Jason Walters
LightNews LightNews
banner
globalsherpa.bsky.social
Jason Walters
@globalsherpa.bsky.social
610 followers 1K following 70 posts
Advocate for nature, sustainability, and inclusion. Posts may include native plants, wildlife and trail cam pics, maps and data, and occasional world tour cycling references. Chicago-based.
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Pinned
globalsherpa.bsky.social
Jason Walters @globalsherpa.bsky.social · Jun 12
Beaver Feaver: Ranchers go from beaver hunters to recruiters. "Rivers and streams with healthy beaver populations support more biodiversity, are more drought resilient, and keep water available on the land for more days of the year."
@bengoldfarb.bsky.social @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social #nature
Researchers Become “Beaver Believers” After Measuring the Impacts of Rewilding - NASA
Researchers are using NASA Earth observations to monitor impacts of beaver restoration on water availability in drought-prone ecosystems.
www.nasa.gov
1 5 27
Reposted by Jason Walters
gregorsemieniuk.bsky.social
Gregor Semieniuk @gregorsemieniuk.bsky.social · 18d
🚨NEW PAPER🚨
We all know the 2022 energy price shock fueled the cost of living crisis. It also caused a profit bonanza for the very rich. We show the US reaped the largest profits ($377bn) of any country. 50% went to the richest 1%, only 1% to the bottom 50%. A🧵 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
River or sankey diagram showing the allocation of profits from global oil and gas companies to quantiles of the US wealth size distribution via financial system intermediaries, such as asset managers, and categories of ultimate beneficiaries, such as business owners, pension funds and shareholders in listed companies. The scale is hundreds of billions of US dollars, and ultimately 50.4% of profits reaching the US personal wealth distribution go to the richest 1% of households.
10 210 380
globalsherpa.bsky.social
Jason Walters @globalsherpa.bsky.social · 2d
“Although it pains me as an Englishman to admit it, and however unpatriotic it sounds, the numbers don’t lie. Britain needs to be more French if Labour’s warm homes plan is to succeed,” said Adam Bell, director of policy at Stonehaven.
globalsherpa.bsky.social
Jason Walters @globalsherpa.bsky.social · 2d
It's not just right wing billionaires & tech control of media & news, readership of local news sites is cratering. -- 2025 State of Local News Report @medillschool.bsky.social.
How do we help people to value & recognize real news & journalism again over misleading social media & content creators?
jayrosen.bsky.social Jay Rosen @jayrosen.bsky.social · 2d
It's not just the newspapers.

"While declines to print readership are almost a foregone conclusion, 'digital traffic to local news sites is experiencing a cratering similar to that of print,' State of Local News Project director Zach Metzger writes in the report. www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/in-m...
2 4 7
Reposted by Jason Walters
volts.wtf
David Roberts @volts.wtf · 2d
"Simply put, the Geometry Problem is that cars are much bigger than humans. ... these physical differences mean that when we optimize places for cars, they end up not working well (or working at all) for any other mode. They become *car-only* places."

Great post, lays it out very clearly.
The Geometry Problem
Suburbia doesn't scale
postsuburban.substack.com
11 95 380
Reposted by Jason Walters
ifpri.org
International Food Policy Research Institute @ifpri.org · 3d
Rob Vos of IFPRI warns: “For the foreseeable future, we should expect the price of our food to remain volatile and increasing.”

His new piece in Welternährung explores how global shocks are driving food inflation — and what it means for low-income countries.

📖 on.cgiar.org/4oCvPh3

@cgiar.org
Global Trade: Food Prices are Likely to Remain High and Volatile
How do wars, tariff disputes and currency fluctuations affect the international trade in agricultural products? Poor countries suffer disproportionately from inflation risks and food insecurity.
www.welthungerhilfe.org
1 1
Reposted by Jason Walters
judiciarydems.senate.gov
Senate Judiciary Democrats 🇺🇸 @judiciarydems.senate.gov · 3d
BREAKING: Per new reporting, ICE recruits have shown up to training without full vetting under Kristi Noem. One was discovered to have a history of robbery and battery related to domestic violence while already in training.
230 1K 2.3K
Reposted by Jason Walters
clancyny.bsky.social
Eileen Clancy 🧿 @clancyny.bsky.social · 3d
IMPACT of photojournalism and local reporting. @chicago.suntimes.com Anthony Vazquez [left] and @ashleerezin.bsky.social's [right] photos of Bovino from by @apnews.com 12:53pm (EDT). ~3 hours later, Judge Ellis expands Bovino's deposition.

