Steve Harrell @steveharrell.bsky.social · 26/09/2026An inch of rain yesterday, big amanitas and some other fungi today. Can't swear they weren't there before, but the timing is probably not coincidental. 060
Steve Harrell @steveharrell.bsky.social · 07/09/2026The NYT is still the Great Gray Lady, despite all their colorful pictures and videos. They can publish this without once using the term "silly." www.nytimes.com/2026/09/07/u...nytimes.comTrump Posts Map Suggesting New Mexico Be Renamed as ‘New America’The suggestion, posted on social media, appeared to be the latest in the president’s efforts to alter geographic names. 000
Steve Harrell @steveharrell.bsky.social · 27/08/2026Pileated woodpeckers have discovered @bbharrell.bsky.social's suet feeder and the nearby post, so I'm posting the post and the woodpeckers too. 010
Steve Harrell @steveharrell.bsky.social · 06/08/2026Induction range liberates us from direct use of fossil fuels. Still need to get our electric utility to clean up the remaining half of its act. 011
Reposted by Steve HarrellAlex Marten 🇧🇷🇺🇸🇺🇦🇸🇾🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ @amarten.bsky.social · 15/07/202630 Million acres corn for ethanol production supplies 3% of US energy, while if converted to solar the same acres would provide 100% of US energy needs. #climatechange #climate www.nytimes.com/video/opinio...nytimes.comVideo: Opinion | The Very Good and Very Bad News on Climate 1103
Steve Harrell @steveharrell.bsky.social · 17/07/2026Once-a-summer treat. Red huckleberry pancakes courtesy @bbharrell.bsky.social 1170
Reposted by Steve HarrellBarbara B. Harrell @bbharrell.bsky.social · 09/07/2026More from Samish Hill today. Just me and @steveharrell.bsky.social. We saw two other humans and one smiling dog during 3 miles on trail. #Bellingham #PNW #nativeplants 231
Reposted by Steve HarrellBarbara B. Harrell @bbharrell.bsky.social · 08/07/2026Summer color for bloomscrollers 🌺 Nodding onion, Cascade penstemon, deer-fenced cape fuchsia and crocosmia—all of intense interest to our local rufous and Anna's hummingbirds. English lavender occupies bees and other pollinators, seems to please the neighbors ;-) #PNW #Bellingham #garden #habitat 031
Steve Harrell @steveharrell.bsky.social · 12/06/2026We don't need investor-owned utilities. Period. "The judge called Consumers’ plan to sell the dams and buy back the power at an inflated price ‘highly problematic’ and ‘inconsistent with the public interest’" bridgemi.com/michigan-env...bridgemi.comJudge: Michigan should reject Consumers’ ‘highly problematic’ dam sale - Bridge MichiganAfter reviewing thousands of pages of legal filings tied to the sale, Judge James Varchetti concluded that the deal is not in the public interest. His conclusion is meant to advise the Michigan Public... 010
Steve Harrell @steveharrell.bsky.social · 10/06/2026This has to be a metaphor for something. Sorry I'm too stupid to figure out exactly what. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/07/n...nytimes.com 000
Steve Harrell @steveharrell.bsky.social · 08/06/2026This is fascinating. Big-E environment groups long fought against building transmission lines and are now fighting the people who are fighting transmission lines. Whatever brings in the dough. heatmap.news/daily/sunzia...heatmap.newsBuild It and They Will Come AroundEnvironmental advocates initially opposed SunZia and CHPE, but they love the two transmission projects now. 021
Steve Harrell @steveharrell.bsky.social · 06/06/2026For sure. At the same time, we have to admit that big fields of PV are ugly, as are wind turbines, though in my aesthetic turbines are less bothersome. I think that’s the price we have to pay, but let’s not pretend they enhance the view. Also, coal and oil infrastructure is even uglier. 110
Steve Harrell @steveharrell.bsky.social · 06/06/2026I think the thing they share in common is the NIMBY component. But Utility-scale solar doesn't have either the pollution or the job-killer sources of opposition. We could say the same about both onshore and offshore wind. 110
Steve Harrell @steveharrell.bsky.social · 06/06/2026I think this may be significant. Most people think of AI in general as a triple negative: Polluter, rate raiser, job killer. heatmap.news/daily/data-c...heatmap.newsThe Data Center Backlash Is Impossible to MissJust look at Heatmap’s latest poll results. 1157
Steve Harrell @steveharrell.bsky.social · 06/06/2026A new definition of "food security": Ensuring markets for soybean exports. www.scmp.com/news/china/a...scmp.comUS farm chief says reliance on China threatens American ‘freedom’Agriculture secretary’s warning comes as tariffs weigh on China trade and Hormuz disruptions drive up fuel and fertiliser costs. 002
