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Whitley Saumweber

@wsaumweber.bsky.social
266 followers 461 following 67 posts

Oceanographer, ocean policy wonk, Director @CSIS.org Ocean Security Project, Professor of Marine Affairs @universityofri.bsky.social‬, past ‪@barackobama.bsky.social‬ White House CEQ Ocean Policy Director, US Senate, @NOAA.gov, etc. etc.

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Reposted by Whitley Saumweber
Dr Tom Pickerell @tomolamola.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
You can’t have a serious conversation about global biodiversity without talking about the ocean. The @worldresources.bsky.social Ocean Program will be making that case at CBD #COP17 in Yerevan with events on ocean governance, blue foods, sustainable ocean plans and the BBNJ Agreement
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Reposted by Whitley Saumweber
Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
Billions of dollars’ worth of contracts predicting oil would fall and the S&P 500 would rise were placed about 15 minutes before Trump announced a U-turn on Iran in a post on Truth Social. CFTC staff began to investigate...then were told to lay off. www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
bloomberg.com
CFTC Staff Were Told to Retract Analysis of Suspicious Oil Trades
Chairman’s adviser intervened to take over examination of lucrative bets that were made around Trump reversal on Iran power plant attack.
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Whitley Saumweber @wsaumweber.bsky.social · 10h
This story…phew. There are a whole lot of deeply unfortunate coincidences that should have us deeply worried about corruption, yes ofc, but also the degree to which US and Western security has been compromised.The MSC anecdote was a particular head scratcher.
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Reposted by Whitley Saumweber
Jack Murphy @jackmurphyrgr.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
I really respect cold dispassionate analysis and those who do it, but I am also finding that one of the funniest parts of my day is reading these natsec experts who are commenting on the most insane shit as if is a normal policy option to be discussed on its merits.
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Reposted by Whitley Saumweber
Romany Webb @romany-webb.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
The parties to the London Convention and London Protocol are meeting this week and marine carbon dioxide removal is at the top of the agenda. Want to know what, exactly, they’re talking about? Korey Silverman-Roati and I have you covered! blogs.law.columbia.edu/climatechang...
blogs.law.columbia.edu
Parties to the London Convention and Protocol Debate Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal Governance - Climate Law Blog
The parties to the 1972 Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter (London Convention) and the 1996 Protocol to that Convention (London Protocol) are meetin...
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Reposted by Whitley Saumweber
Dr Tom Pickerell @tomolamola.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
We talk a lot about transforming food systems to tackle climate change, but blue foods remain surprisingly absent from national climate plans. New @worldresources.bsky.social research delves deep to see what’s included & what isn’t. Join us on 13 October to learn more: hub.wri.org/events/2026/...
hub.wri.org
Strengthening the Role of Blue Foods in National Climate Planning and Action
A new WRI study examines the inclusion of blue foods in 2025 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) across 86 island and coastal countries. It finds growing recognition of fisheries and aquacultur...
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Reposted by Whitley Saumweber
TPM @talkingpointsmemo.com · 05/10/2026
Because of federal rules, children covered by Medicaid won't be able to access vaccines that are no longer recommended by the federal government, even as children with private insurance will.
talkingpointsmemo.com
RFK Jr’s Relentless Anti-Vax Push Will Disproportionately Hurt Children on Medicaid
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has already demonstrated his Department of Health and...
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🌊Markus Knigge🐟 @oceanknigge.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
This September, Norway established a new marine protected area covering approximately 714 square miles. #MPAs #30x30 www.goodnewsnetwork.org/norways-newe...
goodnewsnetwork.org
Norway's Newest Marine Protected Area Shelters Rich Marine Habitat, Whales, and Seabirds
Called the Andfjorden Marine Protected Area, the area is home to rich and varied nature, both above and below the surface.
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Whitley Saumweber @wsaumweber.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
1000% this
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Reposted by Whitley Saumweber
Jeff Berardelli @weatherprof.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Another day, another record. The globe just broke the record for the warmest Sea Surface Temperature anomaly. Thanks, #ElNino and Carbon pollution (Copernicus ERA data)
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Reposted by Whitley Saumweber
Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
OMB's focus on NIH and NSF, which has confused a lot of folks, pretty much boils down to stopping money going to universities.
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Chris Hayes @chrislhayes.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Pretty clear to me there’s a very good case against this man for mass murder, and I’m saying that in as measured a fashion as I can. He’s order the killing of 234 people under no plausible war or legal justification. I am skeptical he will ever face legal accountability for til his but he should.
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Whitley Saumweber @wsaumweber.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Answer: It is not.
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Bradley P. Moss @bradmossesq.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Just going to dust off the JCPOA aren’t ya?