Major error by Bovino because he can't deny knowledge.
Bovino in full camouflage holding with an assault rifle. the other agents are wearing gaiters, sunglasses and gas masks. caption: U.S. Border Patrol Commander-At-Large Gregory Bovino stands with federal immigration enforcement agents during a skirmish with protesters in Little Village neighborhood, Chicago Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (Anthony Vazquez/Chicago Sun-Times via AP) Updated Oct 23, 2025 12:53 p.m. Greg Bovino, the chief patrol agent for the U.S. Border Patrol El Centro sector, asks a pedestrian their birth country as the pedestrian films federal agents detaining a man who took off running away from them as they were walking on North Clark Street near West Superior Street in the River North neighborhood, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in Chicago. (Ashlee Rezin /Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
7 110 310
Reposted by Jason Walters
wildwoods.bsky.social
Evan Frost @wildwoods.bsky.social · 10d
Another step in the attempted privatization of public lands -- let them get trashed.
highcountrynews.org High Country News @highcountrynews.org · 10d
Under the federal government shutdown, public lands agencies say they’ll keep parks open and continue oil and gas permitting — even as they furlough tens of thousands of employees. Advocates warn the approach will do lasting ecological damage.
Visiting public lands during the shutdown? Be polite and prepared - High Country News
Public land advocates say the shutdown threatens resources but offer advice on how to help.
buff.ly
2 4
Reposted by Jason Walters
civileats.com
Civil Eats @civileats.com · 15d
Despite federal roadblocks, an ambitious agroforestry program is feeding people, cleaning the air, and helping offset climate change.

“It’s not just planting trees. These are community-informed designs.”
Denver’s Food Forests Provide Free Fruit While Greening the Environment
Despite federal roadblocks, an ambitious agroforestry program is feeding people, cleaning the air, and helping offset climate change.
buff.ly
7 13
Reposted by Jason Walters
brenttoderian.bsky.social
Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 16d
“The transformation is astonishing. [Paris] has quietly—& quickly—become one of the most bike-friendly cities in the world. What started as a series of emergency “coronapistes” or pop-up bike lanes, built during the pandemic has evolved into a permanent bike network spanning hundreds of kilometres.”
New Study Shows How Paris Pedaled Its Way to a Cycling Revolution
Cycling through central Paris meant weaving between buses and scooters—a bold choice reserved for the fearless few.
momentummag.com
14 230 890
Reposted by Jason Walters
washingtonpost.com
The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 16d
Exclusive: Tech billionaire Peter Thiel warned that Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and critics of AI are “legionnaires of the Antichrist” in private lectures that connected government oversight of Silicon Valley to an apocalyptic future.
Inside billionaire Peter Thiel’s private lectures: Warnings of ‘the Antichrist’ and U.S. destruction
In leaked recordings of private lectures by tech billionaire Peter Thiel he argued that “the Antichrist” is likely to take the form of a critic of technology.
wapo.st
150 110 240
Reposted by Jason Walters
james-bg.bsky.social
James Murray @james-bg.bsky.social · 17d
That England has had its three worst harvests on record inside the past five years really should be being treated as a much bigger cause for concern than is currently the case. www.businessgreen.com/news/4520171...
'This is what farming with climate change looks like': England endures second worst harvest on record
New analysis confirms three of the five worst harvests on record have occurred in the past five years on the back of extreme heat, drought, and rainfall
www.businessgreen.com
6 170 270
Reposted by Jason Walters
drjeffmasters.bsky.social
Dr. Jeff Masters @drjeffmasters.bsky.social · 18d
Drought is climate change's biggest threat: If this winter is as dry as last winter, and no major reductions in use occur, Lake Powell by 2027 would have no storage left and “would have to be operated as a ‘run of river' facility” in which only the inflow from the river could be released downstream.
‘No One Comes Out of This Unscathed’: Experts Warn That Colorado River Use Needs Cutting Immediately - Inside Climate News
A new report finds that Lakes Mead and Powell, the nation’s largest reservoirs, could store just 9 percent of their combined capacity by the end of next summer.
insideclimatenews.org
7 45 110
Reposted by Jason Walters
leanahosea.bsky.social
Leana Hosea @leanahosea.bsky.social · 18d
Political parties' positions on climate, conservation + pollution often seem to align more closely with their donors' wishes than voters'.