Steve Harrell @steveharrell.bsky.social · 23/05/2026I guess it takes a boomer to see the irony in this statement, from Ainslie Johnstone at The Economist: "I’m oddly low-tech when it comes to exercise. I have one of the most basic sports watches on the market…" 000
Steve Harrell @steveharrell.bsky.social · 22/05/2026Interesting logic here: "Turns out we've succeeded in keeping more polluting cars on the road, and since there are going to be more of them, we need to allow them each to pollute more." insideclimatenews.org/news/1805202...insideclimatenews.orgEPA Claims ‘Overwhelming Rejection’ of EVs as It Moves to Loosen Air Pollution Rules - Inside Climate NewsA proposed rule would give auto manufacturers until 2029 to meet smog and particulate matter emissions standards while the agency reconsiders the requirements altogether. 032
Steve Harrell @steveharrell.bsky.social · 22/05/2026The Environmental Pollution Agency is at it again: insideclimatenews.org/news/1805202...insideclimatenews.orgEPA Claims ‘Overwhelming Rejection’ of EVs as It Moves to Loosen Air Pollution Rules - Inside Climate NewsA proposed rule would give auto manufacturers until 2029 to meet smog and particulate matter emissions standards while the agency reconsiders the requirements altogether. 010
Steve Harrell @steveharrell.bsky.social · 22/05/202630 GW solar complex. For comparison, the world's largest hydroelectric dam, Sanxia or Three Gorges, is 22 GW. www.canarymedia.com/articles/sol...canarymedia.comHow big can solar go? These 3 projects show us the gigascale futureA handful of sensationally large developments are underway around the world, testing just how big solar can get. 010
Steve Harrell @steveharrell.bsky.social · 22/05/2026Tale of two bills: IRA: Huge amount of investment in solar and batteries OBBA: Decline in investment in solar and batteries. Effects overlap in time. Net results: We're getting a lot, but we'll get less in the next few years. heatmap.news/energy/rhodi...heatmap.newsIs U.S. Clean Energy Manufacturing Booming or Busting?Two new reports out this week create a seemingly contradictory portrait of the country’s energy transition progress. 010
Steve Harrell @steveharrell.bsky.social · 22/05/2026The key to the current geothermal boom: "the one form of electricity generation everyone in Washington can agree on (it’s both carbon-free and borrows techniques, equipment, and personnel from the oil and gas industry)." I guess we need to take it when we can get it. heatmap.news/energy/mount...heatmap.newsExclusive: Western States Form New Bipartisan Geothermal ConsortiumThe effort brings together leaders of four Mountain West states with nonprofit policy expertise to help speed financing and permitting for development. 021
Steve Harrell @steveharrell.bsky.social · 12/05/2026Explore this gift article from The New York Times. I think we all knew most of this separately, but as a summary it's overwhelming. Whttps://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/12/opinion/trump-is-fighting-the-worlds-stupidest-culture-war.html?unlocked_article_code=1.h1A.L18y.aQalqq5DAA2n&smid=bs-sharenytimes.comOpinion | Trump Is Fighting the World’s Stupidest Culture War 130
Steve Harrell @steveharrell.bsky.social · 09/05/2026Or it was a double-entendre. He also meant "right" in the wing sense. 070
Steve Harrell @steveharrell.bsky.social · 24/04/2026Serviceberry or Saskatoon (Amalanchier alnifolia) has a short but spectacular bloom. 020
Reposted by Steve HarrellDavid Stroup @davidstroup.bsky.social · 23/04/2026Striking cover image (and title!) for @timothyagrose.bsky.social’s forthcoming book with @uwapress.uw.edu. The “Studies of Ethnic Groups In China” series (edited by none other than @steveharrell.bsky.social) continues to be a vital resource for scholars in the field! uwapress.uw.edu/book/9780295...uwapress.uw.eduSettling Xinjiang 0116
Steve Harrell @steveharrell.bsky.social · 07/04/2026Spring quartet, clockwise from upper left: Western skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanus), western white trillium (Trillium ovatum), salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis), red flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum). 010
Reposted by Steve HarrellMeade Krosby @meadekrosby.bsky.social · 07/04/2026Long-term studies are vital to understanding how species and ecosystems are responding to climate change and other environmental stressors, but difficult to sustain under typical short-term grant cycles. LTER has been funding these since 1980. This is breaking something that can’t be replaced. 313163
Steve Harrell @steveharrell.bsky.social · 03/04/2026Song sparrow (Melospiza melodia) in emerging Philadelphus lewisii (mock-orange) branches lives up to his name. 000
Steve Harrell @steveharrell.bsky.social · 28/03/2026Thousands of Bellinghamsters turned out today. 020
