Alec Luhn
@alecluhn.com
Environment reporter @NewScientist.com | Kavli, Schmidt & Covering Climate Now winner 🏆 | 2x Emmy nominee | non-beefeater 🐄 | icemushroom.substack.com ✉️
Pinned
Alec Luhn
@alecluhn.com
· Nov 14
Why Are Alaska's Rivers Turning Orange?
Streams in Alaska are turning orange with iron and sulfuric acid. Scientists are trying to figure out why
www.scientificamerican.com
'Why Are Alaska's Rivers Turning Orange?' won a Kavli 🙌
I'm humbled & thankful to AAAS to be recognized with the oldest US science journalism award.
Covering climate science feels more high-stakes than ever before...
sjawards.aaas.org/news/2024-aa...
www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-...
I'm humbled & thankful to AAAS to be recognized with the oldest US science journalism award.
Covering climate science feels more high-stakes than ever before...
sjawards.aaas.org/news/2024-aa...
www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-...
Reposted by Alec Luhn
This photo was taken in 1911 using glass plate technology by Herbert Ponting who was part of Scott's Antarctic expedition,
The composition and detail are exquisite with the band of white snow/ice creating a perfect frame around the two people and the ship in the distance
Iconic imo
The composition and detail are exquisite with the band of white snow/ice creating a perfect frame around the two people and the ship in the distance
Iconic imo
January 17, 2026 at 7:12 AM
This photo was taken in 1911 using glass plate technology by Herbert Ponting who was part of Scott's Antarctic expedition,
The composition and detail are exquisite with the band of white snow/ice creating a perfect frame around the two people and the ship in the distance
Iconic imo
The composition and detail are exquisite with the band of white snow/ice creating a perfect frame around the two people and the ship in the distance
Iconic imo
The High Seas Treaty, which will allow countries to establish protected areas outside territorial waters, takes effect today after 20yrs of talks.
Scientists like Sylvia Earle call it a “turning pt” for biodiversity.
Protected areas raise fish catch nearby too www.newscientist.com/article/2512...
Scientists like Sylvia Earle call it a “turning pt” for biodiversity.
Protected areas raise fish catch nearby too www.newscientist.com/article/2512...
First treaty to protect the high seas comes into force
A United Nations agreement for the “conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity” in the open oceans has now taken effect
www.newscientist.com
January 17, 2026 at 12:00 PM
The High Seas Treaty, which will allow countries to establish protected areas outside territorial waters, takes effect today after 20yrs of talks.
Scientists like Sylvia Earle call it a “turning pt” for biodiversity.
Protected areas raise fish catch nearby too www.newscientist.com/article/2512...
Scientists like Sylvia Earle call it a “turning pt” for biodiversity.
Protected areas raise fish catch nearby too www.newscientist.com/article/2512...
Reposted by Alec Luhn
Don't make me dig up my posts telling y'all that voting for Jill Stein is voting to make the world a more evil and dangerous place.
January 16, 2026 at 1:42 AM
Don't make me dig up my posts telling y'all that voting for Jill Stein is voting to make the world a more evil and dangerous place.
Yesterday the UK Met Office, EU Copernicus, Berkeley Earth, WMO & NASA released findings 2024 was essentially tied for 2nd hottest year.
Guess which one didn't mention climate change www.france24.com/en/live-news...
Guess which one didn't mention climate change www.france24.com/en/live-news...
NASA reports record heat but omits reference to climate change
Don't say the c-word.
www.france24.com
January 15, 2026 at 11:18 AM
Yesterday the UK Met Office, EU Copernicus, Berkeley Earth, WMO & NASA released findings 2024 was essentially tied for 2nd hottest year.
Guess which one didn't mention climate change www.france24.com/en/live-news...
Guess which one didn't mention climate change www.france24.com/en/live-news...
The past 3yrs were 1.5C warmer than preindustrial & experts say we're underestimating the impacts:
“This is Titanic risk modelling, looking backwards from the... Titanic in April 1912 & predicting a smooth voyage. This fails the 1st principles of risk management” www.newscientist.com/article/2511...
