Alec Luhn
@alecluhn.com
Environment reporter at New Scientist | Kavli, Schmidt & Covering Climate Now winner 🏆 | 2x Emmy nominee | non-beefeater 🐄
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
The battle to save the magnificent but endangered Amur tiger detailed in Jonathan Slaght's Tigers Between Empires is an inspiring look at what collaboration across borders can achieve, finds Adam Weymouth
New book tells compelling tale of the fight to save the Siberian tiger
The battle to save the magnificent but endangered Amur tiger detailed in Jonathan Slaght's Tigers Between Empires is an inspiring look at what collaboration across borders can achieve, finds Adam Weymouth
www.newscientist.com
November 20, 2025 at 8:59 AM
The battle to save the magnificent but endangered Amur tiger detailed in Jonathan Slaght's Tigers Between Empires is an inspiring look at what collaboration across borders can achieve, finds Adam Weymouth
Deep-sea mining risks harming one of the last pristine ecosystems--but if it goes ahead under Trump, it could at least be done more sustainably by smelting the metal nodules with hydrogen plasma www.newscientist.com/article/2505...
Have we found a greener way to do deep-sea mining?
There are widespread concerns that deep-sea mining for metals will damage fragile ecosystems. But if mining ever goes ahead, hydrogen plasma could shrink the carbon footprint of smelting the metal ore...
www.newscientist.com
November 24, 2025 at 12:28 PM
Deep-sea mining risks harming one of the last pristine ecosystems--but if it goes ahead under Trump, it could at least be done more sustainably by smelting the metal nodules with hydrogen plasma www.newscientist.com/article/2505...
Reposted by Alec Luhn
The 194 countries still taking part in UN climate negotiations reaffirmed the Paris Agreement following the US withdrawal, even if they agreed on little else
COP30 keeps climate cooperation alive but hanging by a thread
The 194 countries still taking part in UN climate negotiations reaffirmed the Paris Agreement following the US withdrawal, even if they agreed on little else
www.newscientist.com
November 24, 2025 at 12:06 PM
The 194 countries still taking part in UN climate negotiations reaffirmed the Paris Agreement following the US withdrawal, even if they agreed on little else
Reposted by Alec Luhn
Humans will NEVER colonize another planet. Never.
If we can’t even agree to do the minimum to keep Earth habitable, there’s no way in hell we’ll cooperate to make another planet habitable.
If we can’t even agree to do the minimum to keep Earth habitable, there’s no way in hell we’ll cooperate to make another planet habitable.
November 22, 2025 at 11:29 AM
Humans will NEVER colonize another planet. Never.
If we can’t even agree to do the minimum to keep Earth habitable, there’s no way in hell we’ll cooperate to make another planet habitable.
If we can’t even agree to do the minimum to keep Earth habitable, there’s no way in hell we’ll cooperate to make another planet habitable.
This is why COP is so maddening
November 22, 2025 at 5:27 PM
This is why COP is so maddening
Reposted by Alec Luhn
On BBC Radio 4's Rare Earth next week we'll be covering urban wildlife, and we'd love to hear about the fun/creative/unusual things happening near you to make space for wildlife in towns/cities. Do reply to this and let us know!
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
November 22, 2025 at 10:22 AM
On BBC Radio 4's Rare Earth next week we'll be covering urban wildlife, and we'd love to hear about the fun/creative/unusual things happening near you to make space for wildlife in towns/cities. Do reply to this and let us know!
