WestPhillyMatt
@westphillymatt.bsky.social
Retired earth scientist; 36 years with the US Geological Survey and the Smithsonian Institution. From Philly; landed in San Francisco 50 years ago.
Reposted by WestPhillyMatt
The US may be doing more than simply failing to aid global vaccination efforts, Rivka Galchen writes. “The domestic stoking of anti-vaccine sentiment is itself infectious.” Millions will die and this will be the principal consequence of Trump's rule. www.newyorker.com/science/elem...
Calculating the Damage of Vaccine Skepticism
It’s clear that we’re on the precipice of a surge in preventable diseases. But how bad will it get?
www.newyorker.com
October 5, 2025 at 1:45 PM
The US may be doing more than simply failing to aid global vaccination efforts, Rivka Galchen writes. “The domestic stoking of anti-vaccine sentiment is itself infectious.” Millions will die and this will be the principal consequence of Trump's rule. www.newyorker.com/science/elem...
Reposted by WestPhillyMatt
Superb take on geothermal. Especially good: no coy question in the title. Just a convincing explainer of "Why the Time Has Finally Come for Geothermal Energy" by one Rivka Galchen in @newyorker.com
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
Why the Time Has Finally Come for Geothermal Energy
It used to be that drawing heat from deep in the Earth was practical only in geyser-filled places such as Iceland. But new approaches may have us on the cusp of an energy revolution.
www.newyorker.com
November 17, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Superb take on geothermal. Especially good: no coy question in the title. Just a convincing explainer of "Why the Time Has Finally Come for Geothermal Energy" by one Rivka Galchen in @newyorker.com
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
Reposted by WestPhillyMatt
“The dream of geothermal energy is to meet humanity’s energy demands affordably, without harnessing horses for horsepower, slaughtering whales for their oil, or burning fossil fuels,” Rivka Galchen writes. Has its time arrived? https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/b198KG
Why the Time Has Finally Come for Geothermal Energy
It used to be that drawing heat from deep in the Earth was practical only in geyser-filled places such as Iceland. But new approaches may have us on the cusp of an energy revolution.
newyorkermag.visitlink.me
November 19, 2025 at 2:00 PM
“The dream of geothermal energy is to meet humanity’s energy demands affordably, without harnessing horses for horsepower, slaughtering whales for their oil, or burning fossil fuels,” Rivka Galchen writes. Has its time arrived? https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/b198KG
The trouble with artificial intelligence…
November 13, 2025 at 6:53 PM
The trouble with artificial intelligence…
Why would the Trump administration cut funding to this research? Hmmm, maybe because of their insecurities about gender?
He Studied Why Some Female Birds Look Like Males www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/s...
He Studied Why Some Female Birds Look Like Males
www.nytimes.com
November 4, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Why would the Trump administration cut funding to this research? Hmmm, maybe because of their insecurities about gender?
He Studied Why Some Female Birds Look Like Males www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/s...
He Studied Why Some Female Birds Look Like Males
www.nytimes.com
November 4, 2025 at 5:37 PM
He Studied Why Some Female Birds Look Like Males www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/s...
From the NewYorker.
Commentary on the juvenile would-be king…
Commentary on the juvenile would-be king…
November 1, 2025 at 3:48 AM
From the NewYorker.
Commentary on the juvenile would-be king…
Commentary on the juvenile would-be king…
Reposted by WestPhillyMatt
The Walton family (who own Walmart) are worth over $400 billion, yet many of their employees are on SNAP.
Bezos is worth over $400 billion, many Amazon employees require SNAP.
The people who need help are not the problem.
It’s corporate greed. It’s an unwillingness to pay a living wage.
Bezos is worth over $400 billion, many Amazon employees require SNAP.
The people who need help are not the problem.
It’s corporate greed. It’s an unwillingness to pay a living wage.
October 27, 2025 at 9:08 PM
The Walton family (who own Walmart) are worth over $400 billion, yet many of their employees are on SNAP.
Bezos is worth over $400 billion, many Amazon employees require SNAP.
The people who need help are not the problem.
It’s corporate greed. It’s an unwillingness to pay a living wage.
