Beth Tellman
LightNews LightNews
banner
socialpixel.bsky.social
Beth Tellman
@socialpixel.bsky.social
2.6K followers 230 following 110 posts

floods, satellites, maps, social justice, co-founder and chief scientist Floodbase and asst. prof University of Wisconsin-Madison and co-founder @umbela-org https://beth-tellman.github.io https://www.floodbase.com https://umbela.org mom. Pro-winter. .. more

Videos
Environmental science 52%
Geography 15%
Posts Replies Media Videos
Pinned
socialpixel.bsky.social
Beth Tellman @socialpixel.bsky.social · Jul 8
Excited to share me and (part of!) the Social Pixel Lab has moved to University of Wisconsin-Madison Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies. Ill be joining new faculty also hired under the RISE-Earth cluster to strengthen sustainability science, ed and outreach at UW rise.wisc.edu/rise-earth/
RISE-EARTH
By investing in the next generation of faculty leaders through RISE-EARTH, UW-Madison will be well poised to make even greater contributions to sustainability research, education and problem-solving i...
rise.wisc.edu

Reposted by Beth Tellman

ggwynterwrites.bsky.social
G.G. Reads 📚 Writes ✍🏾 Edits 📝 @ggwynterwrites.bsky.social · 8h
Women, we don't need to contort ourselves to fit into spaces that are too small for us.

From Zimbabwe by Tapiwa Mugabe
Black-and-white photograph of a book page containing a prose-poem. The text reads: “All she wanted was to find a place to stretch her bones. A place to lengthen her smiles and spread her hair. A place where her legs could walk without cutting and bruising. A place unchained. She was born out of ocean breath. I reminded her; ‘Stop pouring so much of yourself into hearts that have no room for themselves. Do not thin yourself. Be vast. You do not bring the ocean to a river.’”

Reposted by Richard S.J. Tol, Maksym Polyakov, Prakash Kashwan , and 1 more

globalecoguy.bsky.social
Dr. Jonathan Foley @globalecoguy.bsky.social · 8h
This is pretty cool.

I wonder how this might be used to do better climate work — e.g., for addressing emissions linked to buildings, and mapping infrastructure for climate adaptation work?

interestingengineering.com/innovation/f...
World's buildings mapped for the first time in high-resolution 3D map
Technical University of Munich researchers have just unveiled GlobalBuildingAtlas, a new 3D map that captures every building on the planet.
interestingengineering.com

Reposted by Katharine Hayhoe, Valerie Mueller, Suzanne de Cheveigné , and 2 more

davidho.bsky.social
David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 18h
Climate injustice:

“…in the aftermath of extreme weather events, lower-income neighbourhoods are less likely to rebuild and do not return to their pre-disaster state, whereas higher-income areas rebuild and tend to improve compared with their pre-disaster state…”
Built environment disparities are amplified during extreme weather recovery - Nature
Higher-income neighbourhoods rebuild and improve after disasters while lower-income areas do not return to pre-disaster conditions.
www.nature.com

socialpixel.bsky.social
Beth Tellman @socialpixel.bsky.social · 13d
When people ask me about the biggest challenges for ai- data centers is the answer. It’s not about some algorithm development challenge or something- all ai scientists should be freaking out that the methods we use are causing massive environmental justice issues and we gotta figure it out
rollingstone.com Rolling Stone @rollingstone.com · 14d
In Morrow County, healthy adults were coming down with unexplained medical conditions, including diseases that usually afflicted the elderly.

In a survey of 30 homes, at least 25 miscarriages and a half dozen people living with one kidney were reported.

🔗 www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...

Reposted by Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò, Beth Tellman

dmgreene.bsky.social
Dan Greene @dmgreene.bsky.social · 13d
We @uam-umd.bsky.social won. Faculty packed town halls, talked to their colleagues and collected hundreds of petition signatures. Now UMD is coughing up $8.75m, during a deficit, to fund faculty whose research is under attack. Not enough, but a helluva thing for a union the state calls illegal.
$8.75M Investment Supports ‘Research Resilience’… | Maryland Today
UMD, MPower Funds Combine to Help Preserve Institutional Capabilities, Lab Operations and More
today.umd.edu

Reposted by Melanie C. Green, Meredith Farkas, Beth Tellman

rollingstone.com
Rolling Stone @rollingstone.com · 14d
In Morrow County, healthy adults were coming down with unexplained medical conditions, including diseases that usually afflicted the elderly.