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
Reposted by Alec Luhn
The depths of the Arctic Ocean have warmed more than scientists expected. New research has placed the blame on warmer water from Greenland
Climate heating has reached even deepest parts of the Arctic Ocean
The depths of the Arctic Ocean have warmed more than scientists expected. New research has placed the blame on warmer water from Greenland
www.newscientist.com
November 21, 2025 at 10:56 AM
The depths of the Arctic Ocean have warmed more than scientists expected. New research has placed the blame on warmer water from Greenland
Reposted by Alec Luhn
Spinning vortices of water trapped under the Thwaites glacier ice shelf account for 20 per cent of the ice melt. They’re expected to get worse as the world warms
Undersea ‘storms’ are melting the ‘doomsday’ glacier’s ice shelf
Spinning vortices of water trapped under the Thwaites glacier ice shelf account for 20 per cent of the ice melt. They’re expected to get worse as the world warms
www.newscientist.com
November 21, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Spinning vortices of water trapped under the Thwaites glacier ice shelf account for 20 per cent of the ice melt. They’re expected to get worse as the world warms
Reposted by Alec Luhn
It's always the ones you most expect...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Cryptocurrency backed by Farage donor is used for Russian war effort, investigators say
Tether tokens found to facilitate scheme that enables sanctions evasion and launders money for the Kremlin
www.theguardian.com
November 21, 2025 at 8:47 AM
It's always the ones you most expect...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Alec Luhn
Daily Mail's parent company agrees a deal to buy Telegraph for £500m! Media consolidation, let's go, ya gonna blink and stop this competition regulators? Over to you, Nandy? Strong potential everyone just waves the sale through to STOP HAVING TO READ OR THINK ABOUT IT. www.ft.com/content/cd8e...
Daily Mail owner strikes £500mn deal for Telegraph
Tie-up would create one of the most powerful right-leaning media groups in Britain
www.ft.com
November 22, 2025 at 9:21 AM
Daily Mail's parent company agrees a deal to buy Telegraph for £500m! Media consolidation, let's go, ya gonna blink and stop this competition regulators? Over to you, Nandy? Strong potential everyone just waves the sale through to STOP HAVING TO READ OR THINK ABOUT IT. www.ft.com/content/cd8e...
"The United States now faces a choice: meet rising nations as respected partners in building a new, more equitable multipolar world or seek the costly, brittle power that comes from domination. Trump has chosen the latter; China, it seems, seeks the former." www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/o...
Opinion | The Thucydides Trap Is Coming for America
www.nytimes.com
November 22, 2025 at 9:19 AM
"The United States now faces a choice: meet rising nations as respected partners in building a new, more equitable multipolar world or seek the costly, brittle power that comes from domination. Trump has chosen the latter; China, it seems, seeks the former." www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/o...
Nbd, just underwater hurricanes hitting the doomsday glacier
www.newscientist.com/article/2505...
www.newscientist.com/article/2505...
Undersea ‘storms’ are melting the ‘doomsday’ glacier’s ice shelf
Spinning vortices of water trapped under the Thwaites glacier ice shelf account for 20 per cent of the ice melt. They’re expected to get worse as the world warms
www.newscientist.com
November 21, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Nbd, just underwater hurricanes hitting the doomsday glacier
www.newscientist.com/article/2505...
www.newscientist.com/article/2505...
“The deep ocean is much more active than what we thought. I thought the deep ocean could be warming, but not so fast.” www.newscientist.com/article/2505...
Climate heating has reached even deepest parts of the Arctic Ocean
The depths of the Arctic Ocean have warmed more than scientists expected. New research has placed the blame on warmer water from Greenland
www.newscientist.com
November 19, 2025 at 11:13 PM
“The deep ocean is much more active than what we thought. I thought the deep ocean could be warming, but not so fast.” www.newscientist.com/article/2505...
Reposted by Alec Luhn
This is a nice idea but a dangerous one.
"Ending the wasteful practice of venting and flaring would be an easy win: it used to be routine, for safety, to stop methane building up and exploding, but long-established technology renders this almost always unnecessary."
It will never happen.
"Ending the wasteful practice of venting and flaring would be an easy win: it used to be routine, for safety, to stop methane building up and exploding, but long-established technology renders this almost always unnecessary."
It will never happen.
Can methane cuts pull us back from the brink of climate breakdown?
With temperatures breaching the Paris limit, experts say tackling the powerful gas could buy crucial time as the clean-energy shift stalls
www.theguardian.com
November 18, 2025 at 1:55 PM
This is a nice idea but a dangerous one.
"Ending the wasteful practice of venting and flaring would be an easy win: it used to be routine, for safety, to stop methane building up and exploding, but long-established technology renders this almost always unnecessary."
It will never happen.
"Ending the wasteful practice of venting and flaring would be an easy win: it used to be routine, for safety, to stop methane building up and exploding, but long-established technology renders this almost always unnecessary."
It will never happen.
