Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Rob Verchick @robverchick.bsky.social · 17h

I'm attending No Kings's event, “No Kings NOLA” - sign up now to join me! www.mobilize.us/indivisible/...

Our rights were never given — they were won. From the ballot box to the picket line, generations of Americans have fought to secure fundamental freedom and dignity for all of us. On 10/18/25 there w...

www.mobilize.us

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Reposted by Rob Verchick

Reed Molbak @norseboargames.bsky.social · 20d

The day's finally here: Auridia has launched! Thanks again to everybody who has tested it, given feedback, or just shown support over the last year or so.

It's 15% off this week, get it here! store.steampowered.com/app/3443080/...

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Reposted by Rob Verchick

Reed Molbak @norseboargames.bsky.social · 15d

Auridia's been shortlisted for Best International Game at SXSW Sydney 2025! Great way to wrap up launch week.

I'll have a booth there Oct 17-18, I'm looking forward to my first visit to Sydney!

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Reposted by Rob Verchick

Environmental Information: Use and Influence (Dalhousie Univ.) @eiui.bsky.social · 13d

It is widely accepted that #ocean & #marine #ecosystems are seriously at risk from #human-induced #stressors. Esteban-Cantillo et al. propose 6 #policy recommendations re marine conservation, eg, using transdisciplinary & innovative knowledge to drive #conservation strategies doi.org/10.1038/s441...

Title, authors’ names, and abstract from a commentary paper about policy recommendations for marine conservation

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Reposted by Rob Verchick

Center for Progressive Reform @progressivereform.bsky.social · Jun 23

Lawmakers push carbon capture & storage, putting LA residents at risk and sacrificing safety and property rights.

Check out the latest guest column from @nolanews.bsky.social featuring Board Member Rob Verchick and colleague Martha Thibaut. @robverchick.bsky.social

www.nola.com/opinions/gue...

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Rob Verchick @robverchick.bsky.social · Jun 20

🌎Carbon-capture-and-storage piles big risks on Louisiana residents. Lawmakers are sacrificing safety and private property rights too. See my op-ed with Martha Thibaut.

lnkd.in/gEfDRjNi

This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn

lnkd.in

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Reposted by Rob Verchick

Center for Progressive Reform @progressivereform.bsky.social · May 30

Hazard mitigation funding “didn’t just pop out of nowhere — it actually came in response to a really big financial problem the federal government was experiencing," said Board Member Robert Verchick. @robverchick.bsky.social

www.insurancejournal.com/news/nationa...

Trump Administration Is Rolling Out a New Way to Shrink FEMA's Role

When a series of deadly storms and tornadoes pummeled Arkansas in mid-March, downing power lines and tearing up homes, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders

www.insurancejournal.com

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Rob Verchick @robverchick.bsky.social · May 27

GOP is giving up on law and order. Its budget bill would shield Trump from legal rulings by defanging court enforcement power. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

A hidden measure in the Republican budget bill would crown Trump king | Robert Reich

The bill could stop federal courts from enforcing their rulings, eliminating any restraint on Trump

www.theguardian.com

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Rob Verchick @robverchick.bsky.social · May 27

Really? The incompetence is breathtaking. gothamist.com/news/feds-ac...

Feds accidentally publish secret plan to kill NYC congestion pricing

Lawyers for the federal government briefly uploaded a letter laying out a longshot argument to revoke approval for the MTA's congestion pricing tolls.

https://gothamist.com/news/feds-accidentally-publish-secret-plan-to-kill-nyc-congestion-pricing?utm_source=sfmc&utm_medium=nypr-email&utm_campaign=Newsletter+-+Early+Addition+Lite+-+20250527&utm_term=a+list+of+flaws+in+their+own+legal+strategy+to+shut+down+the+MTA’s+congestion+pricing+tolls.&utm_id=451420&sfmc_id=53651894&utm_content=2025527&nypr_member=Unknown

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Reposted by Rob Verchick

Amy B 🌱💙🐸📎#releasetheEpsteinfilesnow @beachandtreesplz.bsky.social · May 15

Not good, not safe. Climate crisis is here Now. Weather is more unpredictable and violent.

Gail Waldby ❌👑 @gailwaldby.bsky.social · May 15

#NWS

Daniel Swain
@weatherwest

I just created a quick map depicting which portions of the United States are now (as of today) or will imminently be (by early June) without 24/7 local National Weather Service coverage (per Washington Post reporting). #CAwx #CAfire #CAwater #ORwx #AKwx #WYwx #KSwx

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Rob Verchick @robverchick.bsky.social · May 15

Always been a fan of due process. Here’s where it all started apnews.com/article/harv...

