Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Katie McCaskey @katiemccaskey.bsky.social · 5d

insanity... what a loss

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 6d

Picture how big the Hoover Dam is. An absolute unit. The Hoover Dam has a power capacity of 2 gigawatts (GW).

The solar farm that the Admin just cancelled could have produces 6.2 GW of power. That's more than 3 Hoover Dams.

jael holzman @jael.bsky.social · 6d

SCOOP: The Bureau of Land Management says the largest solar project in Nevada — the Esmeralda 7 mega-farm — has been canceled

The news was quietly dropped via a sudden website update with no public word from any of the companies involved or a statement from the agency

@heatmap.news

Katie McCaskey @katiemccaskey.bsky.social · 6d

well, all of the DMV! (also, light pollution in general... )

Katie McCaskey @katiemccaskey.bsky.social · 6d

hey DC, peak bird migration right now...over 2M last night! please keep extra exterior lights off to help them fly south! dashboard.birdcast.info/region/US-DC

District of Columbia - BirdCast Migration Dashboard

Explore nightly migration data in your region

dashboard.birdcast.info

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Katie McCaskey @katiemccaskey.bsky.social · 9d

"Better, & more expansive, east-west transit [is] a moral imperative for residents who live east of the Anacostia River. They [...] face some of the greatest transit burdens in the city, & their relative exclusion from public investment is now, cynically, being used to justify another project"

A transit-first vision for RFK doesn’t end with Metrorail

The RFK campus can be a major asset in the District’s transportation network, if elected officials make the right investments.

ggwash.org

Katie McCaskey @katiemccaskey.bsky.social · 13d

2 out of 3!

Katie McCaskey @katiemccaskey.bsky.social · 13d

absolutely loved this story

The New York Times @nytimes.com · 16d

Charlotte Chopin, who is 102 years old, has taught yoga in the French village Léré since 1982. Here’s how she keeps moving.

A 102-Year-Old Yoga Teacher’s Simple Approach to Aging Well

For decades, Charlotte Chopin has been bending and stretching in Léré, a village in France. Here’s how she keeps moving.

nyti.ms

Katie McCaskey @katiemccaskey.bsky.social · 13d

DC, it is #WeekWithoutDriving

ggwash.org/dcten/week-w...

DC Week Without Driving 2025 - DC Transportation Equity Network

The National Week Without Driving (September 29 to October 5, 2025) invites public officials and members of the general public to learn firsthand about the challenges that non-drivers face in their co...

ggwash.org

Katie McCaskey @katiemccaskey.bsky.social · 14d

"Ideas whose time has come" @scientistsorg.bsky.social CEO Daniel Correa talks about policy entrepreneurship during rapid tech transformation on the Accelerate Science Now podcast, here: tinyurl.com/55mzhhn9

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Reposted by Katie McCaskey

The Onion @theonion.com · 15d

Hungover Hegseth Struggling To Remember How He Ended Up In Room Full Of Generals

QUANTICO, VA—Racking his brain for answers as he gazed out at the high-ranking officers gathered before him, a visibly hungover Pete Hegseth reportedly struggled Tuesday to remember exactly how he end...

theonion.com

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Reposted by Katie McCaskey

Thea Riofrancos @triofrancos.bsky.social · Mar 3

Why are minerals so central to geopolitics? How green are electric cars? Why is anti-mining protest increasing? Can the inequalities of the global economy be transformed?

I tackle these topics in my book EXTRACTION: The Frontiers of Green Capitalism

👀 September 2025 @wwnorton.bsky.social

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Katie McCaskey @katiemccaskey.bsky.social · 19d

great news to help normalize cycling city-wide

Reposted by Katie McCaskey

Jessica McKenzie @jessimckenzi.bsky.social · 20d

happy to chat on record/on background/off record!

Jessica McKenzie @jessimckenzi.bsky.social · 20d

feel like this is a long shot (everybody keeps telling me nobody wants to talk) but if you work at a federal agency that does Earth or climate science—bonus points if you're a scientist yourself—and you want to tell me about your anxieties as the budget deadline approaches, i would love to talk!