Short answer is: Not chemtrails, and no it couldn't www.newscientist.com/article/2504...
What is cloud seeding and could it end the drought in Iran?
Facing its worst drought in decades, Iran is attempting to stimulate rain by spreading seeding agents in clouds, but the technique is likely to have modest benefits at best
www.newscientist.com
November 18, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Short answer is: Not chemtrails, and no it couldn't www.newscientist.com/article/2504...
Do two wrongs make a right? Research suggests Antarctic melt could prevent the collapse AMOC current.
One small caveat: you’d then have up to 3m of sea level rise. @newscientist.com www.newscientist.com/article/2504...
One small caveat: you’d then have up to 3m of sea level rise. @newscientist.com www.newscientist.com/article/2504...
Rapid melt from Antarctica could help preserve crucial ocean current
Greenland’s melt is expected to slow the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, but research suggests a collapse of the West Antarctic ice sheet could in some cases prevent it from shutting down
www.newscientist.com
November 14, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Do two wrongs make a right? Research suggests Antarctic melt could prevent the collapse AMOC current.
One small caveat: you’d then have up to 3m of sea level rise. @newscientist.com www.newscientist.com/article/2504...
One small caveat: you’d then have up to 3m of sea level rise. @newscientist.com www.newscientist.com/article/2504...
Personal news 🚨: I’ve started a 10-month gig as environment news reporter at New Scientist, the most popular weekly science & tech magazine.
I'm in the office on a mobility scooter as I recover from a broken femur & frostbite on a mountain in Norway this summer—thank you for the messages of support!
I'm in the office on a mobility scooter as I recover from a broken femur & frostbite on a mountain in Norway this summer—thank you for the messages of support!
November 13, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Personal news 🚨: I’ve started a 10-month gig as environment news reporter at New Scientist, the most popular weekly science & tech magazine.
I'm in the office on a mobility scooter as I recover from a broken femur & frostbite on a mountain in Norway this summer—thank you for the messages of support!
I'm in the office on a mobility scooter as I recover from a broken femur & frostbite on a mountain in Norway this summer—thank you for the messages of support!
Reposted by Alec Luhn
Global emissions from fossil fuels are expected to hit another record high in 2025, but China’s carbon emissions appear to be reaching a peak.
Fossil fuel emissions rise again – but China's are levelling off
Global emissions from fossil fuels are expected to hit another record high in 2025, but China’s carbon emissions appear to be reaching a peak
www.newscientist.com
November 13, 2025 at 9:10 AM
Global emissions from fossil fuels are expected to hit another record high in 2025, but China’s carbon emissions appear to be reaching a peak.
“There is no need to look to genes to explain why many individuals try to become dictators – the far more pressing question is why we let them.” The argument against sequencing Hitler’s DNA for a TV documentary. @mjflepage.bsky.social www.newscientist.com/article/2504...
Sequencing Hitler's genome teaches us nothing useful about his crimes
To understand Adolf Hitler, we need to look at his personal life and the wider societal and historical context - analysing his DNA for a TV gimmick tells us nothing, says Michael Le Page
www.newscientist.com
November 13, 2025 at 11:38 AM
“There is no need to look to genes to explain why many individuals try to become dictators – the far more pressing question is why we let them.” The argument against sequencing Hitler’s DNA for a TV documentary. @mjflepage.bsky.social www.newscientist.com/article/2504...
Reposted by Alec Luhn
Formula 1 cars have been the fastest road vehicles for the past 50 years. But electric vehicles may soon become the quickest on earth, as the battery-powered cars of the upstart Formula E racing championship are making huge technological strides.
Could electric race cars soon be faster than Formula 1?
www.newscientist.com
November 10, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Formula 1 cars have been the fastest road vehicles for the past 50 years. But electric vehicles may soon become the quickest on earth, as the battery-powered cars of the upstart Formula E racing championship are making huge technological strides.
Formula E beat Formula 1 in a race? Depends on how long the race is.
But it's still wild that electric race cars have come within touching distance of combustion engines in a mere 11 years. www.newscientist.com/article/2503...
But it's still wild that electric race cars have come within touching distance of combustion engines in a mere 11 years. www.newscientist.com/article/2503...