Harvard thought it had a cheap copy of the Magna Carta. It turned out to be extremely rare

Harvard University for decades assumed it had a cheap copy of the Magna Carta in its collection, a stained and faded document it had purchased for less than $30.

apnews.com

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Rob Verchick @robverchick.bsky.social · May 7

🌎More government waste: Trump says FEMA will scale back its Hazard Mitigation program. This program SAVES many times the $$$ it costs by helping people rebuild more safely or move to safer areas. Pro tip: Caring about people is good for the bottom line.

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Rob Verchick @robverchick.bsky.social · May 4

Folks, this is how it's done. Science will not be silenced. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Scientific societies to do climate assessment after Trump administration dismissed authors

Two groups join forces for peer-reviewed research after key contributors on Congress-mandated report dismissed

www.theguardian.com

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Rob Verchick @robverchick.bsky.social · May 3

Great news! www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-s...

After Trump dismisses hundreds of scientists working on climate report, two groups say they'll publish their work

The American Geophysical Union and American Meteorological Society plan to publish a special collection of work on climate change impacts in the U.S.

www.cbsnews.com

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Rob Verchick @robverchick.bsky.social · May 3

I meant HI not VT. Though Trump has also sued VT—and NY too! I need a new score card.

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Rob Verchick @robverchick.bsky.social · May 3

🌎After Trump’s bellicose lawsuits against MI and VT, Puerto Rico dropped its suit against Big Oil over climate impacts. A shame, given what PR has suffered from Hurricane Maria.

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Rob Verchick @robverchick.bsky.social · May 2

Thanks for this article!

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Rob Verchick @robverchick.bsky.social · May 2

Let’s see if I understand: Trump wants Americans to have MORE children but to buy FEWER toys for them all.

Rob Verchick @robverchick.bsky.social · May 2

🌎Now Trump is suing HI and MI to BLOCK them from suing Big Oil for climate damages. (HI has since filed such a lawsuit.) Kind of bonkers. The normal way is to wait for the lawsuit, intervene, then move for dismissal. Not that there's a real claim, but that's the process. This is just bullying.

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Rob Verchick @robverchick.bsky.social · Apr 28

🌎🦑So Trump just canned all authors of the upcoming National Climate Assessment. Even though (1) Congress requires an NCA and (2) states and munis depend on it to protect people and property. Hope authors complete their work anyway and publish it in a peer reviewed form. Don’t give up. We need you!

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Rob Verchick @robverchick.bsky.social · Apr 25

🌎🦑Because a climate crisis is not enough--Trump is now courting an ocean crisis. He thinks we need these metals for batteries? Apple, Google, and BMW don't, which is why they support a moratorium! Can't we please be on the right side of future technology? So much losing. www.npr.org/2025/04/25/n...

The U.S. takes a step toward allowing mining on the ocean floor, a fragile ecosystem

President Trump signed an order Thursday aimed at making it easier for companies to mine the ocean floor. Scientists and environmental groups say it could harm a fragile ecosystem.

www.npr.org

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Rob Verchick @robverchick.bsky.social · Apr 21

Here's a copy of the complaint Harvard filed in its lawsuit against the federal government to halt the funding freeze. www.harvard.edu/research-fun...

www.harvard.edu

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Rob Verchick @robverchick.bsky.social · Apr 18

🌎🦑I'm skeptical of the legality on this. Marine monuments are created under the Antiquities Act. The law's text allows POTUS to create such areas, but grants no authority, as I read it, to significantly erase existing protections. The lawsuits are coming! thehill.com/policy/energ...

Trump opens national marine monument to commercial fishing

The Trump administration is opening a national marine monument to commercial fishing, it announced Thursday. The White House issued an executive order that allows for commercial fishing within the&…

thehill.com

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Rob Verchick @robverchick.bsky.social · Apr 18

Harvard Law School, my alma mater, is centering its fundraising call to alums on these words, etched in Langdell Hall: “You are ready to aid in the shaping and application of those wise restraints that make us free.” Amen.

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Rob Verchick @robverchick.bsky.social · Apr 17

Andy Borowitz is right. Trump has achieved the impossible: getting Americans to LIKE Harvard.

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