of reporters suddenly worried about slipping into communism but strangely f*cking quiet about slipping into fascism
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Dr. Sean Peters @siprocks.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
I am astounded at how often people fondly remember their “rocks for jocks” intro to geology course. Last week, I met a multigenerational family on a food tour who all recounted how much they loved said course despite taking it years apart at different institutions.
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Andy Scollick @andyscollick.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
The Madrid Deep Space Communication Complex at Robledo de Chavela municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain on fire. Burgohondo wildfire. 📷 via Infues Avila
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Mark Histed @markhisted.org · 24/07/2026
I co-sign this great summary from @dereklowe.bsky.social . The goal is to destroy academic science, and these are the reasons. And all the “gold standard” and “needs reform” and “not high risk” stuff is transparent bullshit to hide the ball on what they are doing.
=
Science
science. But let me make something clear right up front. When I talk to people about this subject (and that includes some journalists as well) and say what I'm about to at the end of this paragaph I am sometimes met with disbelief. But I mean what I say and I am trying my best to say what I mean: The Trump administration hates academic science funding, full stop. They hate where that money goes, and they hate who it goes to. They want to keep all that money for themselves, to hand out to favored cronies who can help them get elected and to steer yet more money and more power back into their hands.
That's it. That's the story. They are naturally not putting it in those words, but instead talking about "gold standard science" and the
"reproducibility crisis" and funding "bold inquiry" for "transformational
breakthroughs". This is all bullshit, and it's important to realize that. Shameless hand-waving bullshit, delivered in a how-dare-vou-
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Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 23/07/2026
1. The new Trump / Kratsios plan for US science appears explicitly designed to destroy US universities. Diverting money to tech donors is probably just a bonus. Gift link.
nytimes.com
Trump’s Plan for Science: More Money for A.I., Less for Universities (Gift Article)
Michael Kratsios, President Trump’s science adviser, proposed overhauling how the government funds research. Democrats said Mr. Trump’s actions had weakened science.
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Mikhail Zinshteyn @mzinshteyn.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Federal agencies that terminated more than a thousand research grants at the University of California admitted that they used keywords related to diversity to screen for projects. It’s an admission that lawyers for the researchers say is proof the agencies illegally cancelled nearly $2b in grants.
calmatters.org
DEI keyword search led to billions in cancelled California university grants
The Trump administration cancelled $2 billion of research grants to UC professors. Their legal team says it has proof that was unconstitutional.
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IAVCEI - International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry @iavcei.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Upcoming event 2028! We have the pleasure to announce that the next IAVCEI conference “Cities on Volcanoes” will take place from 14-19 May 2028, in Iceland. 🇮🇸 The COV conference series is organised every two years under the umbrella of the IAVCEI commission ‘Cities and Volcanoes’. More: cov14.is
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Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
The national media is eating up this report as justification for perpetuating the lie that universities themselves - as opposed to decades of attacks from the far right authoritarian party - are responsible for eroding trust in higher education. You can almost hear them salivating at the chance.
nytimes.com
Yale Report Finds Colleges Deserve Blame for Higher Education’s Problems
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Tina Smith @smith.senate.gov · 16/07/2026
Cancer doesn’t give a shit about DEI policies. The disease will continue impacting some populations more than others and refusing to research why is asinine and hurts us all.
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Elizabeth Cronise McLaughlin @ecmclaughlin.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
If you are not yet familiar with the disappearance and death of Nolan Wells, it’s time, because this case is only getting started and it smells as bad as it gets.
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