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Whitley Saumweber @wsaumweber.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Extremely troubling on many fronts from science to security
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Whitley Saumweber @wsaumweber.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Not sure how to do the cocked eyebrow emoji in Bluesky
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Whitley Saumweber @wsaumweber.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
An absolutely critical read
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Matt Ortega @mattortega.com · 11/09/2026
Here’s how this fact makes me feel:
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Dana Milbank @danamilbank.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
The Washington Sun rises today. I hope you’ll join our orbit. The Sun aims to do nothing less than reinvent the newspaper for the digital age — and to prove that there is a market in the capital region for local news and sports coverage. washingtonsun.com/perspectives...
washingtonsun.com
Dana Milbank: The Washington Sun Rises Today. I Hope You’ll Join Our Orbit.
My boss, Tim Grieve, posted a photo on X last week of a shipment of office chairs that had just arrived at the Arlington, Virginia, headquarters of our new publication, The Washington Sun. “It's fun t...
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Prof. Eliot Jacobson @climatecasino.net · 07/09/2026
Breaking News! Code: Hot! The Nino 3.4 SST-anomaly is rising fast, now at 2.89°C above the 1991-2020 baseline. The all-time daily peak (3.03°C, Nov. 19, 2015) is within reach in a few days. The Climate 8-Ball is sober, hasn't had a drink, waiting for the Jack of Hearts.
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Brian Finucane @bcfinucane.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Pleased to speak with @nickturse.bsky.social about the Trump admin's yearlong killing spree. "There is no plausible legal justification for the strikes. They’re obviously not occurring in the context of an armed conflict and outside of armed conflict, the term for premeditated killing is murder."
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Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
This month the Commerce Department quietly cut language banning political interference from the department's scientific integrity policy. (Aren't they at least supposed to pretend to care about this stuff?) Via the excellent @hansilowang.bsky.social: www.npr.org/2026/08/31/n...
npr.org
Trump officials cut political interference ban after unusual Census Bureau report
After the Census Bureau issued a report tied to a Trump-aligned think tank, the bureau's parent agency cut language banning political interference from its scientific integrity policy, NPR learned.
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The Barents Observer @thebarentsobserver.com · 25/08/2026
A rapidly growing number of tankers bring sanctioned LNG from the Russian Arctic to China
thebarentsobserver.com
Expanding Russian tanker fleet exports more Arctic LNG to China
Russian natural gas company Novatek and its partners now have a fleet of 18 tankers serving the heavily sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project.
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NPR @npr.org · 23/08/2026
The largest conservation areas in the U.S. are in the Pacific Ocean, where tiny islands are epicenters of biodiversity. The Trump administration is now opening their waters to commercial fishing, sparking a battle over some of the country’s most pristine ecosystems.
n.pr
These are some of the last pristine ocean ecosystems. Now, they're losing protections
The largest conservation areas in the U.S. are in the Pacific Ocean, where tiny islands are epicenters of biodiversity. The Trump administration is now opening their waters to commercial fishing, sparking a battle over some of the country’s most pristine ecosystems.
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Angelo Villagomez @taotaotasi.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Here are simple ways to help protect the deep sea www.southernfriedscience.com/how-to-help-...
southernfriedscience.com
How to help protect the deep sea in the Marianas and American Samoa today
Deep sea mining lease sales are scheduled to take place in American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands in November and December, respectively.  The Trump administration has advanced a rush…
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Whitley Saumweber @wsaumweber.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
This is literal insanity
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Reposted by Whitley Saumweber
Kai Ryssdal @kairyssdal.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
This is, bar none, the stupidest fuckung thing I’ve ever heard. And the idea that there’s nobody in the chain of command - civilian or military - with enough courage to say so is a disgrace.
wapo.st
Navy weighs major warship redesign to match Trump’s preferences
The president wants the new fleet of aircraft carriers to more resemble those from World War II. Such a change could cost billions.
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Reposted by Whitley Saumweber
Chris Hayes @chrislhayes.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
I’m on vacation but I gotta say, as much fun as it is to debate woke1 and Hasan Piker, the Trump administration is currently engaged in mass murder on the high seas as surely as any serial killer or lynch mob. And viewed from the distance of vacation, The Discourse doesn’t seem to give a shit.
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James Dinneen @jamesdinneen.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Average sea surface temps today at 21.06C, according to @copernicusecmwf.bsky.social. That's just 0.03C below the all-time record from March 2024. www.nature.com/articles/d41... @nature.com
nature.com
Ocean temperatures set to break all-time record: what’s next?
High sea surface temperatures are expected to weaken ocean carbon sinks and damage coral reefs.
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Whitley Saumweber @wsaumweber.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
52 white dude here who was finding himself doing the same yesterday - also considering taking it to the streets
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Reposted by Whitley Saumweber
NPR @npr.org · 08/08/2026
The largest conservation areas in the U.S. are in the Pacific Ocean, where tiny islands are epicenters of biodiversity. The Trump administration is now opening their waters to commercial fishing, sparking a battle over some of the country’s most pristine ecosystems.
n.pr
These are some of the last pristine ocean ecosystems. Now, they're losing protections
The largest conservation areas in the U.S. are in the Pacific Ocean, where tiny islands are epicenters of biodiversity. The Trump administration is now opening their waters to commercial fishing, sparking a battle over some of the country’s most pristine ecosystems.