In a survey of 30 homes, at least 25 miscarriages and a half dozen people living with one kidney were reported.

🔗 www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...

Reposted by Lisa W. Fazio, Jamie Morgan, Trevon D. Logan , and 9 more

miriamposner.com
Miriam Posner @miriamposner.com · 20d
WE JUST KEEP WINNING. (UC President's Postdoctoral Fellowship Program RESTORED!!!!)
On official UC letterhead: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA James B. Milliken President Office of the President 1111 Franklin Street Oakland, CA 94607 universityofcalifornia.edu CAMPUSES Berkeley Davis Irvine UCLA Merced Riverside San Diego San Francisco Santa Barbara Santa Cruz MEDICAL CENTERS Davis Irvine UCLA San Diego San Francisco NATIONAL LABORATORIES Lawrence Berkeley Lawrence Livermore Los Alamos DIVISION OF AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES November 18, 2025 Dear Chancellors: I'm writing with regard to the President's Postdoctoral Fellowship Program (PPFP) and the program's associated faculty hiring incentive. As you know, for more than 40 years, PPFP has provided postdoctoral research fellowships, professional development, and faculty mentoring to scholars in all fields whose research, teaching, and service advance the academic and research missions of the University of California. Since 2003, UC campuses that hire current and former PPFP fellows into ladder-rank positions have been eligible for a hiring incentive funded by the University that provides support for newly hired fellows for five years. Since the creation of the incentive, more than $162 million has been invested by the University to support PPFP faculty hires. This commitment has enabled our campuses to successfully recruit and retain outstanding faculty across a range of disciplines. Given the myriad challenges currently facing UC - including disruptions to billions of dollars in annual federal support, as well as uncertainty around the state budget- reasonable questions were raised in recent months about whether the University could maintain the commitment to current levels of incentive funding. After considering a recommendation to sunset the incentive program due to these significant fiscal constraints, I consulted with all of you as well as faculty and campus academic administrators and systemwide Academic Senate leadership. [continued on next image] After learning more about the history and success of the program and weighing the thoughtful perspectives that have been shared, I have concluded that barring extraordinary financial setbacks, the PPFP faculty hiring incentive program will continue while the University continues to assess the program's structure as well as its long-term financial sustainability. As a result of our continuing consultation and review, there may be consideration of some changes to elements of the program including the total number of incentives supported, a number that has fluctuated significantly over the years, and how the awards are distributed among campuses. In the meantime, the University will continue to fund the PPFP faculty hiring incentive program and campuses may continue to take advantage of these incentives. We will have an opportunity to discuss any potential changes prior to adoption. As we look to the future, I will continue to engage with faculty leaders, program stakeholders, and UC community members about this important program. I especially appreciate the thoughtful perspectives shared in recent weeks by Academic Council Chair Palazoglu and Vice Chair Scott, the Council of Graduate Deans, UC faculty members, and you as our campus leaders. Sincerely, James B. Milliken President

socialpixel.bsky.social
Beth Tellman @socialpixel.bsky.social · 20d
The mural also shows the border wall along the Rio grande, the history of agricultural labor, the development of homes electricity education and other futures, the resistance and fight for better healthcare and labor conditions and wages. And so much more!

socialpixel.bsky.social
Beth Tellman @socialpixel.bsky.social · 20d
Mural outside the LUPE offices (La union del Pueblo entero) by Alexandra Ramirez and Norma Perez showing the valley’s history- you see depicted the agricultural and irrigation development- which shapes flood vulnerability today when the canals overflow www.texastribune.org/2024/09/19/l...
At this South Texas political convention, everyone has a voice, regardless of legal status - The Texas Tribune
Inspired by the work of Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, the biennial “cumbre” helps South Texans organize for political change.
www.texastribune.org

socialpixel.bsky.social
Beth Tellman @socialpixel.bsky.social · 20d
Always wonderful to spend time in the Rio Grande Valley with @lucasbelury.bsky.social reading the landscape grateful to spend time in colonias and with community based org ARISE grounding flood dynamics we see from space with lived experiences for the March 2025 floods and role infrastructure plays

socialpixel.bsky.social
Beth Tellman @socialpixel.bsky.social · 25d
@mirelagtulbure.bsky.social I am really excited to see your terremind results!! :)