“This is Titanic risk modelling, looking backwards from the... Titanic in April 1912 & predicting a smooth voyage. This fails the 1st principles of risk management” www.newscientist.com/article/2511...
Sooner-than-expected climate impacts could cost the world trillions
A report warns that we may have seriously underestimated the rate of warming, which could damage economic growth
www.newscientist.com
January 14, 2026 at 12:48 PM
The past 3yrs were 1.5C warmer than preindustrial & experts say we're underestimating the impacts:
“This is Titanic risk modelling, looking backwards from the... Titanic in April 1912 & predicting a smooth voyage. This fails the 1st principles of risk management” www.newscientist.com/article/2511...
“This is Titanic risk modelling, looking backwards from the... Titanic in April 1912 & predicting a smooth voyage. This fails the 1st principles of risk management” www.newscientist.com/article/2511...
I couldn't find a starter pack of people posting about the #Arctic, #Antarctic, Himalayas, #glacier, snow, #Thwaites, #cryosphere, etc., so I made one.
It's called Ice Pack, naturally:
go.bsky.app/8VxBraA
It's called Ice Pack, naturally:
go.bsky.app/8VxBraA
January 13, 2026 at 6:49 PM
I couldn't find a starter pack of people posting about the #Arctic, #Antarctic, Himalayas, #glacier, snow, #Thwaites, #cryosphere, etc., so I made one.
It's called Ice Pack, naturally:
go.bsky.app/8VxBraA
It's called Ice Pack, naturally:
go.bsky.app/8VxBraA
Reposted by Alec Luhn
💥 Boom! And it's just happened. The huge volumes of meltwater that had collected on the surface of iceberg A23a have triggered a massive and catastrophic hydrofracture event. Much of the berg has turned to mush. Three major segments remain, the largest about 500 sq km.
January 12, 2026 at 7:13 PM
💥 Boom! And it's just happened. The huge volumes of meltwater that had collected on the surface of iceberg A23a have triggered a massive and catastrophic hydrofracture event. Much of the berg has turned to mush. Three major segments remain, the largest about 500 sq km.
Reposted by Alec Luhn
Reposted by Alec Luhn
RIP to one of the greatest American rock musicians of all time, Bob Weir. One more Saturday night, my friend.
Grateful Dead – One More Saturday Night (Tivoli Concert Hall 4/17/72) | Meet Up At The Movies 2022
YouTube video by Grateful Dead
youtu.be
January 11, 2026 at 6:17 AM
RIP to one of the greatest American rock musicians of all time, Bob Weir. One more Saturday night, my friend.
Reposted by Alec Luhn
Kristi Noem, while governor of South Dakota, supplemented her roughly $130,000 salary by secretly accepting $80,000 donated to a political nonprofit she was affiliated with, records show.
She never disclosed this income on federal ethics forms.
(Published June 2025)
She never disclosed this income on federal ethics forms.
(Published June 2025)
Kristi Noem Secretly Took a Cut of Political Donations
A dark money group paid $80,000 to Noem’s personal company when she was governor of South Dakota. She did not include this income on her federal disclosure forms, a likely violation of ethics requirem...
www.propublica.org
January 11, 2026 at 4:00 AM
Kristi Noem, while governor of South Dakota, supplemented her roughly $130,000 salary by secretly accepting $80,000 donated to a political nonprofit she was affiliated with, records show.
She never disclosed this income on federal ethics forms.
(Published June 2025)
She never disclosed this income on federal ethics forms.
(Published June 2025)
RIP Bob Weir. This was the last song he ever performed, Touch of Grey at the Grateful Dead’s 60th anniversary in San Francisco.
No one knew he had just been diagnosed with cancer.
Jerry Garcia was the sorcerer, & Robert Hunter was the mad poet, but Bob was the heart & soul of the Dead.
No one knew he had just been diagnosed with cancer.
Jerry Garcia was the sorcerer, & Robert Hunter was the mad poet, but Bob was the heart & soul of the Dead.
January 11, 2026 at 10:10 AM
RIP Bob Weir. This was the last song he ever performed, Touch of Grey at the Grateful Dead’s 60th anniversary in San Francisco.
No one knew he had just been diagnosed with cancer.