Steve Harrell @steveharrell.bsky.social · 26/03/2026Well, as long as they've got the plant, it's probably best that they do the CCS. 000
Steve Harrell @steveharrell.bsky.social · 26/03/2026That's my main focus, as well. But I don't think it should be done unwisely. Every decarb project has an environmental or social cost. So don't violate tribal rights--they didn't get us into this. Don't enrich evil companies--they did get us into this. Don't ruin poor communities with dirty mines. 110
Steve Harrell @steveharrell.bsky.social · 26/03/2026And give the power to the ag giants that have ruined the lives of American farmers? Peter, Paul… 100
Steve Harrell @steveharrell.bsky.social · 26/03/2026Why do we need a transition when EVs are so inexpensive now? Build a huge expensive plant to prolong the life of the Internal Combustion Engine? Better to build a battery plant, no? And don't feed ADM! 110
Steve Harrell @steveharrell.bsky.social · 26/03/2026You have a point, but I think it depends on the biofuel. Corn ethanol (otherwise known as vodka) is a wash in GHG terms, a slight victory of Cargill over Exxon, a false hope for farmers, and a distraction from the real problems of both agriculture and climate. 100
Steve Harrell @steveharrell.bsky.social · 26/03/2026Further perverting our already screwed-up agriculture. apnews.com/article/gaso...apnews.comEPA approves sale of a higher-ethanol fuel to try to lower gas pricesThe Environmental Protection Agency has announced it would allow gas stations to continue selling slightly cheaper E15 this summer in a move that may be good for drivers and corn growers but will like... 120
Steve Harrell @steveharrell.bsky.social · 26/03/2026Not worth the carnage, but a silver lining nevertheless: www.bbc.com/news/article...bbc.comOctopus Energy boss: We've seen a 50% rise in solar panel sales since start of war in IranThe UK giant is optimistic but chief executive Greg Jackson tells the BBC he is making contingency plans. 010
Steve Harrell @steveharrell.bsky.social · 26/03/2026I think life cycle analyses of corn ethanol show that its GHG footprint is no different from petroleum’s. So moving to E15 does nothing to fight climate change, it only throws a short-term lifeline to farmers caught in the spiral of corporate control, debt peonage, and overproduction. 031
Steve Harrell @steveharrell.bsky.social · 25/03/2026Just had to post this: the anti-matter truck: www.scientificamerican.com/article/phys...scientificamerican.comPhysicists just took a road trip with a load of antimatter. Here’s how it wentScientists at CERN built a container weighing about a ton to transport just 92 subatomic antimatter particles without annihilating them 000
Steve Harrell @steveharrell.bsky.social · 25/03/2026The environmental destruction from critical mineral extraction is the tradeoff we pay for getting off fossil fuels. But in some cases, the prices is greater than the gain. I don't think anyone knows yet about the case of deep sea mining. This mandates caution. gcaptain.com/trump-admini...gcaptain.comTrump Administration Quietly Expands Pacific Seabed Mining Area as Environmental Review BeginsThe U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has advanced the next phase of potential offshore mineral leasing near the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, expanding the area under considerati... 000
Steve Harrell @steveharrell.bsky.social · 25/03/2026A story of resilience here: not only building resilience against oil shocks and weather emergencies, but demonstrating resilience against policy idiocy. Cheers to Dominion and our wobbly but still standing court system. virginiamercury.com/briefs/domin...virginiamercury.comDominion produces first power from Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project • Virginia MercuryDominion Energy’s major Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project is now sending power to the grid, after its first commercial turbine was switched on Monday 010
Steve Harrell @steveharrell.bsky.social · 25/03/2026In addition to the killing, destruction of buildings, and GHG, there is the matter of pollution. There must be horrible health effects from all that smoke. 000
Reposted by Steve HarrellMarc Kodack @ridden6570.bsky.social · 25/03/2026Virginia Beach offshore wind farm has started producing electricitywhro.orgVirginia Beach offshore wind farm has started producing electricityThe milestone comes months after the Trump administration tried to block the project from moving forward. 002
Steve Harrell @steveharrell.bsky.social · 24/03/2026Depends on value for what. Value for further science is higher than value for elementary ed. I can be a big stickler in some contexts, but I just don't think those kiddos are going to be influenced much by tenths of a degree. Or by the difference between 100 years and 4000 when they've only lived 7. 000