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Katie McCaskey @katiemccaskey.bsky.social · 20d

thank you @wired.com for these first person accounts of DOGE in the federal government

www.wired.com/story/oral-h...

The Story of DOGE, as Told by Federal Workers

WIRED spoke with more than 200 federal workers in dozens of agencies to learn what happened as the Department of Government Efficiency tore through their offices.

www.wired.com

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Katie McCaskey @katiemccaskey.bsky.social · 20d

kudos to the descriptive skill of this writer, Oliver Kornetzke

lengthy and accurate description of US President Donald Trump

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Katie McCaskey @katiemccaskey.bsky.social · 20d

"Computers can now invent viable — even potent — viruses." www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Opinion | AI just created a working virus. The U.S. isn’t prepared for that.

A stunning scientific accomplishment brings both great promise and great risk.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Reposted by Katie McCaskey

Scoville Fellowship @scovillepf.bsky.social · Sep 15

Recent college & grad school alumni:

Work for 6 to 9 months with one of over 2 dozen NGOs in DC on international peace & security issues, including nuclear arms control, peacebuilding, & diplomacy. Apply by Oct. 20 to @scovillepf.bsky.social for the spring '26 semester. scoville.org

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Reposted by Katie McCaskey

jael holzman @jael.bsky.social · Sep 11

hold space for your outrage, but remember that they want you to be outraged.

the thing they’d hate the most is for you to stay head down and focus on securing your rights, your health care, your environment.

they’d despise it if you focused on a better future, hand in hand. that would show them.

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Katie McCaskey @katiemccaskey.bsky.social · 28d

Russia's “‘PolitStacker’ is the world’s first television program created by artificial intelligence” by @mjgault.bsky.social on @404media.co www.404media.co/russian-stat...

Russian State TV Launches AI-Generated News Satire Show

An AI-generated show on Russian TV includes Trump singing obnoxious songs and talking about golden toilets.

www.404media.co

Reposted by Katie McCaskey

Federation of American Scientists @scientistsorg.bsky.social · 29d

Con-GRACE-ulations to our very own Grace Wickerson for their well-deserved recognition as a 2025 @grist.org 50 fixer.

Grace works tirelessly to develop and promote evidence-based solutions to the extreme heat epidemic in particular and the climate crisis at large.

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Reposted by Katie McCaskey

ProPublica @propublica.org · Sep 12

Read the full series here:
www.propublica.org/series/life-...

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Katie McCaskey @katiemccaskey.bsky.social · Sep 12

he looks like he's wearing a sweater!

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Reposted by Katie McCaskey

dataindex.us @dataindex.us · Sep 11

In the second part of Peter Bonner’s series on the cancellation of the 2025 FEVS, he addresses common complaints and offers both short- and long-term recommendations.

Read the full blog post to learn more: dataindex.us/newsletter/a...

How to Make the FEVS Better | America's Data Index

dataindex.us

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Katie McCaskey @katiemccaskey.bsky.social · Sep 11

"Losing this data for 2025 hamstrings federal managers from making evidence-based decisions" writes Peter Bonner of @scientistsorg.bsky.social

dataindex.us @dataindex.us · Sep 11

In the second part of Peter Bonner’s series on the cancellation of the 2025 FEVS, he addresses common complaints and offers both short- and long-term recommendations.

Read the full blog post to learn more: dataindex.us/newsletter/a...

How to Make the FEVS Better | America's Data Index

dataindex.us

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Reposted by Katie McCaskey

Zohran Kwame Mamdani @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social · Sep 10

I'm horrified by the shooting of Charlie Kirk at a college event in Utah.

Political violence has no place in our country.

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Katie McCaskey @katiemccaskey.bsky.social · Sep 10

"Despite widespread recognition of the need to mitigate the threats posed by catastrophic wildfire and ecosystem degradation, our lands and communities are at risk now more than ever" 🌳 @scientistsorg.bsky.social + 21 orgs support #FixOurForests Letter to the Senate: fas.org/publication/...

The Fix Our Forests Act (S. 1462) bill provides an opportunity to speed up the planning and implementation of wildfire risk reduction projects on federal lands while expanding collaborative tools to bring more partners into this vital work.

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