Bezos is worth over $400 billion, many Amazon employees require SNAP.
The people who need help are not the problem.
It’s corporate greed. It’s an unwillingness to pay a living wage.
Reposted by WestPhillyMatt
what a GREAT thread. Add your entries to the end please!
I really think we should do a whole series about facts like this:
Have you noticed that poison ivy seems worse and itchier?
It's not your imagination. It's Climate Change.
grist.org/climate/clim...
Have you noticed that poison ivy seems worse and itchier?
It's not your imagination. It's Climate Change.
grist.org/climate/clim...
October 27, 2025 at 3:50 PM
what a GREAT thread. Add your entries to the end please!
Reposted by WestPhillyMatt
🚨 New pre-proof landed today by Amber LeBlanc Deonie Castle Erika Merschrod Justine Ammendolia Noreen Kelly Vittorio Maselli ⬇️
#Microplastic contamination in edible American #lobster (Homarus americanus) muscle tissue
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
#PlasticPollution
#Ingestion
#Canada
#Microplastic contamination in edible American #lobster (Homarus americanus) muscle tissue
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
#PlasticPollution
#Ingestion
#Canada
Microplastic contamination in edible American lobster (Homarus americanus) muscle tissue
This study investigated internalized microplastic (MP) concentration, size, and polymer composition in the edible muscle tissue of Homarus americanus …
www.sciencedirect.com
October 27, 2025 at 6:40 PM
🚨 New pre-proof landed today by Amber LeBlanc Deonie Castle Erika Merschrod Justine Ammendolia Noreen Kelly Vittorio Maselli ⬇️
#Microplastic contamination in edible American #lobster (Homarus americanus) muscle tissue
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
#PlasticPollution
#Ingestion
#Canada
#Microplastic contamination in edible American #lobster (Homarus americanus) muscle tissue
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
#PlasticPollution
#Ingestion
#Canada
Another example of Trumpian fascism: detaining political dissidents.
www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/s...
www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/s...
Sami Hamdi, British Muslim journalist, reportedly detained by ICE at SFO
The political commentator was on a speaking tour of the U.S. when he was reportedly detained by immigration authorities at San Francisco International Airport.
www.sfchronicle.com
October 26, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Another example of Trumpian fascism: detaining political dissidents.
www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/s...
www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/s...
Reposted by WestPhillyMatt
UPDATE: San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie condemned the Trump administration’s impending federal immigration operation in the Bay Area: “They are intentionally creating a dangerous situation in the name of public safety.”
Exclusive: Major federal immigration operation headed to San Francisco Bay Area
The Trump administration has dispatched more than 100 federal agents, including from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, to Coast Guard Base Alameda and they’ll begin to arrive Thursday.
www.sfchronicle.com
October 22, 2025 at 10:00 PM
UPDATE: San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie condemned the Trump administration’s impending federal immigration operation in the Bay Area: “They are intentionally creating a dangerous situation in the name of public safety.”
Reposted by WestPhillyMatt
The Middle East is warming twice as fast as the globe thanks in no small part to its own oil + gas emissions—but from youth activists to engineers, people here are proving that even in the hottest places, change is happening.
Read on MailChimp: shorturl.at/SvFiy
Read on LinkedIn: shorturl.at/fjOiY
Read on MailChimp: shorturl.at/SvFiy
Read on LinkedIn: shorturl.at/fjOiY
From Oil Fields to Mangroves
Last week, I was in the United Arab Emirates for the IUCN’s World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi, followed by the World Economic Forum's Global Future Councils meeting in Dubai. The WCC is a globa...
shorturl.at
October 22, 2025 at 6:01 PM
The Middle East is warming twice as fast as the globe thanks in no small part to its own oil + gas emissions—but from youth activists to engineers, people here are proving that even in the hottest places, change is happening.
Read on MailChimp: shorturl.at/SvFiy
Read on LinkedIn: shorturl.at/fjOiY
Read on MailChimp: shorturl.at/SvFiy
Read on LinkedIn: shorturl.at/fjOiY
Blue sky day in the Marina District, San Francisco.
October 22, 2025 at 10:02 PM
Blue sky day in the Marina District, San Francisco.