Reposted by Clark Gray

socialpixel.bsky.social
Beth Tellman @socialpixel.bsky.social · 25d
join us with the Global Flood Partnership next Wednesday am for our ALL WOMEN remote sensing and flooding webinar! @mirelagtulbure.bsky.social @ekta-aggarwal.bsky.social and I discuss AI and flood mapping +applications re: migration + emergency response www.globalfloodpartnership.org/events/gfp-2...
GFP 2025 fall webinar series | Global Flood Partnership
www.globalfloodpartnership.org

Reposted by Beth Tellman

lisaschipper.bsky.social
Prof Lisa Schipper 🌍🍉💪 @lisaschipper.bsky.social · Nov 6
This is a very handy guide to different negotiating positions at COP30 by @carbonbrief.org - www.carbonbrief.org/interactive-...
Interactive: Who wants what at the COP30 climate change summit - Carbon Brief
In order to track parties’ positions on negotiating points at COP30, Carbon Brief has analysed nearly 100 submissions to the UN and captured them in a table
www.carbonbrief.org

Reposted by Jonathan A. Foley, Beth Tellman, Peter Jacobs

projectdrawdown.bsky.social
Project Drawdown @projectdrawdown.bsky.social · Nov 4
Job alert!! Project Drawdown is hiring for 3 roles:

🌐 Program Manager, Global Strategic Partnerships (deadline: Nov 7)
🔬 Research Fellow (deadline: Nov 2)
💹 Senior Analyst, Climate Philanthropy & Investing (deadline: Nov 19)

🔗 View the position descriptions here: drawdown.org/careers
#ClimateJobs
https://drawdown.org/caree…

socialpixel.bsky.social
Beth Tellman @socialpixel.bsky.social · Nov 4
and by images I mean labeled images- ones you can use to go test and train your own algorithms. go poke our results and test your own models. test another foundation model. try some few shot experiments etc! see if alphaearth does anything meaningful. and do let us know what you find!

socialpixel.bsky.social
Beth Tellman @socialpixel.bsky.social · Nov 4
latest out from our lab- led by Saurabh Kaushik- we find at least one geofoundational model (just testing Privthi here) is outperforming CNNs and transformers for mapping glaciers (esp. termini and snouts). we released a dataset with >1800 global images with it too! doi.org/10.1016/j.sr...
Redirecting
doi.org

socialpixel.bsky.social
Beth Tellman @socialpixel.bsky.social · Nov 3
launching the AI for a planet under pressure report with @sthlmresilience.bsky.social and Google's Deep Mind this Wednesday am- Ill be speaking about the role of AI in flooding and climate justice- link here- I will be teaching an undergrad class on this content spring 26! su.bmc.nu/Modules/Even...
AI for a planet under pressure PUBLIC EVENT
su.bmc.nu

Reposted by Peter Thorne, Du Toit, John Hogan , and 3 more

drjeffmasters.bsky.social
Dr. Jeff Masters @drjeffmasters.bsky.social · Oct 28
The western end of Jamaica where #Melissa is projected to make landfall has the least well-built structures of anyplace on the island. Graphic is from a 2021 paper, "Poverty and hurricane risk exposure in Jamaica": www.researchgate.net/publication/...