Jerry Garcia was the sorcerer, & Robert Hunter was the mad poet, but Bob was the heart & soul of the Dead.
No one knew he had just been diagnosed with cancer.
Jerry Garcia was the sorcerer, & Robert Hunter was the mad poet, but Bob was the heart & soul of the Dead.
ICE now trying to deport Native Americans. Guys, their name literally spells it out for you
Looks like ICE is now cracking down on … Native Americans.
This letter was just posted by the chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North/South Dakota:
“Our Nation is a sovereign government and our members are not immigrants. We are not subject to immigration enforcement on our own lands.”
This letter was just posted by the chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North/South Dakota:
“Our Nation is a sovereign government and our members are not immigrants. We are not subject to immigration enforcement on our own lands.”
January 10, 2026 at 2:20 PM
ICE now trying to deport Native Americans. Guys, their name literally spells it out for you
Cutting & dumping boreal trees into rivers flowing to the Arctic Ocean, where they would sink, could be a cheap way to remove atmospheric CO2.
Pros: It's happened before, & wildfires are increasingly burning down the forest
Cons: Almost every step could backfire www.newscientist.com/article/2510...
Pros: It's happened before, & wildfires are increasingly burning down the forest
Cons: Almost every step could backfire www.newscientist.com/article/2510...
Sinking trees in Arctic Ocean could remove 1 billion tonnes of CO2
Cutting down boreal forest and sinking the felled trees in the depths of the Arctic Ocean could remove up to 1 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year – but it could come at a c...
www.newscientist.com
January 10, 2026 at 1:56 PM
Cutting & dumping boreal trees into rivers flowing to the Arctic Ocean, where they would sink, could be a cheap way to remove atmospheric CO2.
Pros: It's happened before, & wildfires are increasingly burning down the forest
Cons: Almost every step could backfire www.newscientist.com/article/2510...
Pros: It's happened before, & wildfires are increasingly burning down the forest
Cons: Almost every step could backfire www.newscientist.com/article/2510...
Banning business class could halve aviation emissions, along with flying most efficient current planes & loading them fuller www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Revealed: how aviation emissions could be halved without cutting journeys
Exclusive: Getting rid of premium seats, ensuring flights are near full and using efficient aircraft could slash CO2, analysis suggests
www.theguardian.com
January 7, 2026 at 11:52 AM
Banning business class could halve aviation emissions, along with flying most efficient current planes & loading them fuller www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Subsidizing green tech now & putting a price on CO2 emissions in 2035 could get the US most of the way to net zero by 2050—& cost far less than delaying.
But current US policy inconsistency—Trump canceling Biden green subsidies—is the "worst case on all fronts" www.newscientist.com/article/2509...
But current US policy inconsistency—Trump canceling Biden green subsidies—is the "worst case on all fronts" www.newscientist.com/article/2509...
US will need both carrots and sticks to reach net zero
Modelling suggests both carbon taxes and green subsidies will be necessary to decarbonise the US economy, but the inconsistent policies of successive presidents are the "worst case" scenario
www.newscientist.com
January 6, 2026 at 12:29 PM
Subsidizing green tech now & putting a price on CO2 emissions in 2035 could get the US most of the way to net zero by 2050—& cost far less than delaying.
But current US policy inconsistency—Trump canceling Biden green subsidies—is the "worst case on all fronts" www.newscientist.com/article/2509...
But current US policy inconsistency—Trump canceling Biden green subsidies—is the "worst case on all fronts" www.newscientist.com/article/2509...
The Arctic is going to suffer 1.5C of “irreversible” warming even if we reduce global temperatures to preindustrial.
Meaning continued melt of sea ice & the Greenland ice sheet, in the best case.
This is one of several Arctic stories in my latest newsletter: icemushroom.substack.com/p/december-i...
Meaning continued melt of sea ice & the Greenland ice sheet, in the best case.
This is one of several Arctic stories in my latest newsletter: icemushroom.substack.com/p/december-i...
January 6, 2026 at 9:56 AM
The Arctic is going to suffer 1.5C of “irreversible” warming even if we reduce global temperatures to preindustrial.
Meaning continued melt of sea ice & the Greenland ice sheet, in the best case.