Remind me who Reform's big funders are...
10 19
Reposted by Jason Walters
sammyroth.bsky.social
Sammy Roth @sammyroth.bsky.social · 18d
Amazing to see solar generate a record 39% of California’s electricity from January through July. www.canarymedia.com/articles/sol...
Solar is crushing gas power in California this year
The state’s combination of solar and battery plants has pushed clean generation of electricity to new heights, offering a welcome reprieve from high gas…
www.canarymedia.com
2 58 210
Reposted by Jason Walters
watershed-i.bsky.social
WATERSHED Investigations @watershed-i.bsky.social · 18d
Jubb describes the decline of the river really got going from 2016 onwards, when licenses for intensive chicken farms began to be granted in numbers not seen before - leading to a burden of phosphate + nitrate more than the river can process:
1 21 55
globalsherpa.bsky.social
Jason Walters @globalsherpa.bsky.social · 19d
This really feels pretty lame and disappointing considering the Pope is from Chicago.
5
Reposted by Jason Walters
oceanauk.bsky.social
Oceana UK @oceanauk.bsky.social · 19d
Dutch supermarkets to stop selling Atlantic mackerel due to overfishing concerns 🚨

Northeast Atlantic mackerel is on the brink & experts have warned catch limits must be slashed by 70% to save them

This is serious. If we don't respect the science, our seas will suffer.
nltimes.nl/2025/10/06/d...
Dutch supermarkets halt Atlantic mackerel sales amid overfishing concerns
Albert Heijn, Lidl, and Jumbo, the Netherlands’ largest supermarket chains, are halting sales of Atlantic mackerel due to overfishing concerns, NOS reports.Current stock will still be sold, but Lidl p...
nltimes.nl
2 17 28
Reposted by Jason Walters
kevinjkircher.com
Kevin J. CREATURE @kevinjkircher.com · 19d
Winds tend to blow faster at night and in the winter, which is why wind is pretty great in electrified future scenarios - it aligns well with demand for space heating, the main driver of electricity demand peaks in grids with deep electrification. Also why wind nicely complements solar.
kostyack.bsky.social John Kostyack @kostyack.bsky.social · 19d
Nope, Energy Sec'y Wright, offshore winds in fact blow in winter. 1st year of operational data from NY's South Fork Wind project shows a 47% capacity factor in the year ending June 2025, with performance highest in the winter. Coal's avg capacity factor: 42%.
Wright says it’s not windy in winter. Data says otherwise.
Stats from South Fork Wind's first year undermine the Energy secretary's assertions that offshore turbines don't operate well in the winter.
www.eenews.net
2 12 44
Reposted by Jason Walters
dlknowles.bsky.social
Daniel Knowles @dlknowles.bsky.social · 22d
I visited the apartment building ICE raided on Tuesday today. Story to come, but you can walk right in. Half of the apartments have no doors on them. Children's stuff abandoned in some flats. *Citizen* residents told me they were arrested and held for hours in zipties. This is America
470 7.5K 18K
Reposted by Jason Walters
bishtoons.bsky.social
BISHTOONS @bishtoons.bsky.social · 23d
My latest cartoon.
14 110 460
Reposted by Jason Walters
robertferry.bsky.social
Rob @robertferry.bsky.social · 24d
If every owner of a warehouse or big box installed rooftop solar, not only would they all end up saving money, we wouldn't have to build new gas power plants for data centers. 800,000 roofs like this one in New Castle, PA would generate 606 TWh/year.
1 6 16
Reposted by Jason Walters
davidzipper.bsky.social
David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 24d
You might think that the mayor of Yellowknife, the capital of Canada's vast Northwest Territories, would be a fan of giant pickups.

Nope. He's disgusted by car bloat.

www.linkedin.com/posts/benjam...
46 440 1.7K
Reposted by Jason Walters
jayrosen.bsky.social
Jay Rosen @jayrosen.bsky.social · 27d
If you wondered how many of the major newsrooms covering the Pentagon would give in to Pete Hegseth and sign a new agreement if they wanted to maintain access, it looks like the answer is... none. So far. Via @status.news
55 360 1.2K
Reposted by Jason Walters
lanrickbennett.bsky.social
Lanrick Bennett @lanrickbennett.bsky.social · 25d
Really enjoy working on @uoftcities.bsky.social projects like this.

Heavy lifting by @jamaps.bsky.social with data analysis & visualization. Also Mia Wang who’s led data collection and GIS data processing.

Who are streets for?

h/t @daniel-romm.bsky.social @ohtheurbanity.bsky.social #IdeasAtWork
uoftcities.bsky.social School of Cities @uoftcities.bsky.social · 25d
The distribution of public land in cities has serious implications for how we move, how safe we feel, and who can access opportunities. @lanrickbennett.bsky.social + our data viz team find that 80% of T.O. street space is dedicated to motor vehicles:
Who are streets for?
More than 80% of street space in Toronto is inequitably dedicated to motor vehicles. How can this be fairly re-designed?
schoolofcities.github.io
1 3 7