Reposted by Cas Mudde, Adam Gamoran, Karen Benjamin Guzzo , and 9 more

seeshespeak.bsky.social
Sheila Liming @seeshespeak.bsky.social · Oct 26
BREAKING: economist discovers “second shift,” a concept coined by sociologists almost 50 years ago; gives it new, stupider, and less explicitly labor-oriented name
Highlighted quotation: “As an economist, Low searched for a more precise term to describe how she and other working moms often find themselves stretched for time and energy. She came up with “the squeeze”, and it’s backed by data that shows how women often get burnt out trying to manage competing demands at home and work, especially when they are parenting young children.”

socialpixel.bsky.social
Beth Tellman @socialpixel.bsky.social · Oct 24
Social pixel lab social last month. Someone said to me in my first week the uw memorial union is the best place to get a beer on any college campus in the us. I’m pretty sure that’s true :) lake life!!!

socialpixel.bsky.social
Beth Tellman @socialpixel.bsky.social · Oct 24
Organizers: Beth Tellman (University of Wisconsin Madison), Bertha Hernandez Aguilar (National Laboratory of Sustainability Sciences, Institute of Ecology, UNAM). Sponsored by the Human Dimensions of Global Change and Hazards Specialty Groups

Reposted by Clark Gray

socialpixel.bsky.social
Beth Tellman @socialpixel.bsky.social · Oct 24
Do you work on vulnerability and or dimensions of power or politics in cities? We'd love you in our #aag2026 session email us by oct 31 with your abstract->The role of formal and informal power structures in shaping vulnerability and risk in cities from the Global North to the Global South.

Reposted by Elizabeth Stokoe, Alan Richardson, Els Torreele , and 9 more

carlbergstrom.com
Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · Oct 24
Yet again, we can't afford to let LLMs become a source of epistemic grounding for society.
Largest study of its kind shows AI assistants misrepresent news content 45% of the time – regardless of language or territory
An intensive international study was coordinated by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and led by the BBC
www.bbc.co.uk

Reposted by Erle C. Ellis, Ed Hawkins, Bram Büscher , and 6 more

davidho.bsky.social
David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · Oct 7
News that shocks no one: Carbon offsets do nothing for climate.
Carbon offsets fail to cut global heating due to ‘intractable’ systemic problems, study says
Analysis of 25 years of evidence shows most schemes are poor quality and fail to lower emissions
www.theguardian.com

socialpixel.bsky.social
Beth Tellman @socialpixel.bsky.social · Oct 7
another consequence of failing to take action before the shutdown- the national flood insurance program lapsed on Sept 30- which insures 5M us homes www.realtor.com/advice/finan...
www.realtor.com

socialpixel.bsky.social
Beth Tellman @socialpixel.bsky.social · Oct 3
Horrific and wrong we cannot let this continue to happen in our country
chrislhayes.bsky.social Chris Hayes @chrislhayes.bsky.social · Oct 3
According to eyewitnesses, armed ICE agents dragged kids out of their beds in the middle of the night, zip tied them and put them in rented vans while raiding an * entire apartment building* on the South Side of Chicago.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOXO...
‘F--- them kids’: ICE agents drag children out of bed, ransack Chicago building
YouTube video by MSNBC
www.youtube.com

Reposted by Joanna Bryson, Ken Caldeira, Tom Clark , and 13 more

chrislhayes.bsky.social
Chris Hayes @chrislhayes.bsky.social · Oct 3
According to eyewitnesses, armed ICE agents dragged kids out of their beds in the middle of the night, zip tied them and put them in rented vans while raiding an * entire apartment building* on the South Side of Chicago.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOXO...
‘F--- them kids’: ICE agents drag children out of bed, ransack Chicago building
YouTube video by MSNBC
www.youtube.com

socialpixel.bsky.social
Beth Tellman @socialpixel.bsky.social · Oct 3
I know yall do and I feel so lucky to be somewhere with so many internal grants to access :) it’s why I’m writing so many!!

socialpixel.bsky.social
Beth Tellman @socialpixel.bsky.social · Oct 2
when designing an index- check out multiple sources of data to see what converges or diverges before designing a policy. You might need multiple indices to increase your confidence you pay out in the right floods and lower your basis risk. using a simple rainfall index could fail to trigger beware!

socialpixel.bsky.social
Beth Tellman @socialpixel.bsky.social · Oct 2
TLDR. satellite, rainfall, stream gauge data all tell you something different about floods and if you pick one for index insurance- that matters! the AI based satellite product we developed (MODIS+S1) has lower uncertainty (would could make premiums cheaper) and pays out sooner than others