This is one of several Arctic stories in my latest newsletter: icemushroom.substack.com/p/december-i...
Meaning continued melt of sea ice & the Greenland ice sheet, in the best case.
This is one of several Arctic stories in my latest newsletter: icemushroom.substack.com/p/december-i...
One of the 1st sediment cores from Greenland shows a 500m thick ice dome melted entirely at warming similar to what we'll likely see by 2100.
"This is very direct evidence that the ice sheet is as sensitive as we feared to even a relatively small amount of warming." newscientist.com/article/2510...
"This is very direct evidence that the ice sheet is as sensitive as we feared to even a relatively small amount of warming." newscientist.com/article/2510...
Northern Greenland ice dome melted before and could melt again
Prudhoe Ice Dome disappeared during a warm period 7000 years ago. Global warming could cause similar temperatures by 2100, showing the ice sheet’s vulnerability
newscientist.com
January 5, 2026 at 6:55 PM
One of the 1st sediment cores from Greenland shows a 500m thick ice dome melted entirely at warming similar to what we'll likely see by 2100.
"This is very direct evidence that the ice sheet is as sensitive as we feared to even a relatively small amount of warming." newscientist.com/article/2510...
"This is very direct evidence that the ice sheet is as sensitive as we feared to even a relatively small amount of warming." newscientist.com/article/2510...
Reposted by Alec Luhn
An explorer and a glaciologist are kite-skiing across Antarctica with a ground-penetrating radar to gather data that will help understand the past and future of the ice sheet
The duo kite-skiing 4000 kilometres across Antarctica for science
An explorer and a glaciologist are kite-skiing across Antarctica with a ground-penetrating radar to gather data that will help understand the past and future of the ice sheet
www.newscientist.com
January 5, 2026 at 6:42 PM
An explorer and a glaciologist are kite-skiing across Antarctica with a ground-penetrating radar to gather data that will help understand the past and future of the ice sheet
Well, that should get Trump to back down news.sky.com/story/uk-gov...
Starmer says he stands with Greenland after Trump threatens to take it over
Donald Trump has said the US "does need Greenland", prompting concern he will invade the Danish territory after attacking Venezuela and capturing the country's president.
news.sky.com
January 5, 2026 at 12:58 PM
Well, that should get Trump to back down news.sky.com/story/uk-gov...
Reposted by Alec Luhn
What could go wrong? 🤷🏻♂️
U.S. Ran a War Game on Ousting Maduro. Venezuela Fell Into Chaos.
www.nytimes.com
January 4, 2026 at 10:31 AM
What could go wrong? 🤷🏻♂️
Reposted by Alec Luhn
Let the party begin:
“Myers said in an interview he is planning a trip to Venezuela with officials from top hedge funds and asset managers to determine whether there are investment prospects in the country under new leadership.” (H/t @antoniajuhasz.bsky.social) www.wsj.com/livecoverage...
“Myers said in an interview he is planning a trip to Venezuela with officials from top hedge funds and asset managers to determine whether there are investment prospects in the country under new leadership.” (H/t @antoniajuhasz.bsky.social) www.wsj.com/livecoverage...
Finance Industry Eyes Investment Opportunities in Venezuela
Some on Wall Street are already considering possible investment opportunities in Venezuela following the capture of Nicolás Maduro, according to Charles Myers, chairman of consulting firm Signum Globa...
www.wsj.com
January 3, 2026 at 7:57 PM
Let the party begin:
“Myers said in an interview he is planning a trip to Venezuela with officials from top hedge funds and asset managers to determine whether there are investment prospects in the country under new leadership.” (H/t @antoniajuhasz.bsky.social) www.wsj.com/livecoverage...
“Myers said in an interview he is planning a trip to Venezuela with officials from top hedge funds and asset managers to determine whether there are investment prospects in the country under new leadership.” (H/t @antoniajuhasz.bsky.social) www.wsj.com/livecoverage...
Reposted by Alec Luhn
I still can’t get used to Marjorie Taylor Greene being the person in Congress that’s most meeting the moment.
January 3, 2026 at 7:48 PM
I still can’t get used to Marjorie Taylor Greene being the person in Congress that’s most meeting the moment.