Reposted by WestPhillyMatt
Distribution of #microplastics in mangrove #sediments: role of #biogeomorphology
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Distribution of microplastics in mangrove sediments: role of biogeomorphology - Journal of Oceanology and Limnology
Biogeomorphic features are common in mangrove ecosystems worldwide, particularly crab burrows, which play a vital role in shaping regional material cycling processes. This study provides new insights ...
link.springer.com
October 22, 2025 at 12:36 AM
Distribution of #microplastics in mangrove #sediments: role of #biogeomorphology
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Support small business! Support black-owned business! And, it is one of the SF Chronicle “best-rated” sourdough bakeries in the Bay Area!
October 21, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Support small business! Support black-owned business! And, it is one of the SF Chronicle “best-rated” sourdough bakeries in the Bay Area!
Reposted by WestPhillyMatt
Something to take our minds off the Whitehouse nightmare
October 21, 2025 at 10:09 PM
Something to take our minds off the Whitehouse nightmare
Reposted by WestPhillyMatt
This is SUCH an important point. Most people are worried about climate change: but most people feel helpless and think nothing’s being done (so why should they do anything?)
This is why my weekly newsletter always includes good news on climate solutions as well as actions we can take!
This is why my weekly newsletter always includes good news on climate solutions as well as actions we can take!
October 20, 2025 at 4:21 PM
This is SUCH an important point. Most people are worried about climate change: but most people feel helpless and think nothing’s being done (so why should they do anything?)
This is why my weekly newsletter always includes good news on climate solutions as well as actions we can take!
This is why my weekly newsletter always includes good news on climate solutions as well as actions we can take!
You Caught Me. I’m Speaking Spanish. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/20/o...
Opinion | You Caught Me. I’m Speaking Spanish.
www.nytimes.com
October 20, 2025 at 4:21 PM
You Caught Me. I’m Speaking Spanish. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/20/o...
Be there, or be square!
www.mobilize.us/nokings/even...
www.mobilize.us/nokings/even...
NO KINGS in San Francisco · No Kings
**In America, we don’t put up with would-be kings.**
Our peaceful movement is only getting bigger and stronger. “NO KINGS” is more than just a slogan—it’s the foundation our nation was built upon. Bo...
www.mobilize.us
October 7, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Be there, or be square!
www.mobilize.us/nokings/even...
www.mobilize.us/nokings/even...
A beautiful day at Ocean Beach, San Francisco. (the low point in the distal hills on the right side of the photo is where the San Andreas Fault comes ashore from the south.)
October 6, 2025 at 9:43 PM
A beautiful day at Ocean Beach, San Francisco. (the low point in the distal hills on the right side of the photo is where the San Andreas Fault comes ashore from the south.)
For those who like small dogs
(from the New Yorker)
(from the New Yorker)
October 5, 2025 at 9:28 PM
For those who like small dogs
(from the New Yorker)
(from the New Yorker)
Reposted by WestPhillyMatt
80% (!) of the ACA subsidies that are about to expire go to people in states that Trump won in 2024.
Time and time again, Trump and MAGA Republicans will sell out their own voters — all to fund massive tax cuts for the super rich.
Time and time again, Trump and MAGA Republicans will sell out their own voters — all to fund massive tax cuts for the super rich.
October 3, 2025 at 5:16 PM
80% (!) of the ACA subsidies that are about to expire go to people in states that Trump won in 2024.
Time and time again, Trump and MAGA Republicans will sell out their own voters — all to fund massive tax cuts for the super rich.
Time and time again, Trump and MAGA Republicans will sell out their own voters — all to fund massive tax cuts for the super rich.
Visiting Tuscaloosa, Alabama. At the Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant Museum, there’s an homage paid to two of the great Alabama players, Jalen Hurts and Devanta Smith, who have gone on to become great Eagles players. Roll Tide! Go Philadelphia Eagles!
October 3, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Visiting Tuscaloosa, Alabama. At the Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant Museum, there’s an homage paid to two of the great Alabama players, Jalen Hurts and Devanta Smith, who have gone on to become great Eagles players. Roll Tide! Go Philadelphia Eagles!