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Whitley Saumweber @wsaumweber.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
But also thank you deeply @npr.org for reporting on these places and their importance - your work is valued
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Whitley Saumweber @wsaumweber.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Also - it is a terrible ecological and practical choice with little real potential economic benefit on the part of the Administration
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Whitley Saumweber @wsaumweber.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
These little notes of taxonomy and tense - even about ocean conservation - matter greatly to our democracy - please @npr.org consider how this should be reported
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Whitley Saumweber @wsaumweber.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
BUT the difference becomes less true and less material when our institutions do not report or treat it as such and when the American people begin to not see a difference.
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Whitley Saumweber @wsaumweber.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
This principle actually goes far beyond conservation of course - there is a difference in our system between presidential will and factual action - this is true both in a legal sense and in the real world of action
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Whitley Saumweber @wsaumweber.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Therefore - Trump has not opened these areas to industrial activity; he has issued orders to do so. They are not one and the same.
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Whitley Saumweber @wsaumweber.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
To date, that is also settled law and precedent - with the caveat that there has yet been a Supreme Court opinion under THIS court - BUT - that does not change the fact that under current law these changes are illegal
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Whitley Saumweber @wsaumweber.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
For example, it was settled WH OLC opinion when Pres. Obama used the Antiquities Act created/expanded marine monuments that future Presidents could not alter a monuments protections.
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Whitley Saumweber @wsaumweber.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
One frame I would like every journalist to adopt is to acknowledge the relevant legal status of such orders rather than stating the order as a factual act
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Whitley Saumweber @wsaumweber.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
This is nuts - as usual @joshtpm.bsky.social captures my thoughts well
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Suzana (Su) Gonçalves Leles @suleles.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Tenure-track open position in Biological Oceanography at Texas A&M College Station apply.interfolio.com/189672
apply.interfolio.com
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
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Sam Wang @samwang.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
This may dramatically slow down the attacks on science. It also provides a template for how to prevent the federal government from becoming a patronage state. It’s a big deal!
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Sean Casten @seancasten.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
This is a great program. We've had AAAS fellows on our staff for several years. Great opportunity for them and great for Congress to have their expertise.
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Jan Rosenow @janrosenow.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
Is clean power cheap enough to compete? The argument leaves out the environmental and social cost of fossil fuels that never end up on a bill. These are real and large costs. They are just charged to somebody else. More in new Bright Spots edition: open.substack.com/pub/janrosen...
open.substack.com
The bill we never see
The hidden costs of electricity, and the good news about counting them
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CSIS | Center for Strategic & International Studies @csis.org · 23/07/2026
In a new Betting on America, Bob Mumgaard, co-founder and CEO of Commonwealth Fusion Systems, joins Navin Girishankar to discuss how commercial fusion can usher in an era of virtually limitless energy—and how the U.S. will lead the way. Watch: bit.ly/4fkZ5pq
bit.ly
Is the United States Winning the Fusion Race? Featuring Bob Mumgaard | Betting on America
Bob Mumgaard, co-founder and CEO of Commonwealth Fusion Systems, joins Navin Girishankar to discuss whether fusion can usher in an era of virtually limitless clean energy—and whether the United States will lead the way. Bob explains the technology, key ...
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🌊Markus Knigge🐟 @oceanknigge.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Shared some reflections on funders-grantees relationships on the other platform... Comments will feed into my preparation for a joint funders' panel at #IMCC8 this fall in Edinburgh www.linkedin.com/posts/markus...
linkedin.com
#imcc8 #oceanoptimism | Markus Knigge | 18 comments
Philanthropy plays a critical role in ocean conservation — even more if we get the partnerships right. I'm joining leaders from Arcadia, Oceankind, Becht Foundation, and Bloomberg Ocean Fund for a pl...
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Whitley Saumweber @wsaumweber.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
We easily lose track of even secondary climate impacts, and yet it may be tertiary impacts like this that most profoundly change the world
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Prof Ian Hall @ianhall.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
🌊 Aquatic deoxygenation is emerging as a planetary-scale threat. New review argues oxygen loss in oceans and freshwater should be recognised as a ‘Planetary Boundary’ because of its far-reaching impacts on ecosystems and Earth system stability. aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
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Eos @eos.org · 17/07/2026
Trying to keep up with the whirlwind of science and science policy news? Eos has got you covered. Support our work with a donation today. bit.ly/SupportEos
static.klipy.com
Dramatic: It's So Hard To Keep Up With The Daily Drama
Alt: A woman tucks her hair behind her ears and says "It's so hard to keep up with the daily drama."
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