Could electric race cars soon be faster than Formula 1?
The electic cars of the Formula E racing championship can accelerate faster than Formula 1 cars and their top speeds are catching up – but battery capacity would let them down in a head-to-head
www.newscientist.com
November 10, 2025 at 12:34 PM
Formula E beat Formula 1 in a race? Depends on how long the race is.
But it's still wild that electric race cars have come within touching distance of combustion engines in a mere 11 years. www.newscientist.com/article/2503...
But it's still wild that electric race cars have come within touching distance of combustion engines in a mere 11 years. www.newscientist.com/article/2503...
Our ancestors at "cradle of humanity" Lake Turkana faced more earthquakes & volcanoes after it got drier & water levels fell.
"Like loosening the cork on a champagne bottle,” less water unleashes fault slips & magma in rift systems. Climate can affect tectonics! www.newscientist.com/article/2503...
"Like loosening the cork on a champagne bottle,” less water unleashes fault slips & magma in rift systems. Climate can affect tectonics! www.newscientist.com/article/2503...
When rift lakes dry up it can cause earthquakes and eruptions
Lake Turkana in Kenya, known as the cradle of humanity, has shrunk in recent millennia – and the loss of water has led to increased seismic activity, which could have impacted our ancient ancestors
www.newscientist.com
November 10, 2025 at 11:56 AM
Our ancestors at "cradle of humanity" Lake Turkana faced more earthquakes & volcanoes after it got drier & water levels fell.
"Like loosening the cork on a champagne bottle,” less water unleashes fault slips & magma in rift systems. Climate can affect tectonics! www.newscientist.com/article/2503...
"Like loosening the cork on a champagne bottle,” less water unleashes fault slips & magma in rift systems. Climate can affect tectonics! www.newscientist.com/article/2503...
One of the cool things about living in UK is you can wake up one day & find out you reside 300 yards from an ancient Roman road. (h/t @davidho.bsky.social)
A high-resolution digital map allows people to plan their routes along the ancient roads of the Roman Empire
go.nature.com/4nHZmoM
go.nature.com/4nHZmoM
‘Google Maps’ for Roman roads reveals vast extent of ancient network
Nature - A high-resolution digital map nearly doubles the known length of the ancient road network.
go.nature.com
November 9, 2025 at 10:44 AM
One of the cool things about living in UK is you can wake up one day & find out you reside 300 yards from an ancient Roman road. (h/t @davidho.bsky.social)
Drax received logs from cutblocks in BC containing 90% old growth forest, a Canadian investigation found.
So it’s receiving £2m a day in UK green energy subsidies to burn old growth forest 🤔 www.theguardian.com/business/202...
So it’s receiving £2m a day in UK green energy subsidies to burn old growth forest 🤔 www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Drax still burning 250-year-old trees sourced from forests in Canada, experts say
Exclusive: report by Stand.earth says subsidiary of power plant received truckloads of whole logs at biomass pellet sites
www.theguardian.com
November 9, 2025 at 10:26 AM
Drax received logs from cutblocks in BC containing 90% old growth forest, a Canadian investigation found.
So it’s receiving £2m a day in UK green energy subsidies to burn old growth forest 🤔 www.theguardian.com/business/202...
So it’s receiving £2m a day in UK green energy subsidies to burn old growth forest 🤔 www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Reposted by Alec Luhn
The Vietnamese Bach Ma Mountain Peak station recorded one-day rainfall of 1,739 mm - close to the global one-day record and perhaps a new record for the northern hemisphere. It is part of a deluge Viet Nam has seen in October, shattering 35 precip records. e.vnexpress.net/news/news/en...
Vietnam sees 35 rainfall records broken in October - VnExpress International
Vietnam's northern and central regions saw a total of 35 rain records broken in October alone as two storms, Matmo and Fengshen, caused unprecedented downpours.
e.vnexpress.net
November 7, 2025 at 9:00 PM
The Vietnamese Bach Ma Mountain Peak station recorded one-day rainfall of 1,739 mm - close to the global one-day record and perhaps a new record for the northern hemisphere. It is part of a deluge Viet Nam has seen in October, shattering 35 precip records. e.vnexpress.net/news/news/en...